CHAPTER VII. LAS CASAS SUCCEEDS IN CONVERTING BY PEACEABLE MEANS 66 THE LAND OF WAR.”—HE IS SENT TO SPAIN, AND DE TAINED THERE. EHIND all ostensible efforts of much novelty and magnitude, what silent longings and unutterable expectations lie unnoticed or concealed! In the crowded theatre, or the cold, impatient senate, the voice that is raised for the first time-perhaps forever afterward to command an absolute attention-trembles with all the sensibility of genius, while great thoughts and vast aspirations, hurrying together in the agitated mind, obstruct and confuse the utterance. We pity, with an intense sympathy, the struggles of one who is about to be famous. Meanwhile, perhaps, in some dark corner or obscure passage, is the agonized and heart-sick mother, who can hardly think, or hope, or pray, convinced, as far as she is conscious of any thing, that her child ought to succeed, and must succeed, but suffering all the timid anxiety that mature years will ever bring, and with the keenest appreciation of every difficulty and drawback that can prevent success. It is a bold figure to illustrate the feelings of a monk by those of a mother, but it may be doubted whether many mothers have suffered a keener agony of apprehensive expectation than Las Casas and his brethren endured at this and other similar points of their career. They had the fullest faith in God and the utmost reliance upon Him; but they knew that He acts CHAPTER VII. LAS CASAS SUCCEEDS IN CONVERTING BY PEACEABLE MEANS 66 THE LAND OF WAR. -HE IS SENT TO SPAIN, AND DE TAINED THERE. EHIND all ostensible efforts of much novelty and magnitude, what silent longings and unutterable expectations lie unnoticed or concealed! In the crowded theatre, or the cold, impatient senate, the voice that is raised for the first time-perhaps forever afterward to command an absolute attention-trembles with all the sensibility of genius, while great thoughts and vast aspirations, hurrying together in the agitated mind, obstruct and confuse the utterance. We pity, with an intense sympathy, the struggles of one who is about to be famous. Meanwhile, perhaps, in some dark corner or obscure passage, is the agonized and heart-sick mother, who can hardly think, or hope, or pray, convinced, as far as she is conscious of any thing, that her child ought to succeed, and must succeed, but suffering all the timid anxiety that mature years will ever bring, and with the keenest appreciation of every difficulty and drawback that can prevent success. It is a bold figure to illustrate the feelings of a monk by those of a mother, but it may be doubted whether many mothers have suffered a keener agony of apprehensive expectation than Las Casas and his brethren endured at this and other similar points of their career. They had the fullest faith in God and the utmost reliance upon Him; but they knew that He acts Reception of the Merchants. 319 through secondary means, and how easily, they doubtless thought, might some failure in their own preparation-some unworthiness in themselves-some unfortunate conjunction of political affairs in the Indiessome dreadful wile of the Evil One, frustrate all their long-enduring hopes. In an age when private and individual success is made too much of, and success for others too little, it may be difficult for many persons to imagine the intense interest with which these childless men looked forward to the realization of their great religious enterprise-the bringing of the Indians by peaceful means into the fold of Christ. The merchants were received, as was the custom in a country without inns, into the palace of the cacique, where they met with a better reception than usual, being enabled to make him presents of these new things from Castile. They then set up their tent, and began to sell their goods as they were wont to do, their customers thronging about them to see the Spanish novelties. When the sale was over for that day, the chief men among the Indians remained with the cacique to do him honor. In the evening the merchants asked for a "teplanastle," an instrument of music which we may suppose to have been the same as the Mexican teponaztli,* or drum. They then produced * "The teponaztl, which is used to this day among the Indians, is cylindrical and hollow, but all of wood, having no skin about it, nor any opening but two slits lengthways in the middle, parallel to, and at a little distance from each other. It is sounded by beating the space between those two slits with two little sticks, similar to those which are made use of for modern drums, only that their points are covered with ule or elastic gum to soften the sound. The size of this instrument is various: some are so small as to be hung about the neck; some of a middling size; and others so large as to be upward of five feet long. The sound which they yield is melancholy, and that of the 320 They commence their Chant. some timbrels and bells, which they had brought with them, and began to sing the verses which they had learned by heart, accompanying themselves on the musical instruments. The effect produced was very great. The sudden change of character, not often made, from a merchant to a priest, at once arrested the attention of the assemblage. Then, if the music was beyond any thing that these Indians had heard, the words were still more extraordinary; for the good fathers had not hesitated to put into their verses the questionable assertion that idols were demons, and the certain fact that human sacrifices were abominable. The main body of the audience was delighted, and pronounced these merchants to be embassadors from new gods. The cacique, with the caution of a man in authority, suspended his judgment until he had heard more of the matter. The next day, and for seven succeeding days, this sermon in song was repeated. In public and in private, the person who insisted most on this repetition was the cacique; and he expressed a wish to fathom the matter, and to know the origin and meaning of these things. The prudent merchants replied that they only sang what they had heard; that it was not their business to explain these verses, for that of fice belonged to certain padres who instructed the people. "And who are padres ?" asked the chief. In answer to this question, the merchants painted pictures largest so loud that it may be heard at the distance of two or three miles. To the accompaniment of these instruments....the Mexicans sung their hymns and sacred music. Their singing was harsh and offensive to European ears; but they took so much pleasure in it themselves, that on festivals they continued singing the whole day. This was unquestionably the art in which the Mexicans were least successful.”—CLAVIGERO, Hist. of Mexico, vol. i., p. 398-9, English transla tion. The Cacique sends for the Padres. 321 of the Dominican monks, in their robes of black and white, and with their tonsured heads. The merchants then described the lives of these padres: how they did not eat meat, and how they did not desire gold, or feathers, or cocoa; that they were not married, and had no communication with women; that night and day they sang the praises of God; and that they knelt before very beautiful images. Such were the persons, the merchants said, who could and would explain these couplets: they were such good people, and so ready to teach, that if the cacique were to send for them they would most willingly come. The Indian chief resolved to see and hear these marvelous men in black and white, with their hair in the form of a garland, who were so different from other men; and for this purpose, when the merchants returned, he sent in company with them a brother of his, a young man twenty-two years of age, who was to invite the Dominicans to visit his brother's country, and to carry them presents. The cautious cacique instructed his brother to look well to the ways of these padres, to observe whether they had gold and silver like the other Christians, and whether there were women in their houses. These instructions having been given, and his brother having taken his departure, the cacique made large offerings of incense and great sacrifices to his idols for the success of the embassage. On the arrival of this company at Santiago, Las Casas and the Dominican monks received the young Indian chief with every demonstration of welcome; and it need hardly be said with what joy they heard from the merchants who accompanied him of the success of their mission. While the Indian prince was occupied in visiting |