The signal was given by the firing of a cannon,
when the vessels, dropping down the canal one after another, reached
the lake in good order; and as they emerged on its ample bosom, with
music sounding, and the royal ensign of Castile proudly floating
from their masts, a shout of admiration arose from the countless
multitudes of spectators, which mingled with the roar of artillery and
musketry from the vessels and the shore! It was a novel spectacle to
the simple natives; and they gazed with wonder on the gallant ships,
which, fluttering like sea-birds on their snowy pinions, bounded
lightly over the waters, as if rejoicing in their element. It
touched the stern hearts of the Conquerors with a glow of rapture,
and, as they felt that Heaven had blessed their undertaking, they
broke forth, by general accord, into the noble anthem of the Te
Deum. But there was no one of that vast multitude for whom the sight
had deeper interest than their commander. For he looked on it as the
work, in a manner, of his own hands; and his bosom swelled with
exultation, as he felt he was now possessed of a power strong enough
to command the lake, and to shake the haughty towers of Tenochtitlan.
The general's next step was to muster his forces in the great
square of the capital. He found they amounted to eighty-seven horse,
and eight hundred and eighteen foot, of which one hundred and eighteen
were arquebusiers and crossbowmen.
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