Page:Romance of History, Mexico.djvu/162

 were taught picture-writing, astronomy, and above all, the ceremonies of their religion and traditions of their race; while the girls learned the arts of weaving and embroidery. There were several teocallis or sacred turrets, and on their flat roofs flamed the never-dying fires. But high above all other buildings towered in the centre of the quadrangle the great teocalli of Huitzilopotchli. This mighty structure was solid and made of earth and pebbles, the whole coated with hewn stone. It was shaped like a pyramid, and its four sides faced north, south, east, and west. It was encircled by five terraces, each one smaller than the one below. A flight of steps led from the ground to the first terrace, round which the pilgrim must pass to gain the steps leading upward. The fifth and last platform could only be reached by passing four times around the pyramid. This laborious ascent had been devised to add to the magnificence of the religious festivals. The procession of priests with their banners and music winding slowly round and round the great teocalli to reach the shrine on its summit must have been a gorgeous spectacle to the people in the streets below. Refusing the offer of the Aztec priests to carry him up, Cortés with Doña Marina and his captains climbed to the summit, where Montezuma received him with kindly courtesy.

"You are weary, Malintzin, with the ascent," said the emperor.

"To the Spaniards," replied Cortés vauntingly, "fatigue is unknown!" 136