THE LUSTER OF ANCIENT MEXICO 



29 



With what deep interest would the en- 

 lightened naturalist of that day — an 

 Oviedo, or a Martyr, for example — have 

 surveyed this magnificent collection, in 

 which the various tribes which roamed 

 over the Western wilderness, the un- 

 known races of an unknown world, were 

 brought into one view ! How would they 

 have delighted to study the peculiarities 

 of these new r species, compared with those 

 of their own hemisphere, and thus have 

 risen to some comprehension of the gen- 

 eral laws by which Nature acts in all her 

 works ! The rude followers of Cortes 

 did not trouble themselves with such re- 

 fined speculations. They gazed on the 

 spectacle with a vague curiosity not un- 

 mixed with awe, and as they listened to 

 the wild cries of the ferocious animals 

 and the hissings of the serpents they al- 

 most fancied themselves in the infernal 

 regions. 



A ROYAL, MUSEUM OF HUMAN FREAKS 



I must not omit to notice a strange col- 

 lection of human monsters, dwarfs, and 

 other unfortunate persons, in whose or- 

 ganization Nature had capriciously devi- 

 ated from her regular laws. Such hide- 

 ous anomalies were regarded by the Az- 

 tecs as a suitable appendage of state. It 

 is even said they were in some cases the 

 result of artificial means, employed by 

 unnatural parents desirous to secure a 

 provision for their offspring by thus 

 qualifying them for a place in the royal 

 museum ! 



Extensive gardens were spread out 

 around these buildings, filled with fra- 

 grant shrubs and flowers, and especially 

 with medicinal plants. No country has 

 afforded more numerous species of these 

 last than New Spain, and their virtues 

 were perfectly understood by the Aztecs, 

 with whom medical botany may be said 

 to have been studied as a science. Amidst 

 this labyrinth of sweet-scented groves 

 and shrubberies fountains of pure water 

 might be seen throwing up their spark- 

 ling jets and scattering refreshing dews 

 over the blossoms. Ten large tanks, well 

 stocked with fish, afforded a retreat on 

 their margins to various tribes of water- 

 fowl, whose habits were so carefully con- 

 sulted that some of these ponds were of 



salt water, as that which they most loved 

 to frequent. A tessellated pavement of 

 marble inclosed the ample basins which 

 were overhung by light and fanciful pa- 

 vilions, that admitted the perfumed 

 breezes of the gardens and offered a 

 grateful shelter to the monarch in the 

 sultry heats of summer. 



FASHIONS IN ANCIENT AZTEC-EAND 



The Spaniards were struck, on enter- 

 ing the capital, with the appearance of 

 the inhabitants and their great superiority 

 in the style and quality of their dress 

 over the people of the lower countries. 

 The tilmatli or cloak thrown over the 

 shoulders and tied round the neck, made 

 of cotton of different degrees of fineness, 

 according to the condition of the wearer, 

 and the ample sash around the loins, were 

 often wrought in rich and elegant fig- 

 ures and edged with a deep fringe or 

 tassel. As the weather was now grow- 

 ing cool, mantles of fur or of the gor- 

 geous feather-work were sometimes sub- 

 stituted. The latter combined the advan- 

 tage of great warmth with beauty. The 

 Mexicans had also the art of spinning a 

 fine thread of the hair of the rabbit and 

 other animals, which they wove into a 

 delicate web that took a permanent dye. 



The women, as in other parts of the 

 country, seemed to go about as freely as 

 the men. They wore several skirts or 

 petticoats of different lengths, with highly 

 ornamented borders, and sometimes over 

 them loose flowing robes, which reached 

 to the ankles. These, also, were made of 

 cotton, for the wealthier classes, of a fine 

 texture, prettily embroidered. The Aztec 

 women had their faces exposed, and their 

 dark, raven tresses floated luxuriantly 

 over their shoulders, revealing features 

 which, although of a dusky or rather cin- 

 namon hue, were not un frequently pleas- 



A REMARKABLE MARKET-PEACE 



On drawing near to the tianguez, or 

 great market, the Spaniards were aston- 

 ished at the throng- of people pressing 

 toward it, and, on entering the place, 

 their surprise was still further height- 

 ened by the sight of the multitudes as- 

 sembled there and the dimensions of the 



