“I must see him,” answered the old man.

The servants said, “Wait,” and going in, they told Quetzalcoatl that an old man wished to see him, adding, “Sire, we put him out in vain; he refuses to leave, and says that he absolutely must see you.”  Quetzalcoatl answered:—­

“Let him in.  I have been waiting his coming for a long time.”

They admitted the old man and he entered the apartment of Quetzalcoatl, and said to him:—­

“My lord and son, how are you?  I have with me a medicine for you to drink.”

“You are welcome, old man,” replied Quetzalcoatl.  “I have been looking for your arrival for many days.”

“Tell me how you are,” asked the old man.  “How is your body and your health?”

“I am very ill,” answered Quetzalcoatl.  “My whole body pains me, and I cannot move my hands or feet.”

Then the old man said:—­

“Sire, look at this medicine which I bring you.  It is good and healthful, and intoxicates him who drinks it.  If you will drink it, it will intoxicate you, it will heal you, it will soothe your heart, it will prepare you for the labors and fatigues of death, or of your departure.”

“Whither, oh ancient man,” asked Quetzalcoatl, “Whither must I go?”

The old man answered:—­

“You must without fail go to Tullan Tlapallan, where there is another old man awaiting you; you and he will talk together, and at your return you will be transformed into a youth, and you will regain the vigor of your boyhood.”

When Quetzalcoatl heard these words, his heart was shaken with strong emotion, and the old man added:—­

“My lord, drink this medicine.”

“Oh ancient man,” answered the king, “I do not want to drink it.”

“Drink it, my lord,” insisted the old man, “for if you do not drink it now, later you will long for it; at least, lift it to your mouth and taste a single drop.”

Quetzalcoatl took the drop and tasted it, and then quaffed the liquor, exclaiming:—­

“What is this?  It seems something very healthful and well-flavored.  I am no longer sick.  It has cured me.  I am well.”

“Drink again,” said the old man.  “It is a good medicine, and you will be healthier than ever.”

Again did Quetzalcoatl drink, and soon he was intoxicated.  He began to weep; his heart was stirred, and his mind turned toward the suggestion of his departure, nor did the deceit of the old sorcerer permit him to abandon the thought of it.  The medicine which Quetzalcoatl drank was the white wine of the country, made of those magueys call teometl.[1]

[Footnote 1:  From teotl, deity, divine, and metl, the maguey.  Of the twenty-nine varieties of the maguey, now described in Mexico, none bears this name; but Hernandez speaks of it, and says it was so called because there was a superstition that a person soon to die could not hold a branch of it; but if he was to recover, or escape an impending danger, he could hold it with ease and feel the better for it.  See Nieremberg, Historia Naturae, Lib. xiv, cap. xxxii.  “Teomatl, vitae et mortis Index.”]