d the great amphitheatre; it was like a long
reverberation of thunder, but it sank and swelled, sank and swelled,
repeatedly, until it seemed that it would never stop. Service over, the
procession formed, and the _santito_ was brought out before the church.
The townspeople were arranged and the view taken. We were then invited
in to breakfast, which was fine. There were plenty of French rolls and
the red wine brought from town, and a great heap of _enchiladas_, fresh
lettuce and eggs. After eating, we expressed a wish to hear the village
drum, a great _huehuetl_. This musical instrument is a reminder of the
olden times; it is not found everywhere, but a number of indian towns
possess one, which is kept to be played on festal occasions. The one as
Los Reyes was some three feet or so in height, a hollow cylinder of wood
with a membrane stretched across the upper end; it was painted blue.
A chair of state was placed for me in the little _patio_. After I was
seated the three musicians took their places,--one played the great
_huehuetl_, a second beat the _tambour_ or ordinary drum, the third
performed upon the _chirimiya_, a shrill wooden pipe. It was the first
time we had really heard a _huehuetl_. The player used two sticks with
padded heads, beating with great force in excellent time. The booming of
the instruments was audible to a great distance. The whole village had
gathered, and in a momentary lull in the music, I told the people of the
ancient use of the _huehuetl_; that Bernal Diaz, in his history of the
Conquest of Mexico, tells us what feelings filled the hearts of the
Spaniards, when they heard the great _huehuetl_, in the temple of the
ancient city of Tenochtitlan; then it was chiefly beaten when human
victims were being sacrificed to the gods, and the soldiers knew that
some fellow-countryman, or a Tlaxcalan ally, was dying. Never have I
given a public lecture, that was listened to with more attention or
greater appreciation.

[Illustration: THE VILLAGE AND ITS SAINT; LOS REYES]

[Illustration: CUEZCOMATE, OR GRANARY; SAN NICOLAS PANOTLA]

The day we measured women at San Estevan, we found an indian mason
there at work, whom we had measured at Tlaxcala, and with whom, on one
occasion, we had some conversation. He was disgusted at the conduct of
the women while undergoing measurement, and at evening said, "Sir, it is
a pity for you to waste your time in a town like this; these people are
little better than an