84 



INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 



ruins of an ancient building, and in every quarter 

 might be seen these memorials of the past, connect- 

 ing links between the living and the dead, and serv- 

 ing to keep alive the memory of the fact, v^hich, but 

 for them, would in a few years be forgotten, that on 

 this spot once stood an ancient Indian city. 



But the work upon which the padre prided him- 

 self most, and which, perhaps, did him most credit, 

 was the church. It was one of the few the erection 

 of which had been undertaken of late years, when 

 the time had gone by for devoting the labour of a 

 whole village to such works ; and it presents a com- 

 bination of simplicity, convenience, and good taste, 

 in better keeping with the spirit of the age than the 

 gigantic but tottering structures in the other villages, 

 while it is not less attractive in the eyes of the In- 

 dians. The cura employed an amanuensis to write 

 out a description of the church, as he said, for me 

 to publish in my work, which, however, I am obli- 

 ged to omit, mentioning only that over the principal 

 altar were sixteen columns from the ruins at the 

 rancho of Nohcacab, which were the next we pro- 

 posed to visit. 



During the evening we had a levee of all the 

 principal white inhabitants, to the number of about 

 six or eight. Among them was the proprietor of 

 the rancho and ruins of Nohcacab, to whom we 

 were introduced by the cura, with a tribute to our 

 antiquarian, scientific, and medical attainments, 

 which showed an appreciation of merit it was sel- 



