Page:Vol 1 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/393

Rh and bordered by commodious apartments. Adjoining it, and overlooked by a large pavilion, was a vast garden, divided into four squares by hedges of plaited reeds, which were entirely overgrown with roses and other flowers. Shaded walks led out in all directions, now by beds of rare plants collected from remote parts, now into orchards temptingly laden, and again past groups of artistically arranged flowers. In ponds fed by navigable canals sported innumerable waterfowl, consorting with fishes of different species. In the centre of the garden was an immense reservoir of hewn stone, four hundred paces square, surrounded by a tiled pavement from which steps led at intervals to the water.

Cortes was not only hospitably entertained, but received a present of female slaves, packs of cloth, and over three thousand castellanos in gold.

The soldiers now prepared under more than usual excitement for the final march, which was to bring them to the longed-for goal. The reputed magnificence of the capital made most of the Spaniards