In Cuzco, also, was the Temple of the Moon, adorned with silver, and with an image representing the goddess of night; and all the service of the temples was of the purest gold and silver, curiously wrought and beaten, and the great altars were ornamented with great golden lilies set with pearls and diamonds, and the lamps were brilliant with pendant emeralds and rubies and sapphires. The Peruvian empire extended from Cuzco to Quito, and everywhere throughout the dominion were splendid cities, in which were great palaces and temples, all glittering with gold and silver, and all showing the wealth and power of the Inca. These cities were connected by great public roads that led from one end of the empire to the other, and it is said that in no country in the world were there such fine highways as those in Peru. The roads were very wide and covered with a substance that hardened and became very smooth and even, so the messengers could run easily, and on either side were massive walls, built of great blocks of stone, while inside the walls ran clear streams of water, bordered with beautiful trees. The principal road ran from Cuzco to Quito, straight on through mountains which had been cut away, and over rocky precipices, across which suspension bridges were thrown, and through valleys that had been filled up to the level with lime and stones. A day's journey apart on the roads stood the king's palaces, beautifully furnished and fitted up with everything that a traveller might need, and so pleasant was travelling in this country that a long journey seemed only a succession of pleasant trips through delightful forests and amid grand mountain scenery. And all day long, up and down these roads, passed the servants of the Inca, carrying messages and burdens from one part of the empire to the other, and all over the country the people were busy and happy, working for the emperor whom they loved and revered. There were no poor people in Peru, for the Inca owned all the land and mines and palaces, and he gave to each family enough to support them comfortably, while they in return worked for him, and for the weak and sick, who could not care for themselves. The men worked in the gold and silver mines, and on the public roads, and built the temples and palaces, and tilled the fields, and raised the sheep, the wool from which was spun and woven by the women into beautiful cloth, dyed with rare colors, and interwoven sometimes with threads of gold and silver. And although some of the laws were very strict, yet for the most part they were just and merciful; and so the whole empire seemed liked one great family, of which the Inca was the loved and trusted head.