and cooled by a playing fountain he conducted him by the hand into a large hall. An attendant came forward with a basket of flowers, wherein lay "two necklaces made of the shell of a species of red crawfish," so they said, and "much esteemed by the natives, from each of which hung eight crawfish of gold, wrought with great perfection, and nearly as large as the span of a hand.[1] These the emperor placed round the neck of the general, and presented at the same time wreaths to his officers. Seating hin upon a gilt and bejewelled dais,[2] he announced that everything there was at his disposal; every want would be attended to. Then with delicate courtesy he retired, so that the Spaniards might refresh themselves and arrange their quarters.
The building contained several courts, surrounded by apartments, matted and furnished with low tables and icpalli stools. Everything about the place was neat and of a dazzling whiteness, relieved by green branches and festoons. The finer rooms were provided with cotton tapestry, and adorned with figures in stucco and color, and with feather and other ornaments set with gold and silver fastenings. Here and there were vases with smouldering incense diffusing sweet perfume. So large was the place that even the allies found room. The halls for the soldiers, accommodating one hundred and fifty men each, were provided with superior beds of mats, with cotton cushions and coverlets, and even with canopies. Cortés was glad to find the building protected by strong walls and turrets, and after arranging the men according to their corps, he ordered the guns to be planted and the sentinels posted, issuing also instructions for the considerate treatment of the natives, and for inter-
- ↑ They doubtless formed a double necklace, with gold setting and pendants. Cortés writes that on the way to the palace Montezuma halted to place them round his neck. Cartas, 83; Gomara, Hist. Mex., 100-1; Sahagun, Hist. Conq. 23.
- ↑ 'A throne of gold,' is Peter Martyr's briefer yet grander term. dec. v. cap. iii.
