juice, which produced a peculiar effect over the black with which their faces were always painted. They carried in their hands pieces of paper called amasmaxtli [122] and sceptres of palm-wood tipped with a black flower and having in the lower part a ball of black feathers. In dancing they used this sceptre like a staff, and the part by which they grasped it was wrapped round with a paper painted with black lines. The music for the dancers was supplied by a party of unseen musicians, who occupied one of the temple buildings, where they sat, he that played the drum in the centre, and the performers on the other instruments about him. The men and women danced on till night, but the strictest order and decency were preserved, and any lewd word or look brought down swift punishment from the appointed overseers. This feast was closed by the death of a youth who had been during the past year dedicated to and taken care of for Uitzilopochtli, resembling in this the victim of Tezcatlipocâ, whose companion he had indeed been, but without receiving such high honours. This Uitzilopochtli youth was entitled Ixteocalli, [123] or Tlacauepan, or Teicauhtzin, [124] and was held to be the image and representative of the god. When the day of his death came the priests decorated him with papers painted over with black circles, and put a mitre of eagles’ feathers on his head, in the midst of whose plumes was stuck a flint knife, stained half-way up with blood and adorned with red feathers. Tied to his shoulders by strings passing across the breast was a piece of very thin cloth, about a span square, and over it hung a little bag. Over one of his arms was thrown a wild beast’s skin, arranged somewhat like a maniple; bells of gold jingled at his legs as he walked or danced. There were two peculiar things connected with the death of this youth: first, he had absolute liberty of choice regarding the hour in which he was to die; and, second, he was not extended upon any block or altar, but when he wished he threw himself into the arms of the priests, and had his heart so cut out. His head was then hacked off and spitted alongside that of the Tezcatlipocâ youth, of whom we have spoken already. In this same day the priests made little marks on children, cutting them, with thin stone knives, in the breast, stomach, wrists, and fleshy parts of the arms; marks, as the Spanish priests considered, by which the devil should know his own sheep. Teotleco.—The movable feasts sacred to Tezcatlipocâ and alluded to in the list of his festivals are only briefly mentioned by Sahagun, and do not appear to have been of any particular importance. As regards the Teotleco Sahagun says: “The twelfth month was called Teotleco, which signifies the arrival of the gods. A festival was celebrated in honour of all the gods who were said to have gone to some country, I know not where. On the last day of the month a greater one was held, because the gods had returned.