his own capital. He was dragged from the baths, to which he had fled for
concealment, and sacrificed to the cruel gods of the Aztecs; his royal
city was razed to the ground, and its site was reserved as the great
slave-market of the surrounding nations.

Thus it was that Nezahualcoyotl came to the throne of his ancestors, where
he was to prove himself the greatest monarch of whom we have any record in
the American annals. The story of his reign is far too full of detail for
the space we can give to it, but is of such interest that we may venture
on a concise account of it, as an example of the career of the most
illustrious of the ancient American sovereigns.

The first thing the new monarch did was to proclaim a general amnesty. He
not only pardoned the rebel nobles, but raised some of them to posts of
honor and confidence. This was not only politic but just, since their
offences were mainly due to fear of the usurper. Under the circumstances
he could safely treat them with magnanimity.

He next remodelled the government of the kingdom, and framed a code of
laws which seemed so wise that it was adopted by his allies, the Aztecs
and Tlacopans. Councils of war, of finance, and of justice were
established, and also a council of state, whose members acted as the
immediate advisers of the king, and aided him in the despatch of business.
But the most remarkable of these new departments was the "council of
music," which was devoted to the encouragement of science and art, and
served as a general board of education for the country. Historical
compositions and poems were recited before it, and altogether it indicated
a degree of civilization which we would scarcely look for in any part of
ancient America. Its historians, orators, and poets became celebrated
throughout the country, the allied monarchs presided over its
deliberations, and among its chief bards was the king himself, who entered
into impartial competition with his subjects for the prizes given for the
best poems. Many of his odes were long preserved, and may perhaps still
rest in the dusty archives of Mexico or Spain.

The far-seeing monarch did not content himself with writing poetry, or
encouraging historians,--who wrote subject to the penalty that any one who
wilfully lied should be punished with death,--but he sought to develop all
the arts. Agriculture was greatly encouraged, the population rapidly
increased, new towns and cities sprang up, and the borders o