After Consulting With His Priests, He Led
Us Into A Kind Of Saloon In A Tower, Having A Timber Roof Richly Wrought,
Under Which Stood Two Altars Highly Adorned, And Behind These Two Gigantic
Figures Resembling Very Fat Men.
That on the right was _Huitzilopochtli_,
the god of war, having a broad face and terrible eyes, all covered over
with gold and jewels, and having his body twisted round with golden
serpents.
His right hand held a bow, and in his left there was a bundle of
arrows. Round his neck was a string of the figures of human heads and
hearts made of pure gold, intermixed with precious stones of a blue colour.
Close by him stood a small image representing his page, carrying a lance
and shield richly adorned with gold and jewels. Before the great idol
stood a pan of fire, in which three hearts of human victims were then
burning along with copal. The whole walls and floor of the apartment was
stained with human blood, and had a most offensive smell, worse than any
slaughter-house. On the left of Huitzilopochtli stood another gigantic
figure, having a countenance like a bear, with great shining eyes. The
name of this last was _Tezcatlipoca_, who was said to be the god of the
infernal regions, and to preside over the souls of men[1]. He was likewise
considered as the brother of the god of war. His body was covered all over
with figures representing little devils with tails of serpents, and was
richly adorned with gold and jewels.
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