was constantly and successfully struggling to imitate every
peculiar sound which he heard. He broke down, however, ignominiously in
his attempts with the tramway fish-horns. They were too much for him.
This bird was of soft ash color, with a long, graceful set of
tail-feathers, and kept himself in most presentable order,
notwithstanding his narrow quarters in a home-made cage. It was in vain
that we tried to purchase the creature. Either the Indian woman had not
the right to sell him, or she prized the bird too highly to part with
him at any price. As we came away from the low adobe cabin, the bird was
mewing in imitation of another domestic pet which belonged to the same
woman.

Comparatively few humble dwellings have glass in the windows, but nearly
all have these openings barred with iron in more or less ornamental
styles. There are a few central situations where two-story houses
prevail. Besides the churches, there are the governor's palace, the casa
municipal, and the stores and dwelling-houses which surround the Plaza
Mayor, the latter having open arcades, or _portales_, beneath the first
story. People come from various parts of Mexico to enjoy the baths of
Aguas Calientes, and one sees many strangers about the town. The place
has, in fact, been the resort of people from various sections of the
country from time immemorial, on account of the presumed advantages to
be derived from the hot springs. Mineral waters, hot and cold, abound on
the table-land of Mexico.

It is said that by digging almost anywhere in this neighborhood, one can
exhume pottery and other articles concerning whose manufacture there is
a profound mystery, the shapes and style of finish being quite different
from what is now produced. These articles are reputed to antedate the
Toltec period, though the natives, finding that the antique shapes are
most popular with European and American tourists, imitate them very
closely. When "antiquities" are offered to one in a foreign country, he
should be very wary in purchasing, as the artificial manufacture of them
is fully up to the demand. The writer once saw an article sold at Cairo
as an antique for ten pounds sterling which was afterwards proved, by an
unmistakable mark, to have been made in Birmingham, England. So Aztec
and Toltec remains are produced to any extent in the city of Mexico; and
the enterprising English manufacturer, we were told, has even invaded
Yucatan with his "antique" wares.

Fr