It was an unusual series of circumstances that had caused Dr. Coller to settle for life in this remote part of the world. He told me that he was a native of Switzerland and was born at Zurich. He was educated in that city but completed his studies at Berlin. Much of his early life was passed in different countries. About ten years before my arrival, he felt a wish to see Palenque and found his way to this region from the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. Upon reaching the village he was fascinated by its beautiful situation, its repose and its proximity to the ancient ruins in which he felt the strongest interest. He found that the life at San Domingo had an attraction for him which he did not wish to resist, and he decided to make this place his home, and married a native who possessed, in her own right, some land in the neighbourhood.[80] Dr. Coller was a man of varied and extensive information and an excellent linguist. He had devoted much time, not only to the investigation of the Indian antiquities, but also to the study of the geology and botany of the district, and I was much pleased when he proposed to accompany me to Palenque. It was of the greatest advantage thus to have the benefit of his accurate knowledge of the positions of the mounds and temples. [Illustration: PALACE OR MONASTERY, PALENQUE. EAST FRONT.] 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. It was a bright tropical morning when we mounted our horses and followed the narrow path leading to Palenque. After riding for a league through woods, savannahs, and cornfields, we reached and crossed the river Michol. As we approached the ruins, the forest was so thick that we were not able to see anything beyond the track which had been cleared for us by our men. At a distance of about three Spanish leagues from San Domingo, we came to the borders of a small running stream. Dr. Coller stopped and said that at this point we should dismount, as we had arrived at our destination. We then went up a steep slope, on the summit of which I could see dimly, the pillars and ruined roof of the “Palace.”