Page:Gaston Leroux--The bride of the sun.djvu/45

Rh able to give you very little that is new to you. Would it interest you to visit our latest excavations at Ancon to-morrow? There is ample proof there that Suttee was practised among the Incas."

"What exactly were these Virgins of the Sun?" asked Dick, turning to his uncle, who, delighted to be able to show his erudition, at once launched into an explanation.

"The Virgins of the Sun, or the 'elected ones,' as they were called, were young girls, vowed to the service of the divinity. They were taken from their families as children, and put into convents where they were placed under the care of women called mammaconas,—girls who had grown old in these monasteries. Under the guidance of these venerable matrons, the virgins were taught their religious duties, weaving and embroidery were their chief occupations, and it was they who made the fine vicuna wool for the hangings of the temples and the Inca's home and attire."

"Yes," said gray-haired Irene, "but their chief duty was to guard the sacred fire acquired anew by the temple at each Raymi festival."

"That is so," replied the savant. "They lived absolutely alone. From the moment they entered the home, they were entirely cut off from their families and friends. The Inca alone, and