MORGAN. ] THE ACCOUNT OF BERNAL DIAZ. 241 
as it was light, six hundred nobles and men of rank were in attendance at 
the palace, who either sat or walked about in the halls and galleries, and 
passed their time in conversation, but without entering the apartment where 
his person was. The servants and attendants of these nobles remained in 
the court-yards, of which there were two or three of great extent, and in 
the adjoining street, which was also very spacious. They all remained in 
attendance from morning till night; and when his meals were served, the 
nobles were likewise served with equal profusion, and their servants and 
secretaries also had their allowance. Daily his larder and wine-cellar were 
open to all who wished to eat or drink. The meals were served by three 
or four hundred youths, who brought in an infinite number of dishes; 
indeed, whenever he dined or supped the table was loaded with every kind 
of flesh, fish, fruits and vegetables that the country produced. As the 
climate is cold, they put a chafing-dish with live coals under every plate 
and dish, to keep them warm. The meals were served ina large hall in 
which Montezuma was accustomed to eat, and the dishes quite filled the 
room, which was covered with mats and kept very clean. He sat on a 
small cushion, curiously wrought of leather. During the meal there were 
present, at a little distance from him, five or six elderly caciques, to whom 
he presented some of the food. And there was constantly in attendance one 
of the servants, who arranged and handed the dishes, and who received 
from others whatever was wanted for the supply of the table. Both at the 
beginning and end of every meal, they furnished water for the hands; and 
the napkins used on these occasions were never used a second time, and this 
was the case also with the plates and dishes, which were not brought again, 
but new ones in place of them; it was the same with the chafing-dishes.”* 
Since cursive writing was unknown among the Aztecs, the presence of 
these secretaries is an amusing feature in the account. The wine-cellar also 
is remarkable for two reasons; firstly, because the level of the streets and 
courts was but four feet above the level of the water, which made cellars 
impossible; and, secondly, because the Aztecs had no knowledge of wine. 
An acid beer (pulque), made by fermenting the juice of the maguey, was a 
common beverage of the Aztecs; but it is hardly supposable that even this 
1 Despatches of Cortes, Folsom’s Trans., p. 123. 
16 ; 
