at all to be compared with it. Yet this substantial and, in some respects, magnificent structure was thatched with straw!

3. The interior of the temple was the most worthy of admiration. It was, literally, a mine of gold. On the western wall was emblazoned a representation of the Deity, consisting of a human countenance, looking forth from amidst innumerable rays of light, which emanated from it in every direction, in the same manner as the sun is often personified with us. The figure was engraved on a massive plate of gold of enormous dimensions, thickly powdered with emeralds and precious stones. It was so situated in front of the great eastern portal, that the rays of the morning sun fell directly upon it at its rising, lighting up the whole apartment with an effulgence that seemed more than natural, and which was reflected back from the golden ornaments with which the walls and ceiling were everywhere incrusted. Gold, in the figurative language of the people, was "the tears wept by the Sun," and every part of the interior of the temple glowed with burnished plates and studs of the precious metal. The cornices which surrounded the walls of the sanctuary were of the same costly material; and a broad belt or frieze of gold, let into the stone-work, encompassed the whole exterior of the edifice.

4. Adjoining the principal structure were several chapels of smaller dimensions. One of them was consecrated to the Moon, the deity held next in reverence, as the mother of the Incas. Her effigy was delineated in the same manner as that of the Sun, on a vast plate that nearly covered one side of the apartment. But this plate, as well as all the decorations of the building, was of silver, as suited to the pale, silvery light of the beautiful planet.

5. There were three other chapels, one of which was

dedicated to the host of stars, that formed the bright court of the Sister of the Sun; another was consecrated to his dread ministers of vengeance, the Thunder and the Lightning; and a third, to the Rainbow, whose manycolored arch spanned the walls of the edifice with hues almost as radiant as its own. There were, besides, several other buildings or insulated apartments, for the accommodation of the numerous priests who officiated in the services of the temple.

6. All the plate, the ornaments, the utensils of every description, appropriated to the uses of religion, were of gold or silver. Twelve immense vases of the latter metal stood on the floor of the great saloon, filled with grain of the Indian corn; the censers for the perfumes, the ewers which held the water for sacrifice, the pipes which conducted it through subterranean channels into the buildings, the reservoirs that received it, even the agricultural implements used in the gardens of the temple, were all of the same rich materials.

7. The gardens, like those described, belonging to the royal palaces, sparkled with flowers of gold and silver, and various imitations of the vegetable kingdom. Animals, also, were to be found there, among which the llama, with its golden fleece, was most conspicuous, executed in the same style, and with a degree of skill which, in this instance, probably did not surpass the excellence of the material.

8. If the reader sees in this fairy picture only the romantic coloring of some fabulous El Dorado, he must recall what has been said before in reference to the palaces of the Incas, and consider that these "Houses of the Sun," as they were styled, were the common reservoir into which flowed all the streams of public and private benefaction throughout the empire.

9. Some of the statements, through credulity, and

others, in the desire of exciting admiration, may be greatly exaggerated; but in the coincidence of contemporary testimony, it is not easy to determine the exact line which should mark the measure of our skepticism. Certain it is that the glowing picture I have given is warranted by those who saw these buildings in their pride, or shortly after they had been despoiled by the cupidity of their countrymen. — William H. Prescott.

CXIX.- ELIZABETH AND JOHN ESTAUGH.

"D

OST thou remember, Hannah, the great May-Meeting
in London,

When I was still a child, how we sat in the silent assembly,
Waiting upon the Lord in patient and passive submission?

2. "No one spake, till, at length, a young man, a stranger, John Estaugh,

Moved by the Spirit, rose, as if he were John the Apos

tle,

Speaking such words of power that they bowed our hearts, as a strong wind

Bends the grass of the fields, or grain that is ripe for the

sickle.

3. "Thoughts of him, to-day, have been oft borne inward upon

me,

Wherefore, I do not know; but strong is the feeling within

me

That once more I shall see a face I have never forgotten."

4. E'en as she spake, they heard the musical jangle of sleigh

bells,

First, far off, with a dreamy sound, and faint in the distance,
Then, growing nearer and louder, and turning into the farm-

yard,

Till it stopped at the door, with sudden creaking of run

ners.

5. Then, there were voices heard, as of two men talking to

gether,

And to herself, as she listened, upbraiding, said Hannah, the

housemaid,

"It is Joseph come back, and I wonder what stranger is with him."

6. Down from its nail, she took and lighted the great tin lan

tern,

Pierced with holes, and round, and roofed like the top of a

light-house,

And went forth to receive the coming guest at the door

way,

Casting into the dark a net-work of glimmer and shadow Over the falling snow, the yellow sleigh, and the horses, And the forms of men, snow-covered, looming gigantic.

7. Then, giving Joseph the lantern, she entered the house with the stranger.

Youthful he was and tall, and his cheeks aglow with the night air;

And, as he entered, Elizabeth rose, and, going to meet him, Quickly gave him her hand, and said, "Thou art welcome,

John Estaugh."

8. And the stranger replied, with staid and quiet behavior, "Dost thou remember me still, Elizabeth? After so many Years have passed, it seemeth a wonderful thing that I find thee.

Surely the hand of the Lord conducted me here to thy threshold."

9. And Elizabeth answered with confident voice, and serenely Looking into his face, with her innocent eyes, as she an

66

swered,

Surely the hand of the Lord is in it; his Spirit hath led

thee

Out of the darkness and storm to the light and peace of my fireside."

10. Then, with stamping of feet, the door was opened, and

Joseph

Entered, bearing the lantern; and, carefully blowing the
light out,

Hung it up on its nail, and all sat down to their supper;
For underneath that roof was no distinction of persons,
But one family only, one heart, one hearth, and one house-
hold.

IT

T came to pass, one pleasant morning, that slowly
Up the road there came a cavalcade, as of pilgrims,
Men and women, wending their way to Quarterly Meeting
In the neighboring town; and with them came, riding, John
Estaugh.

2. At Elizabeth's door they stopped to rest, and, alighting, Tasted the currant wine, and the bread of rye, and the

honey

Brought from the hives that stood by the sunny wall of the garden;

Then, remounted their horses, refreshed, and continued their

journey,

And Elizabeth with them, and Joseph, and Hannah the housemaid.

3. But, as they started, Elizabeth lingered a little, and leaning Over her horse's neck, in a whisper said to John Estaugh, “Tarry awhile behind, for I have something to tell thee, Not to be spoken lightly, nor in the presence of others; Them it concerneth not, only thee and me it concerneth."

4. They rode slowly along through the woods, conversing together.