cription is as
follows: "The top of the doorway was gorgeous with stuccoed ornaments,
and on the piers at each side were stone tablets in bas-relief. Within,
the chamber is thirteen feet wide and seven feet deep."

Illustration of Altar in Temple of the Sun.--(Bureau of
Ethnology.)--------------

The room was plain within, and right against the back was the famous
"Tablet of the Cross." This tablet was six feet four inches high, ten
feet eight inches wide, and formed of three stones. The right-hand one
is now in the National Museum in Washington. The central one, though
torn from its original place, is still at the ruins. The next cut
gives us only the sculptured part of the tablet. On both the right and
left-hand were tablets of hieroglyphics. A long chain of ornaments hung
suspended from the cap of the right-hand figure. The two figures are
regarded as priests. The cross is very plainly outlined, and is the
regular Latin one. Considerable discussion has arisen as to what
supports the cross. Dr. Brinton thinks it a serpent.<20> Others think it
a human skull.<21> We must also notice the bird on top of the cross. It
is almost impossible to make out the species. The right-hand figure is
offering it something.

Illustration of Tablet of the Cross.------------

We must refer to some more tablets found at Palenque before proceeding
further. At number five of the plan was a temple but little smaller than
the one just described. There is, however, such a similarity between the
buildings, that it is not necessary to give illustrations. The temple,
also, had an inclosed altar; and against the back of that was placed
the tablet which was very similar to the one just described. This
illustration represents the sculptured portions. On each side were
tablets of hieroglyphics. It needs but a glance to show that the priests
are, evidently, the same personages as in the other tablet.

Illustration of The Sun.-----------------

The one on the left is standing on the back of a human being. The one on
the right is, perhaps, standing on a beast; or, if a human being, he
is crushed beneath the weight of the priest. Two other human figures
support a platform, from which rise two batons crossed like a St.
Andrew's cross. These support a mask, from the center of which a hideous
human face looks out. The Aztecs sometimes represented the sun by such a
mask, and hence the name "Temple of the Sun."

In still another temple, sit