ROYAL PALACE OF QUICHE. 



179 



was assigned to the princes and relations of the king ; 

 the third to the monarch himself, containing distinct 

 suites of apartments for the mornings, evenings, and 

 nights. In one of the saloons stood the throne, under 

 four canopies of feathers ; and in this portion of the pal- 

 ace were the treasury, tribunals of the judges, armory, 

 aviaries, and menageries. The fourth and fifth divis- 

 ions were occupied by the queen and royal concubines, 

 with gardens^ baths, and places for breeding geese, 

 which were kept to supply feathers for ornaments. 

 The sixth and last division was the residence of the 

 daughters and other females of the blood royal. 



Such is the account as derived by the Spanish histo- 

 rians from manuscripts composed by some of the ca- 

 ciques who first acquired the art of writing ; and it is 

 related that from Tanub, who conducted them from the 

 old to the new Continent, down to Tecum Umam, was 

 a line of twenty monarchs. 



Alvarado, on the invitation of the king, entered this 

 pity with his army ; but, observing the strength of the 

 place ; that it was well walled, and surrounded by a 

 deep ravine, having but two approaches to it, the one 

 by an ascent of twenty-five steps, and the other by a 

 causeway, and both extremely narrow ; that the streets 

 were but of trifling breadth, and the houses very lofty ; 

 that there were neither women nor children to be seen, 

 and that the Indians seemed agitated, the soldiers be- 

 gan to suspect some deceit. Their apprehensions were 

 soon confirmed by Indian allies of Quezaltenango, who 

 discovered that the people intended that night to fire 

 their capital, and while the flames were rising, to burst 

 upon the Spaniards with large bodies of men concealed 

 in the neighbourhood, and put every one to death. 

 These tidings were found to be in accordance with the 



