muleback, and on foot, men, women, and children,
many carrying on their backs things to sell, in petaquillas, or long
baskets of straw; whole families, sometimes half a village moving in
company; and I fell in behind a woman perched on a loaded horse, with a
child in her arms, and a little fellow behind, his legs stretched out
nearly straight to span the horse's flanks, and both arms clasping her
substantial body to keep himself from slipping off. We passed parties
sitting in the shade to rest or eat, and families lying down by the
roadside to sleep, without any fear of molestation from the rest.

At half past eleven we reached the village of Becal, conspicuous, like
all the others, for a large plaza and church with two towers. In the
suburbs the mayoral and I interchanged sentiments about breakfast, and,
after making a circle in the plaza, he struck off direct for the house
of the cura. I do not think the cura could have been expecting me, but
if so, he could not have provided a better breakfast, or at shorter
notice. Besides the breakfast, the cura told me of ruins on his
hacienda which he had never visited, but which he promised to have
cleared away and be ready to show me on my return. Circumstances
occurred to prevent my returning by the same road, but the cura, having
had the ruins cleared away, visited them himself and I afterward heard
that I had lost something by not seeing them. I took leave of him with
the buoyancy of old times, breakfast secured, and a prospect of another
ruined city.

In an hour I reached Jalacho, where I met Don Simon and two of his
brothers, with whom I was not yet acquainted; Don Lorenzo, who had a
hacienda in that neighbourhood, and Don Alonzo, then living in
Campeachy, who was educated in New-York, and spoke English remarkably
well.

The village of Jalacho lies on the main road from Merida to Campeachy,
and, next to that of Yzamal, its fair is the greatest in Yucatan, while
in some respects it is more curious. It is not attended by large
merchants with foreign goods, nor by the better classes from Merida,
but it is resorted to by all the Indians from the haciendas and
villages. It is inferior in one respect: gambling is not carried on
upon so large a scale as at Yzamal.

The time was when all countries had their periodical fairs; but the
changed and improved condition of the world has almost abolished this
feature of ancient times. Increased facilities of communication with
forei