SIDE OF ANCIENT ALTAR.
[CHAPTER XXXII.]
A ROMANTIC LEGEND.—HOW THE KING WAS OVERCOME BY THE WITCH.—VISITING THE DWARF'S HOUSE; ITS POSITION AND PECULIARITIES.—HOUSE OF THE NUNS; ITS EXTENT AND CONSTRUCTION.—CASA DEL GOBERNADOR.—DESTRUCTIVE AGENCIES AT WORK.—AT HOME IN A ROYAL PALACE.—MAYA ARCHES.—TROPICAL TREES AND PLANTS.—DOUBLE-HEADED DOG OF UXMAL.—GARAPATAS AND THE ANNOYANCE THEY CAUSED.—INSECT PESTS OF YUCATAN.—DR. LE PLONGEON AND THE STATUE OF CHAC-MOOL.—GHOSTS AND GHOST STORIES.—BIRDS OF YUCATAN.—AN ANCIENT WATERING-PLACE.
ARCHWAY OF LAS MONJAS, UXMAL.
At nine o'clock they reached the hacienda of Uxmal, where they were invited to breakfast. The invitation was accepted, and immediately after the conclusion of the meal the party continued to the ruins, which were about a mile farther on. The mayordomo invited them to make the place their home as long as they were in the neighborhood. Mr. Burbank gave an evasive answer to the invitation, at the same time earnestly thanking their host for his courtesy. To decline absolutely might seem a rudeness, and to accept would not accord with their arrangement to live at the ruins of the ancient city.
