and which comprehended with all its different edifices and sanctuaries, the
ground on which the cathedral now stands, together with part of the plaza
and streets adjoining.

We are told, that within its enclosure were five hundred dwellings, that
its hall was built of stone and lime, and ornamented with stone serpents.
We hear of its four great gates, fronting the four cardinal points of its
stone-paved court, great stone stairs, and sanctuaries dedicated to the
gods of war; of the square destined for religious dances, and the colleges
for the priests, and seminaries for the priestesses; of the horrible
temple, whose door was an enormous serpent's mouth; of the temple of
mirrors and that of shells; of the house set apart for the emperor's
prayers; of the consecrated fountains, the birds kept for sacrifice, the
gardens for the holy flowers, and of the terrible towers composed of the
skulls of the victims--strange mixture of the beautiful and the horrible!
We are told that five thousand priests chanted night and day in the Great
Temple, to the honour and in the service of the monstrous idols, who were
anointed thrice a day with the most precious perfumes; and that of these
priests the most austere were clothed in black, their long hair dyed with
ink, and their bodies anointed with the ashes of burnt scorpions and
spiders; their chiefs were the sons of kings.

It is remarkable, by the way, that their god of war, _Mejitli_, was said to
have been born of a woman, _a Holy Virgin_, who was in the service of the
temple; and that when the priests, having knowledge of her disgrace, would
have stoned her, a voice was heard, saying, "Fear not, mother, for I shall
save thy honour and my glory," upon which the god was born, with a shield
in his left hand, an arrow in his right, a plume of green feathers on his
head, his face painted blue, and his left leg adorned with feathers! Thus
was his gigantic statue represented.