say no more about the matter. The officers who had come with Narvaez thought the present interval of tranquillity was a favourable opportunity to renew their solicitations for leave to return to Cuba, to which Cortes at length consented, and gave them one of the best ships in the harbour, which was victualled with salted dogs, fowls, maize, and other provisions of the country. By this ship, Cortes sent letters to his wife Donna Catalina and her brother Juan Suarez, giving them an account of all that had happened in New Spain, and sent them some bars of gold and Mexican curiosities. The following were among the persons who now returned to Cuba, having their pockets well lined after all our disasters. Andres de Duero, Augustin Bermudez, Juan Buono, Bernardino de Quesada, Francisco Velasquez, Gonsalo Carrasco, who afterwards returned to New Spain, and lives now in La Puebla, Melchior Velasquez, one Ximenes, who now lives in Guaxaca, and went over at this time for his sons, the commendator Leon de Cervantes, who went to bring over his daughters, who were very honourably married after the conquest of Mexico; one Maldonado of Medelin, an invalid, a person named Vargas, and Cardinas the pilot, he who talked about the two kings, to whom Cortes gave the three hundred crowns he had formerly promised for his wife and daughters. We remonstrated with Cortes for allowing so many persons to quit the army, considering how weak we were already, on which he observed, that he did it partly to get rid of their importunities, and partly because they were unfit for war, and it was better to have a few good soldiers than many bad ones. Alvarado was sent to see these men safely shipped off, and he sent at this time Diego de Ordas and Alonzo de Mendoza to Spain, with instructions of which we were ignorant, except that they were meant to counteract the malice of the bishop of Burgos, who had declared us all traitors. De Ordas executed his commission to good purpose, and got the order of St Jago for himself, and the volcano of Popocatepetl added to his arms. Cortes sent also Alonzo de Avila, contador of New Spain, and Francisco Alvarez, to Hispaniola, to make a report to the court of royal audience, and the brothers of the order of Jeronymites, of all that had taken place, particularly in regard to Narvaez, and supplicating them to represent our faithful services to the emperor, and to support our interests against the enmity and misrepresentations of Velasquez and the bishop of Burgos. He sent likewise De Solis to Jamaica to purchase horses. It may be asked how Cortes was able to send agents to Spain, Hispaniola, and Jamaica, without money. But, although many of our soldiers were slain in our flight from Mexico, and much treasure lost in the ditches and canals of Mexico, yet a considerable quantity of gold was saved, as the eighty loaded Tlascalans were among the first who passed the bridge, and afterwards delivered all their gold to Cortes[3]. But we poor soldiers had