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Show were above the middle height. Their complexion com-plexion was clear and their hair was thicker than that of the nations which followed them. Marriage among the Toltecs is thus described de-scribed by Desire Cuarnay in his work on "Ancient Cities of the Sew World." On the occasion of a wedding friends and relatives rela-tives were invited and the walls of the best apartment were adorned with pretty devices composed of flowers and evergreens. The bridegroom occupied a seat at the rijrht of the hearth, which was in the middle of the room, a bright Arc burning in it, while the bride sat at the left of the hearth. Then the "marriage-maker," as he was called, stood up and addressed the young people, reminding remind-ing them of their mutual duties in the life they were about to enter. At the end of his SDeech they were given new cloaks and received the good wishes and congratulations congratula-tions of their friends, who, as they etine up, threw each in turn some perfum on the hearth. Next, the bride and bridegroom were crowned with caplets of flowers, and the day was concluded with .festivities. There was also a religious ceremony similar to this in ail respects, a priest officiating, when, instead of cloaks, they put on costly dresses, with skulls embroidered on them. Thus attired the newly married couple were accompanied to their home and left to themselves. them-selves. Among the Toltecs the dead were buried in their clothes and with dogs to guide and defend them in their long journey. According Accord-ing to their belief, when the departed were ushered into the Tresene of the king of the-nether the-nether world, Mictlantecutli, they offered him papers, bundles of sticks, perfumed ABOUT THE TOLTECS. An American People of Hundreds of Years Ago. Centuries Before Colnmbns Ever Saw This Side the Atlantic They- Unlit Great Cities on This Continent Their Origin as Yet an ITn-fatliometl ITn-fatliometl Mystery. Columbus was a great man, but he was a few centuries too late in his alleged discovery discov-ery ot America. Not only had this continent con-tinent been found and inhabited by man for an indefinite period before he set foot on it, but mighty civilizations had existed in the regions not far from the equator. They have left numerous gigantic monuments behind be-hind them testifying to their having been, although they had either passed away or were on the verge of extinction when the voyager from Spain arrived. It has always been a most interesting puzzle to determine whence these ancient peoples first came to Peru, Mexico and other localities in Central America. But no doubt iB any longer entertained by the Washington Star that they were of Asiatic origin. Within recent years sailing vessels from the eastern shores of Asia have been wafted across the Pacific ocean by the winds and currents, which are such as have pro- reeds, tunics, shirts and other articles. There was supposed to be a great river in the infernal" regions, across which all the spirits of the defunct were obliged to swim. On the banks of this stream were dogs which helped their owners to cross it. Whenever a ghost neared the bank his dog immediately jumped into the river and helped him out. When a woman died her whole wardrobe was carefully put aside and eiirhty days later a portion of it was burned. This operation was repeated on the anniversary of the same day for four years, at the end of which everything that had belonged be-longed to the deceased was finally consumed. vailed for thousands of years. It would naturally happen that by the same sgencies in times past ships should have drifted over the same waste of waters. Thus it is not surprising to discover that the architecture Of the civilizations of antiquity in America is strikingly that of the Japanese, while their decorative designs resemble those of the Chinese, and thtir customs, sculpture, social laws and languages are apparently of Malay origin. One of the most remarkable of these ancient an-cient civilizations was that of the Toltecs in Mexico, who preceded the comparatively barbarous Aztecs, whom Cortez found in possession of that country. From the seventh sev-enth to the fourteenth century they spread over Mexico and Central America, and the ruins of their palaces, temples and cities are to this day the amazement of archaeologists. MAKE-UP OF THE TOLTEC-EMPIRE. They were the inventors of written char- j actera, in which they wrote their history on skins of animals and on the leaves of the aloe and palm, also making record by means of knots of different colors arranged after a certain method. This manner of setting down their story was handed down from generation to generation, and thus it has been preserved to the present day. They were celebrated for their culture and skill in mechanics, so that the name Toltoc came to be synonymous for architect and artificer. They are suDposed to have introduced the cultivation of maize, cotton and many vegetables, vege-tables, and they were cunning artists in working gold and precious stones. All that they did was graceful and delicate. In the empire of the Toltecs the commonwealth common-wealth was divided into classes of priests, warriors, merchants and tillers of the soil. Polygamy was forbidden, and the kings themselves were not allowed concubines. There were painters, sculptors, makers of mosaics and smelters of gold and silver. The jewelers and lapidaries could imitate all kinds of animals, plants, flowers and birds. Cotton was spun by the women and was brilliantly dyed with both adimal and mineral colors. This fabric was made in every degree of fineness, o that some looked like muslin, some like cloth and some like velvet. These people had also tho art of inter-weaving with such cloth the hair of animals and feathers I of birds, thus producing a most beautiful effect. Their calendar was adopted by all tribes of Central America, dividing the year into eighteen months of twenty days each ! and adding five inter-calary days to make up the full number of 306 days. These five days I belonged to no month and were regarded as ualucky. j At the end of each "epoch" of fifty -two years it was necessary to make fire anew for j the nation. As the end of the period drew ! near the people were filled with apprehension apprehen-sion lest the flame might fail to be rekindled, rekin-dled, in which case universal destruction t was expected to follow. In their dread of such a contingency they threw away their idols, destroyed their furniture and domestic utensils and suffered all fires to go out. A lofty mountain near Iztapalapan, two leagues from what is now the City of Mexico, Mex-ico, was the place chosen for kindling the new fire, which was effected by the friction of two sticks. The ceremony always took place at midnight, and as the light from the fresh flames mounted un toward tinrnn shouts of joy burst forth from the multitude multi-tude who covered the hills, the housetops andfthe terrsces of the temples, their eyes directed toward the mountains. Couriers bearing torches lighted at the fire rapidly carried them to the inhabitants of the surrounding sur-rounding districts, while every part of the city was lighted by bonfires. The following da$s were given into festivity, the houses wre cleaned and whitewashed, broken fur-rltiire fur-rltiire and vessels were replaced by new ones lid the people attired themselves in their -Ipyest apparel. Jf THEY MADE KXIGHTS 1ND PUT-QtTE. -AThe Toltecs. besides their great feudatory lds, had military orders and titles which Wf"i bestowed on distinguished soldiers for serf ices in the field or council. The Initiator Initia-tor ceremonies of the famous order of the TccuiUis, which was divided into suborders ot the "tiger." the "lion" and the "eagle," each having its peculiar privileges, resembled resem-bled somewhat those belonging to certain orders of knighthood in the middle ages. At the nomination of a candidate the high priest perforated the nose and ears of the neophyte with a pointed tiger's bone or an eagle's claw, inserting in the holes thus made twigs, which were changed every day for larger ones until the healing of the wounds. Then the candidate was deprived of his garments and dressed in a coarse tunic, the only articles of furniture allowed him being a common mat and a low j stool. He was besmeared with a black preparation and only broke his fast once in twenty-four hours. Meanwhile the priests and knights of the order came in turn to feast before him, so as to render his hunger more intolerable, heaping insults and injurious epithets upon him, and jostling and pointing their fingers jeeringly at him. At night he wa only allowed to sleep a few minutes at a time, and whenever he was overcome by slumber his guards pricked him with a thorn of the maguey plant At the end of sixty days, he was taken to a temple and divested di-vested of hi mean garmen's. A wreath was placed on his head, he was clad in rich apparel ap-parel and balls of gold were inserted in his ears and nostrils, a precious stone, the distinctive dis-tinctive badge of his order, being hung from his lower lip. lie was thus declared a full-fledged knight. The invention of "pulque," the national drink of Mexico, is attributed to the Toltecs. In the year 1049 their kinr, Tecpancaltzln, was one day lyine down for a nap in his palace, pal-ace, when one of his great nobles, named Papantzin, presented himself with his daughter, daugh-ter, a beautiful maiden called Xochitl. They brought with them a new kind of liqueur, then unknown, made from tho juice of tha maguey by a process of which Papantzin was the inventor. Tbe new drink pleased the royal palate, and the lovely form and face of the younjr girl was still more pleas-ng pleas-ng to the royal taste. The kinj requested the father to send her again with more of the same, and when she came attended only by a nurse he shut her up iu his palace and forced ber to become his mistress. mis-tress. Her father nicinwhiie was informed that his daughter had been intrusted by the monarch to the care of jmatrons who would perfect her education. Nevertheless, he suspected that all was not right and visited the palace in the disguise of a laborer. He discovered the fact, and the eventual result was a war among the Toltec princes which destroyed the nation. WETtIKG AND PUJfKRAL CEREMONIES. The Toltec soldiers wore a qailted cotton tunic that fitted closely to the body and protected pro-tected also the shoulders and thighs. Their weapons were spears, light javelins and club studded with steel, silver or gold nails. The Toltecs used a copper currency. There weru public granaries, which in times of famine were thrown open to the people. They had schools of art, and amon- the various va-rious sumptuous edifices at their, city of Utatlan was a college which had a staff of seventy teachers and 5000 or 6000 pupils, who were educated at the expense of the irovernment. Their principal deities. were the gods of the sun and moon. These people I' |