encompassed by a wall, which, with the edifices, was all constructed of
stone. The work was of the kind already described in the other public
buildings of the country, and was so finely executed, that a Spaniard,
who saw it in its glory, assures us, he could call to mind only two
edifices in Spain, which, for their workmanship, were at all to be
compared with it.15 Yet this substantial, and, in some respects,
magnificent structure, was thatched with straw !

The interior of the temple was the most worthy of admiration. It was
literally a mine of gold. On the western wall was emblazoned a
representation of the deity, consisting of a human countenance, looking
forth from amidst innumerable rays of light, which emanated from it in
every direction, in the same manner as the sun is often personified with
us. The figure was engraved on a massive plate of gold of enormous
dimensions, thickly powdered with emeralds and precious stones.16 It
was so situated in front of the great eastern portal, that the rays of the
morning sun fell directly upon it at its rising, lighting up the whole
apartment with an effulgence that seemed more than natural, and which
was reflected back from the golden ornaments with which the walls and
ceiling were everywhere in crusted. Gold, in the figurative language of
the people was "the tears wept by the sun," 17 and every part of the
interior of the temple glowed with burnished plates and studs of the
precious metal. The cornices, which surrounded the walls of the
sanctuary, were of the same costly material; and a broad belt or frieze of
gold, let into the stonework, encompassed the whole exterior of the
edifice.18

Adjoining the principal structure were several chapels of smaller
dimensions. One of them was consecrated to the Moon, the deity held
next in reverence, as the mother of the Incas. Her effigy was delineated