CHAPTER XV.
Palenque. — The Forest. — The Palace or Monastery. — Night at Palenque. — Brilliancy of the light of the fireflies. — Pyramidal Mounds and Temples. — Tablet of the Cross. — Hieroglyphs. — An Indian Statue. — Antiquity of the Buildings. — The Tower. — Stucco Ornamentation. — Action of the tropical climate upon the Ruins. — Note upon the decipherment of the hieroglyphic characters 297