Page:Notes of the Mexican war 1846-47-48.djvu/558

552 of us a drink of wine in honor of peace, which we, of course, drank with great relish. His family and a daughter, who was like a dream of poetry, that may not be written or told—exceedingly beautiful—drank with us, at the same time saying, "Mucho bellos, valentias Americanos. After talking, and taking several drinks between times, he took and showed us his large library. Some books are over three hundred years old, mostly histories of Mexico and Spain. He has a history called "The Rulers of Mexico," which is over three hundred years old, and I took the liberty of noting down several important paragraphs. I have read many histories, but never came across such rare and important facts as I did here, and being old and rare histories, I shall note them in this book, which will be interesting to all my readers.

Montezuma was the ninth ruler of the Mexican empire. He was born in the year 1476. He was a man of great wealth, nobility, and liberality. He had a large and extensive acquaintance in all parts of Mexico, and enjoyed the greatest popularity among all classes of people. He was an eloquent off-hand speaker, with a powerful voice. He was also a zealous promoter of all the improvements about the city of Mexico, which is enough to make any ruler popular.

He excelled all others, and manifested his splendor. His house for all sorts of living creatures on earth or in sea, and many other things might serve for a sufficient testimony, for in it he kept sea fishes in salt water, river fishes in fresh water, and all kinds of wild beasts in peculiar places were kept in great avaries, surrounded with golden rails.

His palace was, in fact, one of the finest in the country. It was situated near the Temple Cue which, being built of stone, in form like a serpent, of large size, with magnificent apartments for their priest to lodge in, their cherished idol, called Viztlipuctli, or lord of the humble, so that Montezuma may be close to worship his devil idol god Viztlipuctli, who was a wooden image in the shape of a man sitting on a blue seat in a triumphant chair, at each end of which was placed a staff