Up, monarch! arouse thee--the hour is at hand When the dark howling tempest shall sweep o'er thy land. Thy doubts and thy fears, ever changing, are rife With peril to liberty, honor and life; And this timid inaction shall surely bring down To the dust, in dishonor, thy glorious crown; And leave, to all time, on thy once-honored head, The curse of a nation forsaken, betrayed. Oh! rouse thee, brave monarch! there's power in thy hand To scatter the clouds that hang over thy land. Speak, speak but the word, there is magic in thee, Before which the ruthless invader shall flee, And myriads of braves, all equipped for defence, Shall leap at thy bidding, and banish him hence; And the gods, who would frown on the recreant slave, Will stand by their altars, and fight for the brave. The effect of this mysterious warning upon the mind of Montezuma was exceedingly powerful, and seemed, for a time, to change his purpose and fix his resolution. With an energy and decision to which he had long been a stranger, he turned to his brother, and said, "Cuitlahua, you are right. This realm is mine. The gods have made me the father of this people. I must and will defend them. The strangers shall be driven back, or die. They shall never profane the temples and altars of Tenochtitlan, by entering within its gates, or looking upon its walls. Go, marshall your host, and prepare to meet them, before they advance a step further." Exulting in this sudden demonstration of his ancient martial spirit in his royal brother, and fired with a double zeal in the cause he had so much at heart, by the thrilling influence upon his soul of the mysterious oracle, whose message had been uttered in his hearing, Cuitlahua scarcely waited for the ordinary courtesy of bidding farewell to the king, but flew with the speed of the wind, to execute the grateful trust committed to him. Despatching his messengers in every direction, only a few hours elapsed before his army was drawn up in the great square of the city; and, ere the sun had gone down, they had passed the gates, traversed the grand causeway that linked the amphibious city with the main land, and pitched their camp in a favorable position, several leagues on the way to Cholula.