The palace built by Nezahualcoyotl, king of Tezcuco,
even surpassed that of Montezuma in many
respects. The Tezcucan historian, Ixtlilxochitl, has
given a full description of it, which I partially
translate. The collection of buildings, which composed
not only the royal residence, but also the
public offices and courts of law, extended from east
to west twelve hundred and thirty-four and a half
yards, and from north to south, nine hundred and seventy-eight
yards. These were encompassed by a wall
made of adobes strongly cemented together, and standing
on a foundation of very hard mortar, six feet in
width at the base. On its southern and eastern sides
the wall was three times a man's stature in height; on
the western side, towards the lake, and on the northern
side it rose to the height of five times a man's
stature.<a name="FNanchor_28" id="FNanchor_28" href="#Footnote_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a> For one third of the distance from the base
to the top, the wall grew gradually thinner, while the
remainder was of one thickness.<a name="FNanchor_29" id="FNanchor_29" href="#Footnote_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a> Within this inclosure
were the royal dwelling, the council-chambers,
and other halls and apartments. There were also two
large plazas, the outer one of which served as the
public market-place. The inner court-yard was surrounded
by the various courts of justice, and other halls
where matters relative to science, art, and the army
were judicially and otherwise considered, all of which
will be described in their place, and also a hall where
the archives of the kingdom were preserved. In the
centre of the court-yard, which was also used as a
market-place, was a tennis-court; on the west side
were the apartments of the king, more than three
hundred in number, all admirably arranged; here
