Ch. V.]

HIS CHARACTER.

353

pose ; a constancy not to be daunted by danger, norbaffled by disappointment, nor wearied out by im-pediments and delays.

He was a knight-errant, in the literal sense of theword. Of all the band of adventurous cavaliers,whom Spain, in the sixteenth century, sent forthon the career of discovery and conquest, there wasnone more deeply filled with the spirit of romanticenterprise than Hernando Cortes . Dangers and diffi-culties, instead of deterring, seemed to have a charmin his eyes. They were necessary to rouse him toa full consciousness of his powers. He grappledwith them at the outset, and, if I may so expressmyself, seemed to prefer to take his enterprises bythe most difficult side. He conceived, at the firstmoment of Bis landing in Mexico , the design of itsconquest. When he saw the strength of its civil-ization, he was not turned from his purpose. Whenhe was assailed by the superior force of Narvaez, hestill persisted in it; and, when he was driven in ruinfrom the capital, he still cherished his original idea.How successfully he carried it into execution, wehave seen. After the few years of repose whichsucceeded the Conquest, his adventurous spirit im-pelled him to that dreary march across the marshesof Chiapa; and, after another interval, to seek hisfortunes on the stormy Californian Gulf. When hefound that no other continent remained for him toconquer, he made serious proposals to the emperorto equip a fleet at his own expense, with which he

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