Page:Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican, Vol 2.djvu/343

Rh tank, neatly walled and filled with water. From the soft spongy character of the soil in the centre of the great quadrangular grove—which it is impossible for any one to cross without danger of being mired in the unsubstantial morass,—it is supposed that the vast area was once occupied by a lake, whose waters were probably forever renewed by the hydraulic works we have already described in the neighborhood of Tescocingo. Along the raised banks, and beneath the shadows of the double line of majestic trees, were the walks and arbors in which Nezahualcoyotl and his courtiers amused themselves. The ponds and lakes were filled with fish and frequented by the wild fowl that now cover the margins of the Mexican lakes; while the same benignant sky and delicious climate that bless the descendants of the Spaniards, reigned then, as now, over the dusky children of the soil.

A ride on horseback of about three hours at a pleasant pace, will bring the traveller from Tezcoco to the village of St. Juan, lying in an extensive level bordered on all sides by ridges and mountain spurs, except towards the east, where a depression in the chain leads into the plains of Otumba, upon which Cortéz fought so remarkable a battle when pursued by the victorious Aztecs. In the centre of the levels of St. Juan are the two remarkable pyamids of Teotihuacan,—the Tonatiuh-Ytzagual, or "house of the sun," and the Meztli-Ytzagual, or "house of the moon." These vast masses first break upon the sight as the ridge is crossed. At that distance the foliage and bushes that cover them are not easily discerned, and the perfect figure of the original structure seems to be revealed in all its freshness. As the objects are approached, however, the work of time upon the monuments becomes evident. The sharp pyramidal lines are all broken. Aloes, nopals, magueys, mesquite and parasites crawl and cling over every part of the ruined heaps; and the whole mass resembles a crumbling but gigantic pile of rocks and earth, which is scarcely distinguishable from the adjacent hills until its structure is closely examined.