see ten yards before us, and
never knew what we should stumble upon next. At one time we stopped to
cut away branches and vines which concealed the face of a monument, and
then to dig round and bring to light a fragment, a sculptured corner of
which protruded from the earth. I leaned over with breathless anxiety
while the Indians worked, and an eye, an ear, a foot, or a hand was
disentombed; and when the machete rang against the chiselled stone, I
pushed the Indians away and cleared out the loose earth with my hands.
The beauty of the sculpture, the solemn stillness of the woods,
disturbed only by the scrambling of monkeys and the chattering of
parrots, the desolation of the city, and the mystery that hung over it,
all created an interest higher, if possible, than I had ever felt among
the ruins of the Old World. After several hours' absence I returned to
Mr. Catherwood, and reported upward of fifty objects to be copied.

I found him not so well pleased as I expected with my report. He was
standing with his feet in the mud, and was drawing with his gloves on,
to protect his hands from the mosquitoes. As we feared, the designs
were so intricate and complicated, the subjects so entirely new and
unintelligible, that he had great difficulty in drawing. He had made
several attempts, both with the camera lucida and without, but failed to
satisfy himself or even me, who was less severe in criticism. The "idol"
seemed to defy his art; two monkeys on a tree on one side appeared to be
laughing at him, and I felt discouraged and despondent. In fact, I made
up my mind, with a pang of regret, that we must abandon the idea of
carrying away any materials for antiquarian speculation, and must be
content with having seen them ourselves. Of that satisfaction nothing
could deprive us. We returned to the hut with our interest undiminished,
but sadly out of heart as to the result of our labors.

[Meanwhile, the blue bag which had caused so much trouble was
recovered, under the incitement of a dollar reward. It was
found to contain a pair of old, but water-proof, boots, whose
recovery cheered Mr. Catherwood's heart, enabling him the next
day to defy the wet mud.]

That day Mr. Catherwood was much more successful in his drawings;
indeed, at the beginning the light fell exactly as he wished, and he
mastered the difficulty. His preparations, too, were much more
comfortable, as he had his water-proofs, and stood on a p