First Sight of the Valley of Mexico.--A Venice in a mountain Valley.--An Emperor waiting his Murderers.--Cortez mowing down unarmed Indians.--A new kind of Piety.--Capture of an Emperor.--Torturing an Emperor to Death.--The Children paying the Penalty of their Fathers' Crimes.--The Aztecs and other Indians.--The Difference is in the Historians.--The Superstitions of the Indians.--The Valley of Mexico.--An American Survey of the Valley.--A topographical View.--The Ponds Chalco, Xochimulco, and Tezcuco were never Lakes. 167 CHAPTER XV. The Two Valleys.--The lake with a leaky Bottom.--The Water could not have been higher.--Nor could the Lagunas or Ponds have been much deeper.--The Brigantines only flat-bottomed Boats.--The Causeway Canals fix the size of the Brigantines.--The Street Canals.--Stagnant Water unfit for Canals.--The probable Dimensions of the City Canals.--Difficulties of disproving a Fiction.--A Dike or Levee.--The Canal of Huehuetoca.--The Map of Cortez.--Wise Provision of Providence.--The Fiction about the numerous Cities in and about the Lake 176 CHAPTER XVI. The Chinampas or Water Gardens.--Laws of Nature not set aside.--Mud will not float.--The present Chinampas.--They never could have been floating Gardens.--Relations of the Chinampas to the ancient State of the Lake in the Valley 186 CHAPTER XVII. The gambling Festival of San Augustine.--Suppressed by Government.--The Losses of the Saint by the Suppression of Gambling.--How Travelers live in the Interior.--A Visit to the Palace 192 CHAPTER XVIII. Visit to Contreras and San Angel.--The End of a brave Soldier.--A Place of Skulls.--A New England Dinner.--An Adventure with Robbers--doubtful.--Reasons for revisiting Mexico.--The Battle at the Mountain of Crosses.--A peculiar Variety of the Cactus.--Three Men gibbeted for robbing a Bishop.--A Court upon Horseback.--The retreat of Cortez to Otumba.--A venerable Cypress Grove.--Unexpectedly comfortable Quarters.--An English Dinner at Tezcuco.--Pleasures unknown to the Kings of Tezcuco.--Relics of Tezcuco.--The Appearance of the Virgin Mary at Tezcuco.--The Causeways of Mexico 196 CHAPTER XIX. The Streets of Tacuba.--The Spaniards and the Indian Women.--The Retreat of Cortez.--The Aqueducts of Mexico.--The English and American Burying-grounds.--The Protestant President.--The rival Virgins.--An Image out of Favor.--The Aztecs and the Spaniards 208 CHAPTER XX. The Paseo at Evening.--Ride to Chapultepec.--The old Cypresses of Chapultepec.--The Capture of Chapultepec.--Molina del Rey.--Tacubaya.--Don Manuel Escandon.--The Tobacco Monopoly.--The Palace of Escandon.--The "Desierto."--Hermits.--Monks in the Conflict with Satan.--Our Lady of Carmel 219