518 / 1060
RD.yaL
Commentarie1.
BooK
I.
" was no poffibility
to
efcape; he followed
Cortes
with the Lance in his hand and
:: paffing
o~er
the
de~d
bodie, and fuch
~s w~re
w?unded and groaning, he
~ame
m the Bndge
Ca6rtra,
and leaped over
it
with
lus Lance, at which
noc ontly
" the
lndiam,
but
the
Spani~rd.r
were afionHhed, for that
no ether was able
~o
" doe rhe like; fome indeed there were who
auempted
it,
but£ ling fhorr they
''
ere - o nee.I.
hu· far
are
the
Words
of
Gomant.
'
I remember, wl en I was a
Boy,
chat
1
have
heard the
Spanittrd~
difcourfe much
of the great aetivity of this Gentleman ; and
that
the fecond time after
Me.,-.:ico
was fubdued,
how
he had fer two Marble Pillars at each end
of the
Arch
of che
Bridge for marks of the leap which he had taken; to which, for the trmh of
what
I have faid, I refer my felf, in cafe they be
ttill
remaining, though
it
is
a wonder
if
envy
2nd
emulation of
this
Age
hath
not defiroyed them.
The
firft
time
that this
Don Pedro de Alvar1tdo
was at
Seville,
with
defign
to
em–
bark for the
l 11die1 ,
he, with fome other
yonng
Spark his Companions, afcended
to
the
top
of
the Scee
le
of the Great
hurch
to
enjoy
the Mr, and take a
view
of
that mbfi
pleafant profpeCl: ; where feeing
a
Beam
thrufl:
out
frnm
the
Tower
of
about teo_
or twelve
Foot
long?
and
had
been
chere placed
fame
few days
be–
fore
for a Scaffold}
t
o mend
Come
pare of
the Steeple.
One
of
thofe
Gentlemen
that was
\virh
him}
I.donot
well remember
his Name,
but he was
a
Native of
Cordova
;
knowing how much
Don Pedro
did
boaft, and avail himfelf
pf
his
atli–
vity,
he
on
a
fudden
laid
afide
hi
Sword and Cloak, and
wichout [peaking a
word, went out of the Tower upon the Beam, meafuring of
it
foot by foor, un–
till
he
came
to
the
end of
it;
and then turning about, walked back again
wirh
the fame even
fieadi11efs
as1>efore.
Don Pedro
obferving this bold
aetion~
and
believing
that
it
~as
onely co dare
him , fcomed to be out done ; and therefore keeping on both his Sword and
Cloak, threw one end of his Cloak over
his
left fhoulder, and the ocher part
holding clofe under his right arme}
and
his
Sword
with his
left ;
he in that
pofiure
marched forth upon the Timber, and
~oming
to the end rhereof, gave a fudden
tum round,
rneaf
uring
it
with
the
fam¢
footing
back
unrill he came ro the Tower.
Certainly
it
was
a ve
y
bold
and daring
aetion both
of
one and the other. Ano–
ther time
it
happen~d,
that this
Do~
Pedr(),
with
Come other ofbis yomhfull Com–
parlions, going
to Hunt, met forne
(;otintrey
fellows>
who
to
out-vye each
other,
were fumpmg
over
a certain
\7\Z'ell>
that
was
very broad, fame of wliich leaped
over
it,
but
fome
would
not
adventure. At length came
Don Pedro,
and
he
pLt–
cing
IDs
feet together, jufi at the brink
Qf
the Well
~
Now}
faid
he,
thu
were
A
gooJ
ft
anding jump,.
if
1 durft adventure
it :
With that
he
gave a leap, and reached ilre
other fiCle onely with the fore-part
of
his
feet, and gave again on a fudden a jerk
back to
the very place
where be bad
taken
his leap
fOrwards.
!hefe
and fuch–
like feats of affiviry are recounted
of
this
Gentleman, and others who were etl'r–
ployed
in
the Conqueft of
rnis
new World, as
if
God, who had
that
greac Work
for
them
to
doe, had endued
them
with
abilities
of
body
and mind
proporcioned
to
fo
great
an
enterprize ; for
if
the
very
J
oumey
ic [elf
through thofe unknown
parts
with peace and
quietnelS,
were
a matter of labour and hardfhip; how much
more difficult mull:
it
be
co pafs
thofe Straics and craggy Mountains by force of
Anns?
But
in
re:ility,
it
was
the
Divine
Affi.fience which co.operated with the
ProweiS
of
thefe Heroes ; for
without
fuch
a
miraculous.
concurrence,
humane
power could never
have
attained
to
fuch
mighty
archievements.
Thus
we
ha e
mentioned
fomething of the
Activicy
of
Alvarado
;,.
but
his
Aqs and
Mtmumenrs
'of
his Va1our are recorded in the Hifiories which wrice of
Mexicv,
Nicar"!,Hlf.
jnd
Per1t,
though not fo fully as bis
great
W orthinefs
deferved.
Moreover, he was
fo
comely a Perfon both W
~lkiog,
4nd
on Horfe-back ,
that .returning
one time from
~wexico
into
Spain,
to
dear himfelf
of fome
Afperfi–
ons which hls envious Adverfaries bad charged upon
him ;
and coming as his du–
ty
was, to
kifs
the
Empero»r's
bands,
and
rend~
bim an
account of
hi
Ser:\
1
ices:
His Majefiy being then at
Aranjste:c.,
in one of the W O!lks
of
that Garden, and fee–
ing
Don Pedro
with
a manly gate,
and
bandfome Air coming
t
wards
him, asked
who he was
?
and being rold that
it
was
Alvarado;
Thu
M11n,
fai<l
the
Emperoor,
h>tth not the fafhion and meen of a
perfo»
that can be
guilty
of
[~ch
aDionf
111
are charge-ti
11pon him:
And fo acquitting him of all the calumnies with which he \\' s {launder-
ed,
he gave him
his band to kifs,
and,
received
him
to
favour.
J
It