Page:Pictures of life in Mexico Vol 2.djvu/192

168 the heads of which the priests placed on their shoulders when they exposed the idol to public adoration. The countenance of Tezcatlipoca was stern and horrible; its expression being heightened by two blue hands encircling the forehead and nose; and on its head was a helm composed of plumes of various colours in the form of a bird, with a bill and crest of burnished gold.

This idol also held in its right hand a curling serpent, which served for a staff; and in the left, four arrows, which were venerated as a present from Heaven, together with a shield having five white plumes placed over it in the form of a cross. Concerning these ensigns and ornaments many remarkable extravagances were reported and believed—how they had been received direct from the hands of the gods themselves, and how they were endowed with supernatural powers.

To the left of the temple of Tezcatlipoca was another of the same form and size, likewise filled with ornaments of inestimable value; the walls being hung and the altars covered with jewels and precious stones, placed on feathers of various colours. This temple was dedicated to Huitzilapochtli, or Tlaloch, the god of war.