Our detachment under Alvarado continued to advance, and at last forced the enemy from the barricades they had thrown up to defend the great square, which cost us two hours hard fighting.  Our cavalry was now of most essential service in the large space which was now laid open, and drove the enemy before them into the temple of the god of war, which stood in the middle of the great square.  Alvarado determined to gain possession of the temple; for which purpose he divided his forces into three bodies, one of which, commanded by Guttierrez de Badajoz, he ordered to gain possession of the temple, while with the other two he occupied the attention of the enemy below.  A large force of the enemy, headed by the priests, occupied the platform of the temple, with all its idol sanctuaries and galleries, and repulsed the troops of Guttierrez, driving them down the steps.  The body to which I belonged was now ordered by Alvarado to their support.  We advanced boldly to the assault, and having ascended to the platform, we drove the enemy from the post, of which we took possession, setting fire to their abominable idols, and planting our standard in triumph on the summit of the temple.  The view of this signal of victory greatly rejoiced Cortes, who would fain have joined us; but he was still a quarter of a league from the place, and had many ditches to fill as he advanced.  In four days more, both he and Sandoval had worked their way up to the great square of Tlaltelolco, where they joined us, and thus communications from all our three attacks were opened up to the centre of Mexico.

Our attack on the temple was truly perilous, considering the number of the enemy, the height and difficulty of the ascent, and the fury with which they continued to fight against us, even after we had attained the platform and set their idols on fire, and it was night before we could compel them to abandon the summit.  The royal palaces were now levelled with the ground, and Guatimotzin had retired with his troops to a more distant quarter of the city towards the lake[10].  Still, however, the enemy attacked us every day, and at night pursued us into our quarters; and though apparently reduced to the last extremity, they made no offer towards peace.  Cortes now laid a plan for drawing the enemy into an ambush:  For this purpose, he one night placed 30 of our cavalry, with 100 of our best foot soldiers, and 1000 Tlascalans, in some large houses which had belonged to a principal nobleman of Mexico.  Next morning he went in person with the rest of our army to attack a post at a bridge, which was defended by a large force of the Mexicans.  After continuing the assault for some time, Cortes slowly retreated with his men, drawing the enemy after him by the buildings in which the ambush lay concealed.  When he had led them to a sufficient distance, he gave the concerted signal, by firing two guns in quick succession.  We immediately sallied out, and having thus enclosed the enemy between us, we made a terrible