ere, they addressed themselves more
powerfully to the imagination than if the whole field and every stone
lay bare; but facilities of moving from place to place were
indispensable, and for this purpose we determined first to clear the
terrace of the Casa del Gobernador, and cut roads from ruin to ruin,
until we had a complete line of communication; and that we might know
exactly our whereabout, Mr. Catherwood took an observation, by which he
found the latitude of Uxmal to be 20 deg. 27' 30" N.

Our Indians made a good beginning, and by the afternoon we had the
upper terrace cleared. Toward evening they all left us, including
Chaipa Chi, and at night, while the moon was glimmering mournfully over
the ruins, we had a stroll along the whole front of the Casa del
Gobernador.

We were in no hurry to retire, and when we did so it was with some
misgivings. Besides a little general attention to what was going on out
of doors, the principal business of the day had been to prepare our
moscheto-nets, and for this we grudged no time, labour, or ingenuity;
but our success was complete. Throughout the whole long apartment there
was a continued singing and whizzing, lower or louder as the musicians
came near or retired, furious at being defrauded of their prey, but
they could not touch us. Our satisfaction went beyond that of the mere
prospect for the night, for we felt sure of rest after labour, and of
being able to maintain our ground.

The next day we made a valuable addition to our household. Among the
Indians who came out to work was a lad who spoke Spanish. He was the
puniest, lankest, and leanest of any we had seen on the hacienda, and
his single garment was the dirtiest. His name was Bernaldo. He was but
fifteen, and he was already experiencing the vicissitudes of fortune.
His education had been neglected; and for confounding some technical
distinctions in the laws of property, he was banished from a hacienda
near Merida to the deserts of Uxmal. We were in such straits for want
of an interpreter, and, except during the short visit of the mayoral,
so entirely destitute, that we overlooked entirely Bernaldo's moral
weakness, withdrew him from the workmen, and led him to the sala of the
palace, where, in the course of conveying some instructions to Chaipa
Chi, he showed such an interest in the subject that Doctor Cabot
immediately undertook to give him a lesson in cookery. In his first
essay he was so apt that we forthwith ind