Passing Triumpho de la Cruz and a place called Quemara, we arrived one evening near Truxillo, where we saw five horsemen riding along the sea shore, who happened to be our general and four of his friends taking the air. After the first surprize at this unexpected meeting, Cortes dismounted and embraced us all with tears in his eyes, quite overjoyed to see us. It made me quite melancholy to see him, as he was so worn down by distress and disease, that he appeared much reduced and extremely weak, insomuch that he had even expected death, and had procured a Franciscan habit to be buried in. He walked along with us into the town of Truxillo, and invited us all to sup with him; where we fared so wretchedly that I had not even my fill of bread or biscuit. After reading over the letters we had brought him relative to Hernandez, he promised to do every thing in his power to support him. The two vessels which I formerly mentioned as having brought horses from Hispaniola, only arrived three days before us, and we were fools enough to run ourselves in debt by purchasing their useless frippery. Hitherto Cortes had not received any intelligence whatever from Mexico since he left it on this disastrous expedition; but, while we were giving him an account of the hardships of our late journey from Naco, a vessel was descried at a distance making for our port. This vessel was from the Havanna, and brought letters from the licentiate Zuazo, who had been alcalde-major of Mexico, the contents of which overwhelmed Cortes with such sorrow and distress, that he retired to his private apartment, whence he did not stir out for a whole day, and we could distinctly hear that he suffered great agitation. After hearing mass next morning, he called us together and communicated to us the intelligence which these letters conveyed, which was to the following effect.