Sketches of Aboriginal Life

Adam one, and

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cted by Montezuma. He saw that the only effect of such exactions was to weaken and effeminate the character of some of his greatest chieftains, reducing them from proud and powerful friends to fawning cringing slaves. They were no longer shrouded in the sombre nequen, as they entered the royal presence, nor did they go barefoot, with their eyes cast down to the earth, when they bore the monarch in his luxurious palanquin. Arrayed in all their costly finery, with golden or silver sandals, and with a bold, manly, cheerful bearing, as if they gloried in the precious treasure which it was their privilege, more than their duty, to protect and to care for, the imperial palanquin seemed rather their trophy than their burden, which they were far more ready to bear, than their master was to occupy. He was too active and stirring

es were all bright above her, and every thing around her wore a cheerful and promising aspect. Attracted by her resplendent beauty, the unaffected ease and graciousness of her manners, and the queenly magnificence

e, and astonished and amused the court with the variety and beauty of his poems, and other works of taste. Nor did his intellectual accomplishments exceed his heroism and loyalty. Guatimozin had not an abler or more devoted chieftain in all his realm. It was he who fought side by side with the Emperor in all his after confl

most of the capitals of Christendom. The wealthy nobles being allowed to marry as many wives as they could support, the young prince could win the affections of all the bright daughters of the valley, without at all apprehending a suit for breach of promise, or a conspiracy against his own life, or that of his favorite, b

f constrained awe upon the stranger. This shadow gradually disappeared upon a further acquaintance, till the whole face and person were so lighted up with the fire of her genius and wit, that i

was a cold, mercenary, selfish man, who sought only his own aggrandizement. The princess was a special favorite of her father, who was a prince of the highest rank, and nearly related to the reigning king of Tezcuco. She had already received many substantial proofs of parental partiality, which her avaricious brother would fain have claimed for himself. Her brilliant qualities and growi

amily, for in Anahuac, under the Aztec dynasty, the merchant was a man of note, scarcely inferior to the proudest noble. But the merchant was only a merchant, a man

rather a difficult one, and often put her disposition to the severest test. It chanced, one lovely evening, that the lovers had stolen a march upon both their tormentors, and found, in the royal gardens, a few moments of that unwatched uninterrupted conference, which only those in the same delicate relation, at the same period of life, know how to appreciate. Their absence from the saloons was soon noticed.

shall find your sister? I have a message for h

y flirting somewhere with that fool fop, the royal ba

ince, in the garden, leaning upon the arm of this same royal b

toward the garden. In a few moments, the poor old chaper

aimed, "they know nothing of propriety. I wonder what w

mpatiently, "your hopeful pupil is the

entine walks, shaded lanes, and magnificent avenues, one might have wandered up and down there a week, without finding one who wished

oyous step, he led her through the crowded saloon, and presented her to the queen, craving her sanction to the vows they had just plighted to each other. Gracefully placing a chaplet of white roses and amaranths on the

olemn ceremonies were performed; with all the imposing pomp of the Aztec ritual. A

ief, that the gods designed only one woman for each man, solemnly renounced the old doctrine of polygamy, and pledged to his young bride, in the pr

ity of the sentiments, and the soundness of the conclusions, which the brave prince had proclaimed

bond of union which is so close, that it cannot be shared by another without being broken. In the presence of these holy men, and of these my witnessing people, I solemnly subscribe to the same pure vow which you have uttered, ple

be embalmed in the hearts of all the women of Anahuac, and the anniversary of the nuptials of

hey were so stationed as to represent, from different points of view, groups of bright figures whirling in the mazy evolutions of a wild Indian dance. The harmony of their movements, and the picturesque effect of their frequent changes of position, was truly wonderful. It seemed more like magic than any thing belonging to the ordina

ale to the altar. The high priest joined their hands in the indissoluble bond, and waved his wand of fire over their heads, in token of the divine blessing; upon which the dance of the torches was instantly renewed, accompanied with strains of the most joyous music, each gr

ised revellers the presence of the dawn, before whose coming the stars of

ly practised among them; and that the prevailing sentiment of the nation was opposed to it. One of the very few relics of their ancient literature, which were preserved in the general devastation of the conquest, is a letter of advice from a father to his child, on the