and fronts upon the Plaza Mayor, forming
the main architectural feature of the city. Ninety years did not suffice
to complete it, and several millions of dollars were expended in the
original construction. Among the sixty churches of the capital it is
preeminent for its vast proportions and elaborate architectural finish.
The edifice stands upon the spot, or very near it, which, was once
occupied by the great Aztec temple dedicated to the war god of the
nation, which the Spaniards promptly destroyed after subjugating the
natives and taking full possession of the place. The first church on
this site after the destruction of the idolatrous temple was founded by
Charles V. His successor ordered it to be pulled down, and the present
edifice erected in its place. We are told that the great Aztec temple
was surrounded by walls having four gates fronting the four cardinal
points, and that within the enclosure were five hundred dwellings
accommodating the priests and priestesses, and others who were devoted
to religious dances and devotional ceremonies connected with the worship
and service of the idols. Five thousand priests chanted night and day
before the altars. Consecrated fountains and gardens of holy flowers
were there, mingling barbaric fanaticism with natural beauty. In
describing these matters the old priests and monks gave free scope to
their imaginations.

The ancient temple was pyramidal, the summit being about one hundred and
fifty feet above the ground, and accessible by numerous broad stone
steps. On the platform at the top, according to Spanish authorities,
human sacrifices took place not only daily but hourly; wars were made
with neighboring tribes to supply victims for the altar, and when there
was a revolt among the native tribes, it was subdued by the strong arm,
while the offending district was compelled to supply a certain number of
their people to die on the sacrificial stone. It is represented that the
number of lives thus disposed of was reckoned by tens of thousands.
David A. Wells, in his able and comprehensive work entitled, "A Study of
Mexico," says of these Spanish chroniclers that their representations
are the merest romance, no more worthy of credence than the stories of
"Sindbad the Sailor," though from this source alone Prescott drew the
data for his popular "Conquest of Mexico." One of these chroniclers, who
gives his name as Bernal Diaz, not only repeats these stories of the
multitudinous sa