finest vicuña wool was bound around his head, and a yellow _masca paicha_, a kind of fringe, also woven of vicuña wool, was added to this headdress, falling over the brows. The yellow _masca paicha_ was the peculiar insignia of the heir-apparent. As soon as this ceremony was concluded, all the Inca nobles knelt before the prince and rendered him homage as their sovereign. From this time, he was entitled to take his seat among the advisers of his father, so that he might be initiated into the art of governing and become familiar with politics and administration. Being recognized as of age, and the heir to the throne, he was given command of his father’s armies and was entitled to display the royal standard of the rainbow in his military campaigns. The coronation of Maita-Ccapac was the occasion of grand pageants, continued fiestas, and a brilliant display of royal magnificence. We are told that he “was crowned with a blue _masca paicha_ and wore a tunic of white and green, dotted with crimson butterflies.” His royal robe was made of finest vicuña wool and was ornamented with gold and precious stones. The headdress of all Inca emperors was particularly distinguished by two feathers which were placed upright in the front of the encircling _llautu_, or fillet; these feathers were plucked from the wing of the sacred bird _Cori-quenca_, a species of gull, black and white in color, one feather being taken from the right wing of the male and the other from the left wing of the female, to adorn the royal crown. These birds may still be seen in the vicinity of Lake Vilcanota, near Cuzco. [Illustration: INCA FOUNTAIN AT CUZCO.]