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htimelf Ii laiy and stops to rest and himself under the shade of a forest of mense toad.stools that grow near the lake. A mighty Baurian is seated, halt in the lake, f resting on a rocky island in its centre, watblohing the battle with enjoyment, proba bly determined, as soon as the Crab has con qtered his enemy, to step in and settle the ispute, as a great many peacemakers have node In European history, by swallowing both of the combatants. 14. THE FIBRrA' CONFIRENCIE. We have reached the very bottom of the ln a sterile, sandy plain, its level Ie1 en by a single tree of coral, upon whose ches a number of sea-plants are growing. conference of fishes is assembled here. A lying Fish Is the center of the group, the cy lo.ure of all eyes. Around it are gathered an sle Ray, whose long, outstretched wings gie It all the appearance of an eagle just hl¥ad to fly away, chlefly dangerous on ao ounl of the sting nrrite tail; a 1Red Fire Fish, with scolloped wings and long bony fine; a apphire CJunard or hog fish, its hody red and g id, its fins blue ;.nd an eyed Pteracles, half bir half fish. IP a corner, hidden in the tase of the corae tree, a hungry 8hark is lurking, waiting aRni watohng evidently for a fair opportunity to dash upon the other flsh and secure a rich hooty. His mouth is open already in antlcipation of his prey, and one aon easily see within the d.,sol rows of teeth he boasts of that mnakes breakfast such an agreeable meal for him. 15. THU P ALL OF THE MOLLUKHE. But a few stops off, alse at the bottom of e sea, our brethren, the mollusks, descended m the same great anestor as we, If Dar its to be believed, are sporting merrily among the shells and corals that cover the bd of the ocean. It is a hall night, as grand ball in this submarine kingdom as that of et's on earth, and all the beauty and chlv lry (they always a'tt nd balls) of the mollulsk ElIy are assembled to pass the night, n joy and merriment. 'Tihe band is somewhat meagre in numbers, it must be confessed, but then there Is no 'rhirteenth Regiment eta oned here, and no the mollusks for their Wuslc must depend upon the single conk-shell horn of old Purple-Heart-Urchin. 8Hated bow-legged on an empty snail shell, the old pan-a cousin to the star-fishes, it must be kown--blows and blows away with all his force and energy, and manages to send a low, shrill music through the air--we forget, the water--to which the younger mollusks pres. nOt can danoe. Upon a large round shell is terla-Btar-Fish, gayly waiElzing It, or prob ably heel-ald-toe-tug it, for fashion has pene ated even to these depths, with the fair Gem Plmplet, whose halr, too red to be dis guised under the term of "auburn," hangs In rtk ringlets, concealing her rosy-warty TIhere is another couple present; but they Iave tired of the "light fantastic" and found Ssweet and cosy retreat in which to talk of love-a nice retired box, a long circular shell Sfrom the crowd, and where a kiss or so, if yWay should happen to indulge in such luxu will escape too much indlscreet public at eton. Mr. Opelet, were one to judge of his e by the color of his hair is an old man ao old by far for any sentiment or flirting, lr his locks, thick. snaky curle, are white as pow; nor are his features those of Grecian -uty, but dwartish, wrinkled and grotesque the last degree, as If convulsed with laugh ler. Despite this fact, the fair Rtoy-Feather star is evidently deeply smitten with his -harme-of mind If not of person-and more tha once throws her fair self Into his arms And heape the fondest caresses on him. IV. FIRE. 16, THE FOUR FIRM1E. When the fire-bells ring out at night their wild exciting music, and then slowly toll the number of your district, you dash hurriedly that s, unless you aresllghtly over-Insured the cars and hasten home; and when you ad only smouldering ruins awaiting you - house, furniture, books and papers all gone- you curse tire and wish it had never been die covered by Prometheue. But when a Texa. norther reaches the city, when the thermometer drops like a favorite hlilfornia mining stock and the cold wind whistles around your ears and seems to prick you with a million needles, you fold your .Wlter closely around you and hurry home for coomfortable place by your Ohberful grate. hen is fire a blessing, And when again the doctor has given up all hope, and says that the end is near, anit ou ftel as if you wanted a little more time Ut fix up things," then fire becomes a diread ltl-but we are wandering off from Rex to orthodoxy and Bob Ingersoll. A mighty agent, fire, of both good and evil, now sweeping cities away, now broiling an eegant porter-house steak. Ah! that steak, how its fragrance still hangs around ! How could our prehistoric ancestors of the Stone Age have existed without tire, without broiled Iteake and fried chicken ? And what is there t wonder at, that when they finally dlscov ered how to obtain this element from two 1lnt rocks they should have made a god and erected altars and temples to it, ? But noble as were the temples of Baal and oloch, the fire gods, they fell far short of that which Rex has erected to the destroying element. In the centre of this edifice four phomnixes support an altar on which stand, In the midst of a sea of flames, the chemical parents of ire, Mr. Oxygen and Mrs. Carbon. The first M one blase of fire; the latter, a dark bru nette, is dressed in black trimmed liamecolor. At each of the four corners of the temple is one of the four slaves of fire, who, at a word or a match, instantaneously do its bidding-Oil, ea., Candle and Gunpowder, each In fiamecol d garments of various degrees of reful -aoe, that of Candle being much the oberest and least brilliant. [it is here that Rex falls into a small error of .taking the light given by gas a very brilliant one. He had evidently never sees in a newspaper office after midnight, when the pressure on the gasometer has been removed and the light becomes slim and sgckly.) Four pillars-or we might better style them lamp-posts--arise at the cor ners where the slaves of fire stand, each decked with the utensil that gives forth the light it represents. A whirligig, one of those Christmas pyrot chnice which always goes the different way from what is expected, crowns the lamp-Post to which Gunpowder, like a Canal street "masher," is clinging. Oil's poet is surmounted by an old-fashioned lamp of theancient Grecian fashion; Candle's with an immense chandelier, and Gas with the latest thing in gas fixtures. 17.-THE FIRE WORSHIPERS. Fire was a god among all the nations of an tiquity, even the Romans worshiping it as they evidenced by the altar on whi'n they k-et a fire ever burning In honor of Vesta; but the great fire worshtpers of antiquity were the Persians and the Philistines. The worship of Zoroaster is at least without acrme attached to it. The priest, a man of -enerable and amiable appearance, with long, dowing white beard, has but to keep alive the eternal flames that burn upon the altar in honorof his god. Not so is it with the greedy and insatiable Moloch. god of the Phillstlnee and Phoenicians. The uglyimage of Moloch, an immense god, built almost entirely of iron, has a furnace in his stomach, which the gdrest ever and anon stirs up until the names leap high up out of the god's mouth and the smoke escapes from his eyes and ears. Having thus stirred up the appetite of his amiable deity, the priest proceeds to feed him with victims, cutting up his captives into small pieces, which he drops, in the form of arms and legs, into the gaping mouth of the hungry monster. 18. THUNDER AND LIGHTNTGO . We are far above the clouds. A storm is brooding over the earth, and here, in our 'post of vantage," we can watch it as it breaks into life; for here are Thunder and Lightning in state, surrounded by their at tendant sprites. Sheet Lightning, a queen, s seated on a throne, behind which the elec tric fire bursts out in every direction, lighting the whole horizon. Before her, stanoing on a cloud, is Forked Lightning, from every por tion of whose body dart the zig-zag streaks t of electricity. His two attendant spirits, Negative and Positive Electricity (both fe- r .) stand on either hand, and at their oeuch the Lightning springs into life and rat- C ties through the clouds. Thosee two old pals, Thunder and Light- 0 aing, ocacpy the front of the clouds. Tney t are evidently of German or Scandinavian c brth as they indicate by the color of their t ba- taxen and red, and their loag, flowing hra_-- wblhh .i down to their waistsI 0LS~~sue~ pOpvr ·ia they fire Iaway with heaven's artillery at this unhappy world. The thunder-bolt Is oast, and has shot its alg-a.g course through the air and reached its mark, striking an unhappy treeand scattering lt,bough and branches, far had wide; and then old Thunder ralens the mighty hammer which he brandishes and, let ting it tall, sends a noise thit reverberates through the heavens to scare the children Into tears, and make apprehenslve and nervous old ladles seek refuge between two feather mattresses. 19. THR STN'S JOURNEY. . We are still sailing through the heavens. The storm is over and night has come upon . us. A break In the clouds shows us this globe far, far beneath. Our close inspecting eyes at Iast make out the continents over which we fly, and dwell, with patriotic ardor, if only for a second. , upon the little dot that marks all t we can see of New Orleans. But the thick, heavy darkness that clings around the earth soon breaks-ucifer, the Morning Star, is leading I'lPhrlus on his daily voyage around the heavens, supporting thereby in the most convincing mnaner the doctrine of that reverend colored gentleman, Mr. Jasper, at whom the press has boen ever poking fun because he backed up Joshua in the assertion that the sun "do move." The star of day is all arrayed in pink, the mark of the early dawn, which by the way more people had an opportunity of seeing this morning than for many years. Behind this messenger tideAs 'hinbus in his sun charlot, drawn by four fiery untamied steeds of the best racing record, whose time indeed has never been ibeatn save by light and eleo tricity. There is no danger here, however wildly and rampantly these animals toes themselves, of the catastrophe that came when young Phmtom stole his father's chariot and sought to steal a ride around the heavens, for the hands that hold the reins are strong and firm and direct tkecharlot safely over the milky way between the fiery lion and the balefulscorpion, that glare at. it on either aide; and thus the chariot of the firy wheels rolls on. Before it the shades of night tite away, the brilliant, moon melts Into a "fleecy cloud;' and it is light. 10. TIts HORE OF TIM (tNONATEldATIONS. And having climbed the heavens, sailed through the ether until the spot where 8 ,i himself is placed to light and warm the earth, we reach the uttermost confinea of the unl verse, that the astronomers so sigh to get but a glimpse of, the spot where the stars are set and the constellations fixed. The Mahome tans believe that the vaultof heaven is sup ported on the horns of a beautiful blue cow. ltex, though he comes from distant Nlmroud, does not agree with them in this, andt tells tus that it rises on eight waving blue pillars, supporting a dome of blue. freckled with stars. Through each of the openings between these pillare a heavenly hody looks out upon the earth; a Constellation a Comet Nebulm, a Star Cluster, Sirius. a Planet, annti Double, Variable and Temporary Stars. The t latter, radiant with gold, wears a long and t heavy cloak, with which, when she wishes, I she can hide herself from view, and seek a rest In darkness and In night. The Variable Star, like a cleus clown, is dressed, one side in red, the other in green and as she turns around perplexes the astronomers, as the I two knights of old were worried by that I white-black shield they saw, as to the color of her light. Sirius, the dog star, the most r brilliant of all the inhabitants of the heavens, is seated in the centre of the heavens upon a throne supported by two winged dogs, the t other heavenly bodies ranged around him In 1 a circle. t A EUIRTOPEAN CONCERT. There is but a slight break In the proces sion and a huge palace rolls along which r mounts so high in the heavens that the tele rraph wires have a difticult task to keep out of its way. It is a Concert. in which Bismarck acts as director. while all the other European Na tions join in with their music. France, Eng land and Austria occupy the front seats, represented by Louis Napoleon a jolly stout English tar, and a hussar in full uniform. Behind themn are ranged the other European countries; Denmark, Holland, Switzerland, and even little Monaco, each playing on Its favorite Instrument, and managing together to set up the greatest harmony of discord ever heard out of Pandemonium. THE PI'IOtTY PHUNNY PHELLOW8. 8tra~gei'ts who come aulonlg ud gay that we Orloeamuns are over fond of pomp and pro ceesion- particularly the latter; that we pro cessionize more than any other people on the face of the earth; turn out not only on fete days, but funerals as well; in fact, that a citizen of the Crescent City is nevdr so proudi and happy as when, mounted on a ilery, un tamed steed, adorned with rosettes and rib bone, he rides at the head of "tim boys." Ho strong is this feeling that many of our young men actually work solidly for a week some times in orUer to lay by enough funds to pay the monthly dues of the numerous social, military, benovolent, sporting and other so cieties of which they are influential members; nay, they will even kindly ie on a Saturday, hanging on to life with gr m tenure until the last day of the week, so that the funeral can come off in line style on the morrow, when none of the boys are at work and all can turn out. With a brass band before him, to the tune even of "Baby Mine," execrably reedered, an Orleanlan will march gladly from 'Carrollton to the Slaughter House-work equal to the labor of raising a bale of cotton or a barrel of sugar--with no other reward in view thana sun-dried bouquet from his girl and a good send-off to the ceme tery when he "croaks." Such is the story our friends, the Phunny Phorty Phellows funny still, if no longer forty, for they have grown into twice two hundred men-wish to tell us In tht Ir pageant. It Is a procession such as New Orleans can turn out-a proces sion of all the professional proeesslonizers of this city, an entertainment given by Brother Jonathan, Boss of the Universe, and his spouse, the Goddess of Liberty, to the varl ous races and nationalities that go to make up the mixed population of our very cosmo politan city. The first float is, as the Boss P. P. P. tells us,slightly allegorical-a pictureof their mag nificent country, this glorious republic, with its favorite productions, not cotton nor sugar nor wheat, but those two great products that are to be found wherever an American is, to bacco and whisky. Upon a throne built of barrels of the choicest Bourbon and thistle Dew the royal couple sit in at ite. Brother Jonathan is no longer the thin, wiry man that the pictures and pantomimes have been wont to represent him. Good living has made him wondrous stout and rosy-cheeked-not to mention rosy-nosed. He has no sceptre In his hand-we are a republic still, even if Grant is running for a third term-but holds instead that emblem of liberty, fraternity and equality-a whisky bottle. His dame also is slightly changed, fattened out from her former regular Greclan fea tures. Some go so tar as to pretend they can detect a manifest Hibereraniz - tion in her face, as if, thanks to emigrant ships, the United States was rapidly becom tug a little Irish. Her bird also is changed; for apparently the eagle has escaped or been stolen by some enterprising chicken thief and its place is supplied by that bird emblematic of American cheek, the cock. Thetreasur"s of America are plied in pyramids around the couple; boxes of Keno tobacco, Golden thread, D)urham, La Belle Creole cigarettes and a carat of Perique, and barrels of every variety of whisky. As a ltit and proper escort to their majesties came the Continental Cavalry, armed with gigantic spurs and creased in the frilled shirts and three-cornered cocked hats of Washing ton's day, lohking for all the world as if they had been buried at the time the Revolutionary army disbanded, and but recently resurrected for this occasion. The flag carried by them is, it will be noticed, much torn and damaged by dirt. These damages were incurred dur ing war, this flag having been borne at the head of the Continentals In 153 hard-fought battles. We state thison the authority of one of the Continentals themselves, and we expect everybody to believe it-we won't take a bat tileoff-and not to suspiciously assert their belief that this battle-flag was only torn and rubhhed ino the mud for this special occasion. First in line of Br',tner Jonathan's guests came the city fathers, who, as the boss P. P. P. again expresses it, "always honor the oc casion," and who are expected kp spend Dalf their time in procession duty. wIn the front b carriage is the Lord Mayor, In the robes C that a Lord Mayor should, but don't wear, brandishing-In his hand as a baton a log. and heavy roil--ths citybu dIe t eampm1wl'3p111101ioa sun. Bail(, e B 'ý ... lie Department. Then In oarrtlgee two to eaoh id oarrlaIe, follow the other oitt ofiocers, the bir Lord of Assessments with a roll marked con )y spicuougly Ai8, and the Keeper of Accounts: ir the Chief Clubber, in M. P. uniform and with ie club in hand, and the lion. Englneer of t- Chantles and Plugs, and last of all the Jack es of 8padee and the Proprietor of the Levee to Dues. ur A noble hummer, red and humpy, bears aloft er a banner with this device: "Our Guests--The Dead Beats who never miss the occasion," with a noble army of some of the supei fluous "kernels" and "mejahe" around town, strong * In numrhers, behinli it. They sport borrowed in eigars and stolen umbrellas, and are looking a llttle fatigued and anxious for the procession it to end and the free lunch, at which they fight so nobly, to begin. There is considerable ir hilarity displayedl in the crowd as they recog SimxI in this gang the faes of several well k known gentlemon about town who have been is living on the conl rrrunity for several years Spast; and more than one looker-on, whose Il linealmets bear too ciose a resmlnblanoc to those of one of the Ieats, flushe utip In anger, t anrd, olbowing his way through the crowd, r, tiats a hasty retreat from the Ilm pertinent g giggles with some very profane remarks of ih low beastly stupidn the wihoi thing is. Isl talllling on the top of a lining roof, with 1e squirt in hand whererwith to wash out thecon y lthration, conmes another guest of Broth'r Slonatinhau, the representativev of the lire de 1 partrncit, in whose lineanuents sonle pretend tdiscover our worthy fellow-townsmran 1'- .n 0'U- n-- r. Next is our bold "u.elish," rep resented in tihe person of Gien. W-iil -m J. l$--ih -n. Thie float hears tlrong testlmonials to the noble action of our "ruwlish" in thoseO p glorious affairs of lFebruary 22 and July 4, when tley foughllt so nobly for the country. Indeed, nlino iut envious and disagreeable Ipersons will recollect tie only defeat in th"ir proud record of glory, the unfortunate affair of February 22, a few years ago, when, 1 owing to a shower, our citlatE soldiery were unable to turn out from fear of get ting their feet wet. The desperate courage of the soldiery is allegorically repro sented by a swell and sickly Uhinaman, whom (Gen. lJ--h--n has slain, and who lies crushed under his foot, while he utters those soul-thrillng words "Nic seRmpcr tyrranni"- death to all tyrants. A bottlo and glass, set In one corner of the lloat, have evi dently been left there by mlstake, as no one would dare to suggest that our "melish" ever devoted too much of its time while in camp to the study and consideratlion of the bottle. The Cotton Jammers' Benevolent Assoela tion follows. Everyabody knows the cotton Jamrners, who are the favorite processlonizere of the city, who turn out oftener than any other of our assocatitons. Their attire Is at lelm in its way, furll dross muits, beaver hat, swallow talls and long white dleck vests. The usual marshals and line oif calriages lead and introduce us to the A No. 1 ship "Sally Ann," I upon whose decks 1( see the cotton jmulllre husily engaged in crwirng the cotton into the hoL. A long line of the jammers fIol low, winding up the lirst part of thie proces sion, Hection 2, led by a band, contains the va rious foretign socetlIes of our cit y. The "John Urapean l' rancois Hoolete Ihonflile" leads off, t its banner bearing the emblem of a frog upon Its pole. A float representing Moses In the bull- t rushes hunting for a germ follows. In the features of this Moses somg pretend to dnetect I l)r. S m--I Ch--pp---n. Hi has finally solved I the groat questions of infection, hbactria, quarantine, etc., having succeeded In catch- r Ing, with the aid of a filsling ilue, a fever u germ in onn of our palmlntto swamps. As far tt as we can see, frTom a hasty glance at the i aforesaid germ, it is a golden insect, looking mulch like a do(dil-hbug, but the mules tothat t' float are frisky and dash off so rapidly that before we are abile to got a good view of this terrihle mornster, so as to identify It in Cese we should ever encounter it out N lhunting, it dashes by. " Ye Ani'ent Disorder of libnrnlcons" follow. They ari, but new arrivals in Si the country, however, as they evidence p in their knee-breeches and long stockings, er the traditiional dross or Irish peasants. ( 'Theilr cocked hats, of the flnrst felt, t from which the gracefurl snow-white plumes ri of the fl,et-footed bird of Africa hang down It about their necks; their rich regliaa ofr green 1. silk ant satin, with golden harps, sun-iursts it and shamrock worked Iruponi tllem, and the o( costly bouquets of cape ja"mnines and gerani- 0 ums that tLelr lady adnmirers have presented tt them with, recanl sio mlny pleasant memo- t ries of March 17 that It is iupn ,siible for uis t to fall to re(omaniz- the or iginals of this body. o Next to thie rishll c(oi the JortnalI, led by dl their patron saint (lallthrinus, mlounted on a w throne of beer kegs, arrangned in royal robes at anrd crowned witll a iiwliwg cup of Iager. In u -Is pleasant face we i race tile llineamlents of b that god of bier, J. IB -ltz. On the four cur- t ners of the beer fluait are t, llallng four repre- ti seantative Americanrls, a Frenchman, a negro, a Germllan and an old Irslth woman, patronse I all oif te beer keg. In The (Gertman nin follow, as near those tf beer kegs as po4slhi,'. oying them as if they c. expected to couli their warlnith and wash awiy U their fatigues therewith ias soon as the day's t march was over. Th.eir bannelr hears a large I cablbage (not as yet sauer-kraut) as emblem Et of the (Merman empire, and a mottuo which, 01 freely translated, elutans that the (ermans t, want everything in this country. The Ital- s lan do Macaroni Christo Colombo Hoci.teeo follows. The precision and order with which ar our follow-citizens of Latin origin march is , extraordinary. T'hey have evidently been thoroughly drilled, as Is evidenced by the st fact that no two ranks are even and no man r is where he should be. And last of all comes the grand wind-up of c the New Orlsans procesion, the boorlng B 8 -mb--la, the man who tirres our salutes and i is not reeponsible for broken glass. His Ie manly figure bestrides a cannon, where he tt sits, sword in hand, ready for a oontraot to b "boom." And thus ends the pageat of the I1 P'horty Phunny Phellows, havirg given us a di view or some two hundred of our leading and , moet influential cltintse. THE LOTTERY LIST. The following numbers won the prlncipal prizes in the two dollar drawing of the Louis lslana State Lottery, which took place yesterday at the roams of the company: $50.00--77 a1t. t*,@000-54 577. $.&,,OS.- 9 :15. $1.*.10 - 2.o6s. 33 32,. 73 726. 8.0916. 93.9815. $I n-2.319, 4.491. 6 976.12. 12 (5.512.907. 23 808, 23,927. 26.391. 29.163, 32 871. 35.079, 39.465. 48.117, 56.949, 89 040. 60.987. 63,641, 98.725. Half of the tlcet capital orz . was sold in Little Rock, Ark. The second prize was sold II Chi cago The third capital prize was sold in Talla hassee. Fla. THE BETHEL CONCERT. The concert at the Uuner B-thel last evening was a brilliant performance, and was given by 'The MisRIssippi" Captain. M. Gibson. under the management ofThlrd Oftloer Robt. Hurr-ll. Tuere was a large attendance of seamen, who have manifested a very general Interest in the B t'l, 1, and he strangers present from the Northern. Western and oth, r S ates. were pleased with somehing 'bhey had neverwit nessed befo e-a seaminn's concert-an I were impressed with its uijti.ueness and its success. PERSONAL. The DEMOCBAT office was honored yesterday bh the visat of WM-. Emmett L. Ross, editor of the vCauton (~1i-s.) Mail, a poet and j urnatter. who is here to enjoy our Mardi Gras jolifi ations. Adolph Ne-Ison. who reprsents John Gib son's ,on & C 'c celebrat.ti pure rye whl-ki s, is here on bu.ine-s for his hOluse and can he found at Meosrs. n8mhh Bros. & 0o.. Poydras street. Among the many visitors now in the city is Jame- Gamble. E-q. of East Sarin w. Mich. Mr. Gamble represents the Saginaw Daily Cou ritr. We were pleased to meet himt I lthe LbuM OC.AT office yesterday, and to learn that he will otrry hack to his home only agreeabl- tl emo ries of New Orleans ant its carnival season. BREVITIES. The Dumaine Street Car *mpany are pro gressive. They now give the public all.nixht cars. It was universally said yesterday that R x had surpassed himself, and that his dieplay could not be improved noon. What beautiful photographs Washburn is takinal Thea are the L dsbert jadesas plo *P16't M. K. C. Eighteentlh Annual RIepre sentation of the Mis tick Krewe of Comuins. A Review of the Rise ald Fall of the Aztec Race of Mexico. Their Arlt, SNcine, , lteligonf , ('ivillha ion .Olud ullmeNstl' HJabit~. r Night came on, and with it the same crowd that bas filled Canal street all througll the lday. Many a one has rushed home for a dinner, - devoured( with such haste as tio suggest a ter riible it of ndtlgestlon to-night. and hurried ( down again to a place at the front, where, with one foot In the gutter, and the other sup porting a 200-pound market lady, he can get a close nluspection o( the Mistick Kreow, and so study their apparel as to be able to tell whether they are really silk and satin, as they pretend to be, or only make-believe. Others, with still greater foresight and precaution, have given up all idea of dinner, concluding to feast their eyes alone to-day, keep their seats upon some particularly soft curbstone, take from the deepest recesses of their pock ets a battered, bruised and eat-on piece of bread and cheese and chuckle triumphantly over their success and the disappointment that those procrastinati"rs who are always behind time will feel, when they come down I town and flind all the front seats already oc cupied. As usual, the Mistick Krewe breaks upon its audience without warning. It comes all of a sudden, in a brilliant blaze of glory, that seems to spring from the earth, a blaze of light, which reflects far down the street the e words, t "TIIE AZIEC RACE." " There are some who scratch their heads a t little at this title, and vainly search amid the I old ruh'blah they stored there In timhe long ago ± time of their school days to discover what 'I "Aztec" means, but they search in vain, and i are prepared to see anything from a monkey to an angel, when the remark of some learned looker-on that the Aztecs were the ancient in habitants of Mexico, anti the most civilized race of North America, that clears up the mystery, and all know they are to be treated to a searching reviewof the history of Mjloo o from the ages that precede the birth of his- 1 tory to the conquest of Cortez. 1. TIIHE FOUNDTN(O OF MILEXIlO. From out of the wild forests of Western North America there started, some eight cen turies ago, a little band of Indians. Wild and savage were they and, to the last degree, un polished and uncivilized. They were wander ers, nonlads who never settled down in any one place, but hunted anti tramped through the country, picking up a meagre and preca rious subsistence, as best they could, by hunt ing and flshing. Where they came from they Ithemselves did not know or whither bound, Sbut an oracle had told them that they would continue to wander on until some propitious omen should tell them where to build a city that would grow great and famous. Thus tossed about, driven hither by one tribe, whose territory they Invaded, and thither by an other race they incommoded, this little A dian band, who caIled themselves Aztecs, wandered south until they found themnelves at last In a beautiful and fertile valley. Even then they did not give up their nomadic life. but tram ped for a century and a half through the valleys atl over the plains of what is now the table land of Mexico. It Is a bright summer (lay as the wander ing Aztecs camp alongside the mountain lake of T'ezuco). A convenient spot it is for thiem, for tihe hills which cluster around It contalin any number of caves dug by the Ullchemrnecs, a rude tribe which had preceded them in this country by some ce tury or two. It is daybreak. 'ihe Indians, albused by the sun's rays penetratling within their cavern ous retreats come forth therefrom to view the country in which they are camped. The scenery around Is beautiful lndeed. The ground is covered with all kinds of cactus and colored grasses. In the distance can be seen afar off the snowy summit of Popocata petil, jeweled In the sun rays. In front stretches the beautiful lake of Tezcuco, fringed by a line of low hills, among which rises a conspicuous object, the forest-covered OUbapultepec, the bill of the grasshopper. But nature cannot excite or arouse the enthu siasia of these savages. It is neither the lake nor the volcano, the blooming aloes nor the prickly cactus, which catches their eye, but the omen for which they have been so long searching. For there, in the very mid dle of the lake, grows a cactus bush, on which an eagle has alighted with outstretched wings to snatch a long green serpent which it bears off in its talons. Here, then, must their long, weary march end; and here, in the midst of this lake, must they found their future capital. The little group of Aztecs which watch this eagle, wl.h hands before their eyes to shade them from the sun's wild glare, are four In number, not in cluding the pappoose which one of them, a woman, has strung, Indian-fashion, on her back. Their dress and weapons show in what a savage state they live, less advanced than the most barbarous of our wild or blanket In dians. Their hair, long, black and coarse, is ornamented with colored feathers; their dress is the skins of wild beasts slain by them in the chase; their belts, however, are far more wonderful than those extraordinary things our ladles wear to-day, for they are the aidl:skof monstrous serpents, green anYtblue, which these savages hang in triumph around their waist, since to them the serpent, rattle snake and moccasin, is thesweetestand dear est of reptiles, emblem of time and eternity. Upon their backs areswung long Indian bows and in their serpentine belts hang clubs or tomahawks. They watch the omen atten tively, and, as the eagle rises from the cactus to bear its spoil to the hungry eaglets which in some neighboring tree-top are clamoring for a meal, set up a shout of triumph and demonstrate their joy with all the hearty simplicity and earnestness of savages. One of them, evidently a pilest, despite his tomahawk and parlike accoutre ments, seizes a red earthen oll or image, per haps the dread Huitz-lopocht i himself, of the most ugly, deformed antd offensive features, and waves it high in the air that the god may see how the oracle has been answered and the omen found. One of his companions finds a relief for his overburdened feelings in mu:ic, and manages, in some inexplicable manner, to turn a barbarous tune upon a rib-bone. Yei; the oracle has proved a true one. There, in the centre of the lake, the Aztec wanderers stopped and built their city. The houses were rude enough at first, mere mud adobes or built of canes and rushes, covered with mud, while the inhabitants who lived in these malarial dwellings and shook with swamp fever, depended for their living mainly on such fish as hooks or nets would yield them. But it was a safe retreat, so uninviting that the warlike tribes around left them un disturbed in their marshes until the little vil lage of reed huts had grown into a stone city, not only the largest in America, but at the time that Christopher Columbus first sighted our shores the largest in the world. And as population increased so dldi 2. cM nrziv nO . i .pAxas have, takum the 4 Qto 4.v.ae toward lvillzition. They have discovered the use of fire and the division of time. It ls a public holiday in Tenochtitlan (the ancient Aztec name of the City of Mexico) and all Its varied population--prie st peasant and noble-have poured out in their plragune from this American Venice to see the wonders of their new discoveries. They are gathered before a hill where lies the great calendar stone, by which the time, the move ments of the sun and moon and stars are cal culated, and there the priests proceed to tell them of lire and time. Two priests are mounted on a slight elevation; one has a large barrel drum, whose dull notes can be heard any distance, and which calls to the Temple the people from afar. The other has a torch lighted by that new lire, treasured by the Aztec with as much care and foretholught as ever was the Immortal fire of Vesta by the Roman virgins, and waves It to and fro. In the front of the cliff whereon the priests are standing is the great cab ndar stone of the Aztecs, on which rests so much of their claim to civilization. Its whole history Is sottethiug of a mystery. Th'is remarkable ascipture Is of dark porphyry and weighs no less than fifty tons. Ilow the Aztecs, who possessed no Ineclhanlial contrlvanlces, no drawhtlt animalis of ay kind, could have con- I voyetl thln monuilstroits milans from the fati dls- I tant mountains of (Cllolla to thile clif where 1 on it now stands Is a puzzle that historians have never beon able to solve. Its lact is richly engravern with symbolic carvings and hlProglyphi,., which enable the priests to cal - ilate the days and months with a skill and perfectilon that far ext led the cahlculatlons of the best astronomers of Itorne in its most cicjlized days, or, for that matter, of MoHdern Europe, for the leap years were so well ar ranged that the Aztecs lost but one day in (I0 t years in their count, whereas the Julian system lost one day in each century. o The people who gaze upon this stone and n upon this new-b.orn ire are showing their joy iI in every posselble manner. They are unlike h the rude savages that preceded them, and are dressed In rotes of spun aotton. Their hair Is t covered with ornaments of feathers, save the r woman's, whose flowing locks are crowned " with a perfect boulquet of flowers. The pot tery and vases scattered around on theground are further evidence of their progrness. 8. THEI (tODEN AotE OF ANAIIUAri. f The golden age of the Aztecs has been aI reached and Qietzalcoatl the white god of e the air, rules over them. Under him the earth teems with fruits and flowers, without the i pains of culture. An ear of Inlian corn is as 01 much as one man can carry. The air is filled i with Intoxicating perfumes and the sweet at melody of birds. Quetzalcoatl himself Is tall In stature, of fair white skin, and with a long hi Ilwing beard. Finallydrlven from the coun try, he sets sail from the ungrateful shores of a Anahuac (Mexico) In his skiff of serpents' a skins, promiinug his people, however, to re- t turn and visit them again when his aid was t needed. It was this tradition that made the t Aztecs first welcome tile Hpa.nlards to their r hlad, believing them to be Qtlutzalcoatl's peo pie. 51 Uinder the glorious rule of this mionarch th the prhiets flourlsh, and the great gdl, Tezcatllpoaa, the creator, receives far more i sacrllices than he had ever enjoyed before. an The day of saerlltice hais arrivedi, and the a young Indian who has played the part of the god for several months, crowned with flowers, e living on the best in the land, anti waited on ie by four of the prettiest glrls in Ahanuac, is tn about to pay the penalty or his short career th of enjoyment by the roost horrible of deaths. ar We enter the great temple of Tezeatlipoca as with the priests. It is a high pyramid much like that of Egypt, built of huge stones filled In with earth. A long and tiresome trip Is m the journey to the summit of this temple, for cu the path leaIds all aroundt it before one step up ware is made, so that the distance is ten times I multiplied. The shrine of Tezcatlipoca, "the cht creator," stands at the eastern end of the wi building. There sits the ugly image of the l god, of "features horrible and lineaments too pia foul for human sight." A row of skulls, (A tokens of former victime, surrouindl the shrine(A4 in which he stands, while around the pyramid one are coiled huge serpents of red ani green hue, cia whose color, shape, shap deedl their very twist- is ings, are emblematic mysteries in the eyes of 1ol the priests. lnrn t.hnrtnah.fn lto In .ailn onk..r..h I .a. Hore the priests, clad in sable robes, covered with hieroglyphics of Imystic import, and with their long matted hair hanging down their backs, receive their victim with pomp and ceremony. They throw away the gay chaplet of liowers which he wears, strip him of the gaudy apparel in which he has flourished, and then sacrllice hinm to the true Tezcatlipoca on the sacrifllcial stone, a huge block of jasper, with its uipper part somewhat convex. Four priests are oIllolating at this great religious ceremony, andi are gathered around the stone on which lies the body of their victim. Twoof them hold his feet and arms, while the third grasps a sharp razor of itzli-a volcanic substance, hard as flint--and with It opens the breast of the unfortunate wretch, and Inserting his his hand in the wound tears out his yet warm and bleeding heart. riThe deed is over; the blood of the victim pours out in torrents until the flor of the pyramid is covered with it, anIl the priests can with difficulty walk about thereon. The victim has been disombowled, the auguries found promising, and the priests now divide the carcase that each may have the proper share and portion for his evening's meal. One secures a nice broil, another walks off happy with a pair of legs beneath his arm, happy over the expected treat he will have when his cook has properly dressed these choice tidbits with pep per, sugar and vanilla. The head only is unclaimed, for It must go to Tezeatlipoca him self to crown the mighty pyramid of skulls that stand in the skull room of his temple and which the priests, who have counted them over so often with delight, know already amount to 160,000, the largest and choicest collection in all Anahuac. 4. THE JUDTIOARY. But perhaps the prisoner has been con demned to death, not by the priesthood as an offerlng to the gods, but for some deadly crime; he has removed the boundaries of an other's land, altered the established measures, squandered his patrimony-a capital offense got drunk (punished with death in the young, but permissible in the old). He has been tried by the lower court and found guilty; has appealed to the superior court, only to have the former decision approved, and now stands before the poet-king of Tezcuco the great Nezahualcoyotl for sentence. The king 1s seated in state in the courtyard of his great palace, known as "the tribunal of God." His I throne is of pure gold, inlaid with turquoises. His chair is covered with the beautiful spot ted skin of the jaguar or American tiger. But the grandest thing of all is the canopy that shades him from the rays of the sun. This t is one of the choicest gems of that celebrated feather-work or plumage for which both Az- t tees and Acolhuans were famous. _ By the side of the King are a number of nobles, caclques of the highest rank, also wearing featner ornaments, and a clerk with wand in hand, who has traced on the papyrus records of the court the fatal arrow which means death. The prisoner, naked, and with his t hands tied together behind his back, faces his t sovereign and judge with downcast head. Near him is a guard with javelin in hand, t ready at the King's command to award the penalty of death. There is silence in the court as the King touches with the golden arrow he holds in lieu of sceptre, a skull crowned with an im- E mense emerald, Itself surrounded by an r itgretteof flowers, which lies upon a stool by f his side. It is the irrevocable sentence to death. 9 5. THE OHINAMPAS. The ancient city of Mexico lay in the cen tre of Lake Tezcuco. It was essentially an v Island city, and was built much like Venice, t. having canals running through all the prln- a i pal streets. The connection with the main- is land was by means of periaguas, or over three causeways, whicn were built of stone and o mud, with drawbridges, to pull up in case p the city was attacked by an enemy from the b land. Around this lake was clusterel, in a o number of cities, nearly the entire population ii of Anahuac. The land was thickly settled; Q much more so than to-day; indeed, so dense- t ly populated that a considerable portion of d the population took to the lake and con- r atructed thereon farms for themelves in the p , rm of floating islands, called by the Aztecs p 'chinampas." t A light breeze which ripples the surface of b this usually quiet lake blows one of these c 3hinampas this way. It is quite a large one, Ii large enough to hold a dwelling; a small one tim true, builtof reeds, but gally adorned t itflowers tha ceep ad cufster all over a red It and a small tree that seems to flotur It swatery island home. A cosy little D fhe is this chlnampia, wherein a mah migfl be co) glad to retreat from the world, for here le tnt no neighborse, and if one place becomes Oir tasteful to him, a g(o01 bamboo cane W tee push him over the shallow lake to some morl sy favorable and inviting spot. vat There Is a visitor to this chilnampa to-day, re- a trader, a sort of Itinerant mrrchant or al- peddler, who came with his goode Ill from the city to exchange them for the pro re ductions--frulte, flowers and vegetables-Of I athis floating garden. Ills canoe or piragud be is fastened to the shore, and hle is InvIting alhe he fair delnzens of the sleland--for the gentlemal as of the house has gone out fishing and left the by ladies alone at home -to a glance at his steak ht rows of cages of birds of the mtost hrillalti he hues, parro luets, macaws and humming birds, richly colored cotton.s aid fruits aU ta vewetables. A girl who is tralticklig wibh him of offers In exnhange for hIs gioods a bouquet she ir has just imlade. hI'l other inhabitants of the ls island nar lorn busy to buy from or gosseip withi 1c the peddler, for they have twfero them the to duty of preparing the tortilla brerd that con o etlltutes their nmair foral. One is seated be 1o fore a stonl whercou t the grain 1. bling beate" o- Itfllour, whllll the otlher lights the fire, and - having formned the doughin lto' round caks, cooks it. is G. MARltinArR. I From the heating of drums and tho noise 1- of trumpets it in evilent thati sonIme Iterest i Inlg ceremony is going on iniuide tile housebhe fore which we stand. (iOur curlosity Is thor t olughly e'xcllit, andr we glanleo In the door, n visible witnesses of a nmrriage feast. The house ls diiviled into two ruows. In the front is a company, friends and relatives of the bride's father, who are enjoying themselves ov, r the weddling feast. In tile back room the Smarriage cerermony Itself is being performed In the presenn'e of a gigantic image of the household goddess -she who presilde over the Aztuo home, cares for the wife and pro toots the child. 'I'he priest carries, swung round his neck as a symbol of his oillce, a skull. which some might think inappropriat) for as festive an affair as a wedding. 'l.'tie Iuusehold goddess, whose stupid. goMo-natured face looked on approvingly at the happy couple, is decked with flowers, a pretty symbol of married life. On either slde of her Image stands an altar,alesol), )wer-crowned. The priest advances with a torch In his hanuts, and gragto lug an Iedge of the ,bridegroom's outg te mantll or white cotton cloak, tles It to the end of the bride's dress, thus signifying that the pair are tied together for life, are man and wife, unttll separattd by a decree of the divorce court. In the front room, the guests are having a high old time of it. Thle all is scented with per fumnes and strewed with odoriferous herbs and Ilowers. Five gulsts are seated around the dinner. 'There are suiis1H.aittil meats, es peclally game; there is turkey also, and vege tables and fruils of overy kind, tomatoes melons, potatoes and bananas; but the grant perre dr reAhitiance is a cookied lman, who .s seatel, ouskineld and stuffed, ith the centre Of the table, Iiutj slightly changed In looks from llfe. From vases of silv-.r and gold of the moost delllate work manishi1p, as well as drink ing ups of tortl)ise-shell, the old gentlemen arounll the talble are drinking, for be itknown that all of thorn are old peopl",, the Aztec law punishing a young drunkard with death, but allowing tke old man to indulge in as much pulque as he cared for. Besides this, cups of otiocolatec l-ivored with vanm|llU are being passed around, and pipes of tortolse shell or silver, filled with tobacco mixed with aromatic herbs. Around the dining-hall are ranged speal mensof the Aztec pottery vases, urns and cups of every shape and variety. - . PU.L(JT. But we must not forget the drink which choeered the ancient Aztec, pulqte,a taste for which his desoendant, the Mexican, has not lost. Let us pay a lightntng visit to a pulque plantation. A Iel.l is tilledl with the maguey, (Agava A merlcana)or American aloe. Awoman, a field laborer, is seated on the ground before one of these plants. She has made an In clsion in its leaves, from which the juies, is trickling freely into a vase she holds. A taster, or, as we would style him, a sampler, is standing near sampling some of the liquor she has just prepared. This is stored In a long horn and, instead of drinking itas we would he holds the horn high in the air, so as to allow the liquor to slowly trickle out and fall Invitingly Into his throat. A carrier, one of those hardy, fleet-footed na tives, who supplied the place of beasts of btr den in Anahuac, has a jar of pulque strapped on his back, and Is just about to start of with It for the city market. Upon an elevation In the rear of the ma guey lield is growlng a large cactus bush covered with the sweet fruit of that vegeta ble porcupine. Despite its thorns, a host of humming birds of the richest and most va ried colors have gathered here, and are greed lly devouring this their favorite fruit. Such was the Aztecs four centuries ago. We have seen how from a ru(ie trine thes grew up into a people, if only semi-civilized, by far the most advanced of the North Amer ican continent. We have seen their religious, their marriage ceremonles, what they eat ant drink--the best points whereby to judge a people-and, having told us this much, Comus now goes on to tell us how the Aztec empire and the Aztec civilization was utterly crushed out and destroyed under the iron heel of the Spaniard. 8. CORTEZ IN MEXICO. It Is a March morning in the year 1519. A fleet of Spanish galleons has put into a bay off the coast of Mexico and landed a little band sof Spanish adventurers in search of gold. In their chief, a grave looking man, with large black eyes, heavy beard and pale complexion, a deep chest, broad shoulder} and muscular although slender form 01c In a complete suit of mall, and graspfng in his left hand a banner which, like the Laba rum of Constantine, bears a red cross upon a black ground, with the words: "In Hoc Signo Vinces" (in this sign you shall con quer), and in his right his good sword, we all recognize the celebrated conquistador, Hernando Cortez. Under a cactus bush that affords a slender shade lies Bernal Diaz, one of his lieutenanta and the historian of the expedition, a rough but honest Spanish adventurer who has come to America to seek his fortune, and who boasts of having fought in one hundred and nlnetealt battles and been wounded seventeen times. Diaz has removed his helmet and taken off a portion of his armor to ease himself, and is writing out some notes. His squire, arque bus In hand, is eagerly scanning the horizon to see if any Indian scouts are hovering near. Father Olmedo, the priest and confessor of the expedition, has wandered off a short die. tance. Suddenly he stops with an exclama tion of surprise before a cross, the first he has seen -not of Christian- origi-n. It is a mon- ment to the rain god of the natives-in whose honor many thousand babes are each year sacrificed-but to the priest It is convincing proof that a Christian has been here before the Spanish discoverers of the country and taught. the aborigines some of t he principles of ChriS tianity. So astonished is Olmwdoaat the cross that he does not notice time Iudian half-hidde behind the thick brushwood that grows around it. watching the new-comers attentive ly, and prepared tr flees and carry the news, with all the swiftness possible, to the Aztec Emperor, Montezuma, that a new raceof men, pale like the white god Quetzalcoatl, whose return the Aztecs have been so long waiting for, have just landed in lisdominions and are marching toward his capital. 9. THE NATIVES CULTIVATING THE FBRILND SHIP OF THE SPANIARDS. The Spaniards advance into the country to ward the rich city of whose wealth and glory they have heard so much. Everywhere they are welcomed and greeted by the natives, anx ious to propitiatathese new comers. The Spaniards are camped in a small grove of palms. A cannon, having much the aD pearance of a modern Gatliug gun, is placed before the camp to awe the natives. Severil of the Spaniards are standing near it, receiv ing rich presents of jewels and gold orna ments that Montezuma has forwarded to them. Two noblemen are acting as ambassa dors from the Emperor and unloading these presents. Besides these two other Aztecs are present. One of these is a hieroglyphic painter, whose duty it is to write out full par ticulars of the new comers in his queer sys tem of picture writing. When this is done, a courier stands near, clad in but little cloth ing, so as not to incommode his movements, who having secured the papyrus on which is transcribed full particulars of the white gods, dasbes away with lightning speed up the