chapter xxi

 EXCURSION TO TULA.—AN ANCIENT CITY OF THE TOLTECS.—CHURCH OF THE TIME OF CORTEZ.—MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE TOLTECS.—TOLTEC KINGS, COURTS, AND KNIGHTHOOD.—RUINS OF THE TEMPLE AND PALACE.—JOURNEY TO MORELOS.—INTEROCEANIC RAILWAY.—MORELOS AND HIS SERVICES TO MEXICO.—CUAUTLA AND ITS ATTRACTIONS.—TERRIBLE RAILWAY ACCIDENT.—DOWN THE SOUTHERN SLOPE.—IN TIERRA CALIENTE.—VISITING A SUGAR ESTATE.—TO YAUTEPEC AND CUERNAVACA.—RIDE OVER THE MOUNTAINS.—SITUATION OF CUERNAVACA.—OLD CHURCH AND PALACE OF CORTEZ.—A FORTUNATE FRENCHMAN.—ROMANTIC INCIDENT IN THE CAPTURE OF CUERNAVACA.
One of the volumes in which our young friends were interested during their stay in Mexico was "The Ancient Cities of the New World," by M. Charnay. The perusal¹ of this book led them to wish to visit Tula, which is famous for having been a city of the Toltecs, and a flourishing place at the time of the Conquest.
Leaving the city of Mexico at half-past seven o'clock one morning by the Central Railway, they reached Tula at 9.40 a.m.; the distance is about fifty miles, and the route is the same as already described, through the Nochistongo cut. The returning train at 4.40 p.m. brought them back to the city at seven o'clock, and the trio unanimously voted that they had passed a most agreeable and instructive day. The heads of the youths were filled with archæology, and they felt themselves almost competent to write a history of the Toltecs and their migrations², in spite of the obscurity of many of the traditions about this remarkable³ people.
Instead of a history, they acted upon Doctor Bronson's suggestion, and contented⁴ themselves with an account of what they had seen, with a few supplementary⁵ notes by way of explanation. From this account we will make a few selections.
 WARRIOR'S PROFILE, FOUND AT TULA.
"Tula now has a population of less than 2000," said Frank in his note-book; "but according to the histories, it was a rival of Tenochtitlan, the ancient name of the city of Mexico, at the time of the Conquest. The inhabitants were firm supporters of Cortez, and among the first people to accept the new religion and become his allies. Its ancient name was Tollan, which is said to mean 'the place of reeds,' and also 'the place of many people.' Cortez built a church there very soon after he conquered

1 perusal   

n.细读，熟读；目测

参考例句：

• Peter Cooke undertook to send each of us a sample contract for perusal.彼得·库克答应给我们每人寄送一份合同样本供阅读。
• A perusal of the letters which we have published has satisfied him of the reality of our claim.读了我们的公开信后，他终于相信我们的要求的确是真的。

2 migrations   

n.迁移，移居( migration的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It foundered during the turmoils accompanying the Great Migrations. 它在随着民族大迁徙而出现的混乱中崩溃。 来自辞典例句
• Birds also have built-in timepieces which send them off on fall and spring migrations. 鸟类也有天生的时间感应器指导它们秋春迁移。 来自互联网

3 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

4 contented   

adj.满意的，安心的，知足的

参考例句：

• He won't be contented until he's upset everyone in the office.不把办公室里的每个人弄得心烦意乱他就不会满足。
• The people are making a good living and are contented,each in his station.人民安居乐业。

5 supplementary   

adj.补充的，附加的

参考例句：

• There is a supplementary water supply in case the rain supply fails.万一主水源断了，我们另外有供水的地方。
• A supplementary volume has been published containing the index.附有索引的增补卷已经出版。