THE RUINS OF YUCATAN.

Mr. Agassiz lectured last evening in Sanders Theatre, under the auspices of the Art Club and the Philological Society, to a rather small audience. The lecturer gave a general sketch of the ruins in Yucatan and of their importance, after which he illustrated his remarks by a number of rather faint views. He said that the ruins of Yucatan form the best example of the ancient civilization on this continent, and that from these remains a much better idea of the ancient people can be obtained than from the fabulous accounts of the Spaniards. Yucatan was the centre of a civilization extending north to the Pueblos, and south to the Peruvians. The descendants of this ancient people have so strongly impressed themselves upon the Spaniards as to compel the latter people to learn the Maya language. He pointed out the two theories as to the use of the buildings whose ruins we find upon the terraces; 1st, that they were communal houses like those of the ancient Pueblos; 2d, that they were the official houses of a migratory people. The climate of Yucatan is such that these ruins are rapidly disappearing. In conclusion, Mr. Agassiz expressed the hope that the public would aid the society to investigate these ruins before they were reduced to shapeless heaps of stone.