TRAVELS IN MEXICO.
tion,[1] we are indebted for the restoration of the sculpture as it must have originally appeared in the "Sanctuary of the Cross," at Palenque. So that, through his diligent labors, though one portion of this valuable sculpture was torn by vandal hands from its place and sent to the United States, and another lies buried beneath the mould of the Tabascan forest, while but one third remains affixed in its original position in the wall, an exact picture of this great work as a whole is now placed before the readers of this volume. The description of it by Stephens is perhaps as good as any. "The principal subject of this tablet is the cross. It is surmounted by a strange bird, and loaded with indescribable ornaments. The two figures are evidently those of important personages. They are well drawn, and in symmetry of proportion are perhaps equal to many that are carved on the walls of the temples of Egypt. . . . Both are looking towards the cross, and one seems in the act of making an offering, perhaps of a child; all speculations on the subject are of course entitled to little regard, but perhaps it would not be wrong to ascribe to these personages a sacerdotal character. The hieroglyphics doubtless explain all. Near them are other hieroglyphics, which remind us of the Egyptian mode for recording the name, history, office, or character of the persons represented. This tablet of the cross has given rise to more learned speculation than perhaps any others found at Palenque."
We will not go into these speculations regarding the pre-or post-Columbian introduction of the cross into America, further than to mention that every evidence tends to prove the former; although we may not, perhaps, subscribe to the statement of a certain author, that it was originally brought here by St. Thomas, who is said to have preached to the Mexican heathen away back in the by-gones.
Professor Rau published an interesting comparison between the glyphs sculptured on the Tablet of the Cross and the symbols of the celebrated "Maya alphabet" of Landa, one of the first bishops of Yucatan. He found many points of contact
- ↑ "The Palenque Tablet,"—Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge,—by Charles Rau. Washington, 1879.
