Part II, Madoc in Aztlan: XIV

Who comes to Aztlan, bounding like a deer
Along the plain? . . The herald of success ;
For lo! his locks are braided, and his loins
Cinctured with white ; and see, he lifts the shield,
And brandishes the sword. The populace
Flock round, impatient for the tale of joy,
And follow to the palace in his path.
Joy! joy! the Tyger hath atchieved his quest !
They bring a captive home! . . . Triumphantly
Coanocotzin and his Chiefs go forth
To greet the youth triumphant, and receive
The victim whom the gracious Gods have given,
Sure omen and first fruits of victory.
A woman leads the train, young, beautiful, . .
More beautiful for that translucent joy,
Flushing her cheek, and sparkling in her eye; . .
Her hair is twined with festal flowers, her robe
With flowing wreaths adorned ; she holds a child,
He, too, bedecked and garlanded with flowers ;
And, lifting him with agile force of arms,
In graceful action, to harmonious step
Accordant, leads the dance. It is the wife
Of Tlalala, who, with his child, goes forth
To meet her hero husband.

And behold
The Tyger comes ! and ere the shouts and sounds
Of gratulation cease, his followers bear
The captive Prince. At that so welcome sight
Loud rose the glad acclaim ; nor knew they yet
That he, who there lay patient in his bonds,
Expecting the inevitable lot,
Was Madoc. Patient in his bonds he lay,
Exhausted with vain efforts, desperate now,
And silently resigned. But when the King
Approached the prisoner, and beheld his face,
And knew the Chief of Strangers, at that sound
Electric joy shot through the multitude,
And, like the raging of the hurricane,
Their thundering transports pealed. A deeper joy,
A nobler triumph kindled Tlalala,
As, limb by limb, his eye surveyed the Prince,
With a calm fierceness. And by this the Priests
Approached their victim, clad in vestments white,
Of sacrifice, which from the shoulders fell,
As from the breast, unbending, broad and straight,
Leaving their black arms bare. The blood-red robe,
The turquoise pendant from his down-drawn lip,
The crown of glossy plumage, whose green hue
Vied with his emerald drops, marked their Chief,
Tezozomoc : his thin and ghastly cheek,
Which, . . save the temple serpents, when he brought
Their human banquet, . . never living eye
Rejoiced to see, became more ghastly now, .
As, in Mexitli's name, upon the Prince
He laid his murtherous hand. But as he spake,
Updarted Tlalala his eagle glance. . .
Away! away ! he shall not perish so !
The warrior cried. .. Not tamely, by the knife,
Nor on the jaspar-stone, his blood shall flow !
The Gods of Aztlan love a Warrior !
I am their Priest to-day !

A murmuring
Ran through the train ; nor waited he to hear
Denial thence ; but on the multitude
Aloud he called. .. When first our fathers seized
This land, there was a savage Chief who stopt
Their progress. He had gained the rank he bore,
By long probation: stripes, which laid his flesh .
All bleeding bare, had forced not one complaint ;
Not, when the working bowels might be seen,
One movement : hand-bound, he had been confined
Where myriad insects on his nakedness
Infixed their venomous anger, and no start,
No shudder, shook his frame: last, in a net
Suspended, he had felt the agony
Of fire, which to his bones and marrow pierced,
And breathed the suffocating smoke which filled
His lungs with fire, without a groan, a breath,
A look betokening sense ; so gallantly
Had he subdued his nature. This brave man
Met Aztlan in the war, and put her Chiefs
To shame. Our Elders have not yet forgot
Hoy from the slaughtered brother of their King
He stript the skin, and formed of it a drum,
Whose sound affrighted armies. With this man
My father coped in battle ; here he led him,
An offering to the God ; and, man to man,
He slew him here in fight. I was a child,
Just old enough to lift my father's shield ;
But I remember, on that glorious day,
When from the sacred combat he returned,
His red hands reeking with the hot heart's,
How in his arms he took me, and besought
The God whom he had served, to bless his boy,
And make me like my father. Men of Aztlan!
Mexitli heard his prayer! . . Here I have brought
The Stranger-Chief, the noblest sacrifice
That ever graced the altar of the God ;
Let, then, his death be noble! So my boy
Shall, in the day of battle, think of me ;
And, as I followed my brave father's steps,
Pursue my path of glory.

Ere the Priest
Could frame denial, had the Monarch's look
Bespake assent. .. Refuse not this, he cried,
O Servant of the Gods! He hath not here
His arms to save him ; and the Tyger's strength
Yields to no mortal might. Then for his sword
He called, and bade Yuhidthiton address
The Stranger Chief.

Yuhidthiton began, z
The Gods of Aztlan triumph, and thy blood
Must wet their altars. Prince, thou shalt not die
The coward's death ; but, sworded, and in fight,
Fall as becomes the valiant. Should thine arm
Subdue, in battle, six successive foes,
Life, liberty, and glory, will repay
The noble conquest. Madoc, hope not this!
Strong are the brave of Aztlan !

Then they loosed
The Ocean Chieftain's bonds ; they rent away
His garments ; and, with songs and shouts of joy,
They led him to the Stone of Sacrifice.
Round was that Stone of blood ; the half-raised arm
Of one of manly growth, who stood below,
Might rest upon its height ; the circle small ;
An active boy might almost bound across.
Nor needed, for the combat, ampler space ;
For in the centre was the prisoner's foot
Fast fettered down. Thus fettered, Madoc stood.
He held a buckler, light and small, of cane
Overlaid with beaten gold ; his sword the King,
Honouring a noble enemy, had given,
A weapon tried in war,. . to Madoc's grasp
Strange and unwieldy : 'twas a broad strong staff,
Set thick with transverse stones, on either side
Keen-edged as Syrian steel. But when he felt
The weapon, Madoc called to mind his deeds
Done on the Saxon in his father's land,
And hope arose within him. Nor, though now
Naked he stood, did fear, for that, assail
His steady heart ; for often had he seen
His gallant countrymen, with naked breasts,
Rush on their coated enemy,
And win the conquest.

Now hath Tlalala
Arrayed himself for battle. First he donned
A gipion, quilted close of gossampine ;
O'er that, a jointed mail of plates of gold,
Bespotted like the tyger's speckled pride,
To speak his rank ; it clad his arms half-way,
Half-way, his thighs ; but cuishes had he none,
Nor gauntlets, nor feet-armour. On his helm
There yawned the semblance of a Tyger's head,
The long white teeth extended, as for prey;
Proud crest, to blazon his proud title forth.
And now toward the fatal stage, equipped
For war, he went; when, from the press behind,
A warrior's voice was heard, and, clad in arms,
And shaking, in his angry grasp, the sword,
Ocelopan rushed on, and called aloud
On Tlalala, and claimed the holy fight.
The Tyger, heedless of his clamour, sprung
Upon the stone, and turned him to the war.
Fierce leaping forward came Ocelopan,
And bounded up the ascent, and seized his arm: ..
Why wouldst thou rob me of a deed like this ?
Equal our peril in the enterprize,
Equal our merit ;. . thou wouldst reap alone
The guerdon! Never shall my children lift
Their little hands at thee, and say, Lo! there
The Chief who slew the White King! . . Tlalala,
Trust to the lot, or turn on me, and prove,
By the best chance to which the brave appeal,
Who best deserves this glory !

Stung by wrath,
The Tyger answered not ; he raised his sword,
And they had rushed to battle ; but the Priests
Came hastening up, and by their common Gods,
And by their common country, bade them cease
Their impious strife, and let the lot decide
From whom Mexitli should that day receive
His noble victim. Both, unsatisfied,
But both obedient, heard. Two equal shafts,
As outwardly they seemed, the Paba brought ;
His mantle hid their points ; and Tlalala
Drew forth the broken stave. A bitter smile
Darkened his cheek, as, angrily, he cast
To earth the hostile lot. ..Shedder of Blood,
Thine is the first adventure ! he exclaimed ;
But thou mayest perish here! . . and, in his heart,
The Tyger hoped Ocelopan might fall,
As, sullenly retiring from the stage,
He mingled with the crowd.

And now opposed
In battle, on the stone of sacrifice,
Prince Madoc and the Life-Destroyer stood.
This, clad in arms complete, free to advance
En quick assault, or shun the threatened blow,
Wielding his wonted sword ; the other, stript,
Save of that fragile shield, of all defence ;
His weapon strange and cumbrous ; and pinned down,
Disabled from all onset, all retreat.

With looks of greedy joy, Ocelopan
Surveyed his foe, and wondered to behold
The breast so broad, the bare and brawny limbs,
Of matchless strength. The eye of Madoc, too,
Dwelt on his foe; his countenance was calm,
Something more pale than wonted, like man
Prepared to meet his death. The Azteca
Fiercely began the fight ; now here, now there,
Aright, aleft, above, below, he wheeled
The rapid sword : still Madoc's rapid eye
Pursued the motion, and his ready shield,
In prompt interposition, caught the blow,
Or turned its edge aside. Nor did the Prince
Yet aim the sword to wound, but held it forth,
Another shield, to save him, till his hand,
Familiar with its weight and shape uncouth,
Might wield it well to vengeance. Thus stood he,
Baffling the impatient enemy, who now
Waxed wrathful, thus to waste in idle strokes,
Reiterate so oft, his bootless strength.
And now yet more exasperate he grew ;
For, from the eager multitude, was heard,
Amid the din of undistinguished sounds,
The Tyger's murmured name, as though they thought,
Had he been on the stone, ere this, besure,
The Gods had tasted of their sacrifice,
Now all too long delayed. Then fiercelier,
And yet more rapidly, he drove the sword ;
But still the wary Prince or met its fall,
And broke the force, or bent him from the blow ;
And now retiring, and advancing now,
As one free foot permitted, still provoked,
And baffled still, the savage ; and sometimes,
With cautious strength, did Madoc aim attack,
Mastering each moment now with abler sway
The acquainted sword. But, though as yet unharmed
In life or limb, more perilous the strife
Grew momently ; for, with repeated strokes,
Battered and broken now, shield hung loose ;
And shouts of triumph from the multitude
Arose, as, piece-meal, they beheld it fall,
And saw the Prince exposed.

That welcome sight,
Those welcome sounds, inspired Ocelopan;
He felt each limb new-strung. Impatient now
Of conquest long delayed, with wilder rage
He drives the weapon; Madoc's lifted sword
Received its edge, and shivered with the blow.
A shriek of transport burst from all around ;
For lo! the White King, shieldless, weaponless,
Naked before his foe! That savage foe,
Dallying with the delight of victory,
Drew back a moment, to enjoy the sight,
Then yelled in triumph, and sprang on to give
The consummating blow. Madoc beheld
The coming death ; he darted up his hand,
Instinctively, to save, and caught the wrist
In its mid fall, and drove, with desperate force,
The splintered truncheon of his broken sword
Full in the enemy's face. Beneath his eye
It broke its way, and, where the nasal nerves
Branch, in fine fibrils, o'er their mazy seat,
Burst through, and, slanting upward, in the brain
Buried its jagged point.

Madoc himself
Stood at his fall astonished, at escape
Unhoped, and strange success. The multitude
Beheld, and they were silent, and they stood
Gazing in terror. But far other thoughts
Rose in the Tyger's heart ; it was a joy
To Tlalala ; and forth he sprung, and up
The Stone of Sacrifice, and called aloud
To bring the Prince another sword and shield,
For his last strife. Then, in that interval,
Upon Ocelopan he fixed his eyes,
Contemplating the dead, as though thereby
To kindle in his heart a fiercer thirst
For vengeance. Nor to Madoc was the sting
Of anger wanting, when, in Tlalala,
He knew the captive whom his mercy freed,
The man whose ambush had that day destroyed
Young Hoel and himself; . . for, sure deemed
Young Hoel was with God, and he himself
At his death-day arrived. And now he graspt
A second sword, and held again the shield ;
And from the Stone of Blood Ocelopan
Was borne away ; and, fresh in arms, and fierce
With all that makes a savage thirst for war,
Hope, vengeance, courage, superstitious hate,
A second foe came on. By this the Prince
Could wield his weapon well ; and dreading now
Lest, in protracted combat, he should stand
Again defenceless, he put forth his strength,
As oft assailing as assailed, and watched
So well the Tyger's motions, and received
The Tyger's blows so warily, and aimed
His own so fierce and fast, that in the crowd
Doubt and alarm prevailed. Ilanquel grew
Pale at her husband's danger ; and she clasped
The infant to her breast, whom late she held
On high, to see his victory. The throng
Of the beholders silently looked on ;
And in their silence might at times be heard
An indrawn breath of terror; and the Priests
Angrily murmured, that, in evil hour,
Coanocotzin had indulged the pride
Of vaunting valour, and from certain death
Reprieved the foe.

But now a murmur rose
Amid the multitude ; and they who stood
So thickly thronged, and with such eager eyes
Late watched the fight, now hastily broke up,
And, with disordered speed and sudden arms,
Ran to the city gates. More eager then,
Conscious of what had chanced, fought Tlalala ;
And hope invigorated Madoc's heart ;
For well he weened Cadwallon was at hand,
Leading his gallant friends. Aright he weened !
Cadwallon was at hand! His gallant friends
Came from their mountains with impetuous speed,
To save or to revenge. Nor long endured
The combat now: the Priests ascend the stone,
And bid the Tyger hasten to defend
His country and his Gods ; and, hand and foot,
Binding the captive Prince, they bear him thence,
And lay him in the temple. Then his heart
Resigned itself to death, and Madoc thought
Of Llaian and Goervyl ; and he felt
That death was dreadful. But not so the King
Permitted ; but not so had God decreed ;
For noble was the King of Aztlan's heart,
And pure his tongue from falsehood : he had said,
That by the warrior's death should Madoc die ;
Nor dared the Pabas violently break
The irrevocable word. There Madoc lay
In solitude ; the distant battle reached
His ear ; inactive and in bonds he lay,
Expecting the dread issue, and almost
Wished for the perils of the fight again.