"In the plaza we saw some broken columns, which appear to have been wrought with a great deal of skill and carefully mortised together. There was also the lower portion of a caryatid. Fred made a sketch of it with the guide standing at one side, so that you can see the proportions of the figure. Only the legs and feet remain, and they are more than seven feet high. Taking this height for a calculation, the head of the complete figure before it was broken must have been nearly twenty feet from the ground.
TOLTEC CARYATID, TULA.
"The Toltecs built their houses of uncut stone laid in mud, and covered with hard cement; this cement seems to have been of an excellent composition, as it is well preserved in spite of the centuries that have elapsed since the city was built. The floors are levelled with the same cement, and some of them are smooth enough for skating-rinks. The palace that we visited contains thirty or forty rooms, and there is a smaller palace in another part of the town which we did not see. One of the Toltec stone basins is used as a baptismal font for the church, and the ruins supplied much of the material of which the walls are composed.
"We dined fairly well at the Hotel de Diligencias, having taken the precaution to order the dinner as soon as we arrived. We allowed ourselves scant time for the meal, as we wished to utilize our stay as much as possible in seeing the sights of Tula. If we ever turn excavators of ruins, we will come to Tula and see what can be found. Our interest is somewhat stimulated by the story that an Indian boy once found a jar here containing 500 gold coins; he was ignorant of their value, and sold the entire lot for a few coppers. If you hear of our doing anything of this sort, please let us know."
On their return to the city Doctor Bronson found at the hotel a letter which contained an invitation to visit a sugar plantation in the State of Morelos; the invitation included the youths, and was accepted at once. Immediate acceptance was necessary, as the proprietor of the estate was to leave the city on the following morning, and wished the visitors to accompany him, and on their part they desired the pleasure and advantage of his company on the road.
The party took the morning train on the Interoceanic Railway, the line by which they went to Amecameca on their excursion to Popocatepetl. Their destination was Cuautla (pronounced Kwat-la) or Cuautla-Morelos, as it is officially designated.
"It was named in honor of the patriot Morelos," said Señor Domingo, the gentleman whose sugar estate our friends were going to visit.