lyday dresses, celebrating the opening of the new year. We
remained a short time for our carriers to rest, and in two hours we
reached the village of Nohcacab, and were laid down at the door of the
casa real. When we crawled out, the miserable Indians who had borne us
on their shoulders were happy compared with us.

The arrival of three Ingleses was an event without precedent in the
history of the village. There was a general curiosity to see us,
increased by knowledge of the extraordinary and unaccountable purpose
for which we were visiting the country. The circumstance of its being a
fete day had drawn together into the plaza all the people of the
village, and an unusual concourse of Indians from the suburbs, most of
whom gathered round our door, and those who dared came inside to gaze
upon us as we lay in our hammocks. These adventurous persons were only
such as were particularly intoxicated, which number, however, included
on that day a large portion of the respectable community of Nohcacab.
They seemed to have just enough of reason left, or rather of instinct,
to know that they might offend by intruding upon white men, and made up
for it by exceeding submissiveness of manner and good nature.

We were at first excessively annoyed by the number of visiters and the
noise of the Indians without, who kept up a continued beating on the
tunkul, or Indian drum; but by degrees our pains left us, and, with the
comfortable reflection that we had escaped from the pernicious
atmosphere of Uxmal, toward evening we were again on our feet.

The casa real is the public building in every village, provided by the
royal government for the audiencia and other public offices, and, like
the cabildo of Central America, is intended to contain apartments for
travellers. In the village of Nohcacab, however, the arrival of
strangers was so rare an occurrence that no apartment was assigned
expressly for their accommodation. That given to as was the principal
room of the building, used for the great occasions of the village, and
during the week it was occupied as a public schoolroom; but,
fortunately for us, being Newyear's Day, the boys had holyday.

It was about forty feet long and twenty-five wide. The furniture
consisted of a very high table and some very low chairs, and in honour
of the day the doors were trimmed with branches of cocoanut tree. The
walls were whitewashed, and at one end was an eagle holding in his beak
a coiled serpent,