Six Months' Residence and Travels in Mexico: Containing Remarks on the Present State of New Spain, Its Natural Productions, State of Society, Manufactures, Trade, Agriculture, and Antiquities, &c |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Agava altar ancient animals appearance arrived attention basalt beautiful birds brought building capital carriage cayenne pepper Chalco chinampas church climate cloth colour common snipe considerable Cortez covered crowded Cruz decorated delightful dollars dressed ebla elegant England English Europe European expense feet finest flowers garden gentleman gold ground hacienda handsome horses hundred idols immense Indian inhabitants journey kind king ladies lake leagues maguey maize manner manufacture ment Mexican Mexico miles Montezuma mountains mules never night Nopal observed occupied Orizaba ornaments Otumba palace passed persons Phaeton present principal procured Puebla pulque pyramids quantity remains rich road roofs scarcely seen side silver Spain Spaniards Spanish species specimens square stone strangers streets surrounded temple Teotihuacan Tezcuco Themascaltepec tion Tolucca town traveller trees valley of Mexico vegetation Vera Cruz village whilst whole woods Xalappa
Popular passages
Page 136 - It is a by-word that at Mexico there are four things fair, that is to say, the women, the apparel, the horses, and the streets. But to this I may add the beauty of some of the coaches of the gentry, which do exceed in cost the best of the Court of Madrid and other parts of Christendom; for there they spare no silver, nor gold, nor precious stones, nor cloth of gold, nor the best silks from China to enrich them.
Page 318 - Zumarraga, the first bishop of Mexico, says, in a letter of the 12th of June, 1531, addressed to the general chapter of his order, that in that capital alone twenty thousand human victims were annually sacrificed. Some authors, quoted by Gomara, affirm that the number of the sacrificed amounted to titty thousand.
Page 138 - Spain), from her window called unto us, and after two or three slight questions concerning Spain asked us if we would come in and play with her a game at primera. Both men and women are excessive in their apparel, using more silks than stuffs and cloth. Precious stones and pearls...
Page 305 - He shewed much satisfaction in hearing them, and observed that amongst their jests, they frequently pronounced some important truth. When his dinner was over he took tobacco mixed with liquid amber, in a pipe, or reed beautifully varnished, and with the smoke of it put himself to sleep. After having slept a little, upon the same low chair he gave audience, and listened attentively to all that was communicated to him...
Page 125 - Most of the houses are of the same height, generally three stories, highly decorated, and ornamented with two rows of balconies of wrought iron, painted or g-ilt, and some of bronze. The stories are very lofty, the apartments being from fifteen to twenty feet high. The first or groundfloor is entered by a pair of large folding gates, ornamented with bronze, often thirty feet in height.
Page 135 - Spaniards, who are so proud and rich that half the city was judged to keep coaches, for it was a most credible report that in Mexico in my time there were above fifteen thousand coaches.
Page 300 - All the servants of Montezuma's palace consisted of persons of rank. Besides those who constantly lived in it, every morning six hundred feudatory lords and nobles came to pay court to him. They passed the whole day in the antechamber, where none of their servants were permitted to enter, — conversing in a low voice, and awaiting the orders of their sovereign.
Page 23 - Provisions are dear, with the exception of fish, which, as already stated, is in abundance and good. Some beautiful and curious Mangrove oysters were the largest and finest flavoured I ever met with. Milk is scarcely to be had, as not a cow is kept within many miles, and what is, perhaps, peculiar to Vera Cruz, there is not a garden even near it. The absence of vegetation attests at once the poverty of the soil and the insalubrity of the climate. I know not whether prejudice may not have influenced...
Page 393 - I am of opinion that these were antiquities prior to the discovery of America, and erected by a people whose history was lost even before the building of the city of Mexico. In our way down we collected specimens of the stucco which covered the terrace, still as hard and beautiful as any found at Portici or Herculaneum. Don T. Rosalia informed us that we had seen but the commencement of the wonders of the place ; — that there were traces of buildings to the very top still discernible ; — that...
Page 339 - This colossal and horrible monster is hewn out of one solid block of basalt, nine feet high, its outlines giving an idea of a deformed human figure, uniting all that is horrible in the tiger and rattle-snake : instead of arms it is supplied with two large serpents, and its...