his way to the royal carriage and placed his foot upon the step. "Who is this man?" demanded the king. "One who has given your Majesty more kingdoms than you had cities before!" was the reply.[1] This was the last time that Cortés ever asked aught of his sovereign.[2] Three years passed in further waiting, and then the conqueror, his patience exhausted, determined to return to New Spain, to leave his native soil forever.
Having previously obtained permission to depart, he proceeded to Seville and was received with honors by the nobility, the last to be tendered him in this life. They bid him farewell, asking God's blessing on his departure. But these manifestations, hollow or sincere, could not revive his broken spirit, nor dispel his bitterness of heart; his health declined, and it was soon apparent that his last hour was drawing near. The strain upon his faculties had been severe, and death came at last to his relief To escape visitors, he was conveyed to the village Castillejo de la Cuesta, about two leagues from Seville, accompanied by Martin, who would not leave his father; and on December 2, 1547, then in his sixty-second year,
- ↑ This incident is not well authenticated, as it rests mainly on Voltaire, Essai sur les Mœurs.
- ↑ In this last appeal to the emperor, he begins: 'Pensé que haber trabajado en la juventud me aprovechara para que en la vejez tubiera descanso, y así á cuarenta años que me he ocupado en no dormir, mal comer, y á las veces ni bien ni mal, traer las armas á cuestas, poner la persona en peligro, gastar mi hacienda y edad todo en servicio de Dios, trayendo obejas á su corral'. . . to extend the power and fame of his sovereign, and to increase his domain, by the conquest of many large kingdoms, and lordships of barbarous nations. All of which he had accomplished in person and at his own cost, without aid from the government; on the contrary, he had been hindered by 'muchos émulos é invidiosos que como sanguijeulas han rebentado de hartos de mi sangre.' He could not conceive why the royal promises were not fulfilled, and why he was again deprived of the favors once granted. It was more difficult, he said, to defend himself against his Majesty's fiscal than to conquer the enemy's country. Cortés concludes this long and interesting appeal 'trusting there will be no unnecessary delay in the decision, otherwise he prefers to lose all and return to his home, 'porque no tengo ya edad para andar por mesones, sino para recogerme á aclarar mi cuenta con Dios, pues la tengo larga, y poca vida para dar los descargos, y será mejor perder la hacienda quel ánima.' Cortés, Carta al Emperador, in Col. Doc. Inéd., i. 41-6. On the back of the original document is the laconic indorsement: No hay que responder — Needs no reply!
