gentleman, shutting the door on the doctor,
only—"

"Or the barracks. Which?"

"No, no," said the other, "we have got a
place close by. What number did you say?"

"4, Raglan-terrace," said Hanbury.

"Now go at a walk," said the doctor, "and be
steady."

The bell was ringing out harshly for saddling,
little patches of bright colour were seen far off
up at the stand—circulating. There was to be
another race. The crowd had seen the best part
of this show, and might be late for the other. A
good many, however, remained beside this critical
jump, as it was very likely there would be more
falls and more accidents.

THE LAND OF MONTEZUMA.

EXTINCT races of animals are among the
most interesting of the naturalist's studies. He
delights to fancy the mammoth masticating the
gigantic vegetables which now form our coal.
He pictures to himself flying lizards big enough
and fierce enough to snatch a babe out of its
mother's arms. He resuscitates and endows
with life and action every fossil bone, every
broken tooth, every scale and shell. An ancient
footprint on indurated sand suffices to figure to
his mind's eye the bloated batrachian that made
it. He revels in the beauties of a bygone fauna.
A menagerie, which no longer exists, still affords
him endless amusement.

There has been great talk of late about fossil
man; about the age of stone, before mingled
metals had brought forth bronze, and while iron
yet was ore. And, in truth, extinct societies of
men are at least as interesting as extinct races of
birds and beasts. A broken potsherd even, a
flint arrow-head, a stake deeply driven into mud,
may tell a tale of wonder, a drama, a tragedy.
The "Peruvian Letters" are a fascinating proof
how readily the human heart yields to human
sympathy, even when the objects of it are beings who
have passed away like the shadow of a cloud;
and now M. Chevalier conjures up a panorama*
of what once existed in the distant land whither
Maximilian of Austria and his Empress
Charlotte have transferred their fortunes for weal or
woe.

* Le Mexique, Ancien et Moderne, par Michel
Chevalier. A translation, which we have not seen,
has been published by Maxwell and Co.

Mexico, before the Spanish conquest, is a
brilliant dream reduced to reality. And this work
of ages was swept away by six hundred men
with Cortes at their head. For they laid violent
hands, not on a savage populace, but on a state
elaborately organised. The Aztecs, the dominant
race amongst the Mexicans, had made extensive
conquests. Their supremacy was acknowledged
as far as Guatemala. The name of
their emperor, Montezuma (the European version
of Moctheuzoma), inspired great respect and
still greater terror. Soon after disembarking,
Cortes, at an interview with Teuhlile, the
governor of the province, told him that he was the
envoy of an emperor quite as powerful as Montezuma.
Teuhlile was stupified to learn that the
world contained another sovereign as mighty as
his own. Some weeks afterwards, Cortes asked
a cacique of what monarch he was the vassal.
"Whose vassal can I be," the chief replied,
"unless Montezuma's?" Some months later,
after advancing into the interior, he inquired of
another chief whether Montezuma were not his
sovereign. The reply was, "Of whom is
Montezuma not the sovereign?"

This prince was surrounded by the extreme of
luxury. The lowest offices about his person
were filled by men of high rank. Etiquette
required that he should be addressed with
downcast eyes. Cortes wrote from Mexico to Charles
the Fifth, "I believe that there is no known
sultan or unbelieving prince" (according to his
ideas, the ne plus ultra of splendour) "who is
served with such pomp and magnificence."
Montezuma's own words at his first reception of
Cortes show with what awe and admiration he
was regarded by the indigenous population.
"Your friends at Tlascala," he said, with a
smile, "have probably told you that I resembled
the gods; that I dwelt in palaces built of gold,
silver, and precious stones; but you see those
accounts are without foundation. My palaces,
like the dwellings of other men, are made of
wood and stone. My body," he added, uncover-
ing his arm, "is of flesh and blood, like yours.
Certainly, my ancestors have left me an immense
empire; my territory is vast; I possess gold and
silver; but——"

The first element of wealth, the population,
was abundant in ancient Mexico. The received
opinion was that Montezuma counted thirty
vassals, each able to arm a hundred thousand
men. But Montezuma's three million soldiers
are probably an occidental hyperbole resembling
those permitted in the East. Still, everything
tends to prove that the country was once more
populous than it is at present. Now, a numerous
population is a sure sign of a certain advancement
in civilisation. Where many human beings
are crowded on the same spot, there must be
industrial arts to feed, clothe, and lodge them,
besides regular laws and precautionary measures
to maintain the peace and order of society.

Agriculture flourished in the Aztec empire.
The soil of Mexico lends itself to the growth of
the most varied vegetable productions. Under
the torrid zone, within a limited space, it presents
a succession of every sort of climate, from the
burning plains which skirt the ocean, to the
majestic peaks where you find the flora of
Iceland and Hudson's Bay. The ancient Mexicans
had a great number of crops to supply their
wants. Maize and bananas were their staple
diet. The cacao furnished them with a beverage
which Europe has adopted under its original
Aztec name, chocolate. They had neither