W4 



same i it is a warrior, perhaps a king, who has 

 his right hand resting on the helmet of a man, 

 who is offering him flowers as a mark of obedi- 

 ence. Mr. Dupe, whom I had occasion to men- 

 tion at the beginning of this work, has copied 

 the whole relief; I convinced myself on the spot 

 of the exactness of his drawing, a part of which 

 is engraven on the plate ; and I have chosen the 

 remarkable group, which represents a bearded 

 man. It is observable, that in general the 

 Mexican Indians have somewhat more beard 

 than the rest of the natives of America ; it is 

 not rare even to see some with mustaches. Was 

 there ever formerly a province, the inhabitants 

 of which wore a long beard ? Or is that which 

 we see in the relief artificial ? and is it a part 

 of those fantastic ornaments, by which warriors 

 sought to inspire their enemies with terror ? 



Mr. Dupe's opinion seems to me well-founded, 

 that this sculpture represents the conquests of 

 an Azteck king. The conqueror is always the 

 same, the vanquished warrior wears the dress 

 of the nation to which he belongs, and of which 

 he may be said to be the representative. Behind 

 the prisoner is placed the hieroglyphic, that de- 

 notes the conquered province. In the collection 

 of Mendoza, the conquests of a king are in the 

 same manner indicated by a buckler, or bundle 

 of arrows, placed between the king and the 

 symbolical characters or arms of the subjected 



