His story was preserved by his descendants, and its
principal events are as follows:
[Illustration: FLOATING GARDENS ON THE CHENAMPAS.]
FLOATING GARDENS ON THE CHENAMPAS.
The city of Tezcuco, the capital of the Acolhuans, stood on the eastern
borders of the lake on whose opposite side was Mexico, the Aztec capital.
About the year 1418 the Acolhuans were attacked by a kindred race, the
Tepanecs, who, after a desperate struggle, captured their city, killed
their monarch, and subjugated their kingdom. The heir to the crown, the
young Prince Nezahualcoyotl, concealed himself in the foliage of a tree
when the triumphant foe broke into the palace, and from his hiding-place
saw his father killed before his eyes. This was the opening event in a
history as full of deeds of daring and perilous escapes as that of the
"Young Chevalier of English history."
The young prince did not long remain at liberty. Soon after his flight
from the city he fell into the hands of his foes, and was brought back and
thrown into a dungeon.
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