the Old Hall, ready to pilfering fingers, not
one was missed. Our gipsy guests had been
strictly honest.

LYRICAL INTERLUDES.
THE QUID PRO QUO.

I HEARD you ask in a whisper light,
    Who that ugly old woman might be?
Turning your eyes (they are not very bright)
    With a leer and a sneer at me.

Good Sir! This ugly old woman
    Was once a pretty girl;
'Twas about the time your whiskers grew,
    And your beard began to curl.

I was the handsomer of the two,
    Though sooner laid on the shelf;—
Good Sir! ere you mock at others,
    'Twould be well to look at yourself!

An ugly old woman! you said, Sir?
    A hideous old man! say I.
Padded, bewigged, without a tooth;
    Neither fit to live, nor to die!

THE TRANSFORMATION.

I thought my love an angel once,
    And in her love did revel,
I think her now—I'll not be harsh—
    Something that rhymes to—revel.

A ROYAL GRIEVANCE.

Once, in a dream, I was a king,
    Rich, powerful, and adored;
Wise in the council, gay in hall,
    And mighty with the sword.
But like all other kings and men,
    Though greatly I enjoyed,
My bliss was other than I'd have,
    And mournfully alloyed.

My bowl contained a poisonous drop;
    A skeleton, my shelf;
For I should cease to be a king,
    The day I scratched myself!
Such was the harsh decree of Fate;—
    And harder still my thrall,
For if I scratched by deputy,
    Worse mischief would befall!

Oh! how I suffered, how I longed,
    No mortal tongue can tell;
'Twas past endurance, past my strength,
    And drove me to rebel!
    "Who?" I exclaimed, " would be a king,
    With penalty like this?
Not I!" said I, and scratched myself,
    And wakened into bliss!

THE AZTEC RUINS OF NEW
MEXICO AND ARIZONA.

I MUST now say a few words about the
ruins which are to be found scattered
throughout New Mexico, Arizona, and
Northern Mexico. There is scarcely a
valley in the Rio Grande basin in which
the stone or adobe foundations of villages
are not to be found; there is scarcely a
spring, a laguna, or a marsh upon the
plateau which is not overlooked by some
ruined fortress. Usually these relics crest
a commanding eminence, not always in
close proximity either to the fertile land
which supported the community, or even
to the spring which supplied them with
water. If a stream runs near them, the
remains of acequias, or irrigating canals,
are generally to be found. There are many
places, however, where cultivation was
successfully carried on without them, the
rainfall alone being relied upon, while some
ruins show signs of reservoirs and terraces
similar to those still in use amongst the
Moquis.

The ruins may be classed under three
heads:

First. Ruins of many-storied Indian
strongholds.

Second. Ruins of buildings evidently
constructed under Spanish rule.

Third. Ruins, the foundations of which
alone remain.

East of the Rio Grande, there are at least
four ruined towers of the first order
deserving of special notice; these are the
ruins of Pecos, Quarra, Gran Quivera, and
Abo; all, however, contain ruins of Spanish
as well as Indian origin.

The early Spaniards tell us that Pecos
was a fortified tower of several stories. It
was built upon the summit of a mesa, which
juts out into the valley of the stream of the
same name, and overlooks the low lands for
many miles in both directions.

The only conspicuous buildings amongst
the ruins are the Spanish church and the
Mexican temple. For probably a century
the two religions flourished side by side;
the incense ascended from the altar of the
one, and the fire of Montezuma burned day
and night in the estufa of the other. The
church is a cruciform adobe structure, the
greater part of the walls of which are still
standing. Montezuma' s church is much
more decayed; it shows signs of having been
at least three stories in height, and in the
centre the large circular estufa is quite
perfect.

The pueblo was called by the early
Spaniards Tiguex, and was the chief town
of a district called by the same name.
According to Indian tradition, it was built by
Montezuma himself on his way southward
from Toas; he placed his sacred fire in the
estufa, and warned his people that death
would come upon them if they allowed it to
go out. Before leaving them, he took a
tall tree and planted it in an inverted
position, saying that when he should disappear
a foreign race would rule over his people,
and there would be no rain. "They were
not to lose heart, however, under the foreign