It is, in the centre or heart of the city, that all the characteristic habits and costumes of the people may be most readily observed. The great body of the crowd is, of course, composed of the common classes--the males in their shirts and trowsers with a blanket thrown [Illustration: CONVENT OF LA MERCED] [Illustration: CARBONERO. BEGGAR. AGUADOR.] over their shoulders, and the females in chemise and closely cinctured petticoat of fanciful colors, whilst their heads, and thinly clad bosoms, are folded and partly concealed in their graceful _rebozos_. Then there are the wretched _leperos_, whose long and tangled hair falls in wierd strands over their tawny necks and dirty brows, beneath which flash the sharp black eyes that are constantly on the watch for something to do, to drink, to eat, or to steal. In the neighborhood of the _pulquerias_ or liquor shops, crowds of these social vermin swarm and sleep. [Illustration: CHURCH OF SAN DOMINGO AND THE INQUISITION.] Pushing his way, eagerly and industriously through the crowd, the laborious _aguador_, or water carrier elbows his way, as he trots his rounds to fulfil his daily task with his twin jars of the refreshing fluid, one of which he bears upon his back, suspended by a strap around his brow, and balanced by another which depends from a leathern thong, which rests upon the back of his head. Hard by the aguador, appear the carbonero, or coal dealer,--the poultry seller,--the crockery pedlar, or the porter,--all of whom bear their burdens on their shoulders, and move along in that ambling trot which is peculiar to the laborers and Indians of Mexico. Large numbers of women with oranges, pears, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, lemons, guyavas, aguacates, chirimoyas, plantains, fish and eggs, swell the increasing crowds. The butcher drives along a diminutive donkey, on whose saddle he has erected his peripatetic shambles, filled with beef or mutton, whilst, at the corners and on the edge of the side walks, sit long rows of Indian women with pans of savory _chile_ sauces and heaping baskets or cloths of steaming _tortillas_. All these eager venders of the necessaries and luxuries of life, engage public attention by shouting the quality and value of their wares at the top of their voices. Sound and motion are the predominant features of the varied panorama; and the stunned stranger is glad to retreat into quiet nooks and byeways in which he meets the stately gentlewoman and cavalier, dressed in the becoming habiliments of their station. When ladies go abroad in Mexico to shop or visit, they universally use their coaches; yet every woman daily _walks_ to mass,--and, whilst engaged in this religious pilgrimage, exhibits the old and habitual costume of black silk gown and lace mantilla, which she has derived from her Spanish ancestors. This is a charming dress. It exposes the black, lustrous hair of the graceful wearers, and fully develops that majestic yet feminine gait with which the Mexican women