the capital of the county of Aberdeen. It is situate on the German Ocean, at the mouth of the river Dee, and in point of population, wealth, and commerce, ranks as the chief town and seaport in the north of Scotland. As early as 1179, it received a charter from William the Lion, who is said to have had a residence here; and it seems to have been even then a place of some importance. In 1800, an act was obtained for the general improvement of the city; and since that period its whole appearance and plan have been changed. New and spacious streets have been opened, bridges of communication have been built, and other improvements executed, ornamental as well as useful. Union street, which affords a splendid access from the south and west, extends from the market-place 1350 yards, and is 70 feet wide. The houses are built of dressed granite; and the street, being now almost filled up with handsome private dwellings, besides various public buildings, has a very imposing appearance. To facilitate the access into the town by means of this street, an elegant bridge of a single arch, the span of which is 132 feet, was erected at an expense of L13,000. A new opening to the north has been made by King's street; and on the line of this street is a bridge over the Don, constructed at an expense of L14,000. It consists of five arches, each with a span of 75 feet. Since 1800, numerous other new streets have been opened, and many of them completed. In consequence of these improvements, Aberdeen may be considered as a spacious, elegant, and well-built city. The public buildings are numerous. There are about 60 places for divine worship. Connected with the Established religion are the East and West churches, forming a continuous building 170 feet in length, and adorned with a spire 150 feet in height, besides four other parish churches. There are four quoad sacra churches; three Episcopal chapels; six connected with the United Secession; fifteen with the Free Church; eight with Congregationalists and Baptists; one with the Methodists; a Unitarian chapel; one for Roman Catholics; and a Quaker meeting-house. At the Disruption, all the Established ministers of Aberdeen seceded, carrying with them about 10,000 lay-members. The West church was planned by the architect Gibbs; the East by Mr Archibald Simpson; the North and South by Mr John Smith, all natives of Aberdeen.

The charitable institutions are numerous, and, on the whole, well managed and prosperous. The royal infirmary was lately rebuilt at an expense of nearly L20,000, from a plan by Mr Simpson. It is large, commodious, and well-situated, and imposing in point of architectural effect. The managers were originally incorporated by royal charter in 1773; but a new charter, greatly extending the management, was obtained in 1852. The institution is supported, partly by funds invested in land, and partly by donations and contributions. The number of patients, at the end of 1852, was 134. There is a large and efficient staff of medical officers, with a numerous attendance of pupils. The lunatic asylum was opened in 1800. It is under the same management as the infirmary, and is capable of accommodating 300 patients. The average number, in 1852, was 268.

Gordon's hospital was founded by Robert Gordon (of the Straloch family) by deed of mortification, dated 1729. The president and governors were incorporated by royal charter, in 1772. The institution, which was avowedly framed after the model of Heriot's hospital, is for the maintenance and education of the sons and grandsons of decayed burgesses of Aberdeen. There are at present 150 boys in the house, who are instructed in the ordinary branches of education, besides mathematics, natural philosophy, French, Latin, drawing, and music. They are admitted from 8 to 11 years of age, and may continue in the hospital until 15. On leaving, each boy is entitled to L10, in shape of apprentice-fee, or to L7. 10s., if allowed to go abroad. The female orphan asylum, instituted in 1840, at a cost of L30,000, is a private endowment, for maintaining and educating orphan daughters of parents who have lived in the city of Aberdeen, and the adjoining parishes of Old Machar and Nigg, for three years previous to their decease; admitted from the age of 4 to 8, and trained chiefly for domestic service.

The other charitable institutions are,—a general dispensary, lying-in, and vaccine institution, founded in 1823, and supported by voluntary contribution; two ophthalmic institutions; an asylum for the blind, established in 1843, on the foundation of the late Miss Cruickshank; an hospital for orphan and destitute female children, endowed by the late Aberdeen. Dr John Carnegie; the Midbeltie fund, founded in 1848, by the late James Allan, Esq., of Midbeltie, for pensions, ranging from £5 to £15 annually, to widows of good character and reduced circumstances. A commodious poorhouse, according to act of Parliament, was opened four years ago. The number of paupers in the house, in 1852, was 212, besides 902 on the permanent roll. The gross assessment amounted to £6627. The cost per head of the out-door paupers was £3, 3s. 6d. per annum; of the in-door £7, 3s. per annum. In the four years ending 1852, the number of paupers had decreased by 231. In Old Machar parish the total number of out and in-door paupers, including children and lunatics, in 1852, was 969; the average cost of each inmate of the poorhouse being £5, 12s. per annum.

Marischal College was founded by George Keith, Earl Marischal, in 1593. It was lately rebuilt at a cost of about £30,000,—half of which was a grant from government and the rest raised by subscription,—and has been occupied since 1840. There are professors of Humanity, Greek, Natural History, Mathematics, Natural Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, Divinity, Oriental Languages, Chemistry, Medicine, Anatomy, and Surgery, with lecturers on Materia Medica, Midwifery, Scots Law, &c. It has a good library, observatory, museum, and an excellent collection of philosophical instruments. The session commences in the first week of November, and ends in the first week of April. The curriculum of arts extends over four sessions; and a student's expenses, during each session, may be from £35 to £40. The fees for each of the classes are mostly from two to three guineas. Connected with the college are numerous bursaries founded for the purpose of assisting students in poor circumstances. About thirty bursaries are bestowed annually, some by competition and others by presentation, and are continued during the four sessions of the curriculum. There are sixteen competition bursaries, varying from £16 to under £5 each; and in the case of bursars, the fees of the session are so restricted as to be more than covered by the bursary. The annual sum expended in prizes and bursaries is about £1500. In 1852, the number of graduates in A.M. was 21; in M.B. 7; in M.D. 12; and in L.L.D. 1. In the west end of the town is the Free Church Divinity Hall. The grammar school, which is mentioned as being in existence in 1418, is a preparatory school to the colleges, and is under a rector and three masters. There are several academies, and a number of parish and other schools, including two on Dr Bell's foundation; one for boys and the other for girls. The industrial or ragged schools, which owe their establishment mainly to Sheriff Watson, are thriving, and have been the means of doing great good, as proved by the remarkable diminution of juvenile crime in the city. The average number on the roll for 1852 was 297. The average annual cost of each child, about £3, 4s.

On the north side of Castle Street are the town-house and the old tolbooth, which is surmounted by a handsome spire 120 feet in height; and connected with it there has been erected a new court-house, which combines the advantages of elegance, convenience, and comfort; with a prison in the rear. Bridewell, now called the west prison, was built in 1809, at an expense of £12,000. The cross, a singularly beautiful erection at the east end of Castle Street, is adorned with medallions cut in stone, in very high relief, of all the royal family of Scotland, from James I. to James VII. inclusive, with a fine column of the composite order, surmounted by the royal unicorn rampant rising from the centre. It was planned and executed about 1682, by John Montgomery, a native architect. Near it is a fine granite colossal statue of the late Duke of Gordon. The assembly-rooms, in Union Street, were built in 1821, by subscription. They are constructed of beautiful granite, handsomely ornamented. The rooms, which are ninety feet in front, and 156 feet at the back of the edifice, are splendidly finished in the interior. It has military barracks, erected in 1796, a neat theatre, and public baths.

The commerce and manufactures of Aberdeen are extensive and flourishing. One of the most important branches of manufacture is the cotton, which was introduced about the year 1779, and has given rise to several large establishments, in the greater number of which steam-engines are employed. There are other smaller works, which manufacture stripes, winseys, druggets, &c. The whole, when in full work, give employment to about 4000 hands. There are two large houses engaged in the woollen trade, and four or five small ones. In these are manufactured broad and narrow cloths, blankets, serges, stockings, &c., but chiefly worsted yarns. They give employment to about 3500 persons. The manufacture of carpeting for the London, but particularly the American markets, has been carried on with success for upwards of twenty years. The linen manufacture, particularly that of thread, is carried on in all its branches to a great extent. The number of persons employed, when all the mills are on full work, is about 8000, of whom nearly one-third are engaged at the bleach-fields, or as out-door weavers. There are breweries of porter and ales, of which considerable quantities are annually exported to America and the West Indies. There are likewise several distilleries, the number of which has been increased since the reduction of the duty on spirits. Some extensive iron-works have also been established, in which are manufactured every kind of spinning machinery, and both land and marine steam-engines. Boiler-making, chain-making, and the forging of anchors employ about 1500 men. Iron ship-building was introduced about sixteen years ago, and has since been successfully carried on. The quantity of iron imported in 1852 was 3861 tons. There are also manufactories of soap, candles, leather, &c. The granite stones, so famous for their durability, which are quarried, dressed, and shipped from this port, form a staple commodity for exportation, and are a great source of wealth to the place, by giving employment to many thousands of industrious labourers. These stones are chiefly used for paving streets; for building bridges, wharfs, and docks; and for erecting lighthouses, and other works. At the extensive granite works of Messrs Macdonald and Leslie, that stone is manufactured into exquisitely polished vases, tables, chimney-pieces, fountains, funeral monuments, and columns, with a skill and elegance hitherto unrivalled in Great Britain; and in execution quite equal to the famous granite sculptures of Sweden or of Russia. Among their other works, we may mention the magnificent granite columns of St George's Hall in Liverpool, and the colossal statue of the last Duke of Gordon, that ornaments Castle Street in Aberdeen, sculptured in the same stubborn material. Comb-making has been, since 1830, an important branch of local industry, employing about 450 hands. The whale-fishery, once carried on to a great extent, has much declined. Forty years ago, it employed 17 vessels; now there are only two. Salmon-fishing formerly carried on with much spirit and remarkable success, has continued declining for a good many years. The quantity exported in 1852 was 1014 barrel-bulk. Herring-fishing has been prosecuted with considerable success for about 17 years.

There are now three paper-mills in the vicinity of Aberdeen, all in a very flourishing condition, and giving employment to between 500 and 600 hands. Another prosperous branch of local industry is ship-building, for which the city has lately become famous. Within the last 15 years many fine sailing and steam vessels have been built here. A ship of 1200 tons was lately (1852) launched, and another of 1500 is being built. There are eight banking establish- Aberdeen, besides a savings bank, established in 1815. The amount at the credit of depositors in the savings bank on 12th February 1853 was £133,484.

The aggregate tonnage of the vessels belonging to the port of Aberdeen in 1862 was 32,868 tons. They trade to North and South America, the West Indies, the Mediterranean, the Baltic, Davis' Straits, and most of the ports of the united kingdom. The want of a proper harbour was long a detriment to the trade of Aberdeen, and occasioned the loss of many lives and of much property. To remedy this defect a pier was built in 1776, by Smeaton, on the north side of the old harbour, extending a considerable way into the German Ocean; and by an act obtained in 1810, it was still further enlarged. This extensive work is built of large masses of dressed granite, and measures in length 2300 feet. In consequence of this improvement the depth of water on the bar is at spring-tides upwards of nineteen feet, and at neap-tides fourteen feet, where there was formerly only a few feet. The flood-gates, and other works necessary for the completion of Telford's plan of 1810, were completed in 1848. The wet dock, where the largest vessels may float in safety, has a surface of nearly 40 acres, and about 9000 feet of quay-room. It is called the Victoria Dock, in honour of her Majesty's visit in 1848. The harbour dues which, in 1765, produced only £126—amounted in 1800 to £1300. The shore-dues for the year ending 30th Sept. 1852, were £15,236; revenue, £19,953; expenditure, £18,376; debt, £282,263. The registered tonnage charged inwards, was 298,418 tons; outwards 33,343 tons; for wintering, 16,106 tons. Commodious steam-vessels sail steadily to London, Leith, Inverness, &c.

The introduction of steam-navigation in 1821 effected a complete and beneficial revolution in various branches of industry, more especially in the cattle-trade; and the benefits have been greatly increased by the recent introduction of railways. The bay affords safe anchorage with off-shore winds, but not with those from E., or N.E. A lighthouse has been erected on Girdleness, the south point of the bay, having two fixed lights, one above the other, 115 and 185 feet above high-water spring-tides, in Lat. 57° 8' N. Long. 2° 3' W. On the north pier head, there is also a tidal fixed red light, seen at the distance of four miles, and two leading lights further up the harbour on its south side. The affairs of the harbour are managed by a board of Commissioners.

No place in the empire is better supplied with water and gas. The former is brought from the Dee, a little above the bridge. It is filtered through a bed of gravel, conveyed in a tunnel to a well, whence it is pumped by steam, and propelled into a reservoir at the west end of Union Place. The quantity of water raised in twenty-four hours is about 900,000 gallons.

Aberdeen possesses a very complete public market, built by a company established by act of parliament in 1839. The building was designed by Mr Archibald Simpson, and consists of two floors of about 300 by 100 feet, with galleries going round the whole building. The upper and lower floors are fitted up with shops for the sale of butcher-meat, fish, fowls, &c. On the upper floor is a fountain of polished granite, the principal basin of which is 7 feet 3 inches diameter, cut out of a single block of stone. Connected with this undertaking was the laying out of a new street leading from Union Street to the quay, an improvement of great importance. In this street are the Post-Office and Mechanics' Hall, both handsome buildings of recent erection. The Aberdeen Railway Company was incorporated in 1845, with a capital (including additions) of £1,256,000; the total number of shares being 78,600. The main line is 65 miles in length, with 7 miles of branches. The total receipts for the week ending 1st January 1853, were £1,647; and for the corresponding week of 1852, £1,560. In 1846, the Great North of Scotland Railway Company was incorporated, with a capital of £1,107,440, divided into 110,744 shares.

The works were not commenced until last year (1852), but are now in steady progress, with every prospect of early completion. The line will reach from Aberdeen to Elgin, in the first instance, and will be of immense importance to the northern counties. A railway, reaching from Aberdeen to Banbory-Ternan, along the north side of the river Dee, has also been recently commenced.

The oldest charter extant held by Aberdeen is from William the Lion, and of the probable date of 1178. Reference, however, is made in it to certain privileges conferred on the burgesses of Aberdeen, in common with all those north of the "mouth," by David I. The records of the burgh commence in 1398, and are complete to the present time, with the exception of a short break about the beginning of the 15th century. An interesting selection from these records has been published by the Spalding Club, the establishment of which has been the means of amply illustrating many other matters of local antiquity. The town is governed by a magistracy, consisting of a provost, four bailies, a dean of guild, and a treasurer. The other members of the council amount to twelve, all being chosen by the electors within the parliamentary bounds. In 1333 and 1336 the town was burnt by a fleet of Edward III.; but it was speedily afterwards rebuilt, and was thereafter known by the name of New Aberdeen. The total revenue of the burgh for 1852 was £19,780; the total expenditure, for the same period, £18,100; surplus, £1,680. In 1817, the affairs of the burgh became embarrassed to a great extent, and were placed under trust. By prudent management, however, they gradually recovered, and all liabilities were paid in full. The population of Aberdeen, in 1396, was about 3000; in 1643, 8750; in 1708, 5556; in 1801, 27,608; in 1831, 58,019; in 1841, 63,262; and in 1851, 71,945. The number of parliamentary electors is 2947; of municipal electors, 2413. It returns one member to parliament. Aberdeen is distant 108 miles north of Edinburgh, and 118 from Inverness. Long. 2° 5' 42" W. Lat. 57° 8' 58" N.