The streets of Merida are of a good width, laid out at right angles. The side-walks are four feet wide, paved with rough stone. The houses are quite uniform in their appearance, and are built of stone. The mason-work is creditable. The roofs of their houses are flat, and their exteriors finished in stucco; some of which are painted in the Moorish style, with balconied windows, ornamented, and presenting rather a pretty appearance. The middle of the street is the lowest, forming a passage to carry off the water. During ordinary rains, small rivers, comparatively speaking, form themselves; flooding the streets to the edge of the walks, and rendering them impassable for hours after the rain has ceased, without great exposure. Candles are used for lighting the city; but, of course, for that purpose, are almost useless. This place contains a number of fine squares, the principal of which is in the centre of the city. It is bounded by the cathedral, bishop’s palace, government house, and dwellings occupied by the citizens. In the middle of this square is a _waterless fountain_. No attention is paid to this place, which might justly be compared, from its deserted aspect, to the “Neutral Ground” in New Orleans; and, like that, it is susceptible of being rendered a most beautiful promenade. On the side of this square is the dwelling of Simon Peon, Esq. The front is ornamented with a relic of the times prior to the conquest. It is a huge door-way, elaborately carved in figures and lines. The city is indebted to this gentleman for this display of his liberality and taste, in preserving a very interesting memento of a people whose history, probably, is destined to remain for ever sealed to mankind. The market occupies a large square, in a central position, having two sides devoted to the sale of meats, and the other two remaining open. The interior is provided with accommodations for the venders of fruits and vegetables. The meats are of an indifferent quality; they are cut up and sold by the butcher in long strips. Their variety of vegetables is limited, and but little skill is shown in their cultivation. Poultry is abundant and cheap, as are also the other _necessaries_ of life. There is but a very limited trade here, of any kind. The resources of the country are too small for it to be otherwise. To give some idea of the state of trade in the vicinity of the great public square, just described, it is sufficient to state that, in crossing it, we have disturbed the buzzard and killdeer at noonday.