SIX MONTHS TN MEXICO. 



65 



nitude, which I should judge was not, when 

 entire, less than seventy feet in length. 

 Under the gateway of the house, nearly op- 

 posite the entrance to the mint, is a fine statue, 

 in a recumbent posture, of a deity, bearing 

 the human form, and ornamented with various 

 symbols ; it is about the size of life, and 

 was found a few years since in digging a 

 well. The house at the corner of a street at 

 the south-east side of the great square is 

 built upon and in part supported by a fine 

 circular altar of black basalt, ornamented 

 with the tail and claws of a gigantic reptile. 

 In the cloisters behind the Dominican con- 

 vent is a noble specimen of the great serpent- 

 idol, almost perfect, and of fine workmanship : 

 this monstrous divinity is represented in the 

 act of swallowing a human victim, which is 

 seen crushed and struggling in its horrid 

 jaws. 



The ancient MSS. or pictures, executed by 



VOL. II. F 



