On each side the altar are four figures: the two middle ones on the west side sit face to face, and seem to be chieftains in conference; the other fourteen are divided into two equal parties, and seem to be following their leaders, who sit cross-legged on hieroglyphics, as do their followers. A serpent forms a part of three of these sculptured seats. In the other courtyard, about two thirds of the way up the steps, is a gigantic head,

about six feet in height, and of a good style of sculpture. It is moved from its place, and part of the ornament on one side of it thrown down to a distance, by the expansion of the trunk of a large tree, which has sprung up between the crevices of the steps.

In one part of the enclosure they found two mounds of ruins, apparently of circular towers, and in a place among the steps of some terrraces, a pit five feet square and seventeen deep, cased with stone, with an opening into a chamber ten feet long, five feet eight inches wide, and four feet high, with three small niches at the end. Colonel Galindo, who had before been inspecting the ruins, had opened this, and says that he found the niches and the ground full of red earthenware dishes and pots, more than fifty of which were full of human bones packed in lime. We found also several sharp-edged and pointed knives of chaya (a sort of stone with which it is supposed the sculptures were made), and a small death's head carved in a fine green stone, its eyes nearly closed, the lower features distorted, and the back symmetrically perforated by holes; the whole of exquisite workmanship. Above the pit which leads to this vault is a passage leading from the terrace to the river wall.

There is very much more of deepest interest which we might extract from the account our author gives us of his researches at Copan; but there is so much before us, that we must not longer dwell on this part of his discoveries, but hasten on to the wonderful things which await our attention in the other cities. We must, however, add that the stone of which these idols, altars, &c., are formed, is a soft grit-stone clay from quarries near at hand. As in all such stupendous buildings of very ancient date, there is a wonder excited as to how such masses of stone were conveyed to their places; and we may especially wonder in this case,

how one of them could have been carried up and erected on a mountain two thousand feet high-but such is the case.

At one spot, midway between the quarries and the city, they found a block of larger size than any which they saw among the ruins. This had probably been on its way to be carved and set up, when the workmen were arrested in their work; possibly by an inroad of those white conquerors who, going in the name of Christ to conquer lands professedly for him, yet proved themselves by their unholy deeds, their lust for gold, their contempt of human life, and their deceitful practices, worse than those ignorant heathens whose land they invaded.

At Quiriqua on the Motagua river, and not very far distant from Copan, Mr. Catherwood found a collection of ruins, much of the same character as those which they had seen at Copan. The monuments, or "idols" as they sometimes call these carved stones, were much higher than those at that place, some of them as much as twenty-three and twenty-six feet above the ground, and probably six or eight more below it. There were here many altars, one of them round, and situated on a small elevation within a circular wall of stones. In the centre of this circle, and reached by descending very narrow steps, was a large round stone, sculptured in hieroglyphies, and supported by what seemed to be two colossal heads, but the whole was much covered with vegetation. These monuments, though much larger than those at Copan, are less rich in design, and sculptured in lower relief; and Mr Stephens suggests, from their being more faded and worn, that they are of much older date. Our travellers, though seeking for ruins, passed close by these, and slept a night near them, but did not at that time hear of their existence; and it was by chance that some report of it reached them at a later period. "A large city once stood there," says Mr. Stephens; "its name is lost, its history unknown. For centuries it has lain as completely buried as if covered with the lava of Vesuvius."

We must now follow our travellers to Palenque, a village separated from the country of the Caribs by the river Chacamal. About eight miles from this village were ruins so extensive and interesting, as to induce Mr. Stephens and his friend to decide on setting up housekeeping for a time in one of the ancient buildings, in order the more thoroughly to explore the ground, and to make more abundant and finished drawings of the curious objects which they were led to expect they should find around them. Taking cooking and other household utensils, supplies of food, and Indians to assist in their labours, they set out for the ruins. "In two hours we reached the river Micol, and in half an hour more that of Otula, darkened by the shade of the wood, and breaking beautifully over a stony bed. Fording this, we very soon saw masses of stones, and then a round sculptured stone." After a short time, they came in sight of "a large building richly ornamented with stuccoed figures on the pilasters, curious and elegant; trees growing close against it, and their branches entering the door, in style and effect unique, extraordinary, and mournfully beautiful." Under the front corridor of this palace the party took up their abode.

The city, of which this splendid palace, which we shall presently describe, formed a part, has left no records of its existence, save what its ruined palaces afford. There is no mention of it in any book, no tradition of it extant; it has to this day no name except that of "Palenque," from the village near which it stands. The ruins are said to have been first discovered in 1750, but it was not till 1786 that the King of Spain sent

a commissioner to examine and report on them. The results of the investigation do not appear to have been made public, nor was any notice of them taken in Europe till 1822, when some report of them was given in England, but without exciting much attention.

The extent of these ruins is immense. The Indians say that they cover sixty miles, but probably this is an exaggerated account. The work of exploring was very laborious, and our travellers' mode of living, though romantic in the extreme, must have been far from pleasant, from the heat and the activity of the mosquitoes; and the difficulties attending their obtaining food and other necessaries of life were such as few who were not much bent on carrying out a project, and, withal, men of energy and self-denial, would have endured. But "the work went on," says Mr. Stephens: "as at Copan, it was my business to prepare the different objects for Mr. Catherwood to draw. Many of the stones had to be scrubbed, and cleaned; and as it was our object to have the greatest possible accuracy in the drawings, in many places scaffolds were to be erected on which to set up the camera lucida."

The building in which they lived stands on an artificial elevation of an oblong form, forty feet high, three hundred and ten feet in front and rear, and two hundred and sixty feet on each side. This elevation was formerly faced with stone, but the growth of trees has thrown it down. The building which stands on it faces the east, and is two hundred and twenty-eight by one hundred and eighty feet in length and breadth, and in height not more than twenty-five feet. All round it was a projecting cornice of stone. The front contained fourteen doorways, each about nine feet wide, with pieces of from six to seven feet in width between: some of these pieces are still perfect, though many have fallen. The tops of the doorways were all broken. They had evidently been square, and over each was a large niche in the wall, on each side of which the lintels

SIDE OF COURTYARD AT THE PALACE, PALENQUE.

had been laid. The whole building was constructed of stone, with mortar and sand. The front was stuccoed and painted throughout, and the piers

ornamented with spirited figures in basso-relievo, many of which remain perfect. We give a drawing of one of these remarkable designs. The three hieroglyphics, which are inserted into the stucco at the top, probably tell the story of him whose figure is here represented. The stucco is of admirable consistence, and hard as stone. It was painted, and the remains of red, blue, yellow, black, and white, are still to be seen.

The building has two parallel corridors, running lengthways on all four of its sides. These are in front and about nine feet wide, and extend the whole length of the building, more than two hundred yards. The floors are of cement, as hard and good as that seen in the remains of the best Roman baths and cisterns; the walls about ten feet high and plastered, and on each side of the principal entrance ornamented with medallions.

From the centre door of the front corridor a range of stone steps, thirty feet long, leads into a rectangular courtyard, eighty feet by seventy. On each side of the steps are grim and gigantic figures carved in stone in bassorelievo, nine or ten feet high, in a position a little inclining back towards the floor of the corridor. These are richly adorned with head-dresses and necklaces but their attitude is that of pain and discomfort. "The design and anatomical proportions of the figures are faulty," says our author, “but there is a force of expression about them which show the skill and conceptive powers of the artist. The whole courtyard was overgrown with trees, and encumbered with ruins several feet high, so that the exact architectural arrangements could not be seen. Having our beds in the corridor adjoining, when we awoke in the morning, and when we had finished our work for the day, we had it under our eyes; every time we descended the steps, the grim and mysterious figures stared us in the face, and it became to us one of the most interesting parts of the ruins."

The part of the building which forms the rear of the courtyard, communicating with it by steps, consists of two corridors, the same as the front, paved, plastered, and ornamented with stucco; one of these opened on a second courtyard, eighty feet by thirty in size. The floor of the corridor was ten feet above that of the courtyard, and on the wall underneath were square stones with hieroglyphics sculptured on them. Two more ranges of corridors terminated the building on the other side of the courtyard, all covered with stucco ornaments; one with hieroglyphics, the rest with figures in bas-relief, which, according to the drawings, must be highly curious. One of these consists of two figures, decorated with pieces of feathers, necklaces, girdles, and sandals, each having hold of the same baton. Another represents a man placing a plume, or ornament of some kind, on the head of another man, who is seated before him; while a third is of a figure strangely loaded with some remarkable garniture of ornament or arms, who is aiming a blow at a kneeling supplicant before him. All these are enclosed by hieroglyphics which probably tell the tale of the personages represented. These are the chief points in the palace itself on which we can venture to enlarge, but there are some other buildings connected with it which deserve notice. This we must, however, defer to a future opportunity.

[To be continued.]