all parts of the empire with stations at intervals of about six miles for couriers who conveyed news and packages, and often sea-fish for the imperial table. The six miles of each runner were to be made in little more than half an hour.

SEC. 167. Trade.—The mercantile profession was honorable and was adopted by many nobles without discredit to their rank. When Aztec merchants traveled beyond the limits of their own country, they were regarded by their home government as its agents for the collection of information. Any outrage committed on them was promptly avenged. They had a special divinity, a special ceremonial of worship, special funeral ceremonies, and special courts for the trial of their lawsuits.

So far as we can judge from the remains of their sculpture preserved to our time, the Aztecs had not developed much artistic taste. Their principal idols were rude and grotesque figures, without even an approach to accuracy in proportion of the human form or fidelity to the shape or expression of the human face. Some of the reliefs found in the temples of the Mayas are much truer to nature than anything now existing in the valley of Mexico, but even there the artists showed little originality or felicity of design, and perhaps were compelled by ecclesiastical influence to follow a few stiff conventional patterns. There was no artistic pottery in the country; and of their jewelry none has been preserved, or at least none of those articles which excited the wonder of Europe in the time of Cortes. The Aztec music had no harmony but several voices sang its airs in unison.

At the fairs the stocks of merchandise were spread out on the ground in packages, which could be readily put together for transportation in canoes or on the backs of

slaves.

Fairs were held at different towns on different days, which were so arranged that the merchants could keep up a constant round of travel. Customers were attracted to these gatherings by dramatic, acrobatic, and sleight-of-hand performances. Every city had its large public square for fairs, and that of the Aztec capital had room for 100,000 persons. Shops were not kept open constantly for the sale of merchandise. The people depended on the fairs for their purchases. Every article had its district or spot in the square, and each vender paid rent in proportion to the space which he occupied. Cotton cloth and salt were the leading commodities. Officials, selected by the merchants, had general supervision of the weights, measures, contracts, and crimes of the fair, and they decided all suits summarily. Many of the payments were made by barter, but cacao beans, small pieces of cotton cloth, quills containing gold-dust and pieces of tin and copper, were mediums of exchange.

SEC. 168. Social Condition.-Social life and the household were organized and governed under rules similar to those dominant at the same time in Spain.1 The treatment of the wife by the husband and of the children by the parents, the system of education, the occupations of men, women and children, the methods of private entertainment and public amusement, the demeanor at meals, and the standards of domestic virtue and social propriety, seemed to the conquerors, like those of their own country in many respects.

Women had more liberty and a nearer approach to social equality with man than in some Christian countries. The wife ate with her husband; she was wedded to him by a priest, sometimes in the temple by a sacred ceremony. She could not be divorced without a judicial

decree; the same grounds of divorce were available to her as to him; and though she usually spent her time in the house, she was permitted to be present at certain public festivities. Polygamy and concubinage were permitted but were limited to the nobles or rich.

The new-born child was sprinkled with water to wash away sin and protect it from evil; and at a later day was taken to a temple where a name was given to it by the priest. The boys were educated in the temples where the sons of the nobles remained from their tenth till their fifteenth year; and afterwards these young nobles went to a military school. The temples had nunneries for the education of noble girls, many of whom remained there till they were married.

The children were kept under a strict discipline. Among the poor both sexes were early taught the work that they were to do, and the rules of demeanor they should observe. The boys and girls in the temples were instructed in the art of writing and in the doctrines and ceremonies of religion. The girls of well-to-do parents were kept in the house and trained to be modest and chaste. Marriages were arranged by the parents.

There were traditional speeches which were delivered by noble parents to their children. The father speaking to his daughter said: "I pray God that you may live many years. But you must know how to live, for you will learn, my daughter, my dove, that the path of life is hard. Remember that you are of noble blood, and that your ancestors were princes. Remember that they founded this kingdom and have left you an inheritance of honor and glory. Remember that you have been loved as a precious jewel.

"Lay aside the plays of childhood and act like a woman

of noble blood. Do not lie abed by day. Rise, sweep, wash the mouths of the idols and burn incense before them. Prepare cacao, grind maize, spin, weave, and learn to cook delicate dishes suitable for noblemen. Thus you will be prepared to enjoy love and honor and riches if God should give you a husband. Apply yourself zealously to all womanly tasks, including spinning, weaving, painting, and dyeing. Learn all these things while you are young, while your reason is open and active, while your heart is like a gem and is pure from every sin. We, your parents, have begotten you, according to God's will. It is proper that you should be taught how to live before He calls us away, so that you may live in honor after we have gone. The gathering of herbs and of sticks and the selling of salt at the street corners are not suitable occupations for you. Some man will probably look upon you with favor and seek you in marriage, and if you should be ignorant of womanly work, would we not be blamed for your stupidity? If you are virtuous, you will be praised, and we shall be blessed; if you are wicked, you will be stoned. God knows which of these two results will come to pass.

"Pay attention, my daughter, to what I say. Take care that you do not dishonor your ancestors, that you do not defile their images which indicate their famous achievements. Avoid all dissipation. Do not fall into the mire; choose death in preference. If anyone seeks you in marriage do not reject him; prize the will of God who sends the wooer. Although you are our daughter and of noble lineage, do not consider yourself too good; otherwise you will offend God, who may then permit you to fall into a disreputable career.

Do not choose a man as you would a mantle at the fair. Take the one that

seeks your hand; do not be governed by beauty; do not let passion run away with your reason. Do not allow the men to deceive you. Do not give yourself to anyone whom you do not know or who does not wish to marry you. Be faithful to your husband; do not leave him while he lives, even if he wishes to leave you, even if he be a poor farmer, or petty official or a common man. If he should be extremely poor do not despise or desert him, for God will provide for you."

The mothers had a traditional address to deliver to their daughters, and in it urged them to keep their dress neat and cleanly without much ornament, to be quiet, modest, polite, kind, and obliging, to avoid the use of paint on the face, to pay no attention to the words of strangers in the street, and to prize chastity as indispensable to the enjoyment of life. A similar traditional address delivered by fathers to their sons advised them to be just, polite, modest, peaceful, truthful, economical, faithful, and considerate of the feelings of others."

At meals, the people sat on the ground or on low seats, round the cloth on which the pots or dishes were placed. Chafing-pans to keep the dishes warm were in general use and were soon copied by the Europeans, to whom they were novel. The wife and children ate with the husband and father, not after him as in most barbarous and some civilized countries. Forks were unknown. Napkins were common and hands and mouth were washed before and after meals.3

Human flesh was frequently eaten and was considered palatable, but its use, if it had not been offered in sacrifice to a god, was considered sacrilegious, and wars were never undertaken for the purpose of supplying their tables with such food. The 20,000 human victims offered