Bernal Diez, a companion of Cortez, who has written a particular account of the conquest, but not with the elegance of De Solis, is very minute in describing the great temples in Mexico, the gods, and the rich splendor of the city. One part of it was occupied by Montezuma’s dancers; some of whom bore sticks on their feet, others flew in the air, and others danced like matachines. The gardens of the great Indian prince were very extensive, irrigated by canals of running water, and shaded with every variety of trees. In them were baths of cut stone, pavilions for feasting or retirement, and theatres for shows and for the dancers and singers; all of which were kept in the most exact order by laborers employed for the purpose.

The market was held upon the grand square. Here, in places prepared for the purpose, was every kind of merchandise in use among them; consisting of gold, silver, jewels, feathers, mantles, chocolate, skins, sandals, slaves, and all the varieties of food, cooked and in a raw state. Mechanics, in all branches, here performed their labors; and every thing appeared to be done in the greatest harmony. Judges regularly presided here to decide any disputes, and to see that the laws were duly executed and obeyed.

A circuit was made through a number of large courts (the smallest of which is larger than the great square of Salamanca) before we entered the great temple, which had double enclosures, built of stone and lime, and the courts paved with large white cut stone, very clean; and, where it was not paved, plastered and polished. The ascent to the temple was by one hundred and fourteen steps; from the top of which was a complete view of the city and the surrounding neighborhood. Here were two altars, highly adorned, with richly wrought timbers on the roof; and, over the altars, gigantic figures resembling very fat men. One was Huitzilopochtli, their war god, with a great face and terrible eyes. His figure was entirely covered with gold and jewels, and his body bound with golden serpents. In his right hand he held a bow, and in his left a bundle of arrows. A little idol stood by, representing his page, who bore a lance and target richly ornamented with gold and jewels. The great idol had round his neck the figures of human heads and hearts made of pure gold and silver, ornamented with precious stones of a blue color. On the left was the other large figure, with a countenance like a bear, and big shining eyes of a polished substance (mica) like their mirrors. The body of this idol was also covered with jewels. These two deities were said to be brothers. The name of this last was Tezcatepuca, and he was the god of the infernal regions; and, according to their belief, presided over the souls of men. His body was covered with figures representing little devils, with the tails of serpents. In the summit of the temple, and in a recess, the timber of which was highly ornamented, was a figure half human and the other half resembling an alligator, inlaid with jewels and partly covered with a mantle. This idol was said to contain the germ and origin of all created things, and was the god of harvests and fruits. These places were exceedingly offensive from the smell of human blood, with which they were besmeared. Here was an enormous drum, (the head was made of the skin of a large serpent,) the sound of which could be heard the distance of two leagues.

At a little distance from this temple stood a tower. At the door were frightful idols; by it was a place for sacrifice; and, within, boilers and pots full of water, to dress the flesh of the victims, which was eaten by the priests. The idols were like serpents and devils, and before them were tables and knives for sacrifice; the place being covered with the blood which was spilt on these occasions. Crossing a court is another temple, wherein were the tombs of the Mexican nobility. Next this was yet another, full of skeletons and piles of bones; each kept apart, but regularly arranged. In each temple were idols and its particular priests; the latter of whom wore long vestments of black, somewhat between the dress of the Dominicans and canons.

At a certain distance from the buildings last spoken of were others, the idols of which were the superintendent deities of marriages; near which was a large structure occupied by Mexican women, who resided there, as in a nunnery, until they were married. They worshipped two female deities, who presided over marriages; and to them they offered sacrifices, in order to obtain good husbands.

Each province had its peculiar gods, who were supposed to have no concern with any other; so that, in consequence, there were a great multiplicity of idols in the various districts.[[21]] Mexico was thought to have attained its zenith at the time Cortez first entered it. The city had risen up in about one hundred and thirty years (from 1388 to 1518) solely by the aid of its military power. As the great temple, however, is said to have existed a thousand years, this assertion is hardly reconcilable with the facts. The Tlascalans not only proved themselves to be as warlike as the Mexicans, but equally qualified as statesmen. They held it as a principle, that “whatever was unlawful, with them, was impossible.” At Zempoala books were seen in their temples, containing the rites of their religion, written in imagery or ciphers, as was customary with the painters of Teutile, at Tabasco.[[22]] The same kind of writing was noticed at Mexico, done on cotton cloth.

Waldeck says that there exists a history of the original Conquest of Yucatan, written by Villa Gutierre, a copy of which was found in the archives of the cathedral at Merida. This work is very superior to the voluminous and undigested compilation of Cogolludo; at the same time it must be remarked, it carries a similar theological coloring and religious prejudice. So, though Villa Gutierre was neither priest nor monk, he none the less invoked, in each page, the trinity and the saints; and even his book is dedicated to the holy Virgin. This was the madness of the epoch; Spanish and American literature was entirely placed under the auspices of monkish bigots, who wrote their histories in the same style as they did the lives of the saints.

Besides these authors there is no other historian of Yucatan. I have an abridged manuscript copy of Cogolludo in my possession; but, from a close examination, it appears to be unworthy of translation. The numerous writers on Mexico are well known to the reader. Baron Humboldt is deservedly the most celebrated who has treated on that subject; and his writings are an honor to the age. But the most remarkable work that has ever probably been produced, is that of the late Lord Kingsborough, on American Antiquities, which is acknowledged to be the most costly undertaking ever attempted by a single individual, of a literary kind. A copy, and the only one in the United States, is in the possession of the Pennsylvania Library, at Philadelphia. The collection of materials was made by Augustine Aglis, who edited and published it in London, in 1830. He has succeeded in “getting up” a splendid book, but the compilation falls short of its merits. It is comprised in seven immense folio volumes, embellished with upwards of a thousand splendid engravings, colored with the greatest neatness and skill. It is said that only about fifty copies were suffered to be struck, to be presented to friends. The plates were then defaced. It cost something like one hundred and fifty thousand dollars to produce this work. This patron of literature and the arts, a short period since, died in the prison of Dublin, a sad instance of self-immolation to his own munificence; his fate being but a melancholy inducement for others to follow his example.

COACH TRAVELLING,
CROSSING THE MOUNTAINS FROM UXMAL.