Page:Letters of Cortes to Emperor Charles V - Vol 1.djvu/278

254 princes ever heard of in the world, possess such treasures. Let not what I say appear fabulous to Your Majesty, because, in truth, all the things created on land, as well as in the sea, of which Montezuma had ever heard, were imitated in gold, most naturally, as well as in silver, and in precious stones, and feather work, with such perfection that they seemed almost real. He gave me a large number of these for Your Highness, besides others, he ordered to be made in gold, for which I furnished him the designs, such as images, crucifixes, medals, jewelry of small value, and many other of our things which I made them copy. In the same manner, Your Highness obtained, as the one-fifth of the silver which was received, one hundred and odd marks, which I made the natives cast in large and small plates, porringers, cups, and spoons, which they executed as perfectly as we could make them comprehend.

Besides these, Montezuma gave me a large quantity of stuffs, which considering it was cotton, and not silk, was such that there could not be woven anything similar in the whole world, for texture, colours, and handiwork. Amongst these, were many marvellous dresses for men and women, bed clothing, with which that made of silk could not be compared, and other stuffs such as tapestry, suitable for drawing-rooms and churches. There were also blankets and rugs, for beds both of feather-work, and of cotton in divers colours, also very marvellous, and many other things so curious and numerous I do not know how to specify them to Your Majesty. He also gave me a dozen cerbatanas, with which he shoots, and of their perfection I likewise know not what to say to Your Highness; for they were decorated with very excellent paintings of perfect hues, in which there were figures of many different kinds of birds, animals, flowers, and divers other objects, and the mouthpieces and