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the groups ; I found several striking- examples in 

 looking through the Codex Anonymus of the 

 Vatican, in which we found Spaniards holding 

 the sword in the left hand. This singularity of 

 confounding the right with the left is also cha- 

 racteristic of the beginning of the art ; we ob- 

 serve the same in some Egyptian reliefs ; we even 

 find in the latter right hands fastened to left 

 arms, whence it results, that the thumb seems 

 placed on the outside of the hand. Learned an- 

 tiquaries have been induced to think, that there 

 was something mysterious in this extraordinary 

 arrangement, which Mr. Zoega attributes only 

 to mere caprice, or the negligence of the artist. 



I much doubt, whether this bass-relief, which 

 encircles the temalacatl, and so many other sculp- 

 tures in basaltic porphyry, were executed by em- 

 ploying only tools of jade, or other very hard 

 stones. It is true, that I have sought in vain to 

 procure some metallic chisel of the ancient Mex- 

 icans, like that I brought from Peru : but Anto- 

 nio de Herera, in the tenth book of his History 

 of the West Indies, says expressly, that the inha- 

 bitants of the maritime province of Zacatollan, 

 situate between Acapulco and Calima, prepared 

 two sorts of copper, of which one was hard or 

 cutting, and the other malleable ; the hard cop- 

 per was used to fabricate hatchets, weapons, and 

 instruments of agriculture ; the malleable copper 

 was employed for vases, caldrons, and other 



