Nature here revels in perfect
freedom, and gigantic trees of all sorts tower up on every side. It is
a long way from any inhabited place; I had heard, however, that the
Spaniards once had a settlement here of considerable size, but it having
been attacked by the buccaneers and Indians, about a hundred years ago,
they were compelled entirely to abandon it; since which time nature had
resumed her original sway over the territory, and as we wandered through
the forest not a sign of human life or human industry did we for a long
time perceive. At length, however, landing one day at a different part
of the bay to that which we had before explored, about a quarter of a
mile from the beach, we came suddenly upon a high-built wall. A little
farther on we found ourselves walking over what had evidently been a
paved street of great length and breadth. In another minute we found
ourselves with the walls of houses on either side of us, the vast trees
growing out from among them and forming a sheltering roof with their
boughs, showing for how long a period they must have been deserted.
There were churches too, which we discovered to be such by their
construction and the massiveness of their walls; many of them of
considerable size, and built of well-burnt bricks. Altogether we were
struck by the elegance and substantial appearance of the different
buildings, so superior to those of modern architecture, and which
convinced us that we were standing in the midst of a once magnificent
and wealthy city. Its wealth had proved its destruction, and now, like
many of the cities of the ancient world, it had become the habitation
alone of the wild beast of the forest, the birds of the air, and the
reptiles which creep on the earth. I cannot properly describe my
sensations as I stood in the midst of that abandoned city; the scene was
so unusual and curious, there was so much beauty and elegance even in
the masses of ruins, and still more in the trees and shrubs which had
taken possession of these walls, once the abodes of men engaged in all
the active pursuits of life. I could not help picturing to myself what
it must have been like; what scenes were going on within it, such as are
enacted in most cities in the present day, when sudden destruction
overtook it. I learned a lesson, I drew a moral, and I received a
warning from the fate it told, from which I trust my readers will profit
likewise.

CHAPTER NINETEEN.

VISIT RUINS OF