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Show I23 nooK ur. .......... ~ ~F. c T: III. T~xcs lmlofed on the ~rcxicanG, HISTORY OF ME X I C 0. ' bled his counfdlors, and fpoke to them in the following words : H What is your judgment, nobles of Tepaneca~ of this aCl: ?~ the " Mexicans~ They have introduced themfelve~ m.to our dor~m10ns, " and continue to increafe very confiderably their City and their com" merce, and what is worfe have had the audacity to create one of their " own nation a king, without waiting for our confent. If they pro" ceed thus in the beginning of their e!l:abliiliment, what is to be ima" gined they will do hereafter whet~ they have increafed their nu~1bcrs " and added to their !l:rength ? Is 1t not to be apprehended that 111 fu" tnre, in!l:ead of paying us the tribute which we have impofed on H them, they will pretend that we lhould pay it to them, and that the " petty king of the Mexicans will aim al~o at being ~onarch. of the " Tep:mecas ? I therefore confider it necefiary to multtply then· bur" dens fo much, that in labouring to difcharge them they may be " worn out, or on failure of paying us, that we harrafs them with other " evils, and at lafi: conftrain them to abandon their ftate." All applauded the refolution; nor was it otherwife to be expeCl:ed; as the prince who in council difcovers his wilh, rather looks for panegyri! l:s to fecond his inclination, than counfellors to enlighten his undcrflanding: the king then fent to inform the Mexicans, that the tribute which they had paid hitherto being too [mall, it was his pleafure that they lhould double it in future; that they were befides to carry fo many thoufands of willow and fir-plants to be fet in the roads and gardens of Azcapozalco, and to tranfport to the court a great kitchen garden, where all the vegetables known in Anahuac were fown and growmg. The Mexicans, who, until that time had paid no other .tribute than a certain quantity of fiih, and a certain number of water-birds, were greatly di!l:reffed with thefe new grievances, fearing that they might confiantly be increafing: but they performed all that was enjoined them, carrying at the appointed time along with their filh and fowl, the willows and floating garden. Whoever has not fcen thefe moft beautiful gardens, which in our time were cultivated in 'the middle of the water, and tranfported with eafe wherever they defired, will not with ... out difficulty be perfuaded of the truth of fuch an event: but whoever has feen them as we have, and all who have failed upon that lake, where • the H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0. the fenfes receive the moil: delightful recreation, will have no reafon to nooK nr. doubt of the authenticity of this hiftory. Having obtained this tri- ''-_,.,__, bute from them, the king ordered them to bring him the next year an.- other garden., with a duck and a fwan in it, both fitting on thei~ eggs; but fo, as that on their arrival at Azcapozalco, .the brood might be ready to hatch. The Mexicans obeyed, and took their meafures fo well, that the fooliih prince had the pleafure of feeing the chickens come out of the eggs. They were ordered the fucceeding year to brings bclidcs a garden of this kind, a live ftag: this new order was the more diffi-cult to execute, as it was neceifary to go to the mountains on the con-tinent to hunt the fiag, where they were in danger of engaging with their enemies; it was, however, accompliihed, that they might efcape from wrongs more oppreffive. This hard fubjetl:ion of the Mexicans lafied not lefs than fifty years. The hiftorians of Mexico affirm, that : the Mexicans in all their affliCtions implored the proteCl:ion of their god, who rendered the execution of fuch orders eafy to them: but we are of a different opinion. The poor king Acamapitzin, in addition to thefe difgufl:s, experi · enced the !l:erility of his queen Ilancueitl, and therefore married 'I'ez..;. catlamiahuat!, daughter of the lord of Tetepanci, by whotn he had feveral fons, and among others Huitzilihuitl and Chimalpopoca, fucceffors to him in the crown. He took this fecond wife without aban• cloning the fir!l: ; they both lived in fuch harmony together that Ilancueitl charged herfelf with the education of Huitzilihuitl. He had other wives, although not honoured with therankof queens; and among rhe reft, a Dave, who bore Itzcoatl, one of the beft and moll: renowned among the kings of Anahuac. Acamapitzin governed his city in peace, for thirty-feven years; his city, at that time, comprehending the whole of his kingdom. In his time population increafed, buildings of fione were erected, and thofe canals which ferved as well for the ornament of the city as for the convenience of the citizens, were begun. The interpreter of Mendoza's colleCl:ion afcribes to this king, the conquefi of Mizquic, Cintlahuac, GE.auhnahuac, and Xochimilco: but is it po!Tible to believe that the Mexicans would undertake the conqueft of four fuch great cities, at a time when they had difficulty to i)referve their own. territory. The picture, therefore, in that colleCl:ion, Vot. I.. .S reprefenting |