moschetoes, garraputas, wild Indians, luxurious padres, bischos, black-eyed señoritas, turtlers, gamblers, smugglers, black ants and revolutions? Who at least has not picked up a tolerably extensive idea of the sort of entertainment purveyed for the omnivorous public in this fascinating work, from the innumerable "notices" of the daily press and the very liberal extracts of the weekly? In a word, who of our readers is not nearly or quite in as good condition to tell us all about it as we are to tell him?

Were the case otherwise-could we entertain a hope of dealing with these volumes as entirely available, that is, fresh, in our capacity of middle-men between them and the public, we flatter ourselves that we could cook up some fifteen or twenty pages of extracts and running commentary, of such delicious gusto that the reader, in his ecstasy of delight at their perusal, would forswear all intercourse with other Magazine or Review, henceforth and for ever, and protest that in the Democratic alone could there be found any heartfelt delight, or reward for diligent reading. Reflecting upon which possible consummation we are led to exclaim, Oh that Stephens had lived and written his book a hundred and fifty odd years ago! That we, with patient research and gainful good fortune, might resuscitate him, as it were, and give knowledge of his rich_treasures to the forgetting million. For it is easily enough to be seen that under the present system of cheap, numerous and promiscuous publication, our best if not our only hope of finding new things whereof to discourse, is to forage among the old, of which principle indeed we have a striking exemplification in the case of our author himself, seeing that much if not most of the interest attending the great ruined edifices of which he has presented such vivid portraitures, both with pen and pencil, is derived from their antiquity, and from the uncertainty that has been supposed to hang around their origin, the time of their erection, and the people by whose hands they were constructed-Eureka! A thought suddenly strikes us in which we behold a ray of promise-a hope of making up an article from the pages of Mr. Stephens, which shall wear to our readers at least the appearance of novelty, though they

may have been crammed with the notices and extracts of the daily and weekly press, or even have rioted in the enjoyment of the goodly volumes themselves. We will resolutely abstain from all that they present of whimsical, laughable, touching, instructive, curious, wonderful, picturesque or out-ofthe-common, and confine ourselves to an examination of that same question of antiquity and origin; gathering into a focus the evidences scattered by Mr. Stephens throughout his nine hundred and odd pages, and endeavoring to determine what weight they possess in reducing the vexed to a settled question.

The prevalent opinion has been, as our readers probably know, that the ruined edifices of Central America and Mexico-including under the name of the latter its sometime province of Yucatan-as well as the architectural remains profusely existing in the more northern portions of the American continent, from the mouth to the sources of the Mississippi in one direction, and from that river to the Atlantic in another, were constructed by some unknown race of people, whose existence must be sought for in the remotest ages, and who were contemporaries with, if not the predecessors of, the most ancient peoples in the old world, of whom any account is to be found anywhere save in sacred history. An existence has been confidently claimed for these edifices coeval with that of the pyramids in Egypt, the rock excavations of Petra, and the vast artificial caves of India. Mr. Stephens, in his work on Central America and Mexico, ventured, but with considerable show of diffidence, to combat this opinion; admitting that he had not examined the question with sufficient care to arrive at a positive conclusion, or possessed himself so thoroughly of the evidence as to be prepared for an argument upon it, but yet intimating, unequivocally enough, his then belief that the presumed great antiquity of the ruins was not to be ascribed to them, and that, on the question of origin, there could not be much doubt that the inhabitants of the country, when it was discovered by Europeans, were the constructors of the great remains which alone exist to testify of their former skill, industry, and numbers. His more complete, deliberate, and thorough examination of the ruins

in Yucatan, and search for evidence bearing on the question of origin, have led him to take a more decided stand, and he now challenges controversy on this broad proposition, that the edifices under consideration were the work of those people whom the Spaniards found in the possession of the country, and were, at the time of the conquest, in actual use and occupation by those people; consequently, that they have probably not been in exist ence more than four or five hundred years at the utmost, instead of two or three thousand, as imagined by most writers on the subject. Let us now consider, summarily, the evidence which can be adduced in support of this conclusion.

This evidence may be arranged in three classes-First, historical; second, documentary; third, material or circumstantial.

Under the first head the obvious inquiry is, have the Spanish conquerors the discoverers of the country-left on record any accounts of edifices existing in their time, which can be identified with the ruins now remaining?

It would naturally be supposed by one not conversant with the chronicles of the conquest, that the answer to this question must be in the negative; or, at least, that the references by early Spanish writers to constructions such as now exist in ruins, must be rare, imperfect, and of very doubtful character; for on no other supposition is it possible to account for the almost universal impression-not to say conviction -that the idea of connecting the ruins with the people whom the conquerors fought and subdued, is an absolute absurdity. Yet on no historical question, perhaps, is the evidence more abundant, or more certain and specific. The chronicles of the conquest literally teem with descriptions of great buildings existing in Mexico and Yucatan; these descriptions corresponding perfectly with the great remains to which the curiosity of the civilized world has of late been so strongly directed. Herrera, perhaps the most credible of the Spanish historians, thus writes of Mexico as it appeared to the "conquistadores:"

"The whole country is divided into eighteen districts, and in all of them were so many and such stately stone buildings that it was amazing, and the

greatest wonder is, that, having no use of any metal, they were able to raise such structures, which seem to have been temples, for their houses were always of timber, and thatched. In those edifices were carved the figures of naked men with ear-rings, after the Indian manner, idols of all sorts, lions, pots or jars, &c."

"On approaching Yucatan, we perceived a large town at the distance of two leagues from the coast, which, from its size, it exceeding any town in Cuba, we named Grand Cairo." Upon the invitation of a chief, who came off in a canoe, they went ashore, and set out to march to the town; but on their way, were surprised by the natives, whom, however, they repulsed, killing fifteen. "Near the place of their ambuscade," he says, "there were three buildings of lime and stone, wherein were idols of clay with diabolical countenances," &c. "The buildings of lime and stone, and the gold, gave us a high idea of the country we had discovered."

In fifteen days' farther sailing, they discovered from the ships a large town, with an inlet, and went ashore for water. While filling their casks, they were accosted by fifty Indians, "dressed in cotton mantles," who "by signs invited us to the town." Proceeding thither, they "arrived at some large and very well constructed buildings of lime and stone, with figures of serpents and of idols painted upon the walls."

In the second expedition, sailing along the coast, they passed a low island, about three leagues from the main, where, on going ashore, they found "two buildings of lime and stone, well constructed, each with steps, and an altar placed before certain hideous figures, the representations of the gods of these Indians."

Setting out on their march to Mexico, they arrived at Cempeal, entering which, he says, "we were surprised with the beauty of the buildings." "Our advanced guard having gone to the great square, the buildings of which had been lately whitewashed and plastered, in which art these people are very expert, one of our horsemen was so struck with the splendor of their appearance in the sun, that he came back in full speed to Cortez to tell him that the walls of the houses were of silver."

Arrived at the great temple, instantly above four thousand Mexicans rushed up into it, who for some time prevented them from ascending. "Although the cavalry several times at tempted to charge, the stone pavements of the courts of the temple were so smooth, that the horses could not keep their feet, and fell."

"Their numbers were such, that we could not make any effectual impression or ascend the steps. At length, we forced our way up. Here Cortez showed himself the man that he really was. What a desperate engagement we then had! Every man of us was covered with blood."

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They drove us down six, and even ten of the steps; while others who were in the corridors, or withinside of the railings and concavities of the great temple, shot such clouds of arrows at us, that we could not maintain our ground." Began our retreat, every man of us being wounded, and fortysix of us left dead on the spot. I have often seen this engagement represented in the paintings of the natives both of Mexico and Tlascala, and our ascent into the great temple."

Again, he speaks of arriving at a village, and taking up their " quarters in a strong temple;" "assaulting them at their posts in the temples and large walled enclosures."

At Tezcuco" we took up our quarters in some buildings which consisted of large halls and enclosed courts." "Alvarado, de Oli, and some soldiers, whereof I was one, then ascended to the top of the great temple, which was very lofty, in order to notice what was going on in the neighborhood."

"We proceeded to another town called Terrayuco, but which we named the town of the serpents, on account of the enormous figures of those ani

mals which we found in their temples, and which they worshipped as gods." When we arrived at our quarters at Jacuba, it rained heavily, and we remained under it for two hours in some large enclosed courts. The general, with his captains, the treasurer, our reverend father, and many others of us, mounted to the top of the temple, which commanded all the lake.”

"We crossed the water up to our necks at the pass they had left open, and followed them, until we came to a place where were large temples and towers of idols."

"When our party (for I went with Sandoval), arrived at Tustepeque, I took up my lodgings in the summit of a tower, in a very high temple, partly for the fresh air and to avoid the moschetoes, which were very troublesome below, and partly to be near Sandoval's quarters."

"We pursued our route to the city of Chiapas, in the same province with Palenque, and a city it might be called, from the regularity of its streets and houses. It contained not less than four thousand families, not reckoning the population of the many dependent towns in its neighborhood." "We found the whole force of Chiapas drawn up to receive us. Their troops were adorned with plumage."

"On our arrival, we found it too closely built to be safely occupied by us, and we therefore pitched our camp in the open field. In their temples we found idols of a horrid figure.'

Here is evidence sufficient to prove beyond all controversy, that when the Spaniards first set foot in the new world, there were buildings in great numbers, corresponding closely in appearance, material, and structure, with the ruins now existing; those buildings, moreover, being of recent structure, or, at all events, exhibiting nothing which led the chroniclers to speak of them as ancient. Certainly they were not then in ruins; they were occupied as temples by the natives, and as military quarters by the invaders; whence it is reasonable to conclude, that they were at least habitable, and not mere dilapidated relics of a former and long past age. Now we must believe, either that the ruins existing are the remains of those temples spoken of by the historians, or

that those temples have utterly disappeared in the lapse of time, and that the ruins of the present day were also existing as ruins at the time of the conquest; but how can the lattr esupposition be reconciled with the fact, that not a word is said of such ruins by either of the historians? It has been urged, as a strong argument against the theory of comparatively modern date and Indian construction, that the Spanish writers made no mention of such edifices,-most ignorantly urged, as we have shown, the fact being just the other way,-but admitting the force of the argument, if it had any foundation in truth, it applies with equal force to sustain the theory, using it with reference to the point just made. If the supposed silence of the Spaniards as to the existence of great buildings were valid to prove that the Indians erected none, surely, the actual silence of the Spaniards as to the existence of ruins, is valid to prove that there were no such ruins in the country. Incurious as they werelittle interested in matters of antiquarian research, and devoted, body and soul, to the work of robbery and slaughter-it is not to be credited that they would pass utterly without notice such great remains of ancient architecture. We must suppose, therefore, that the buildings which they saw and described, have utterly vanished from off the face of the earth, while buildings which they did not see have sprung up, in some mysterious manner, to replace them; or we must adopt the only rational conclusion, to wit, that the ruins of the present day are the remains of those great temples so continually spoken of by the chroniclers of the Spanish conquest.

Of what may be called documentary evidence, two pieces were discovered by Mr. Stephens. One was a set of title deeds by which the wealthy family of Peon held the estate, or hacienda, of Uxmal, on which are standing six of the grandest and most remarkable ruined edifices in the peninsula. Of these title deeds our author says:

"They were truly a formidable pile, compared with which the papers in a protracted chancery or ejectment suit would seem a billet-doux, and, unfortunately, a great portion of them was in the Maya

language; but there was one folio volume in Spanish, and in this was the first formal conveyance ever made of these lands by the Spanish government. It bears date the twelfth day of May, 1673, and is entitled a testimonial of royal favor made to the Regidor Don Lorenzo de Evia, of four leagues of land (desde los edificios de Uxmal) from the buildings of Uxmal to the south, one to the east, another to the west, and another to the north, for his distinguished merits and services therein expressed. The preamble sets forth that the Regidor Don Lorenzo de Evia, by a writing that he presented to his majesty, made a narrative showing that at sixteen leagues from Merida, and three from the sierra of the village of Ticul, were certain meadows and places uncultivated and belonging to the crown, which the Indians could not profit by for tillage and sowing, and which praying a grant of them for that purpose could only serve for horned cattle; and in the name of his majesty, since no injury could result to any third person, but, on the contrary, very great service to God our Lord, because with that establishment it would prevent the Indians in those places from worshipping the devil in the ancient buildings which are there, having in them their idols, to which they burn copal, and performing other detestable sacrifices, as they are doing every day notoriously and publicly.'

"Under the deed of confirmation appears the deed of livery of seisin, beginUxmal and its lands, the third day of the ning, In the place called the edifices of month of January, 1688,' &c., &c., and concluding with these words: In virtue of the power and authority which by the same title is given to me by the said governor, complying with its terms, I took by the hand the said Lorenzo de Evia, and he walked with me all over Uxmal and its buildings, opened and shut some doors, that had several rooms, cut within the space some trees, picked up fallen stones and threw them down, drew water from one of the aguadas of the said place of Uxmal, and performed other acts of pos

session."

This is directly to the point and tolerably conclusive. Yucatan was discovered in 1506; the war of the conquest began in 1517, and the last general battle was fought in 1540. The city of Merida, sixteen leagues from Uxmal, was founded in 1542; and from these title deeds it appears that in 1673, more than a hundred and thirty years after the struggle between the Spaniards and the natives had ceased, these