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at Rome and at Conftantinople (kid, that for convenience, regulanty, 

 and population, they had never feen the like. Cortes now propofed to 

 Fra. Bartholome to apply to Montezuma for permiffion to conftrudt 

 our church here, to which the father for the prefent objedled, thinking 

 it ill-timed. Cortes then addreffing himfelf to Montezuma, requefted 

 that he would do him the favour to fhew us his gods. Montezuma 

 having firft confultcd his priefts, led us into a tower where was a kind 

 of faloon. Here were two altars highly adorned, with richly wrought 

 timbers on the roof, and over the altars, gigantic figures refembling 

 very fat men. The one on the right was Huitzilopochtli their war 

 god, with a great face and terrible eyes ; this figure was entirely covered- 

 with gold and jewels, and his body bound with golden ferpcntsj in 

 his right hand he held a bow, and in his left a bundle of arrows. The: 

 little idol which flood by him reprefented his page, and bore a lance 

 and target richly ornamented with gold and jewels. The great idol had 

 round his neck the figures of human heads and hearts, made of pure- 

 gold and filver, ornamented with precious froiies of a blue colour. Be- 

 fore the idol was a pan of incenfe, with three hearts of human 

 vi(ftims which were then burning, mixed with copal. The whole of 

 that apartment, both walls and floor, was flained with human blood in 

 fuch quantity as to give a very offenfive fmell. On the left was the 

 other great figure, with a countenance like a bear, and great fhinirtg ' 

 eyes, of the polifhed fubflance whfereof their mirrors are made. The 

 body of this idol was alfo covered with jewels. Thefe two deities, it 

 Was faidi were brothers; the name of this lafl: was Tezcat^puca, and he 

 ■was the god of the infernal regions. He prefided, according to their 

 notions, over the fouls of men. His body was covered with figures 

 reprefenting little devils with tails of ferpents, and the walls and pave- 

 ment of this temple were fo befmeared with blood that they flunk worfc 

 than all the flaughter-houfes of Caflille. An offeringlay before him of 

 five human hearts. In the fummit of the temple, and in a recefs the 

 timber of which was mofl highly ornamented, we faw a figure half - 

 human and the other half refembling an alligator, inlaid with jewels, 

 and partly covered with a jnantle. This idol was faid to contain the 



germ 



