New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-04-12


drawing straight line, il to draw another across
it. IL every specimen Of this kind . religious
cro.sf The thigh borss crossed ia pl IA, sso'e
referred 10. bstdlJ make IN exception. alsooGsa
they probably illustrate the religious cam oatsm
cf the ustives
THE BUILDINGS OF THE MEXIcASs.
We have Dot space to take up the argument
attributed TO Gen. Cas-, and advanced BY Mr..
Wil,op, On the subject Of the buildings OF the
| M,xic.ns Those who are Curious to Investigate
the subject msy probably consult Decide Mr..
| Prescott's citations, the letters. reP'rts aad
variations of Alvarldo, Godoi, De Gsute
Bouloste, ZNs'e, Mendoza, Eau, Mia, Coron-
ado, Biebvenids, ard Castan-d de Meyers, aud IN
our own day, Squer and Bartlett, bes'dea m1lt-
tude Of others Of lesser note Ii 10 Incontest,b'e
that, from Honduras TO the River GilA the ~aoIe
country abounded with large and mage fcens build
ipes, and that those # Mexico, like those OF facs
tap, were for the most part low, but extensive,
sbd highly decorated" These buildings exist to
this DAY in Yucstan aud Cni.pas, and their ruins
abound every where throughout MEXICO and her
provinces; ard the remains Of the Cssas Gtandes,
in Cbibushua, and on the Gils. even nov astonish
u, BY their grandeur and extent "Wby then"
it is sked, wat Cortez, not finding house ht
for his habitation 10 Mex co, compelled TO con-
s'ruct onel" (Wilson, p. 81 "Why," Ne Ask,
in reply, "did the conquerors Of Yucstan. In
,iead Of occupying the magnificent structures
there, pull them down to build new bulldng'f
II wss simply because they wished for houses suited
TO the domestic habits Of Christian cIvlliz alton.
The argument cited BY Mr.. Wilson il not worthy
Of tho literary reputation By which 1t is attempted
10 be fortified.
PICTURE-wR.TING OF THE AZTECs.
The "picsure. wri iugs" Of the Aztecs, Mr..
Wilson denoupces as "Spanisi fabrc.aons " n.
po,tures," "worthleu inventions" and "cOersely
fabulous" Opp. 81, 800, 338, 5ls.) Thelsse Albert
Gsllatn published an ingenious sod plausible ar
gument against these relics, which wm respe,t'-
bic intrnScally well Is from the high character
of the author. But loog before Mr.. Wilson's time
it va, ascertsined that the specimens Of picture
writing" preserved in he Libraries Of Dresden
and vienna correspond precisely to those now
existing on the walls of Copin, Qurigua,
spd Palepque: (Sttphesss Central America,
vol. II. PIP 343, 453) On the last cited
psee, are ergravings Of the picture-wr
ins from the manuscripts and from the walls
thus ,bowiDg not only that picture writing WAS .
fact, but that the same language prevailed through
out the great extent Of Cehtral America and
Mexico.
CORTEZ AND BERNAL DIAZ.
We have not space to follow Mr.. Wilson in his
criticiims Of the variations Of Cortez snd Berna
D,z. Very probably, Corttz did honestly eIsg
serste the Numbers opposed to him on various &C.
ea,op, it was natural that be should do this, and
almost imp o,sibe to avoid 1t. Cesar has been &C
eu.ed OF doing so, wDfally. Napoleon did so, con-
,tsntly, on The principe that "falsehood was q
power;" but Jena, WagrAm and Austeritz
are facts, nevertheless. 1t il too l:te to
a,sail B,rnL Disz. His narrative bears in
,rDsic evidence Of being what it purpor.s to be,
On honest story, written by one OF Cortez's CON-
panions in arms fty years after the events record
ed had occurred. What if he does constantly
upder upon dates, distances ami nunbers'
Would an impostor have done tbis' Are not these
very discrepancies and variations tests By which the
integrity of history 10 indicated
We will not follow Mr. Wilson TO 8" the Lake Of
Mexico" where bis facts refute hs argument.
We have not examined his personal statements;
after the i'll fortune We have had with bis citations
aid sngravirgs, tha. tax would be beyond our Ca
pacity.
But We are compelled to say that having gone
over much of the ground to which the researches
Of Mr. Prescott pointed the way, We have found
bis statements in every instance borne out by his
citations; we have never found him suppressiog,-
Fever DutilatiDg material fact; and never 10 those
authors who are not cited by him, have We found
an important fsctwbch is notincluded in the COM
plettness Of his generalizstons Such was the
conscientious integrity Of historian who consider
ed the suppression Of truth the same as a willful
fslsehood; such his exhaustive research, which per-
United no important fact to escape him; such his
modesty which refused to cucumber his p,ges with
q merely cumulative erudition.
NY THIRTY YEARS OUT OF fHI SENATE. BY
hAJoR JACK DowSrss. limo, pp 49, Osksmit1 / Co.
The true history of the Asor Jack Downing cor
which has been so widely celebrated for
ils dry bumor and novel application, of the Yankee
vsnsculsr, given in the preface to this volume.
The first letter Of the series appeared in January $780,
10 The Portland DAILY Courier, Q Newspaper which
bad just been started by the suthor Mr. Ssbs Smith.
Ii wss tine Of not little excitement in Maine poll.
to- owing the peculiar position OF the Lsgslaturs
and 30 much to the purpose was the first efison OF
the vsrdsnt Down. Easter, that the whole town not
e1cephf the politicians was onvused with laughter,
o. the success Of the experiment decided q onos.
The letters attracted attention throushou the coun