glancing of their weapons, and the
shrill cry of the trumpet, all filled the spectators with astonishment;
but when they heard the thunders of the cannon, and witnessed the
volumes of smoke and flame issuing from these terrible engines, and the
rushing sound of the balls, as they dashed through the trees of the
neighboring forest, shivering their branches into fragments, they were
filled with consternation, from which the Aztec chief himself was
not wholly free. Nothing of all this was lost on the painters, who
faithfully recorded, after their fashion, every particular, not omitting
the ships--"the water-houses," as they called them--of the strangers,
which, with their dark hulls and snow-white sails reflected from the
water, were swinging lazily at anchor on the calm bosom of the bay. All
was depicted with a fidelity that excited in their turn the admiration
of the Spaniards, who, doubtless unprepared for this exhibition of
skill, greatly overestimated the merits of the execution.

* * * * *

From "The History of the Conquest of Peru."

=_128._= RANSOM AND DOOM OF THE INCA.

These articles consisted of goblets, ewers, salvers, vases of every
shape and size, ornaments and utensils for the temples and the royal
palaces, tiles and plates for the decoration of the public edifices,
curious imitations of different plants and animals. Among the plants,
the most beautiful was the Indian corn, in which the golden ear was
sheathed in its broad leaves of silver, from which hung a rich tassel of
threads of the same precious metal. A fountain was also much admired,
which sent up a sparkling jet of gold, while birds and animals of the
same material played in the waters at its base. The delicacy of the
workmanship of some of these, and the beauty and ingenuity of the
design, attracted the admiration of better judges than the rude
Conquerors of Peru.

Before breaking up these specimens of Indian art, it was determined to
send a quantity, which should be deducted from the royal fifth, to the
Emperor. It would serve as a sample of the ingenuity of the natives,
and would show him the value of his conquests. A number of the most
beautiful articles was selected, to the amount of a hundred thousand
ducats, and Hernando Pizarro was appointed to be the bearer of them to
Spain.

The doom of the Inca was proclaimed by sound of trumpet in the great
square of Caxamalca; and, two hours after sunset, the Spanis