Page:Young Folks History Of Mexico.pdf/154

 148 chiefly religious instruction, were taught to sweep the temples, to gather wood for sacrifice, to clean and replenish the censers, and above all to fear and reverence the idols. When they left the seminaries it was either to be married or to go into the army. If a young collegiate did not then choose a wife it fared hard with him, should he desire one later, for hardly a girl would even look at him!

The maidens who attended the female seminaries were chiefly daughters of nobles and princes. They were strictly guarded and watched over by vestal priestesses; and old men prowled about the outside of the building to keep off the boys. There were no evening serenades nor moonlight rambles for the young ladies of those seminaries, for if a girl was detected in even looking at a young man she was severely punished; and if she should presume to go to walk with him, her feet were tied together and pricked with sharp thorns! Death, even, was the penalty for the infraction of some of the rules. There, the young ladies learned how to spin and weave mantles, and to make the beautiful feather-work; they, too, were obliged to sweep the temples and to tend the sacred fires. They were made to bathe often and to give great attention to personal cleanliness, to be skillful and tidy in domestic affairs. Both sexes were taught to hold their tongue in the presence of their elders, to answer them with reverence, and to be modest in their behavior.

There are those who have said that these people were savages, who have called them barbarians. Let the reader judge if barbarians would take such jealous care of their children, if they would instruct them so judiciously. Let the reader form his opinion of them from their acts and discourses; let him reflect upon the following good advice given by parents to their children. As rendered by the