u speak of,
some of them carrying twenty or more; besides which each man
carries a weapon of the same kind, but small and light in make, so
that it can be carried on the shoulders. These weapons also make a
great noise, though not comparable with that of the large pieces,
which are called cannon."

"And they have animals on which they sit, and which carry them at a
speed far greater than that at which a man can run?"

"That is so, Sire."

"Of what color are they, and of what form?"

"They are all colors: some are black, and some white, others brown,
or gray, or roan, or bay."

This answer seemed to surprise the king more than any other he had
heard. All the beasts and birds with which he was acquainted were
of the particular color which appertained to their species, and
that the animals of any one kind should thus differ in so
extraordinary degree from each other struck him as remarkable,
indeed.

Roger had always been fond of sketching, and had often whiled away
dull hours on board ship with pencil and paintbrush; and his
cousins at home had quite a collection of sketches that he made for
them in, foreign parts. He now said:

"If your Majesty will order that gentleman, who is at present
taking my likeness, to hand me a sheet of paper and his brushes, I
will endeavor to draw for your Majesty an outline of the animal I
speak of, and which we call a horse."

At the king's order the scribe at once handed the necessary
materials to Roger, who in three or four minutes dashed off a
spirited sketch of a horse, with a rider upon his back. The king
was greatly struck with the representation. The Aztecs possessed
the art of copying objects with a fair amount of accuracy, but the
figures were stiff and wooden, without the slightest life or
animation. To the king, then, this little sketch appeared almost
supernatural. Here was before him an animal which looked alive, as
if already in movement. He passed it to those next to him, and
continued the conversation.

"And the men fight on the backs of those animals?"

"The nobles and a certain portion of the troops fight on horseback,
the rest of the army on foot."

"And are not these animals frightened at the terrible noises made
by the weapons you speak of?"

"They speedily become accustomed to them, Your Majesty, just as men
do; and will carry their rider into the midst of the enemy, however
great the noise. Some other time I will draw for your Majesty a
representati