A SOLITARY ARCH. 



399 



that did not obstruct the view. While Mr. Cather- 

 wood was making his drawing, rain came on, and, 

 as he might not be able to get his camera lucida in 

 position again, he continued his work, with the pro- 

 tection of an India-rubber cloak and an Indian hold- 

 ing an umbrella over the stand. The rain was of 

 that sudden and violent character often met with in 

 tropical climates, and in a few minutes flooded the 

 whole ground. The washing of the water from the 

 upper terrace appears in the engraving. 



This building is called by the Indians la Casa de 

 la Justicia. It is one hundred and thirteen feet 

 long. There are five apartments, each twenty feet 

 long and nine wide, and all perfectly plain. The 

 front is plain, except the pillars in the wall between 

 the doorways indicated in the engraving ; and 

 above, in front, at the end, and on the back are 

 rows of small pillars, forming a simple and not in- 

 elegant ornament. 



Besides these, there are on this side of the cam- 

 ino real the remains of other buildings, but all in a 

 ruinous condition, and there is one monument, per- 

 haps more curious and interesting than any that has 

 been presented. It is a lonely arch, of the same 

 form with all the rest, having a span of fourteen 

 feet. It stands on a ruined mound, disconnected 

 from every other structure, in solitary grandeur. 

 Darkness rests upon its history, but in that desola- 

 tion and solitude, among the ruins around, it stood 

 like the proud memorial of a Roman triumph. 



