192 



INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 



of whom nothing was known. We had been mo- 

 ving on in the track of rained cities. A venerable 

 ecclesiastic in Merida had furnished me with an 

 itinerary of the journey through the wilderness to 

 the Lake of Peten, and I had some hope of being 

 led on from place to place until we should reach a 

 point which might unravel all mystery, and establish 

 a connecting link between the past and present ; 

 but this hope was accompanied by a fear, and, per- 

 haps fortunately for us, we did not hear of ruins be- 

 yond. If we had, we should not have attempted to 

 go in search of them, and it would have been pain- 

 ful to turn back. I am far from believing, however, 

 that because we did not hear of them none exist. 

 On the contrary, it may well be that wrecks of 

 cities lie buried but a few leagues farther on, the ex- 

 istence of which is entirely unknown at the village 

 of Iturbide, for at that place there was not a single 

 individual who had ever heard of the ruins at Lab- 

 phak, which we had visited just before, until they 

 heard of them from us. 



As yet, however, our face is still set toward the 

 Lake of Peten. In this lake are numerous islands, 

 one of which is called Peten Grande, Peten itself 

 being a Maya word, signifying an island ; and be- 

 fore turning back I wish to present this island for 

 one moment to the reader. It now belongs to the 

 government of Guatimala, and is under the ecclesias- 

 tical jurisdiction of the Bishop of Yucatan. For- 

 merly it was the principal place of the province of 



