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Ipilt on thofe oceafions. The furniture was like that of a butcher's 

 ftall, and I never gave this accurfed building any name except that of 

 hell. Having pafled this, we faw great piles of wood, and a refervoir 

 of water, fupplied by a pipe from the great aquedud; ; and crofling a 

 court, we came to another temple, wherein were the tombs of the 

 Mexican nobihty ; it was begrimed with foot and blood. Next to this 

 was another, full of Ikeletons, and piles of bones, each kept apart, but 

 regularly arranged. In each temple were idols, and each had alfo its 

 particular priefts, who wore long veftments of black, fomewhat be- 

 tween the drefs of the dominicans and our canons ; their long hair was 

 clotted together, and their ears lacerated in honor of their gods. 



At a certain diftance from the buildings of which I have lafl 

 fpoken were others, the idols of which were, as they faid, the advo- 

 cates, or fuperintendent deities of human marriages, and all round the 

 great court were many houfes, which were not very lofty, and wherein 

 refided the priefts, and others who had charge of the idols. Here was 

 alfo a great refervoir of water, fupplied with pipes, exclufively for the 

 fervice of the two idols Huitzilopochtli and Tezcatepuca, and hard by, 

 a large building, where were a number of the young Mexican women, 

 who refided there as in a nunnery, until they were married. They 

 worfhipped two female deities, who prefided over marriages, and to 

 them they offered facrifices, in order to obtain good hufbands. I have 

 been thus diffufe in my defcription of this great temple, becaufe it was 

 the moft confiderable in that city, amongft the many fumptuous build- 

 ings of that kind which it contained. The temple of Cholula however 

 was higher than this, having a hundred and twenty fteps ; it was alfo 

 held in great veneration, and was built on a plan different from that of 

 Mexico. The temple at Tezcuco was very large, having a hundred 

 and feventeen fteps. All thefe were of different ftrud:ure, but agreed 

 in having a number of outer courts, and a double inclofure. One 

 ridiculous circumftance is, that each province had its own peculiar 

 gods, who were fuppofed to have no concern with any other; fo that 

 the idols were innumerable in this country. Having fatigued ourfelves 



with 



