many magnificent edifices, and added much, by his conquests, to the extent of his dominions.

In a war, however, with the brave republicans of Tlascala, he did not meet with his usual success. The Tlascalans having sent an embassy to the Mexican court, to complain of grievances which they suffered from their neighbors, received for answer, that the king of Mexico was lord of all the world, and all mortals were his vassals; and that, as such, the Tlascalans should render him due obedience, and acknowledge him by tribute; if they refused, they were to be utterly destroyed, and their country given to another people.

To this arrogant demand, the Tlascalans returned a brave and spirited refusal, and both nations immediately prepared for war. The Mexicans were, by far, the most numerous, but they wanted the courage which their enemies derived from the feeling that they fought for life and liberty, for their homes and their country. The Tlascalans were victorious in two pitched battles, and their opponents were compelled to retire from the contest in disgrace.

With this exception, the first years of Montezuma's reign were in every respect prosperous. But suddenly a great reverse took place; a large army of Mexicans, on an expedition to a distant country, after suffering severely from a storm, were utterly destroyed by their enemies. At the same time, a comet made its appearance, spreading the great est consternation throughout the nation; for, according to their diviners, it portended the downfall of the empire.

While the king and his subjects were in this state of anxiety and dread, news arrived, that a number of huge vessels, bearing men speaking an unknown tongue, and clothed in glittering armor, had arrived on the coast of his empire. These strangers, who so naturally ex

cited the admiration and awe of the natives, were no other than Cortez and his companions.

On the second of April, 1519, this bold and enterprising Spaniard entered the harbor of Saint Juan de Ulua, on the eastern coast of Mexico, with eleven small vessels, containing only about six hundred men; and of these, more than a hundred were sailors. With this small force was he about to make war upon a monarch, whose dominions were more extensive than all the kingdoms subject to the Spanish crown. On the following day he landed his troops, and having selected a suitable place for a camp, began to fortify it; in which he was zealously assisted by the unsuspecting natives. Here he was soon visited by the governors of the district. He received them with many demonstrations of respect, and informed them that he had come as ambassador from Don Carlos, of Spain, the greatest king of the East, with proposals which he could only declare to their monarch himself. He therefore demanded to be led immediately to his presence.

The governors attempted to dissuade him from visiting the capital, but at the same time laid before him a rich present of gold and silver articles, which had only the effect of increasing his desire to proceed. He therefore repeated his demand in a determined tone. Seeing among his visiters several painters, who were busily engaged in taking down, for the information of their sovereign, everything remarkable in the appearance of the strangers, he resolved to give them a specimen of his warlike power. He ordered his troops to be drawn up in battle-array, and to go through the evolutions of a mock battle. While the natives were gazing in astonishment at the spectacle, the cannon, pointed towards the thick woods which surrounded the camp, were suddenly fired, and made

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terrible havoc among the trees. At the dreadful sound, some fled, others fell to the ground, overcome by amazement and terror; and the painters had now to exercise their ingenuity to invent figures and symbols by which to represent the new and surprising things they had seen.

In a few days an answer was received from the emperor, refusing an audience, and commanding the Spaniards to leave the country; but, at the same time, directing that they should be supplied with all things requisite for their voyage. Notwithstanding this prohibition, Cortez resolved to proceed, and his followers eagerly joined in the determination. They first set about founding a colony on the place where they had landed, as this was one of the objects of the expedition. The whole army labored with the utmost diligence ; a number of houses, or rather huts, were soon erected, and the whole strongly fortified. The infant settlement received the name of "Villa rica de la Vera Cruz;" "the rich town of the true cross."

The next act of the troops appears deserving of mention as a display of heroic and determined courage almost without a parallel. Cortez, fearing lest, when their enthusiasm should subside, the soldiers should be seized with a desire to return, by his arguments and representations so wrought upon them, that, of their own accord, to cut off all opportunity for retreat, they dragged the vessels upon the beach, and burnt them to ashes. They had now no choice but to proceed; and, accordingly, much to the dismay and dissatisfaction of the Indians, who did not, however, dare to oppose them by force, they set out on their march towards the capital. On their way, they passed through the territories of several caziques or chiefs, who bore with impatience the yoke of their Mexican conquerors, and were glad to free themselves from it, by transferring their

allegiance to the king of Spain. Cortez eagerly accepted their services, and artfully represented that he had been deputed, by his sovereign, to redress the grievances which they had suffered at the hands of the Mexicans. These new allies afterwards proved extremely useful.

After proceeding for several days without obstruction, the Spaniards arrived at the confines of Tlascala. Knowing the implacable enmity of the inhabitants to the Mexicans, he expected that he should meet from them a friendly reception. The Tlascalans, however, were far differently disposed. Having heard that he was on his way to visit the Mexican king, they probably suspected, that, notwithstanding all his professions, he courted the friendship of a monarch whom they both hated and feared. The ambassadors whom he sent to them with proposals of alliance, they seized, and, regardless of their sacred character, prepared to sacrifice them to their gods. At the same time they collected their forces in order to prevent their unknown invaders from making good a passage by force of arms.

This, however, was the only way by which the Spaniards could hope to attain the object of their expedition. Accordingly, they entered the Tlascalan territories, prepared to fight their way through all opposition. They were immediately attacked by the troops of the enemy with great intrepidity; but courage and numbers availed little against the arms and discipline of the Spaniards, who were everywhere victorious, without the loss of a man. The horses of the invaders contributed much to their suc cess. For a long time the horse and his rider were considered as one animal; and terrible stories were circulated of his power and ferocity. Even when they discovered their mistake, they still believed that the horse fought with his teeth, and devoured the bodies of the

WHO has not watched with interest these little insects of the spring and summer? Who has not been struck with the elegant beauty of these creaturesWhich flutter round the jasmine stems, Like winged flowers, or flying gems? Who has not watched them, hovering over the flowers, more than rivalling these lovely creations of the garden and the meadow, in the splendor of their colors? And who has not seen them resting on the flower, with a touch so light as not to make even the slenderest stalk bend? Who has not seen them reposing on the bosom of a flower, opening and shutting their gaudy wings to

the summer dew, and alternately raising and lowering their long, and slender antennæ or feelers? And who has not stopped to see them unroll their long tube, coiled up like a French horn, and apply it to the sucking up of the nectar of the flowers? How beautiful are these creatures, and how beautifully did old Spenser describe one of them almost three hundred years ago!

"The velvet nap which on his wings doth lie, The silken down with which his back is dight

His broad and outstretched horns, his airy thigh

His glorious colors and his glistening eye!"

Naples and the neighborhood. The palace of Portici.-Herculaneum.-Comical scene at Resina-Ascent of Vesuvius.-Fields of lava.Meeting with a party of travellers.-Reach the top of the mountain.

THE Country all round Naples is full of strange and interesting objects for the curiosity of a traveller. Vesuvius is commonly the first among these to entice him upon an excursion. One fine morning I took my trusty stick in hand, and set out on a pedestrian jaunt towards the mountain. The roads were crowded with country people driving their little donkeys to the city, with panniers of greens, oranges, lemons, and all sorts of fresh eatables for the market. The beautiful country-seats of the rich Neapolitans excited my admiration, with their finely ornamented gardens, lawns, and pleasure-grounds. But all these delightful spots are surrounded by stone walls, ten or fifteen feet high, often brist

ling at the top with sharp iron spikes, broken glass, and such formidable defences. These things reminded me, perpetually, that I was in a country where a wide distinction existed between the poor and the rich, and where property has little security from public opinion, or the moral habits of the common people, but must be maintained by force. In fact, the owners of these beautiful dwellings, have far less comfort in their possession than one would imagine. They are surrounded by a poor, ignorant, immoral, and degraded population, against whom they must be constantly on their guard, for nothing but walls and watchmen can insure the rich man against depredation and robbery.

A few miles from the city, my course brought me in front of a splendid palace where the road appeared to terminate. I thought I must have mistaken my route, but on inquiring of an old friar, who happened to be passing, I was told to go straight on. I now found the road

to pass directly under the palace, which hung over it upon lofty arches, wide - enough for several carriages to pass abreast. This was the royal palace of Portici, the place where the antiquities of Pompeii were formerly kept; but they are now removed to Naples. At a little distance beyond this town I came to a village called Resina, under which, at the depth of seventy or one hundred feet, lies the ancient city of Herculaneum. Nothing of it is to be seen but by going down a dark pit, like the shaft of a mine; and as I meant to devote this day to Vesuvius, I deferred my visit to these subterranean regions till another time.

Resina is the point where all travellers stop to take their start for the mountain. The people of the village live by letting donkeys and acting as guides. Beyond the village, the roads become rugged and steep. Most travellers hire these animals, but I preferred walking. While I was stopping a few moments to rest, I heard whips cracking and the sound of wheels; and presently a couple of carriages drove into the village, full of English travellers, going up the mountain. The street was already crowded with villagers, each with his donkey saddled and bridled, ready for the journey. The moment the carriages stopped, they all crowded round them and began pushing, struggling, pulling, hauling, tugging, and scratching one another; bawling and screaming all the time like a pack of bedlamites. Never in my life did I witness so comical a hurly-burly. Each man scrambled and pressed for the carriage door, thrusting his donkey forward through the crowd, by main force, hoping to catch an Englishman on his back as he stepped out of the carriage. The first comer was thrust away by the second, and this one by the third; the whole crowd of them were jammed so hard against the carriages that the doors could not be

opened, and the astonished and affrighted travellers remained fast penned up and unable to stir. The tumult and clamor increased; the poor little donkeys, squeezed up in the crowd, whisked their long ears about, and bobbed their noses against everybody around them; presently they began kicking and rearing up, and now the scramble and uproar rose to a pitch that surpasses all description! Down tumbles one of the donkeys, upsetting two or three fellows in his fall; another animal pitches head-foremost over him; the crowd scramble and push forward; whoever tries to get up catches hold of another's leg and lays him sprawling too; donkeys and men lay scrambling and floundering, pell-mell, with a roaring and braying, such as never was heard before under the sun! I laughed till the tears ran down my cheeks, and even to this day, I never can think of the scene without laughing for the hundredth time! At length the carriages made a start forward, leaving the whole ragged regiment behind in the most woful plight. How they settled the matter among themselves I never knew, but jogged on my way up the mountain.

The road now began to be pretty steep, and the country looked broken and rugged, yet I passed a great many vineyards on the way, which shows that the ashes and volcanic matter of Vesuvius can make the rocky soil of this region very productive. After going two or three miles, I reached the station called the Hermitage, which is another stopping-place for travellers. It is a kind of rustic hotel standing in a lonely place, where the vineyards yield a species of wine which is in high repute. I found half a dozen travellers stopping here to refresh, and joined them. The keeper of this house goes by the name of the Hermit, but always expects pay for giving you a luncheon. This is fair enough, for, otherwise, he would soon be eaten out of