Even the priests were divided among themselves; and Montezuma was as undecided, at the end, as he was at the beginning; so that the decision is postponed.

Then the question arose, were you to be treated as a guest or as a prisoner?
And this I settled by saying that I would take you back with me to Tezcuco, and produce you whenever required.

So in order to avoid excitement among the people, I sent word for the boat to be brought round to that quiet entrance to the palace, by which means we avoided passing through the streets, altogether.
"At one time it seemed to me that the decision would go against you, on the ground that, had you been a supernatural being, you would have had new arts to teach the people.

Fortunately, I had brought with me the pictures you made for my wife and sister, and these I showed them.

I pointed out that they were altogether different from the work of our own scribes; that these drew stiff images that looked like representations, not of men and animals, but of wooden creatures, while in your drawings it seemed as if the men and animals were moving across the paper; and that, were you to teach our scribes thus to portray objects, it would make a profound alteration in Mexican art.
"This made a great impression upon them.