776 / 1060
75~
Royal
Commentaries.
Book
IV.
their
Efiates to them with
infinite
labours and hardfhips, and the hazard of his
life; in
~onfideration
.of which
they
offer~d
their
~ves
and fortunes
to
remain
at
his devouon.
And
bemg now emred w1thm the
City,
he
went
directly
to
the
Ca–
thedral Church there
to
adore the moil: Holy Sacrament; the Streets all along as
he pa!Ied refounded with vocal Mufick, Singing, Minfirels and Trumpets wliich
\\·ere excellently good in chat City; and the Bells of the Churches and Monafte–
ries fpake
hi~ welc~me,
and added to the
Solem~icy
of chat day.
Pifarro
having
perform~d
his devotions co
01:11"
Lord, went to
h~s H~:mfe,
which formerly belon–
ged
to
·bIS Broiher the MarquIS,
where, as
the Hillonans fay, he Jived in greater
fplendoJJr and ll:ate than ever he had done before. Some fay that he entertained
eighty
Halberdiers for his
uard,
and that no man was permitted to
fie
down in
his p efence; fome
fay
he gav.e his hand to be ki!fed
·:
bur
many fiories of this
nature are framed out of envy and malice of enemies, who, as
we
have faid
raife
thefe reports
:
though to my certain knowledge, and I
f
peak the fame
~n
the
troth of
a
Chrillian, that there was not one
Halberdier
in all his
Guard,
nor have
I
e
er
heard
that he
entertained
any. And, as I have formerly mentioned, when
his
Brother the
Marquis returned
into this Countrey,
with a Commiffion from
his Majefiy, and with
the
privilege to
entertain twenty
four Halberdiers for the
guard of his Perfon, he could by no means perfuade any
to
accept of the Office,
it
being efieerned too
low and inferiour to
the qualicy of
.a
Spani11rd;
onely I knew
two men who
voucfufafed
co humble themfelves
to
that mean
degree. And
therefore I
kcow
not howJ. after
atds
it
could come
to
pafs
in
times of greater
pride and height, that eighty
Spaniards
{hould be found to fioop or condefcend
fo
low as
to
bear Halberds on
tli'eir
ihoulders, efpecially fince
it
hath been obferved,
that chey wete too
proud
to own the taking money on the notion of pay; and
therefor I am
of
opiruon,
that the
Authours
who wrote of this matter did mif..
take che name of Halbettdiers for Harquebufiers. Befides, I note ir for a mill:ake
of the like nature in chofe who reporr,
tbat•Pifarro
made ufe of
poifon to
remove
chofe out of the wotld who fiood
in
hi way, for never any fudi thing was aeted,
nor
yet imagined to be done, for if it had been I fhould certainly have heard there–
of, fooner or later, as well as
chey ;
and indeed, had he been
guilty
of fuch varli–
ties and
'rimes
as rhefe, he would have been derefted and abhorred
by
all the
world, whereas on the
contrary
(as all Auchours agree) he\: ·as well beloved and
· generally ell:eemed. And
fo
much
I
declare upon my faich and truth, as an eye–
wimefs
of moll:
of
thefe
paffages; and I fpeak in finceriry withoµt favour or
af.
fecl:ion
to
any, having no engagements
to
either Parry.
?
XLII.
t
,
J
The
Authour
dee/ates
in
w~at
nzanner
Gon~alo Pi~arro
be–
haved
himfelf
toward~
his
own
Peopl~.
The death. of
Vela Nunnez.
.
The arrival of
Franc1fco de Carvapl
at
Los
Rey~s,
and
the
n1anner
how he was
received..
4
(T.THEN
Gon9alo Pi9arro
was at
the
City of
c~co,
I had fome knowledge
VV of
him
oy
f1ght ;
for foon
after the Bartel
of
H11arina
he came a!1d
refi~ed
there untill the
B~lttel
of
Sacfahuan11,
which was about fix months, durmg which
time I was frequently
in-his
Houfe, and:obfevved his bebaviou.r both within
doo!S
and abroad. All people aid him the honour and refpeet which
~as
due ro their
Superiour, attending and following him
wherefoever
he went, either on.
~oot
or
on Horfeback ; .and he demeaned himfelf with
that
courtefie '1nd affability tcr
wards all and
fo
like a fellow-fouldier, char no man could find caufe
of
com–
plaint:
i
never
faw
him give his hand to any man to be kilfed, though defired
in
way of complement. He freely took offhis Hat
to
every man, and
to
perfons
of Q!!alicy he gave them the Titles which were due to
chem :
he confiantly, as
we have faid
called
Fr11ncifto
de
C11rvll.jal
by
the
name of
Father,
as
I
once overd-
'
-
-
hear