Instantly the whole group, as by one impulse of artistic taste, seized the idea, and resolved to array him as a flower-god. The magnificent cactus flashed among the plumes of his helmet--a pair of splendid magnolias, tastefully adjusted on either shoulder, supplied the place of the silver epaulette--a rich cluster of unfading _forget-me-not_, covered and eclipsed the gilded star upon his breastplate; while every joint in his armor, and every loop and button of his doublet, was set with its appropriate garden gem. Long wreaths of a blossoming vine were dexterously intertwined with flowers of every brilliant hue, and hung like a gorgeous sash over his right shoulder, its gay streamers waving in the gentle breeze, or winding themselves about the scabbard of his sword. His hands were gloved with a moss of the most delicate green velvet, dotted with golden stars, and his boots transformed into buskins of the most approved classic pattern, by alternate bands of jessamine and scarlet lobelia, crossed and plaided with strings of anemone and hyacinth. Thus arrayed, his face skilfully masked with the flowering wax-plant despoiled of its leaves, he was conducted into the presence of the Queen, under a continually increasing escort of bright girls and fair dames, where, with due reverence to her majesty, and with the gallantry becoming a true knight, he begged, by significant looks and signs, to be permitted to lay all his bright honors at the feet of the lovely Tecuichpo. The signal being given at this moment, he offered his arm to the Princess, and led the way into the banqueting hall, where the luxuries of all the climes of earth seemed to be spread out in endless profusion, and where, the native song of the Aztec alternating with the martial strains of the Castilian band, the night wore away with feasting and revelry. The day had almost dawned, when the strangers, laden with presents of inestimable value, returned to their quarters, burdened with the weight of their treasures, and deeply impressed with the more than regal munificence of their host, and the unimagined loveliness and grace of the fair beings, who gave life and beauty to his magnificent court. "If these white gods can be bought, dear father," the Princess naively remarked, as they took their leave, "you have surely paid a price worthy of the ransom of the proudest monarch on earth." "The more you bribe them," interrupted Guatimozin, "the less you bind them. They have not the soul of an Aztec, who scorns to receive a favor that does not pledge his heart in return. The Spaniard's heart has nothing to do with his hand. He takes your gift, only to be the better able to plot and compass your ruin."