person could be crowned king, until he had given full proof of his courage, and had taken with his own hands, the victims to be sacrificed at his coronation. Those who died in the service of their country, were supposed to be the happiest in another life. Great pains were taken to inure children to labor, hardships and danger; and to inspire them with high notions of military honor. To reward the services of warriors, the Mexicans devised three military orders; that of Princes, of Eagles and of Tigers, which were distinguished by particular badges, or armor.

124. Military Dress. When the Mexicans wert to battle, they wore only a coarse white habit; and no person was entitled to change this plain dress for one more costly, without having given proofs of bravery. The king, besides his armor, wore on his legs a kind of half boots, made of thin plates of gold; on his arms plates of the same, and bracelets of gems; at his under lip hung an emerald set in gold; at his ears, he wore ear-rings of the same stone; about his neck a necklace or chain of gold; and a plume of beautiful fethers on his head; together with a splendid badge consisting of a wreath of fethers, reaching from his head down his back. The common soldiers wore only a girdle round the waist, but painted their bodies.

The

125. The defensive arms of the Mexicans. The defensive armor of the Mexicans consisted in shields made in different forms and of various materials. Some were wholly round; others on one side only. Some were made of solid elastic canes, interwove with cotton threads, and covered with fethers. shields of the nobles, were made of thin plates of gold, or tortoise shells, adorned with gold, silver or copper. Some were made so as to be folded and carried under the arms, like an umbrella. The officers had breastplates of cotton very thick and proof against arrows. They also covered the chest, the thighs and half of the arms, and wore a case over

the head, in shape of the head of a tiger or serpent, which gave them a frightful appearance.

126. Offensive Arms. The weapons of war among the Mexicans were arrows, slings, clubs, spears, pikes, swords and darts. Their bows were made of a strong elastic wood, and the string of the sinews of animals or the hair of the stag. Their arrows were pointed with a sharp bone, or piece of flint. They never used poisoned arrows. Their sword was a stout stick, three feet and a half long, and four inches broad, armed with a sort of sharp knife of stope, firmly fastened to it with gum lac. With this a horse might be beheaded at a single stroke. Their pikes, some of which were eighteen feet long, were pointed with flint or copper. The dart was a small lance of wood hardened in the fire or shod with copper. To this was tied a string, for pulling it back after it was thrown.

127. Manner of making War. It was a laudable custom with the Mexicans, before a declaration of war, to send embassadors to the enemy, for the purpose of dissuading from hostilities. By representing and enforcing, in powerful language, the miseries of war, they sometimes effected a reconciliation and preserved peace. In battle, it was less their desire to kill their enemies, than to take them prisoners, for the purpose of sacrifice. Each nation had its ensign; that of Mexico was an eagle darting upon a tiger; that of Tlascala, an eagle with its wings spread. Their martial music consisted of drums, horns and sea shells. For fortifications, they used palisades, ditches, walls and ramparts of earth or stone.

128. Agriculture and Gardening. The principal article cultivated for food by the Mexicans, was maiz, or indian corn; an invaluable grain first found in America. They had neither plows, oxen nor horses to prepare the ground for planting; but a hoe, made of copper. They planted maiz in the manner now practiced in our country. They made great use of

rivulets for watering their lands, conducting the water by canals from the hills. They cultivated gardens to great perfection, and from them supplied Mexico with great abundance of plants, fruits and flowers. By means of twisted willows and roots, they made a substratum which, being covered with earth, constituted floating gardens on the lakes, which were a great curiosity.

129. Mexican Money. The Mexicans used the following articles as money; a species of cocoa, a piece of which represented a certain number; or if a large sum was used, it passed in sacks, each being of a certain value; small pieces of cotton; gold dust in goose quills; pieces of copper in the form of a T; and thin pieces of tin; all which had their particular value and use.

130. Mexican Language. The Mexicans had no knowledge of letters; and their language contained the sounds of twenty of our letters only; but it was copious, and very expressive. Almost all words had the accent on the last syllable except one. In the place of letters and words, the Mexicans used, for recording events, paintings, which by means of perfect system and regularity of figures and positions, represented facts with great certainty. These historical paintings were preserved with great care by the Mexicans, and such of them as escaped destruction, at the time of the conquest by the Spaniards, are the sources from which the history of that country is derived. But the Spaniards, ignorant of their use, and at first supposing them to be applied to idolatrous purposes, destroyed, with frantic zeal, all they could find.

131. Cloth and Paper. The materials used by the Mexicans for painting, were cloth made of the threads of the aloe, or the palm, dressed skins and paper. The paper was made of the leaves of a species of the aloe, steeped together like hemp or flax, then washed, stretched and smoothed. It was as

thick as pasteboard, but softer, smoother, and easy to receive impressions. In general the sheets were long and rolled up for preservation, like the parchments of the ancients in Europe and Asia. The coiors used in painting were obtained from plants and flowers, and were exquisitely beautiful.

132. Sculpture and casting of Metals. Although the Mexicans had not the use of iron or steel, yet by means of flint stone, they carved images in stone and wood, with great exactness. The images of their gods were numberless. But the casting of precious metals into curious figures, was an art in which the Mexicans excelled most nations which were more advanced in civilization. The founders made the figure of a fish, with the scales alternately one of gold and the other of silver; a parrot with a movable head, tongue and wings; an ape with a movable head and feet, with a spindle in its paw, in the act of spinning; and so exquisite was the work of some of these figthat the Spaniards, fond as they were of the gold, valued the workmanship more than the metal.

ures,

133. Mexican Stage. The stage among the Mexicans was a square terrace raised and uncovered; or the lower area of some temple. Here actors displayed their comic powers in representing various characters and scenes in life. Some feigned themselves deaf, sick, lame, blind or crippled, and addressed an idol for the return of health. Some mimicked animals, or appeared under their names, disguised in the form of toads, beetles or lizards. These coarse representations were the dramatic amusements of the Mexicans, which concluded with a grand dance of the spectators.

134. Manufactures. The Mexicans had no wool, silk, hemp or flax; but cotton, fethers, hair, mounOf fethtain palm and aloes, supplied their place. ers, interwove with cotton, were formed mantles, gowns, carpets and bed curtains. Waistcoats for the nobles and other garments were made of cotton

interwove with the finest hair from the belly of the rabbit. The leaves of the maguay furnished a fine thread, equal to that of flax; and the palm supplied that which was coarser. These were prepared for use, nearly in the manner we prepare flax and hemp. Of these plants also were made mats, ropes, shoes, and many other articles of common use.

135. Food. The principal plant cultivated for food was maiz; but cocoa, chia and beans were also used. Bread was made of maiz in this manner. The grain was first boiled with a little lime; when soft, it was rubbed between the hands, which took off the skin, then pounded into a paste and baked in a pan. The nobles mixed some fragrant herbs with their bread to give it a flavor. Cookery was the business of the women. The Mexicans not having cattle or sheep, reared and used vast numbers of fowls, and small animals; as turkies, quails, geese, ducks, deer, rabbits and fish. Their drinks were beverages made by fermentation from the juice of the maguay, or aloe, the palm, the stem of maiz and the like.