What a fortunate man was Mr. Jorullo! Old Cheops, king of Egypt,
spent vast sums of money, many long years, and the labour of
myriads of his subjects, in erecting the Great Pyramid as a
monument to his memory. But Mr. Jorullo, without his having to lay
down a single Mexican dollar, and without any labour, either of his
own or of his servants, had a magnificent monument raised to his
memory in a single night. Jorullo's monument, too, is far bigger
than the pyramid of Cheops--being nearly four times the height, and
occupying a much larger extent of ground. Whether it will last as
long as the pyramid has done, time only can show.

You would doubtless like to know how this great monument was
reared. Here is the story:--Don Pedro di Jorullo was a Mexican
gentleman who lived about the middle of the last century. He was a
landed proprietor--the owner of a nice little farm of great
fertility, situated to the westward of the city of Mexico, and
about ninety miles from the coast of the Pacific Ocean. The ground
was well watered by artificial means, and produced abundant crops
of indigo and sugar-cane. Thus Mr. Jorullo was a very thriving
well-to-do sort of man.

[Illustration: Jorullo]

This gentleman's prosperity continued without interruption till the
month of June 1759, when, to the great alarm of his servants
dwelling on the estate, strange underground rumblings were heard,
accompanied by frequent shakings of the ground. These continued for
nearly two months; but at the end of that time all became quiet