It fell to Frank to speak of the Governor's House, which he did as follows:
"The Governor's House, or Royal Palace, as it is also called, is on the uppermost of three terraces (it could not well be on either of the lower ones), and is 322 feet long by 39 in depth. The building is about 25 feet high, and had a flat roof. Some of the ceilings were supported by triangular arches, and others by beams; the beams have rotted away and disappeared, but the stone arches remain intact. The roof was originally covered with cement. The ancient Mayas seem to have possessed a very good quality of cement; but it was hardly equal to that of some of the Eastern nations.
"The top of the building is overgrown with yuccas and other plants, just like the House of the Nuns, and from the top of each of the three towers small trees shoot high into the air. There is not much ornament on the lower part of the walls, but the upper portion is profusely decorated; it is thought that the walls, as high as the cornice, about ten feet from the base, were covered with stucco or cement; and this has been removed by the climate, or possibly torn off during the wars that may have prevailed here.
"The cornice runs around the building just above the three door-ways that give entrance to the place. Above this cornice the whole wall is covered with sculpture, and I can best describe it by copying what was written by Stephens nearly fifty years ago: 'There is no rudeness or barbarity in the design or proportions; on the contrary, the whole wears an air of architectural symmetry and grandeur; and as the stranger ascends the steps and casts a bewildered eye along its open and desolate doors, it is hard to believe that he sees before him the work of a face in whose epitaph, as written by historians, they are called ignorant of art, and said to have perished in the rudeness of savage life. If it stood at this day on its grand artificial terrace in Hyde Park, or the Garden of the Tuileries, it would form a new order, I do not say equalling, but not unworthy to stand side by side with, the remains of Egyptian, Grecian, and Roman art.'
"One of the interesting features of the Governor's House and other buildings of Uxmal is the 'Maya Arch,' which is formed without a key-stone. The sides are built up with stones projecting one beyond the other, and a flat stone is laid across the top. In spite of its violation of the principles on which builders say the arch is based, the work of the Mayas has withstood the ravages of time to a remarkable degree. Specimens of this arch are found here in the Governor's House, and in other parts of Uxmal; in fact they can be seen at Palenque, Chichen-Itza, and other historic places in Yucatan and neighboring countries. The archway of Las Monjas is an admirable specimen of this work, and we send you a photograph of it so that you may judge for yourself.
STATUE OF DOUBLE-HEADED DOG, UXMAL.
"There was formerly a stone figure here representing a double-headed dog, but it has been carried away. It was found in a mound of earth at the corner of the second terrace, and not far from the House of the Turtles. While we were walking about the terrace Mr. Burbank cautioned us not to fall into one of the ancient reservoirs, or storehouses, which are much easier to enter than to leave. They are a sort of stone jug on a colossal scale—vaults or cisterns ten or twelve feet square and as many deep, with an opening two feet across at the top.
"A friend of his fell into one of these jugs while incautiously walking about. He was stout in figure, and slipped into the hole, with no surrounding space to spare. When they came to get him out it was necessary for him to remove the greater part of his clothing in order that he could be hoisted from his prison; and even then the work was not accomplished until the sides of the opening had been greased. At any rate, that's the story Mr. Burbank told us.