Page:The Native Races of the Pacific States, volume 2.djvu/179



and for the ministers and counselors, and the great lords and their suites, who constantly resided at the capital. Besides these, the private attendants of the king&emdash;and their name was legion&emdash;had to be provided for; so that when we consider the other extensive buildings, such as the harem, in which, according to some authorities, were nearly three thousand women; the armory, the granaries, storehouses, menageries, and aviaries, which either formed part or were in the immediate vicinity of the palace buildings, we are prepared somewhat to credit the Anonymous Conqueror aforesaid when he affirms that, although he four times wandered about the palace until he was tired, with no other purpose than to view its interior, yet he never succeeded in seeing the whole of it.[25] The walls and floors of halls and apartments were many of them faced with polished slabs of marble, porphyry, jasper, obsidian, and white tecali;[26] lofty columns of the same fine stones supported marble balconies and porticoes, every niche and corner of which was filled with wondrous ornamental carving, or held a grinning grotesquely sculptured head. The beams and casings were of cedar, cypress, and other valuable woods, profusely carved and put together without nails. The roofs of the palace buildings formed a suite of immense terraces, from which a magnificent view of the whole city could be obtained. Superb mats of most exquisite finish were spread upon the marble floors; the tapestry that draped the walls and the curtains that hung before the windows were made of a fabric most wonderful for its delicate texture, elegant designs and brilliant colors; through the halls and corridors a thousand golden censers, in which burned precious spices and perfumes, diffused a subtle odor.[27]