HACIENDA OF XCANCHAKAN. 143 



was a mere bridle-path through a wilderness. At 

 some distance we crossed a broken range of stones, 

 rising on each side to a wall, which the major domo 

 said was the line of wall that encompassed the an- 

 cient city. 



It was nearly dark when we reached the stately 

 hacienda of Xcanchakan, one of the three finest in 

 Yucatan, and containing nearly seven hundred souls. 

 The plate opposite represents the front of this ha- 

 cienda. The house is perhaps one of the best in 

 the country, and being within one day's ride of the 

 capital, and accessible by calesa, it is a favourite res- 

 idence of its venerable proprietor. The whole con- 

 dition of the hacienda showed that it was often sub- 

 ject to the master's eye, and the character of that 

 master may be judged of from the fact that his ma- 

 jor domo, the same who was attendant upon us, had 

 been with him twenty-six years. 



I have given the reader some idea of a hacienda 

 in Yucatan, with its cattle-yard, its great tanks of 

 water and other accessories. All these were upon 

 a large and substantial scale, equal to any we had 

 seen ; and there was one little refinement in their ar- 

 rangement, which, though not, perhaps, intended for 

 that purpose, could not fail to strike the eye of a 

 stranger. The passage to the well was across the 

 corridor, and, sitting quietly in the shade, the pro- 

 prietor could see every day, passing and repassing, 

 all the women and girls belonging to the estate. 



Our friend the cura of Tekoh was still with us, 



