whatever adversity I will be with you and will give you the help you need.” The emperor discredited the prince’s story and made no preparations for war; but the son was soon informed through various channels that an army of thirty thousand men was marching toward Cuzco; and, as the royal legions were scattered—it being the custom among the Incas, as among the Romans, to dismiss their soldiers after a campaign and to keep no large standing army—the banished prince took matters into his own hands, and, as his father fled from the capital, he entered it, gathered a large military force by the power of his eloquence and the indomitable spirit of a born warrior, and went forth to meet the enemy. After a prolonged and sanguinary struggle the invaders were driven back, and the victor entered Cuzco in triumph, amidst the acclaims of a grateful people. He was immediately crowned Inca Emperor, with the name of Viracocha. [Illustration: RUINS OF THE TEMPLE OF THE INCA VIRACOCHA, NEAR CUZCO.] [Illustration: SEATS FROM WHICH THE INCA AND HIS SUITE VIEWED THE SACRIFICES.] It is related of Viracocha that, upon his return from the battlefield, he sent three messages; the first to the Temple of the Sun and its priests, commanding that sacrifices be offered in thanks; the second to the Mamaconas, or abbesses, in the convent of the vestal virgins; and the third to his father. The Incas never forgot the obligations of their dual sovereignty, and in proportion as their earthly power was extended and increased, the evidences of their spiritual glory became more impressive, and might be seen in the greater riches of the temple, the increased splendor of the annual feasts, and the higher interpretation given to their religion. The priests in the various provinces numbered more than the imperial army, four thousand being engaged in the service of the temple in Cuzco alone. The high priest who stood at the head of the order held his divine office for life and was a near relative of the Inca, as were his colleagues in charge of the various temples throughout the provinces, the rest of the priesthood being chosen from among the _curacas_, who were chiefs of conquered territories, and formed one of the three orders of nobility. The highest nobility of the realm was represented in the princes and princesses of the blood royal, either children of the Coya, the queen-mother, or of the numerous wives in the royal seraglio; next in rank were the Incas “by privilege,” who were descended from the companions and followers of Manco-Ccapac, and who, in dignities and dress, were hardly to be distinguished from the royal family; and finally, the rank of the Curacas, which depended greatly upon the importance of the territory over which they had ruled before its conquest by the Inca; though in every case the Curacas held a position of authority, their number increasing in proportion to the extension of the Inca’s empire. The Incas were obliged to grant especial