At the head of this delegation was the brave Xikotenkatl, his attendants being fifty of the foremost of the people in splendid attire. He wore a long, white, military cloak which was richly adorned with feathers and precious stones. He was tall and slender, active and nervous, and his personal appearance indicated dignity and courage. After making obeisance to the Spanish commander in the fashion of the country, he seated himself in the most informal manner, without even asking permission, and declared in a manly way that he was alone responsible for the hostilities which had occurred, because he had supposed that the Spaniards were supporting Montezuma, his enemy. He surrendered himself willingly, therefore, into the hands of his conqueror, and would take upon himself all the responsibility for his acts, and asked forgiveness, and would agree to maintain peace in the name of the Council, the nobility, and the people. The city of Tlaxcala stood ready to receive Cortes and his whole army and entertain them hospitably. Cortes was delighted with the frank, bold, open-hearted manner of the young warrior and could not help expressing his esteem for him. But he did not refrain from reproaching him for the bitter opposition he had made, ending with the assurance that in a few days he would accept the invitation to go to Tlaxcala. In the meantime messengers from Montezuma arrived with new gifts and with fresh protests against Cortes’ determination to go to Mexico. Their principal object, however, was to prevent Cortes from making an alliance with the Tlaxcalans. To this end they told dreadful stories of the faithlessness of that people. Cortes, however, did not heed their warnings, being confident he had just as little reason to fear their secret plans as open hostility in the field. The Tlaxcalans were much disturbed because Cortes did not come to them immediately, and concluded that Montezuma’s messengers had prejudiced him against them. To remove all grounds for suspicion the entire Council decided to go to the camp and offer themselves as hostages. The procession moved with great stateliness. All were arrayed in white garments of peace, and each one of the officials was borne in a kind of litter. The most conspicuous person in this dignified company was Xikotenkatl’s father, a venerable old man, who was blind but still intellectually vigorous. He seated himself next to Cortes, embraced him with a noble kind of frankness, and touched his face and body to get some idea of his appearance. The speech which he made is so impressive and beautiful that it merits preservation as a sample of manly eloquence. He spoke as follows: