157 
serve to be engraved entire^ are in the hands of 
the Marquis of Branciforte, one of the last 
viceroys of New Spain. I had the pleasure of 
making several geological excursions with Mr. 
Martin in the environs of Mexico. He commu- 
nicated to me the drawing given in the fiftieth 
plate, which represents three fragments of the 
walls ; and shows, that the ornaments succeeding 
each other are never similar. These arabes- 
ques * form a kind of mosaic composed of seve- 
ral square stones, which are placed with much 
address by the side of each other. The mosaic 
is applied on a mass of clay, which appears to fill 
up the inside of the walls, as is also observed in 
some Peruvian edifices. The length of these 
walls on the same line at Mitla is only about 
forty metres ; their height probably never ex- 
ceeded five or six metres. This edifice, though 
small, might however produce some effect from 
the arrangement of its parts, and the elegant 
form of its ornaments. Several temples of 
Egypt, near Syene, Philse, Elethyia, and La- 
topolis, or Esne-j-, have still less considerable 
dimensions. 
^ Compare plate 39, page 90. 
f Description of Egypt, ancient montiments, Vol. 1, 
plate 38, fig. 5 and 6 ; plate 71, fig. 1 and 2 j plate 73, and 
plate 85. 
