Page:Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican, Vol 2.djvu/337

Rh time, it has been sanctified by the erection of a cross, from whose feet the whole valley of Mexico, with its lakes, plains, towns and majestic panorama of encircling mountains, bursts on the sight of the wearied traveller.

Returning to the recess from the summit, and winding thence by a spiral path down the eastern slopes of the hill, we find the road suddenly ended by a wall which plunges precipitously down the mountain for about two hundred feet. At this termination of the pathway, cut in the solid rock, we found another recess, surrounded with seats, while, in the centre of the area, was a circular basin, a yard and a half in diameter, and three feet deep, into which water was formerly introduced, through the small aperture in the square pipe which is delineated in the engraving.

This basin has, of course, been also connected with the fame of the emperor, and is known as "Montezuma's bath." Its true use, however, is perfectly evident to those who are less fanciful or antiquarian than the generality of visitors. The picturesque view from this spot, over a small plain set in a frame of the surrounding