Funerals were performed with great solemnity. When a man died, four old men were chosen to have the direction of the funeral rites. They first sprinkled his head with water, and then clothed the body in a dress corresponding to his profession or character in life. If he had been a soldier, they dressed him in the habit of _Mexitli_, the god of war; if a merchant, in the dress of the god of merchants; if a drunkard, in that of the god of wine; and so on. The body was then laid on a funeral pile, and near it a jar of water for him to drink on his journey, and a little dog to lead him. They then set fire to the pile. When the body was consumed, they collected the ashes into a vase, into which they put a little gem, saying that it would serve him for a heart in the next world. They buried this vase in a deep pit, and mourned for the dead eighty days. The Mexicans believed that after death the souls of those that died in battle went to the palace of the sun; a place of endless delight, where they spent four years in the enjoyment of all the pleasures that this glorious deity had provided for this favored class. After this, they supposed that these happy spirits went to animate clouds, and birds of beautiful feathers and sweet song; but thus always at liberty to rise again to heaven or descend to the earth, carolling songs of praise to their glorious benefactor. The souls of children, and of those who died of wounds, went to a paradise beneath the earth, the residence of the god of water. Here, in cool retreats they passed their hours in calm and placid enjoyment, undisturbed by the cares and vexations of the world. For those who died of other diseases, a place of utter darkness was set apart. The spirits sent hither suffered no punishment, and received no pleasure; they were as though they had ceased to exist. With such a creed, it is no wonder that the Mexicans became a nation of warriors. The government of the Mexicans was a pure despotism; the power of the monarch was absolute. When one king died, another was immediately elected by the nobles, from the royal family, to fill his place. After the new king had been solemnly installed, and had taken an oath to govern according to the religion and laws of his ancestors, he made an expedition to obtain prisoners to sacrifice at his coronation. A reign thus barbarously commenced could not long be peaceable. In fact, the Mexican kings were always engaged in fighting with their enemies or in oppressing their subjects.