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Show 230 nooK v. • w H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0. u and wia1 to relate to you what I .have feen, as it deeply concerns you." Upon this the two kings f.'lt down, while all the other nqblcs continued ftanding full ·of admiration at what they faw. The princefs the11 began to fpeak as follows : " After I ":as dead, " or if you will not believe that I have been dead, after I remamed be"' reft of motion and of fenfe, I found myfclf fuddenly placed upon "'an extenfive plain, to which there app~ared no boundaries. In the " middle of it I obferved a road which I afterwards faw ·was divided " into a variety of paths, and on one fide ran a great river whofe waH ters made a frightful noife. As I was going to throw myfelf into the " river to fwim to the oppofitc bank, I faw before me a beautiful youth " of handfome fl:ature, clothed in a long habit, white as fnow, and " dazzling like the fun ; he had wings of beautiful feathers, and upon " his forehead, this mark," (in faying this the princefs made. the lign of the crofs with her two fore fingers, " and laying hold of my hand, " faid to me, Stop, for it is not yet time to pafs this river. God loves thee, " though thou knowtjl it not. He then led me along by the ~·iver-fide, " upon the borders of which I faw a great number of human fkulls ~· and bones, and heard moil lamentable groans that waked my utmofl: " pity. Tuming my eyes afterwards upon the river, I faw fome large H veifds upon it .filled with men of a complexion and drefs quite difH ferent from ours. They were fair and bearded, and carried 11anJ" ards in their hands, and helmets on their heads. The youth then " [aid to me, It £1 the wi'/1 qf God that thou ]halt !tve to be a 7oitnrji " qf the revolutions 'ivht'cb are to happm to· the,Ji! ldngdo!JJS. '!'be !!/"OfiJJJ '' which thou hajf beard among tb~ft bones, are from the jouls q/ your " a11cejlorst which are ever and will be tormented for thdr ,·rim~s: H 'The mm whom you ji!e coming t'n theft vejfiofs, Qre tho)i! who wl1o by " their arms 'Wtjl make themjt!lves ma.flers of all theji! kingtlo?t!J, ami " with them wiil be i11troduced tbe knowfege of tbe true God, the cnator " ql heaven and earth. As j oon as the war jbafl be at czn l'Jld, am/ t/.1e " bath publijled and made /motzvn whi'ch will ~vafo <away j/n, be thou tbt! "}'ryt to recn've it, and guidt! by thy example the natiws of thy country. " Having fpoke this the youth difappeared, and I found mylelf re·- 1_:' ,allcd to life; I rofc from the place where I lay, raifed up the fione " of . . ' , H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X 1 c 0. " of my fepulchre, and came out to the garden where I was found by cc my domeil:ics." Monteztlma was !l:r~ck V.:ith ~ltoniflunent at the recital of fo firange an adventure, and fee!mg hts mmd diltruCtcd with a variety of apprehcnfions, rofe and retired to one of his palaces which was deil:ined for occafions of grief, witJ:out taking leave of his filter, the king of Ta-c~ tba, or any. one of thofc who accom p:mied him, although fome of h1s ~ntterers, 1!1 order to confole him, endeavoured to perfuade him that the. lllnefs wluch tl1e princefs had fuffered, had tumed her brain. He avouled for ever after returning to fee he1·, that he might not a~in .h ea.r the. me,l ancholy prefages of the ruin of his emj)ire. The pn·n ce1.rs. , Jt IS .C11d, lived many years in great retirement and ab.fi:inence. She. was the fidl: who, in the year I 5 24, received the f.'tcred baptifm in Tlarelolco, and was called from that time, Donna Maria Papantzi'n. Among the memorable events, in 151 o, there happened without any apparent caufe,. a fu~den and fu.11ious burning of the turrets of the greater tem?le of Mexico,. 111 ~ calm, ferene night; and in the fucceeding year, fo vwlent and extraordmnry an agitation of the waters of the lake that man~ houfes of the city were defiroyed, there being at the fame' time no wmd, eart~quake, nor any other natural caufe to which the accident could be afcnbed. It is [aid alfo, that in 1 51 1, the figures of armed men appeared in the air, who fough t and flew each otl1er. Thefe and other fimilar phenomena, recounted by Acofia,. Torquemada and .->~her~, are found very exaCtly dc::fcribcd ia the Mexican and Acolhuan luftones. BOOK V, '--r--J SscT. xrr .. Uncommon occurrences .. The coni1ernation which thefe fad omens raifed in the mind cf Monte~ uma did not, however, turn afide his thoughts fron:1 war.. His ar-. m1es made numerous expeditions in I so8,, particularly agFJ.inil: the Tlaf~ alans. and Huexotzincas, the A tlixchefe, Icpatepec, and Malinaltepec, m. wh1ch they made five thoufand p1·ifoners, which were afterwards facnficed. In I 509, the war againfi Xochitepec happened, thatftatehaving, rebelled.' In the year following, Montezuma thinking the altar for Sa cT.' XIITr the facnfices too ii1lall, and unproportioned to the magnificence of th Erection of 1\o tempi h [c d · e new altar for . e, e cau e a proper ftone of exceffive fize, to be fought for, the facrificc s, which was found near to Cojoacan. Aftet• ordering it to be poliihed ~~~iti~~3c~f. and cut, he commanded it to be brought in due form to Mexico. A theMc~icana-. va11 • |