esent occurrence by the copyist of "The Book of
Chilan Balam of Nabula."

I come now to the contents of these curious works. What they contain may
conveniently be classified under four headings:

Astrological and prophetic matters;

Ancient chronology and history;

Medical recipes and directions;

Later history and Christian teachings.

The last-mentioned consist of translations of the "_Doctrina_," Bible
stories, narratives of events after the Conquest, etc., which I shall
dismiss as of least interest.

The astrology appears partly to be reminiscences of that of their
ancient heathendom, partly that borrowed from the European almanacs of
the century 1550-1650. These, as is well known, were crammed with
predictions and divinations. A careful analysis, based on a comparison
with the Spanish almanacs of that time would doubtless reveal how much
was taken from them, and it would be fair to presume that the remainder
was a survival of ancient native theories.

But there are not wanting actual prophecies of a much more striking
character. These were attributed to the ancient priests and to a date
long preceding the advent of Christianity. Some of them have been
printed in translations in the "_Historias_" of Lizana and Cogolludo,
and of some the originals were published by the late Abbe Brasseur de
Bourbourg, in the second volume of the reports of the "_Mission
Scientifique au Mexique et dans l'Amerique Centrale_." Their
authenticity has been met with considerable skepticism by Waitz and
others, particularly as they seem to predict the arrival of the
Christians from the East and the introduction of the worship of the
cross.

It appears to me that this incredulity is uncalled for. It is known that
at the close of each of their larger divisions of time (the so-called
"_katuns_,") a "_chilan_," or inspired diviner, uttered a prediction of
the character of the year or epoch which was about to begin. Like other
would-be prophets, he had doubtless learned that it is wiser to predict
evil than good, inasmuch as the probabilities of evil in this worried
world of ours outweigh those of good; and when the evil comes his words
are remembered to his credit, while, if, perchance, his gloomy forecasts
are not realized, no one will bear him a grudge that he has been at
fault. The temper of this people was, moreover, gloomy, and it suited
them to hear of threatened danger and destruction by foreign foes. But,
alas! for them. The