seats at the board. Tobacco was then offered, in pipes, mixed with aromatic substances, or in the form of cigars inserted in tubes of tortoise-shell or silver. It is a curious fact that the Aztecs also took the dried tobacco leaf in the pulverized form of snuff.
The table was well supplied with substantial meats, especially game, among which the most conspicuous was the turkey. Also, there were found vegetables and fruits of every delicious variety native to the continent. Their palate was still further regaled by confections and pastry, for which their maize-flower and sugar furnished them ample materials. The meats were kept warm with chafing-dishes. The table was ornamented
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| common form of arch, central america. |
with vases of silver and sometimes gold of delicate workmanship. The favorite beverage was chocolatl, flavored with vanilla and different spices. The fermented juice of the maguey, with a mixture of sweets and acids, supplied various agreeable drinks of different degrees of strength."
It is not necessary to describe their great public works, their floating gardens, their aqueducts, bridges, forts, temples, pal-
