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    fresh-water lake . If was approached by three principal causeways of great breadth , tronstrueted of solid masoiiTy , which , to use the picturesque language of the Spaniards , were two lances in breadth . The length Of one of the causeways was two leagues , and that of another a league and a half ; and these two ample causeways united in the middle of the city , where stood the great temple .- At the ends of these causeways were -wooden drawbridges , so that communication could be cut Off between the cause-* ways and the town , which would thus become a citadel . There was also an aqueduct -which communicated -with the main land , consisting of two separate lines of-work in masonry , in order that if one should need repair , the supply of water for the city might not be interrupted . The streets-were the most various in construction that have ever been seen m any ¦ city in the world . Some were of dry land , others wholly of water ; and others , again , had path-ways of pavement , while in the centre there was room for boats . The footpassengers could talk with those in the boats . It may be noticed that a city so constructed requires a circumspect and polite population . ^

    Palaces are common-place things to describe ; but the abodes of the Mexican kings were not like the petty palaces of Northern princes . One of the most observant of those Spaniards , who fir 3 t saw these wonders , speaks of a palace of Montezuma ' s in which there was a room , where three thousand persons could be well accommodated , and on the terrace-like roof of which a splendid tournament might have been given . There -was a market-place twice as large as that of the city of Salamanca , surrounded with porticos , in which there was room for fifty thousand people to buy and sell . The great temple of the city maintained its due proportion of magnificence . In the plan of the city of Mexico , which is to be found in a very early edition of the lietters of Cortes , published at Nuremberg , and which is supposed to be the one that Cortes sent to Charles the Fifth , I observe that the space allotted to the temple is twenty times as great as that allotted to the market-place . Indeed , the sacred enclosure -was in itself a town ; and Cortes , who seldom stops , in his-terrible narrative ,

    to indulge in praise or in needless description , says that no human tongue could explain the grandeur and the peculiarities of this temple . Cortes uses the word * temple , " but it might rather be called a sacred city , as it contained many temples , and the abodes of all the priests and virgins vrho ministered at them , also a university and an arsenal . It was enclosed by lofty stone walls , and was entered by fonT porrtals , surmounted by fortresses . No less than twenty truncated pyramid ? , probably -eased -with porphyry , rose up from within that enclosure . ^ High over them all towered the great temple dedicated to the god of war . This , like the rest , was a truncated pyramid , with ledges round it , and with two small towers upon the highest surface , " in which were placed the images Of the great god of war CHuitzilopochtli ) and of the principal deity of all ( Tezcatlipnk ) , the Mexican Jupiter . It is sad to -own that an entrance into these fair-seeming buildings would have gone far to dissipate the admiration -which a traveller—if we may imagine one preceding Cortes—¦ wouldjTjp'to this moment , have felt for Mexico . The temples and palaces , the polishda ,-glisteningtowers , 'the aviaries ,. the terraces , the gardens on the house-tops

    ^( many-coloured , forthey were not like those at Damascus , -where only the rose and the jasmine were to be seen ) ; in a word , the bright , lively , and lovely city -would "have been forgotten in the vast disgust that would have filled the mind of the beholder , when he saw the foul , blood-besmeared idols , with the palpitating hearts of that day ' s victims lying before them , and the black-clothed , filthy , unkempt priests uniriistering-to these hideous compositions of paste and human blood . " Let the stern "Cortes enter , " is the cry which the amazed spectator -would have uttered , -when he saw these horrors , and thought of the armed men who were coming to destroy them . And yet this conjunction , which was to be met with at Mexico , of beauty and horror , is no new thing , and something very like it may be discovered in other guise throughout the -world ! Civilisation side by side -with the uttermost horrors ! Such is the contrast-to be found in -the present age too ; and such , perhaps , in each of ourselves . -And so ,-with some feeling of pity , even for a nation of cruel and bloodthirsty idolaters , w « -may-contemplate the arrival of the Avenger as he makes his entry into * Mearico .

    Tke second shall be from the visit paid by Cortes to the Temple of the WarWorocLin . eampaBy with Montezunia : — ( This Tcquest Montezuma granted with apparent pleasure . But , for fear lest the Spaniards should do any dishonour to his gods , as they had done in the provinces , he resolved to go himself to the temple ; and accordingly he repaired thither-with his accustomed pomp . On their-way , the-Spaniards visited the great market-place , which perhaps was the best means of learning , in a short time , the skill and riches of the people by whom th « y were surrounded . In this vast . area each kind of merchandise had its own quarter , and it would be difficult to specify any kind which was not to be seen there . To begin with the

    noblest and the most shameful . merchandise , namely , that of human beings , thoro were as . many to be found as " the negroes whom the Portuguese bring from Guinea . " Then , every kind of eatable , every form of dress , medicines , perfumes , unguents , furniture , fruit , wrought gold and silver , lead , tin , brass , and copper , adorned the porticos and allured the passer-by . Paper , that great material of civilisation , was to be obtained in this -wonderful emporium ; also every kind of earthenware , salt , wood , tobacco , -razors made of obsidian , dressed and undressed skins , cotton of all . colours ' -in -skeins , painters' colours , building materials , and manure ; wine , honey , ¦ w ax , charcoal , and little dogs . Convenience was well considered ; porters wore to be hired , and-refreshments to be obtained . One curious thing ,-which Cortes noticed , was , that every commodity was sold by number or by measure , and not by weight .

    • With regard to the regulations under which this vast bazaar was held , it may be noticed that the Mexicans had arrived at that point of civilisation , where fraud is tfrequant in-the sale of goods ; but , superior even to ourselves in this day , they had a counterpoise to thisin a body of officers called judges , who Bat in a court-house on the spot , and before whom all causes and matters -relating to the market wero tried , and « vrlto commanded the delinquents to be punished . Thero were also officers who -went continually about the market-place , watching what was sold , and the measures Which wereueed . When they found a false one , they broke It . This market was ho much frequented , that the busy hum-of all "the buying and selling might bo heard far a league off . Amongntthe -Spaniards there were soldiers -who had served In Italy and in the'East ; and'they said , that a market-place so skilfully laid out , so large , so vreillrnimagexl , andm-ftill of people , they 'had never seen . In considering- the list of ¦ commoftities-which woroto be sold there , and which may serve to make life tolerable , I note only three deficiencies— 'bills of exchange , newspapers , and books ; but tiny one of thoa « things indicates a civilisation of a higher order than the Mexican , and was reserved for some of the -steadiest and subtlest thinkers of tho great races of the world .

    'HPront * tu 6 Tnarkeb ~ pia . ce wie'SpaniJards-tnaved on towards thotomplo , or to -what , as tMfbito "noticed , might ^ huve ' been justly -called the sacred city , for ovon ero -they fuaehod'the great enclosure , they came upon ocrarts'and > enclosures , which , doubtless , were the precincts of tho temple , and must have boon in some way connected with Ite mWhrtrationa . At last they reached 'tho pdllshetl « trrraco 6 f tho groat court , trkore tu 6 t"tnren . » a ¦ straw ' or any particlo of 'dirttraa goffered to remain . 'Amidst all

    the temples which adorned this court ono stood pre-eminent , -where Montezuma himself was worshipping . On seeing CortOB , the King sent six priests and two of his principal nobles to conduct tho Spanish Commander up the summit to the temple . When they came to the steps , which were a hundred and fourteen in number , the attendant Mexicans wished to take Cortes by the arms , and to assist him in ascending ¦ but he dispensed with their aid , and , accompanied by his men , mounted to the hi hest platform , where they saw a horrible figure like a serpent , with other hideous figures , and much blood newly spilt . Oh ! what a change from the -wisdom of the rnarket-place to the sublime folly and foulness of the temple ! At this moment Montezuma came forth from the chamber , or chapel , if wo inny call it so where he had been worshipping . Receiving Cortes and his company with much courtesv , he said , " You must be tired , my Lord Malinchd , after your ascent to this our great temple . " But Cortes replied that "he and his men were never tired by any thing . "

    Then , the " King took Cortes by the hand , and bade him look down upon the great city , and upon the surrounding cities on the border of the lake—those beautiful glistening satellites of the primary and pre-eminent Mexico . Cortes , however , does not tell us anything of the beauties and wonders which were to bo seen in this view from , the summit of the temple . It is the inherent curse of politic and foreseeing men that thev enjoy , and even recognise , tho present so much less than other men do . ' The common soldiers looked down and gazed in all directions , noticing tintemples , the oratories , the little towers , the floating garden * , and those light and graceful drawbridges , which wero especially to be seen in the surrounding towns . It was then that a murmuring talk arose amongst them about Home and Constantinople , and ' all that each man had seen of what was d \« cmcd , till this moment , most beautiful

    in the world . But , as Cortes looked down , what other though Us were his ! A poet speaks of " the cloudy foreheads of the great . ' The child and tho rustic , in simjiKenvy of those above them , who seem to them all-powerful , little dream of the commanding cares and hungry anxieties which beset the man who has undertaken u , play any considerable part in the world . And , if ever there was a man who had undertaken a great part , without rehearsal , it was Cortes . The multitude of people moving to and fro , wliich enlivened the beautiful prospect iu the eyes of the common soldier ^ afforded matter of most serious concern to tho man who had to give orders for the next step in this untrodden wilderness of action . Evcu the hum of the market-place was no pleasant murmur in his ears , for he could readily translate it into the fierce cries of thousands of indignant warriors .

    It is often happy for us that we do not know the thoughts of those who stand by us , or perhaps on this occasion , the lofty politeness of the sovereign and the warrior might have changed into an instant death-struggle as to which of them should bo hurled down first from that platform , and complete the sacrifice of that eventful day . Cortes , in whom Policy then only slumbered when Religion spoke to him , said to Father deOlinedo , "It appears to me that we should just make a trial of Muiitczunui , if he would let us set up our church here ? " TLe -wiser priest replied , that it would bo very well to make that request if there were any likelihood of iUs being successful , but that the present did not appear to him the time for making it , nor did he see in Montezuma the humour to grant it . Upon this Cortes abandoned the idea , an

    There is a family likeness hi all idols ; and , when the Spaniards had advanced within the little tower where the hall of the " god of ¦ war" was , they found two hideous creatures seated On an altar and under a canopy , large and bulky figures , the one representing Huitzilopoahtli and the other Tezcatlipuk . The god of war hud a broad face , wide mouth , and terrible eyes . He was covered with gold , pearls , aud precious stones ; and was girt about with golden serpents . In one hand he held a bow , in the other arrows . A little idol , his page , stood by him , h o lding a lance and a golden shield . On Huitzilopochtli ' s neck , a fitting ornament , wctc the faces of men wrought in silver , and their hearts in gold . Close by were braziers with incense , iiivl on the braziers three real hearts of men who had that day been sacrificed . All around , the walls were black with clotted blood . On the left hand of the god of war was Tezcatlipuk , with a countenance like that of a bear , and with mirrors for eyes . A string of little demons encircled his waist . Five human hearts , of men that day sacrificed , wero burning before this idol .

    A third false deity , the " deity of increase , made half woman , half crocodile , gilded and jewelled like the rest , was to be seen , not in the same room with Iluitzilopochtli and Tezcatlipuk , but , ns it were , inniched above , in a recess that was formed in the highest part of the tower . In this recess , too , the walls and the altar on which tho idol stood were covered with blood . The smell of the great hall had been like that of some sliiu ^ hter-house ; but in the recess , the crowning horror of this accursed place , the detestable odour was so overpowering- , that tho only thought of the Spaniards who had ascended into this part of tho building was how most quickly to get out of it . Hero was a great drum made of serpents' wkins , which , when struck , gave forth n molancholy hideous sound ; and hen : were instruments of sacrifice , and many hearts of men .

    It might bo prudent , or it might not be prudent , but Cortes must give some utterance to his feelings ; and we may well wonder at the reserve with which he spoko , rather than at his being able to refrain no longer . With a smile he said , " I do not know , my Lord Montezunm , how ho great a King and so learned a mini as you aro , can have avoided to perceive ( literally , should not have collected in your thought *) that those idols of youre aro not gods , but evil things which are cnllcd devils ; ' ninl that you and all your priests nmy be satisfied of this , do mo the favour not to take , it ill that we should put in the lofty recess of this tower a cross , and then in the li .-ill where your deities Iluitzilopochtli and Tetzcatlipuk are wo will make u compartment where wo may put an imago of Our Lady ( this Montezuma had already scon ) , and you will behold tho foar which those idols that keep you in delusion have of it . "

    But Montezuma and his priests wore troubled and grieved nt these words , and tin * King said , "My Lord IVIalinchd , if you believe that it is your business to say such dishonourublu things an you have said of my gods , I will not show them to you . " \ W hold them for very good gods , and they give us health and rain , harvests and line weather , victories , and whatever wo desire ; it in out business to adore them , and to sacrifice unto them . I must request of you that no more words bo uttered to their dishonour . " To this speech , and to tho alteration of aspect in tho King , which CorU ; s noticed with the swift appreciation of a courtier , tho Spaniard with an apparently guy countenance replied , " It is time that Your Highness and wo should go . " To thi / i Montozuma answered that It was well , but that for hi » part hi ; must stay behind , to pray and make uacrifico for the nin he had committed in permitting the 'Spaniards to ascend tho groat tomplo , and for hia having boon tho cause of injurious words having been uttered against his gods . Upon this , Cortes , with all duo courtesy , took leave ; and the Spaniards , descending with difficulty tho Ucop stops of tho temple , marched back to their quarters , aickonod , saddened , and somewhat enlightened as to tho nature of the man'by whom thoy wero surrounded .

    Coming into tho'light of day , hearing tho busy tumult of the markot-placo aud tlio merry-noise of children playing hi tho aim ; tlieu catching bright gliinpsuflof tho water , and looking at tho unnumborod boats which oiled along tho streets ; all that thuy luul

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    sao . ' . THE LIABBE , [ No , 278 , Baturday ,

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), July 21, 1855, page 702, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2100/page/18/