hot mineral baths called the Perote, which had been cut in the rock by the Indians long before the invasion of the Spaniards. At the village of Cordora we obtained the first view of the great plain in the midst of which is seated the celebrated city of Mexico; and, as we came in full view of the wide country beneath us, which is itself 7500 feet above the level of the sea, we drew up and all alighted, to contemplate the ravishing spectacle at our leisure. Here if anywhere the traveller may justly exult in the prospect of the magnificent scene before him, as it comprises one of the most perfect mixtures of the grand and beautiful that is perhaps to be met with in the world. At great distances on all sides around the plain were to be seen a perfect bulwark of high mountains of irregular forms, many of the summits of which were crowned with snowy peaks which could be seen rising above long streaks of watery clouds. But in the midst of the plain, which is of oval form and sixty-seven leagues in circumference, we could distinguish with some difficulty the city now occupying the ground upon which that of the Montazumas once flourished. We all stood for some time contemplating this scene with breathless rapture, and without exchanging a word, until one of the Mexicans with us said "Señors! this must have been the spot where Cortes first descried the city of Montazuma, the account of the splendour of which had induced him to fight his way thus far into the country." Upon this we all awoke from our agreeable rapture, and mounting our vehicle proceeded on our journey. The road which had been so often hardly passable was now better, and we reached the city of Mexico soon after dark, on the evening of our fourth day's journey from Vera Cruz. 229 CHAP. XXXVII. CITY OF MEXICO. -- Tour in the City.—The Grand Plaza.—The Cathedral.- Ancient City of the Astecs. - The noche triste. - Operations of the Spaniards. Attack of the Astecs.-Frightful Struggle.- Uncertainty of the Losses. The Senate-House. - Chamber of Deputies. - Academy of San Carlos.Alameda. - The Mineria.- View of Mexico.- View of the Mountains. - The Museum. - Relics of the Astecs. - Comparison of - the Ancient Inhabitants of Mexico and Peru. · Lord Mark Kerr. Lady Emilina Stewart Wortley.-The Upper Rooms.- Mathematical Instruments. - Ancient Map of the City. -Weapons of War. - Rag Figures. Colossal Statues. Cabinet of Natural History. - The Theatre. On the morning after our arrival at the city of Mexico, my Russian friend and myself took a guide and set off upon a tour of inspection. We first entered the grand plaza, which is the most agreeable part of the city. It is not ornamented by either fountains or statues, but one side is formed by the houses of the legislature, another by the cathedral which is a noble edifice of Gothic architecture with two lofty towers, while on the remaining two sides there are good buildings and many shops in front of which runs a fine colonnade. Having crossed the plaza, we entered the cathedral, the interior of which is highly ornamented with a profusion of gold, silver and jewels. The chancel resembles that of Westminster Abbey, but there is not light enough admitted to allow of a stranger accurately observing what it contains. On one of the altars, more exposed to the light than the rest of the building, there were two admirably wrought figures in marble, representing angels adoring the host, and placed in such impressive attitudes, that we were both more touched while we contemplated them, than we could remember having before been by almost anything of the kind we had seen. The greater part of the people engaged in worship, were distributed about before the lesser altars in the same manner we see them in the Roman Catholic countries in Europe; but there were some belonging to the poorer classes kneeling about singly in the grand choir and the open body of the church. There were also about a dozen young men and women kneeling at some distance before the grand altar with long lighted candles in their hands, and we saw the same thing afterwards in several other churches. We were informed, that young persons, the character of whose offences it was not difficult to divine, knelt here sometimes day after day for a certain number of hours at a time, until the candle or candles with which each of them was furnished were burnt out. On the outside of the cathedral we were shown a round stone covered with hieroglyphics and attached to the edifice, which is said to have been the calendar of the ancient Mexicans; and here our attention was drawn to what is known of the town which flourished before the invasion of the Europeans. The ancient city of the Astecs, called Tenochtitlan by its inhabitants, occupied the same ground upon which the modern capital now stands. The cathedral, indeed, is built upon the very spot on which stood formerly the temple of the war-deity of the ancient people. Their city was divided into four districts which are still distinctly known and called by the Indian population by their ancient names; and the former streets are said to have run in precisely the same direction as those which have succeeded them: but the greater portion of the ancient city having been built of perishable materials, and the public buildings, which were generally of stone, having been pulled to pieces and destroyed during the protracted siege, there is at this time scarcely a vestige of any of the ancient edifices remaining. The very lake which was called Tozcuco, in the midst of which the ancient city stood, has now disappeared, partly it is said by evaporation, but also by artificial means taken to exhaust it. The description given of Tenochtitlan, reminds us of Venice as that remarkable city still stands. Besides being surrounded by water its great thoroughfares were canals; and the houses seem to have been generally built upon piles placed so high that canoes could pass under them. From the city to the surrounding land there were three great causeways, in each of which were three or more breaks spanned by bridges which had only to be removed to render the entire city secure from the invasion of any foe; and, by one of these called the |