‘Hail! most blessed,’ he said, ’divine son of Quetzal, holder of the spirit of Tezcat, Soul of the World, Creator of the World.  What have we done that you should honour us thus with your presence for a season?  What can we do to pay the honour back?  You created us and all this country; behold! while you tarry with us, it is yours and we are nothing but your servants.  Order and your commands shall be obeyed, think and your thought shall be executed before it can pass your lips.  O Tezcat, I, Montezuma your servant, offer you my adoration, and through me the adoration of all my people,’ and again he bowed the knee.

‘We adore you, O Tezcat!’ chimed in the priests.

Now I remained silent and bewildered, for of all this foolery I could understand nothing, and while I stood thus Montezuma clapped his hands and women entered bearing beautiful clothing with them, and a wreath of flowers.  The clothing they put upon my body and the wreath of flowers on my head, worshipping me the while and saying, ’Tezcat who died yesterday is come again.  Be joyful, Tezcat has come again in the body of the captive Teule.’

Then I understood that I was now a god and the greatest of gods, though at that moment within myself I felt more of a fool than I had ever been before.

And now men appeared, grave and reverend in appearance, bearing lutes in their hands.  I was told that these were my tutors, and with them a train of royal pages who were to be my servants.  They led me forth from the hall making music as they went, and before me marched a herald, calling out that this was the god Tezcat, Soul of the World, Creator of the World, who had come again to visit his people.  They led me through all the courts and endless chambers of the palace, and wherever I went, man woman and child bowed themselves to the earth before me, and worshipped me, Thomas Wingfield of Ditchingham, in the county of Norfolk, till I thought that I must be mad.

Then they placed me in a litter and carried me down the hill Chapoltepec, and along causeways and through streets, till we came to the great square of the temple.  Before me went heralds and priests, after me followed pages and nobles, and ever as we passed the multitudes prostrated themselves till I began to understand how wearisome a thing it is to be a god.  Next they carried me through the wall of serpents and up the winding paths of the mighty teocalli till we reached the summit, where the temples and idols stood, and here a great drum beat, and the priests sacrificed victim after victim in my honour and I grew sick with the sight of wickedness and blood.  Presently they invited me to descend from the litter, laying rich carpets and flowers for my feet to tread on, and I was much afraid, for I thought that they were about to sacrifice me to myself or some other divinity.  But this was not so.  They led me to the edge of the pyramid, or as near as I would go, for I shrank back lest they should seize me suddenly and cast me over the edge.  And there the high priest called out my dignity to the thousands who were assembled beneath, and every one of them bent the knee in adoration of me, the priests above and the multitudes below.  And so it went on till I grew dizzy with the worship, and the shouting, and the sounds of music, and the sights of death, and very thankful was I, when at last they carried me back to Chapoltepec.