“Cortes thanked them most sincerely for their kindness, gave each several shirts made of Holland linen, some blue beads, and other trifles, and requested them when they returned to their great monarch to tell him that our emperor and master would deem it very unkind, after we had come from such distant countries and crossed such vast seas, solely with the intention of paying our respects to Montezuma, if we returned without accomplishing this object. He wished, therefore, to proceed to his residence, and to receive personally his commands. The embassadors answered that they would convey these messages to their monarch, and that a visit to him was unnecessary. Cortes thereupon gave them out of our poverty a cup of Florentine workmanship, gilded and ornamented with wreaths of leaves in relief, and the shirts made of Holland linen, and other things, all of which were to be presented to Montezuma, together with Cortes’s message. The two emissaries then departed, while Quitlalpitoc alone remained behind in our camp, commissioned, as it appeared, by the two other officials of Montezuma, to provide provisions for us from the neighboring districts. “After the Mexican embassadors had taken their departure, Cortes ordered two vessels to sail farther northward and explore the coast. The command of these was given to Francisco de Montejo, with orders to follow the same course taken by Grijalva.... Montejo departed, and sailed to the Rio Grande, near Panuco, as far as we had gone with Grijalva. On account of the strong currents he could not proceed any farther. He therefore returned to San Juan de Ulua.... “One morning the Indians, who had dwelt near us in huts, and had furnished us with provisions and brought gold to barter, secretly departed with Quitlalpitoc. This, we subsequently learned, was done by the orders of Montezuma. He had forbidden all intercourse with Cortes, believing that he was obeying the commands of his idol-gods. These were named Tetzcatlipuca and Huitzilopochtli; the former being the god of hell, and the latter the god of war, to whom Montezuma daily sacrificed a number of children in order that the gods might disclose to him what he should do with us. He intended to take us prisoners should we not re-embark—employing some to educate children, and sacrificing the others. His idol-gods, as we afterward learned, advised him not to listen to Cortes, and to pay no attention to the message that we had sent him respecting the cross and the image of the Blessed Virgin. This was what caused his men to go away so secretly.