if this soldier and governor was not a coward, there was little of the manly or chivalrous in his bravery. He was cautious, yet frequently his cupidity overcame his caution; and when he adventured his gold-for he seldom risked his life, either for fame which he dearly loved, or for gold which he loved still dearer — it was under restrictions ruinous to almost any enterprise. In his ordinary mood he played fairly enough the statesman and hero, but in truth his statesmanship was superficial, and his heroism theatrical. Las Casas calls him a terrible fellow for those who served him, and Gomara says he had little stomach for expenditures. This much allowance, however, should be made in any statements of historians respecting the governor of Cuba: in their drama of the conquest Diego Velazquez plays the part of chief villain to the hero Hernan Cortés, when as a matter of fact Cortés was the greater villain of the two, principally because he was the stronger.
Even the priests praise Cortés, though many of his acts were treacherous; and timidity in a leader was accounted the most heinous of crimes. On the whole, I agree with Torquemada that the governor should have gone against Montezuma in person, if it was necessary he should go on such dastardly work at all; but we may be sure that Velazquez would not himself venture upon this sea of high exploit, though Æolus with a silver cord had tied up the winds in an ox-hide, as he did for Ulysses. And now from this time forth, and indeed from the moment the unrestrainable Estremaduran embarked defying him, the sulphurous fire of hatred and revenge burned constant in the old man's breast.
Never was villainy so great that if united with high station or ability it could not find supporters; for most men are rascals at heart in one direction or another. The pretty pair, Velazquez the governor, and Cortés the adventurer-so well pitted that the
