SIX MONTHS IN MEXICO. 



131 



of a paltry building called the Parian, a kind 

 of market or bazaar, held principally I be- 

 lieve by the Spanish shopkeepers. This 

 erection is a disgrace to the taste of the go- 

 vernment which permitted it to spoil one of 

 the noblest squares they have, but the reve- 

 nue it brings to the city is at present so ne- 

 cessary to the wants of the state, that its 

 speedy removal is I fear hopeless. 



The palace, or government-house, is a 

 truly magnificent building. It is nearly 

 square, its front measuring several hundred 

 feet. In its interior are four large square 

 courts, over which most of the public offices 

 are distributed, as well as the prison, the 

 mint, the barracks, botanic garden, &c. 



But the present state of the city exhibits 

 a shadow only of the grandeur it once 

 possessed. The period of its greatest splen- 

 dour, wealth, and luxury, may be placed 

 within the first century from its conquest by 



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