MEXICO THE GOLDEN
At one end of the smooth-paved summit were two towers with the shrines and images of the gods; in front of each blazed its altar fire. At the other end was the jasper stone of sacrifice, and the huge drum of serpents' skins struck only in a time of great triumph or danger.
Montezuma then took Cortés by the hand and told him to look at the wonderful view below. There lay the city with its crowded streets and canals, glittering temples, flower-crowned palaces, and the three great white causeways which stretched far across the dancing waters of the lake to the northern, southern, and western shores. To the west rose cypress-covered Chapoltepec, "the grasshoppers' hill," crowned with the emperor's country palace. From here was carried across the lake in a skilfully constructed aqueduct Mexico's supply of pure water. In the south gleamed Lake Chalco. Far on the horizon stood out against the deep blue sky the white peaks of the volcanoes.
For long did Cortés gaze at the symmetrical plan of the city, but turning at last to the emperor he asked permission to enter the two-towered chapels. Montezuma at once led his guests to the shrine of Huitzilopotchli, a huge idol with a great face and terrible eyes. He was bedecked with jewels; round his body coiled golden serpents, and on his neck was a chain strung alternately with golden hearts and silver heads. In his right hand he held a bow, in his left a sheaf of golden arrows. Beside him stood his page, a little idol bearing his lance and shield. On the altar were three bleeding hearts torn from
