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e house was filled with such large books of accounts.[54]

Motecusuma had also two arsenals filled with arms of every description,
of which many were ornamented with gold and precious stones. These arms
consisted in shields of different sizes, sabres, and a species of
broadsword, which is wielded with both hands, the edge furnished with
flint stones, so extremely sharp that they cut much better than our
Spanish swords:[55] further, lances of greater length than ours, with
spikes at their end, full one fathom in length, likewise furnished with
several sharp flint stones. The pikes are so very sharp and hard that
they will pierce the strongest shield, and cut like a razor; so that the
Mexicans even shave themselves with these stones. Then there were
excellent bows and arrows, pikes with single and double points, and the
proper thongs to throw them with; slings with round stones purposely
made for them; also a species of large shield, so ingeniously
constructed that it could be rolled up when not wanted: they are only
unrolled on the field of battle, and completely cover the whole body
from the head to the feet. Further, we saw here a great variety of
cuirasses made of quilted cotton, which were outwardly adorned with soft
feathers of different colours, and looked like uniforms; morions and
helmets constructed of wood and bones, likewise adorned with feathers.
There were always artificers at work, who continually augmented this
store of arms; and the arsenals were under the care of particular
personages, who also superintended the works.

Motecusuma had likewise a variety of aviaries, and it is indeed with
difficulty that I constrain myself from going into too minute a detail
respecting these. I will confine myself by stating that we saw here
every kind of eagle, from the king's eagle to the smallest kind
included, and every species of bird, from the largest known to the
little colibris, in their full splendour of plumage. Here were also to
be seen those birds from which the Mexicans take the green-coloured
feathers of which they manufacture their beautiful feathered stuffs.
These last-mentioned birds very much resemble our Spanish jays, and are
called by the Indians quezales. The species of sparrows were
particularly curious, having five distinct colours in their
plumage--green, red, white, yellow, and blue; I have, however, forgotten
their Mexican name. There were such vast numbers of parrots, and such a
variety of species, that I cannot remember all their names; and geese of
the richest plumage, and other large birds. These were, at stated
periods, stripped of their feathers, in order that new ones might grow
in their place. All these birds had appropriate places to breed in, and
were under the care of several Indians of both sexes, who had to keep
the nests clean, give to each kind its proper food, and set the birds
for breeding. In the courtyard belonging to this building, there was a
large basin of sweet water, in which, besides other water fowls, there
was a particularly beautiful bird, with long legs, its body, wings, and
tail variously coloured, and is called at Cuba, where it is also found,
the ipiris.

In another large building, numbers of idols were erected, and these, it
is said, were the most terrible of all their gods. Near these were kept
all manner of beautiful animals, tigers, lions of two different kinds,
of which one had the shape of a wolf, and was called a jackal; there
were also foxes, and other small beasts of prey. Most of these animals
had been bred here, and were fed with wild deers' flesh, turkeys, dogs,
and sometimes, as I have been assured, with the offal of human beings.

Respecting the abominable human sacrifices of these people, the
following was communicated to us: The breast of the unhappy victim
destined to be sacrificed was ripped open with a knife made of sharp
flint; the throbbing heart was then torn out, and immediately offered to
the idol-god in whose honour the sacrifice had been instituted. After
this, the head, arms, and legs were cut off and eaten at their banquets,
with the exception of the head, which was saved, and hung to a beam
appropriated for that purpose. No other part of the body was eaten, but
the remainder was thrown to the beasts which were kept in those
abominable dens, in which there were also vipers and other poisonous
serpents, and, among the latter in particular, a species at the end of
whose tail there was a kind of rattle. This last-mentioned serpent,
which is the most dangerous, was kept in a cabin of a diversified form,
in which a quantity of feathers had been strewed: here it laid its eggs,
and it was fed with the flesh of dogs and of human beings who had been
sacrificed. We were positively told that, after we had been beaten out
of the city of Mexico, and had lost 850 of our men, these horrible
beasts were fed for many successive days with the bodies of our
unfortunate countrymen. Indeed, when all the tigers and lions roared
together, with the howlings of the jackals and foxes, and hissing of the
serpents, it was quite fearful, and you could not suppose otherwise than
that you were in hell.

I will now, however, turn to another subject, and rather acquaint my
readers with the skilful arts practised among the Mexicans: among which
I will first mention the sculptors, and the gold and silversmiths, who
were clever in working and smelting gold, and would have astonished the
most celebrated of our Spanish goldsmiths: the number of these was very
great, and the most skilful lived at a place called Escapuzalco, about
four miles from Mexico. After these came the very skilful masters in
cutting and polishing precious stones, and the chalchihuis, which
resemble the emerald. Then follow the great masters in painting, and
decorators in feathers, and the wonderful sculptors. Even at this day
there are living in Mexico three Indian artists, named Marcos de Aguino,
Juan de la Cruz, and El Crespello, who have severally reached to such
great proficiency in the art of painting and sculpture, that they may be
compared to an Apelles, or our contemporaries Michael Angelo and
Berruguete.[56]

The women were particularly skilful in weaving and embroidery, and they
manufactured quantities of the finest stuffs, interwoven with feathers.
The commoner stuffs, for daily use, came from some townships in the
province of Costatlan, which lay on the north coast, not far from Vera
Cruz, where we first landed with Cortes.

The concubines in the palace of Motecusuma, who were all daughters of
distinguished men, were employed in manufacturing the most beautiful
stuffs, interwoven with feathers. Similar manufactures were made by
certain kind of women who dwelt secluded in cloisters, as our nuns do.
Of these nuns there were great numbers, and they lived in the
neighbourhood of the great temple of Huitzilopochtli. Fathers sometimes
brought their daughters from a pious feeling, or in honour of some
female idol, the protectress of marriage, int

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