[303] An extraordinary anecdote is related by Cavo of this bigotry (shall we call it policy?) of Cortés. “In Mexico,” says the historian, “it is commonly reported that after the Conquest he commanded that on Sundays and holidays all should attend, under pain of a certain number of stripes, to the expounding of the Scriptures. The general was himself guilty of an omission on one occasion, and, after having listened to the admonition of the priest, submitted, with edifying humility, to be chastised by him, to the unspeakable amazement of the Indians.” Hist. de los tres Siglos, tom. i. p. 151.
“Al Rey infinitas tierras,
Y á Dios infinitas almas,”
says Lope de Vega, commemorating in this couplet the double glory of Cortés. It is the light in which the Conquest was viewed by every devout Spaniard of the sixteenth century.
[305] Ante, vol. i. p. 325.
[306] So Gomara: “He dressed neatly rather than richly, and was always scrupulously clean.” Crónica, cap. 238.
[307] “Fué mui gran comedor, i templado en el beber, teniendo abundancia. Sufria mucho la hambre con necesidad.” Ibid, ubi supra.
[308] He dispensed a thousand ducats every year in his ordinary charities, according to Gomara. “Grandísimo limosnero; daba cada un año mil ducados de limosna ordinaria.” Crónica, cap. 238.
[309] Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 203.