A union, therefore, of the blood royal between the two great houses was as desirable as it was honorable. Moreover, all the expectations as regards the person of the young prince were fully realized. Atol, heir to the Votan's crown, seemed in every respect worthy the hand of the beautiful Maya, eldest daughter of Ahtapal.. The young prince's gifts were costly and numerous, consisting of many articles of gold and precious stones, and fabrics in feather work, and spotless cloths from the fleece of the llama. His train was composed of the flower of the nobility, attended by numerous slaves from the various tribes of the Votan's empire. His entrance into the walled and fortified city was one continuous triumphal march. Maids in festal attire strewed the smoothly paved streets with flowers, and every building and temple was festooned and decorated with a profusion of garlands, flags and pennants. At the head of the procession marched the chief nobles and priests of the Mayapan empire; then came the prince and his noble escort all borne in gilded palenquins. At the foot of the stairs leading up to the spacious terraces of the palace, surrounded by his court, was Ahtapal, wearing a white flowing robe with ornaments of gold and precious stones, and fastened about his loins with the sacred cincture, typical of the highest eclesiastical power. His crown was a plain gold circle somewhat wider on the forehead than behind, and surrounded with a plume of quetzal feathers. Reclining in a palenquin shaded by a feather canopy, and borne on the shoulders of his nobles, the ruler of Mayapan awaited his royal visitors. He greeted the prince most affectionately and bade him enter the palace. Preceeded by the roval musicians, fan, and standard bearers, the royal pageantry ascended the broad stairway to the first terace, fifty feet wide, built of stone and cement, and circling the entire palace; on this platform stood, ranged in military order, the officers and soldiers of Ahtepal's body guard. Ascending the second terrace of twenty steps a platform was reached measuring five hundred and forty-five by sixty feet, where were ar ranged hundreds of beautiful maids in festival robes and who, adorned with garlands of fragrant flowers, chanted hymns in a low monotone and threw blossoms among the advanging guests. Another twenty steps led to the third terrace, elevated over forty feet from the ground. This platform measured one hundred by three hundred and sixty feet. Here the officers of Ahtepal's household, the chief priests and other dignitaries greeted with profound salutations their monarch and his royal guests. The sight that now met the eyes of the prince of the prince and his companions was truly imposing. From their elevated position they beheld the ancient city spread out below them with its temples, palaces and pyramids, the white walls of the massive and gigantic structures glistening in the sun beneath a cloudless sky. Beyond, the wooded suburbs of the city, to the north and east, the seemingly endless plain was bordered by a range of hills running nearly parallel with the east coast; westward lay the waters of the gulf, stretching afar off and uniting with the blue of the concave sky. Ahtepal's guests were delighted. Xibalba presented no prospects like like this. The grandeur and charm of the scene produced a visible effect tenance. upon every coun But the blast of numerous instruments attracted their attention. A great procession issued from the heart of the city, taking its way toward the nearby pyramid. Hundreds of voices singing in a low monotone, to the music of earthen flutes and tapanabaz, reached the ears of the listeners above. As the head of the procession reached the terrace of the temple, the guests above perceived two glittering objects carried upon the shoulders of handsome youths. The procession halted, completely encircling the circling the lowerd terrace. Ahtepal stepped to the edge of the platform above. At sight of the monarch a mighty shout arose from below, and the next instant the vast multitude fell prostrate; the monarch gave a sign and the bearers of the objects accompanied by an escort of officers in burnished armor, ascended the broad stairway of the palace. Arrived at the upper platform, the officers prostrated themselves before the monarch, who then stepped up to the prince and bade the youths deposit their burden before him. "Prince," he cried, "behold the gift of my people to the son of Votan, mighty ruler of Xibalba. Let him accept the same as a token of eternal friendship between Uxmal and Xibalba." The prince and his companions were amazed at the beauty and richness of these gifts. They crowded around in silent admiration. Could the artisans of Xibalba produce the like? An eagle, the royal emblem of the house of the Votan, wrought, life-like, from massive gold, mounted upon a base also of solid gold and richly inlaid with precious jewels. The other, an image of their national war god, Quetzalcoatl, also of solid gold and glistening with precious stones. One young man there was, among the prince's company, who, more than the others, looked long and earnestly at these treasures until recalled from his contemplation by the voice of the monarch who bade his guests enter the palace. On the seventh day after Atol's entry into Uxmal all the arrangements for the wedding feast were completed. On the evening previous, however, there occurred an incident that, if it did not mar the felicity of the occasion, determined at least the course of events in the lives of several individuals. The Princess Maya, bride of Atol, was promenading in front of the palace, on the north side of the upper platform, reserved for the women of Ahtepal's household, Opposite this portion of the platform stood the magnificent temple of the Vestals with its semi-circular court, broad colonades, and towering walls glistening with stuccoed and mosaic hieroglyphics painted in indigo and red on the white cement. On a lofty platform surrounding the high walls, stood the shrine of the goddess, in the center of a semi-circular row of stone columns, supporting a cupola of copper inlaid with gold. The glory of the setting sun resting upon this glittering shrine sent refulgent rays far and wide over the city and beyond, westward, over the vast plain towards the sea which seemed a blaze of fire and gold. Upon this scene. rested the eyes of Princess Maya and her companion Alta. The two stood silent and motionless, a group of attendants, at a respectful distance, awaiting the commands of their mistress. The Princess and her companion, about the same age, were just merging into womanhood. They had been constantly together from childhood. childhood. The Princess Alta was first cousin to Maya, and descended in direct line from Zamna, the godlike ancestor of the Mayapan dynasty. As thus they stood, their eyes filled with involuntary tears, and the Princess, leaning her beautiful head surmounted with the golden circle, the emblem of royalty, on the shoulders of her companion, spoke in a voice tender and tremulous: "O, Alta, if but thou could'st go with me, I should feel no pain at parting. I might leave all behind and follow the fortunes of the Prince without a sigh, but to leave thee, my beloved, seems well nigh to break my heart "And is thy father, the King, inexorable?" "I have but now come from his presence, where I besought him upon my knees to grant my petition and allow you to accompany me, but he would not listen, saying thy betrothal with the Itza was agreed upon by the council. and could not be revoked." At these words the Princess Alta's brows darkened. "We have been taught in the temple that obedience is one of woman's greatest virtues, but when obedience is as a dagger thrust into the heart, destroying all happiness at one blow, I doubt, whether god or man can in justice exact it," she cried. "True, my philosopher, but circumscribed as we are, what else can we do? Methinks, Alta, thou dost not care for the Itza." "Care for the Itza! Maya, a man whom I saw but once,and then only to see that his heart was in his stomach; one who awakened in me but feelings of revolution! Can you, Maya, my sweet one, understand why I rebel against a law that would bind me even as a slave, unto such a man? You who have for your chosen one a Prince of the royal line of Zamna and Vota, a Prince, hand some, youthful, and noble in mind and bearing, like unto whom there is no other-save perhaps his friend and cousin, the noble and studious Metates." A pressure of the hand was the only reply Princess Maya gave. Meanwhile the sun had gone down, and the shadows of night settled quickly upon the neighboring temples and palaces. Some of Prince Atol's train were paying attention to the group of waiting maids, when, all all unobserved, a dusky figure crept stealthily up behind the Princess and her companion. There was a flash of the itzli above the head of the Princess, and two piercing screams broke upon the stillness of the night. (To be continued.) Lick Observatory. N the summit of Mt. Hamilton, twenty-six miles from San Jose, is one of the first mountain observatories to be constructed. It is a splendidly equipped institution for the advancement of the most sublime of all sciences, and enjoys an rivaled location; the dry serene, quiet air and unbroken horizon giving it unusual advantages, and tre latitude is favorable for important observations. un gladly accepted the condition and built. twenty-six miles of roadway at a cost of $78,000. Every turn of this road gives a new and exquisite view of the of his observatory, he made it a condition that Santa Clara county should construct the best mountain road in California to the summit. The county beautiful and highly cultivated Santa Clara valley, while from the summit a magnificent panorama of beautiful views is un folded. On week days the visitors are shown through the buildings, and the workings of the appa ratus are ex plained, but on Saturday night, from seven o'clock, the doors are thrown open to the public, and all are encouraged to come and see for themselves through the telescope the planets and stars of which they may have read. Ta A Glimpse of the Naval O THOSE of our readers who take a lively interest in the history of the United States navy, the engraving which we present of one of the most important phases of the battle of Santiago will possess special attraction. In proportion to its size there is no navy, surely, to whose credit stands such a long list of successful encounters. In the absolute completeness of the victory gained, even after every allowance has been made for the numbers and power of our ships and the superior discipline of the crews, this battle off the south coast of Cuba will always stand pre-eminent. Santiago was a triumph both of material and men; a victory the winning of which commenced long before the war cloud arose and the first gun was heard. The swift destruction of the flower of the enemy's fleet was merely the culmination of a work for whose inception we must go back to the time when our ships first took form on the designer's draughting board, and our ordnance experts drew the diagrams of gun and gun mount, or the engineers covered their allotted share of the displacement into engines, boilers and fuel. Our engraving of the famous battle was made from one of the series of historical paintings which the retiring chief naval constructor, Rear-Admiral Hich born, has had painted to represent the It will be remembered that between 9:35 and 10 o'clock, on the morning of Sunday, July 3, 1898, when the Spanish vessels attempted to escape from Santiago de Cuba, the United States' blockading fleet consisting of the "B. Doklyn," "Texas," "Oregon," "Iowa," "Indiana," and the auxiliaries "Gloucester" and "Vixen," arranged in a semi-circle about the harbor entrance, about 22 to 4 miles from shore, that being the limit of the day blockading distance. Two other vessels of the fleet, the "Massachu setts" and the "New York," were unavoidably absent, the former having left at 4 o'clock A. M. for Guantanamo to coal, and the latter to convey Rear-Admiral Sampson to Siboney for a conference with General Shafter. When the Spanish fleet cleared the harbor's entrance, it became at once apparent that a running fight was planned instead of an attack upon the American fleet. This method of escape attempted by the Spanish fleet, all steering in the same direction and in single formation, made the scheme of battle very easy for the American squadron The first rush of the Spaniards to the westward carried them past a number of the vessels of the blockading squadron, whose crews were at Sunday "Quarters for Inspection," but when the warning, "Enemy's ships escaping," was reported from the lookout and "General quarters" sounded, the men dropped clean clothes and polished accoutrements and with a cheer sprang to man the guns. The thorough training they had received in the service quickly demon strated to the enemy that they had encountered no ordinary opponent, for in less than three-quarters of an hour from the time the last Spanish vessel had left the harbor, four of the six vessels comprising the fleet had been set on fire and beached. The time selected for the painting was about 10:20 o'clock A. M. at a point off Cabrera Point looking eastward. The Spanish ships are seen close in shore, the "Viscaya" leading and the "Colon" following, the "Maria Teresa " and "Oquendo" on fire turning to run in shore, and the torpedo boats "Furor" and "Pluton" practically destroyed. The American fleet is shown in the foreground with the "Brooklyn" in the lead, followed by the "Oregon" and "Texas," while in the distance are seen the "Iowa," "Indiana" and the auxiliary yacht "Gloucester." The engagement at this time and in this position was probably the most exciting and picturesque of any during the battle, and its portrayal by the artist is very realistic and inspiring. -Scientific American. The Origin of the Tribes. By Lillian May Schnebly. began to plan the destruction of Wishpoosh. Arming himself with a powerful spear having a short handle stoutly bound to his waist with cords of twisted taboos, (Indian flax,) he went to the lake and finding Wishpoosh, drove the spear through his body. Thus wounded and enraged the beaver god plunged to the bottom of the lake, dragging his assailant with him, for the twisted cord that bound the spear shaft held fast. In the fearful struggle that ensued they tore a gap in the mountains and came wallowing out into the larger lake which at that time covered Kitittas county, in Eastern Washington. Rushing across this they pushed through the ridge forming the Natches gap and entered the waters then filling the Yakima valley. Still the water god |