At Tlalmanalco, a few miles from Amecameca, there are the ruins of a convent which was begun in the time of Cortez, but was never finished. There are the fragments of walls, with a portico formed by five arches; these arches are supported by slender columns, which are covered with delicate carvings and suggest an Oriental character; they reminded our friends of what they had seen in temples in India, and Fred was so interested in them that he made a sketch of the ruins. According to M. Charnay, the carvings were executed by Indian artists, after designs furnished by the Spaniards. That the arches have stood so long is proof of the excellence of their construction.
BURIAL-GROUND OF TENENEPANCO.
All around this place great quantities of pottery have been unearthed. The story goes that thousands of vases and other precious things were found during the construction of the railway; they were divided among the contractors and are widely scattered, few, if any, of them ever having reached the National Museum.
VASES FOUND AT TENENEPANCO.
Quantities of so-called antiquities were offered to our friends, but they had been warned long before and did not purchase any. The "antiquities" are modern, and so great is the demand for them that a considerable number of people is employed in their manufacture. The dealers heighten the imposition by enjoining great caution on the part of the purchaser, lest the Government shall ascertain that he is in possession of the precious relic, and despoil him of it.