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Show BOOK V. '--"'V'--i H I S T O R y 0 F M E X I C 0- . cording to the accounts given by fon1e hifi:orians, u~wlrds omfo ar mthnogu,f aanc d men were emp loyed by him in [weeping and wa tenng the ftreets of the city· · · 1 11 k' d in one of th e t. o ya, 1· buildings was an qrmory filled Wlt l a m f cr.. r. d decenfive arms which were made ufe of by thofe na- 0 o11e1111 ve an 1• ' • • • fi f o 1S with military ornaments, and enfigns. He kept a fur pn ~ng num- 1 1 ber 0' r art1' fi ce1.s a t wor·k , in manufaCturing thefe and other tlungs. · He 1 1 d S art'1 Jl.s conll:antly bufied likcwife, namely, goldfimt 1s, 1a numerou u 1 d' fi: · c Mofaic work-men, fculptors, painters, and others: One who e 1 nd: confifi:ed folely of dancing-mafters, who were trained up to entertain him. . 1 1 · · His zeal for religion was not l~fs confptcuous t 1an us magm-fi He built feveral temples to his gods, and made frequent cence. 11. bl'fh d · facrifices to them, obferving with great punCl:uality the eua 1 e ntes and ceremonies. He was extremely careful that all the temples, and in particular the greater temple of Mexico, ih~uld be well kept, a~d exquifitely clean; but his vain fear of the au~un:s and pretended 01a. cles of thofe falfe divinities totally debafed h1s mmd. He was anxioui1y attentive to the execution of his orders, and the 'laws of the kingdom, and was inexorable in punifhing tranfgreifors~ He tried, frequently, by fecret prefents, the integrity of his magi~rates, and whenever he found any of them guilty, he puniilicd them Without rcmiHion, even if they were of the firfi: rank of the nobility. . . He was an implacable enemy to idlenefs, and, in o,rder to bam{h 1t as much as poffible from his dominions, he. kept his .fubjeCl:s perpetual~y employed; the military, in conftant warlike exerctfes; the ?thers, lll the ctl1ture of the fields, and in the oonftruCl:iof.l of new eddices, \lll ~l other public work~; and even beggars, that they might not be ~otally idle, were enjoined to contribute a certain quantity of thofe filthy mfects which are the breed of nallinefs and adherents of wretchednefs, The oppreHion which he made h.is vaflals feel, the heavy burdens _he 'impofed on them, his own arrogance and pride, and ~xcefli.ve fcv~nty in puni!hments, difgufied his people i. but, on toe o.ther hand, he gamed their love by his liberality in fupplying the neceHities of individual s, as well as rewarding his generals and minifters. Amongft other things ·worthy to be x:econ;le,d with~he higheQ: praifes, and to bry imitated .?y all pnnces, H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0. princes, he allotted the city of Colhuacan as an hofpital for all invalids, who, after having done faithful fervice to the crown, either in military or civil employments, required a provifion for their age or infirmities. They were there maintained, and attended to at the cxpence of the king. Such were the good and bad qualities of the celebrated Montezuma; which we have thought proper to lay before the reader here, before we go on to detail the events of his reign. In the beginning of his government, he put to death Malinalli, lord of Tbchquiauhco, for rebellion againll: the crown of Mexico; he reduced the ftate again m1der his obedience, and conquered, alfo, that of Achiotlan. A little time after, another war broke out more ferious and dangerous, in which he was not fo fuccefsful. Amon gil: the many provinces which either voluntarily fubjeCl:ed themfelves to the Mexicans from rear of their power, or were conquered by force of arms, the republic of Tlafcala remained always unfubdued, having never bowed to the l\1exican yoke, although fo little diftant from the capital of that empire. The Huexotzincas, Cholulans, and other neighbouring ftates, who were formerly allied with the republic, growingjealous afterwards of its profperity, <:xafperated the Mexicans againft it, . by infinuating that the Tlafcalans were defirous of making themfelves ·mafi:ers of the maritime provinces on the Mexican gulf, and that by their commerce with .thofe provinces, they were daily increafing their power and their wealth, and were gaining the minds of the people with whom .they had traffick. T he commerce of the Tlaicalans, of which the Hnex<> tzincas complained, was both jull:ifiable and necefiary; be aufe, be·- ' fides that the greater part of the people of the[e coafls were originally of -Tlafcala, and confidered caeh other as kindred and relations; the Tlaf. cabns were under the nece!li ty of providing themfdves from thence w.ith what cocoas, cotton, and fait they wanted. Neverthelef the reprefentations of the Hucxotzincas had fuch inHllence on the ~vfexicans, that Jince the time of Montezuma I. all the kings of Mexico had tre•Hed the Tlafcalans as the greateil: enemies of the empire, and had always maintained il:rong garrifons on the frontiers of Tlafcab, to obftruct their comn;crce with the maritime parts. The Tlafcalans finding themlelvc;s deprived of their freeuom of co~1- merce, and confc::quently of the means of obtaining fome of the ncceffari~s Vot. l. . F f of %1 7 BOOKY. • .. SEer. V. War of Tlafcala. |