e extreme end the whole facade lay unbroken on the ground,
held together by the great mass of mortar and stones and presenting the
entire line of pillars with which it had been decorated. In the doorway
of an inner apartment was an ornamented pillar, and on the walls was
the print of the mysterious red hand. Turn which way we would, ruin was
before us. At right angles with the first building was a line of ruined
walls, following which I passed, lying on the ground, the headless
trunk of a sculptured body; the legs, too, were gone. At the end was an
arch, which seemed, at a distance, to stand entire and alone, like that
named the arch of triumph at Kabah; but it proved to be only the open
and broken arch of a ruined building. From the extent of these remains,
the masses of sculptured stones, and the execution of the carving, this
must have been one of the first class of the aboriginal cities. In
moral influence there was none more powerful. Ruin had been so complete
that we could not profit by the kindness of our friends, and it was
melancholy that when so much had been done for us, there was so little
for us to do. It was but another witness to the desolation that had
swept over the land.

A short ride brought us to the suburbs of the village of Bolonchen, and
we entered a long street, with a line of straggling houses or huts on
each side. It was late in the afternoon. Indian children were playing
in the road, and Indians, returned from their work, were swinging in
hammocks within the huts. As we advanced, we saw a vecino, with a few
neighbours around him, sitting in the doorway thrumming a guitar. It
was, perhaps, a scene of indolence, but it was one of quiet and
contentment, of comfort and even thrift. Often, in entering the
disturbed villages of Central America, among intoxicated Indians and
swaggering white men, all armed, we felt a degree of uneasiness. The
faces that looked upon us seemed scowling and suspicious; we always
apprehended insult, and frequently were not disappointed. Here all
looked at us with curiosity, but without distrust; every face bore a
welcome, and, as we rode through, all gave us a friendly greeting. At
the head of the street the plaza opened upon us on a slight elevation,
with groups of Indian women in the centre drawing water from the well,
and relieved against a background of green hills rising above the tops
of the houses, which, under the reflection of the setting sun, gave a
beauty and