" There appeared on that side," says De Solis, " two or three rows of pipes, made of trees hollowed, supported by an aqueduct of lime and stone, and the enemy had cast up some trenches to cover the avenue to it. But the two Captains marched out of Tacuba with most of their troops, and though they met with a very

obstinate resistance, they drove the enemy from their post, and broke the pipes and aqueduct in two or three places, and the water took its natural course into the lake." t

One cannot but recall here the like destruction by Vitlges and his Gothic hordes, of the noble aqueducts of Rome ; nor restrain the indignation with which such acts of

barbarism, perpetrated by Christians and civilized men, against those whom they denounced as pagans and savages, should be regarded and recorded. The following farther description of the aqueducts of ancient Mexico^ is given by Cortes, (the conqueror) in a long despatch, addressed to the Emperor Charles V., dated at

Segura, in Mexico, October 30th, 1520, and soon after printed at Seville, (Spain.)

" Along one of the causeways that lead into the city, are laid two pipes, constructed of masonry, each of which is two feet in width and about five feet in height. An abundant supply of excellent water, forming a volume equal in bulk to the human body, is conveyed by one of the pipes, and distributed about the city, where it is used by the inhabitants for drinking, and other purposes. The other pipe, in the meantime, is kept empty until the former requires cleansing, when the water is conducted into it and it continues ;