the capital of Scotland, and chief town of Mid-Lothian, or Edinburghshire, is situated within two miles of the south shore of the Firth of Forth, at the distance of about 392 miles north from London, in N. Lat. 55° 57' 20"; and W. Long. 3° 10' 30". The situation of this ancient city is pre-eminently romantic. It occupies a congeries of hills and elevated grounds, rising gradually from the shore of the Forth, and attaining in some parts to a considerable height above the level of the sea. The central elevation, which has been aptly compared to a wedge lying flat upon the ground, is terminated at its highest or western extremity by a mass of rock, seven acres in superficies at top, and about 250 feet above the surrounding country; on which stands Edinburgh Castle, the nucleus of the city. From the castle, along the slope towards the east, and for a mile in length, the Old Town was built, with a spacious street in the centre, and narrow alleys or closes diverging down the north and the south sides of the ridge. In later times the city, by means of bridges, was extended to the grounds on the south and north.

The etymology of the name Edinburgh has been supposed to be found in the history of its origin. It is said that subsequently to the year 449, or the era of Anglo-Saxon dominion in Lothian, the castle became the occasional residence of the chiefs of the Northumbrian dynasty; and from Edwin, the potent king of the territory, the appellation Edwin's burgh was introduced, and afterwards retained. At a period coeval with or preceding the era of Edwin, the name applied to the fort was Mai-dun in British, or Magh-dun in Gaelic, which may either signify the fortified mount in the plain, or the good fort; but when the English language came into use, the Maiden Castle gave occasion to fanciful etymologists to connect the title it obtains in old writings—that of Castrum Puellarum, the Castle of Maidens—with the fable that it had been the residence of the daughters of the British kings. The origin of Edinburgh can now with tolerable accuracy be traced to the beginning of the seventh century, or the era of Edwin, from which period it gradually though slowly increased in size. In the year 856 it is described as a considerable village; and, with the castle, it was often the object of contest in the wars which took place between its Anglo-Saxon possessors and the natives of Scotland. From the period of the cession of Lothian to the Scots in 1020, the castle continued to be the frequent residence of their monarchs; and here the widowed consort of Malcolm Canmore, the pious and worthy Margaret, died in the year 1093. In the reign of David I., the castle continued a royal residence, and the town increased so much as to be considered one of the four chief burghs in the kingdom. Soon after his accession, the munificent David founded the Abbey of Holyrood on the plain at the eastern extremity of the rising ground on which Edinburgh was built. On the canons of this abbey he conferred the privilege of building a suburb westward from their church, along the ridge, in order to meet the burgh; and the new town thus reared by the monks received the name of Vicus Canonicorum, or popularly Canongate, which title the eastern part of the old city still retains. For a considerable period after the reign of David, the houses of Edinburgh were all thatched with straw; but the town nevertheless rose into importance, and in the twelfth century it was constituted a royal burgh by William I., surnamed the Lion.

The death of Alexander, king of Scotland, proved disastrous to Edinburgh. In June 1291 the town and castle were surrendered to Edward I.; but in 1313 they were recovered by assault, under the conduct of Randolph earl of Moray, and the castle was destroyed. The English again took and repaired the castle under Edward III., who resided there and placed a strong garrison in it. In 1337 the castle, still in the custody of the English, was besieged by Sir Andrew Moray, the guardian of Scotland, though without success; and it was only by an ingenious stratagem, employed by Sir William Douglas, in 1361, that the fortress was secured by the Scottish patriots.

From the era of the murder of James I. at Perth, in 1436-37, the origin of Edinburgh as a national capital may be dated. Neither Perth nor Scone, Stirling nor Dunfermline, being able to secure royalty against the designs of the nobility, Edinburgh and its castle were selected as the only places of safety for the royal household and the functionaries of government. The infant sovereign was crowned in the chapel of Holyrood, in which sat the first parliament of his reign. James II. was particularly attached to Edinburgh, and bestowed on it a variety of grants as to the holding of fairs and markets, the levying of customs, and also rights to property. Besides, in 1450, he sanctioned the erection of walls and bulwarks for its defence. Edinburgh was the seat of the court and regular parliament throughout the turbulent reign of James III., who conferred additional immunities upon the city, and granted to the magistrates, town-council, and community, the office of heritable sheriff of the burgh. On account of the loyalty of the people in assisting him against Edward IV., he moreover granted the inhabitants a banner, with power to display the same in defence of their king, their country, and their own rights. This flag, which is still esteemed a sort of palladium of the city, is called from its colour the Blue Blanket, and remains in the custody of the Convenor of the Trades. In 1497, Edinburgh was visited by a loathsome distemper imported from abroad, and the king by a proclamation ordered the magistracy to put out of the town all infected persons, who, in order to free the city, were transported by boats to the island of Inchkeith in the Firth of Forth, which thus served as a lazaret-house for the time. James III., in his latter years, made Edinburgh castle the repository of his treasure, valuable effects, and ordinance. Edinburgh. 1488, when this prince was murdered near Stirling, the whole fell into the hands of his rebellious subjects.

The first parliament of James IV. was held at Edinburgh; and in 1503, on the marriage of this prince with Margaret, the eldest daughter of Henry VII., of England, the capital was the scene of a gorgeous pageant, which is fully recorded by the historians of the time. In 1508 the king empowered the town to fell the grounds of the Boroughmuir on the south; but the citizens were no sooner in possession of this grant, than they set about clearing the ground of its wood, and so many trees were cut down that they could not be disposed of; wherefore the magistrates enacted, that whosoever should buy as many trees as would form a new front to a house, might extend the same seven feet farther into the street. The consequence of this was, that Edinburgh was in a short time filled with houses of wood, and the principal street was reduced fourteen feet in breadth. The year 1513 was the epoch of a dreadful plague; and also of that great national calamity, the defeat at Flodden. With James perished the magistrates and many of the burgesses; the privy-council removed to Stirling for safety; the Cowgate and Grassmarket, at that time southern suburbs of the town, were inclosed with a wall; and at the same time the corporation of the burgh raised the civic military corps called the town-guard, which was not finally disbanded till the year 1817.

Throughout the minority of James V. the capital was the constant scene of tumults. One especially, between the Hamiltons or Arran's party and the Douglas's or party of Angus, is known in history by the name of Clear the Causeway. May 1532 is the era of the greatest event in the annals of the Scottish metropolis. This was the establishment of the College of Justice, or series of supreme courts and their functionaries. The city now became a place of resort from all parts of the kingdom, and the magistrates for the first time had the High Street repaired and paved, and gave orders to the citizens to light it. In 1538 the town was the scene of rejoicings, on the entrance of James with his wife Mary of Guise.

In 1544, on the refusal of the regency to ally the young Queen Mary to the son of Henry VIII., an English fleet and army were sent to ravage Scotland; and in prosecution of this object the earl of Hertford landed with a force near Leith, and set fire to the city in several places. In 1548 Edinburgh was garrisoned by French troops under D'Essé, who prevented the English from committing any further serious damage.

Disturbances consequent on the change of religion in Scotland broke out in 1556, at which time a concourse of people assembled to protest John Knox from the violence of the ecclesiastical judiciary. During the struggle which ensued in effecting the Reformation, Edinburgh formed the chief position of the Reformers, as Leith was that of the French and Catholic party. By the assistance of a Protestant army sent by Queen Elizabeth the Reformers were finally triumphant, and the first assembly of the Reformed kirk met at Edinburgh on the 15th of January 1560.

A new object of excitement soon appeared in the person of Mary, the young queen of Scots, who on the 9th of August 1561 arrived at Leith from France. On the 1st of September she made her public entry into the city. Darnley was proclaimed king at the market-cross in July 1565, and next morning was married to the queen in the chapel of Holyrood. In June following the queen was delivered of a son, afterwards James VI.; and in February 1567 Darnley was blown up by gunpowder in a house at the Kirk of the Field, on the site of which the university now stands. Mary's marriage with Bothwell occasioned fresh disturbances in Edinburgh; and during the period of the irregular warfare which ensued between the king's and queen's parties the city suffered very severely. At length the young king himself entered upon public life, and on the 17th of October 1579 arrived in the metropolis with a cavalcade of 2000 horse, and held his first parliament in person. In the year following the Earl of Morton was beheaded in Edinburgh, by an instrument called the Maiden, which it has been said he had himself introduced, and which is now preserved in the Museum of the Society of Antiquaries. The character of the city was about this period greatly improved by the erection of the college, which was commenced in 1581, and to which the first professor was appointed in 1583. The infant institution was warmly patronized by King James, who, on the occasion of a temporary visit which he made to Scotland in 1617, desired that it should thenceforth be called King James' College. In 1585-86 the city was visited by the plague, and suffered severely from that disease. In 1591 the inhabitants were alarmed by an attempt of Francis Stewart Earl of Bothwell to seize upon the person of the king in Holyrood Palace. The attempt, however, was defeated by the promptitude and vigour of the citizens. Bothwell himself escaped, but eight of his followers were taken and put to death on the following day. In 1596 the clergy and citizens united in tumultuary resistance to an attempt made by the king to control the language of the pulpit. Unable to subdue or restrain the insurrectionary spirit which he had excited, James withdrew from the town, and ordered all the public courts to be removed from it. A reconciliation, however, soon afterwards took place, and the offended monarch returned peaceably to his capital. In 1599 the first regular dramatic actors appeared in Edinburgh. They came from England, and there is some reason to suppose that the immortal Shakespeare was amongst the number.

Three years later the regal dignity of Scotland became extinct, or rather merged in that of England. On the 24th of March 1603 James was called to the throne of the sister kingdom. Two days before his departure he addressed the citizens in St Giles' Church; promising them a continuation of his countenance, and expressing the regret which he felt at leaving them. Among the marks of royal favour with which James visited Scotland after his accession to the throne of England, was his empowering the magistrates of Edinburgh, in 1609, to have a sword of state carried before them, and to wear gowns. This, it is believed, was the earliest appearance of magisterial robes in Scotland. In 1617 James paid a long-promised visit to his native country. He entered Edinburgh by the West Port, and was conducted through the city with great pomp, and every demonstration of rejoicing. On the 28th of June he convened his twenty-second parliament at Edinburgh. In this assembly there were several remarkable acts passed, including one for the restitution of archbishops, bishops, and chapters. Four years after this, namely, in 1621, an act of the estates and town-council was passed for coping houses with lead, slates, or tiles, instead of thatch, which had hitherto been the covering commonly employed. In the same year water was introduced by pipes into the city; and three new bells were imported from Campvere in Zealand, two for St Giles' Church, and one for the Netherbow Port. The casting of bells for churches, however, is much more ancient in Scotland. On one of four fine bells in the ancient cathedral of Kirkwall in Orkney there is an inscription—"Robert Borthwick made me in the castel of Edinburgh in the year of grace MDXXXV."

Edinburgh seems to have enjoyed uninterrupted tranquility during the remaining period of King James's reign. When he died, in 1625, the ministers of the city eulogized him as the "most religious and peaceable prince that ever was in this unworthy world." After the accession of Charles to the throne, which was proclaimed at the cross by the officers of state, a convention was held; and the town-council, in consequence of certain ships of war being wanted, and forts for securing the coasts, not only agreed to advance Edinburgh, the assessment when called upon, but also to contribute towards the maintenance of 10,000 men. Some time afterwards, a subsidy for four years having, at the king's desire, been granted by parliament, the inhabitants of Edinburgh generously advanced at once their quota, amounting to L40,000 Scots. For these acts of kindness His Majesty expressed his gratitude by sending a sword and gown to be worn by the provost in the manner appointed by his father. Like his father, too, Charles resolved to visit his native country, and though prevented for some years from fulfilling his design, he at last accomplished it in 1633. He was received by the inhabitants with much pomp, and the celebrated Drummond of Hawthornden was appointed to address him on his arrival, which he did with all the characteristic poetical embellishment peculiar to the times. On the 18th of June, Charles was crowned in the Abbey Church of Holyrood, and on the 20th he assembled his first Scottish parliament in the Parliament House. During his residence in the city on this occasion, Charles erected the bishopric of Edinburgh, a measure which was by no means popular, and gave rise throughout the country to a series of civil disturbances, the principal focus of which seems to have been Edinburgh. During the civil war in 1640, the magistrates fortified the town against the castle, and disciplined the citizens. The governor, on perceiving these demonstrations of hostility, fired upon the city; but being soon afterwards besieged by General Leslie, he was compelled to surrender from want of provisions.

Charles visited the city a second time in 1641, and was received and entertained by the magistrates with the utmost deference and respect. A parliament met on the 15th of July, the result of whose proceedings was an entire change in the government, Charles retaining only the name of king, and the kingdom only the appearance of a monarchy. He agreed to an act of oblivion, by which his opponents were pardoned at the expense of his friends; and after a residence of four months in the northern metropolis, he returned to London, having intrusted his Scottish affairs to a committee of the estates. Two years after this, in the month of July, the Solemn League and Covenant for the extirpation of prelacy was signed in the High Church; and shortly afterwards the city raised and supported a regiment of 1200 men, to assist the English parliamentary forces against Charles, at a cost of L60,000 Scottish money. For this and several other acts of hostility to the king, the town was in 1645 threatened with a visit from the Marquis of Montrose; but it was saved from this disaster by the breaking out of the plague, which committed great ravages amongst its population. This was, however, the last visit which this dreadful scourge paid to the metropolis. Shortly after this the city borrowed L40,000 Scots to raise troops for the national engagement in favour of Charles; which debt they afterwards refused to pay, on the plea that it was contracted in an unlawful cause. The impartial justice of Cromwell, however, subsequently compelled them in 1652 to repay the money. In May 1650 the Marquis of Montrose was conveyed a prisoner into Edinburgh. Three days afterwards he was brought to trial, condemned to death, and suffered on a gallows erected at the cross. Two months subsequently Charles II. was proclaimed on the same spot; and in the end of September following, the town was in the possession of Cromwell. On this occasion the magistrates fled to Stirling, then the headquarters of the king's forces. The town was thus left without any other civic rulers than that of a body of 30 citizens, chosen by the inhabitants to discharge in part the functions of the magistracy, who absented themselves from the 2d of September to the 5th of December 1651. About this period the town-council granted liberty to one Adam Woodcock to establish a stage-coach between Edinburgh and Leith; which is amongst the first notices of a public conveyance of the kind in Scotland.

On the 11th of May 1660, the magistrates sent the town-clerk to Charles, who was at Breda, expressing their concurrence in his meditated restoration, already agreed to by both houses of parliament in England, and their joy at the prospect of such an event. Their messenger "had a most gracious reception;" and, in the name of the burgh, presented "a poor myte of L1000, which he did graciously accept, as though it had been a greater business." The feelings of delight which the arrival of the king in England excited in Edinburgh, were expressed in the customary mode of costly feasting, a sumptuous banquet having been served up by the town-council at the cross. This attachment on the part of the citizens was ill requited by Charles, who, in settling the affairs of the kingdom, re-established episcopacy in Scotland, in opposition to the oath and obligation of honour by which he was bound. It is not surprising, therefore, that the Scottish people, so attached to Presbyterianism, should have expressed their indignation at his conduct in the most open manner. But when the liberty of the press, and freedom in matters of religion, were in consequence also speedily infringed upon, the whole country rose in arms, particularly the western counties. The attempt, however, which was made upon the life of Archbishop Sharp in the streets of Edinburgh, led to those milder measures which were soon afterwards adopted by government. In 1679, James, then Duke of York, came to reside in Edinburgh, and took up his abode in the palace of Holyrood, where he remained till May 1682. During this period he rendered himself extremely odious by his opposition to the Covenanters, and by his attempting the revival of the drama, and encouraging other amusements to which the people were exceedingly averse.

Two years after this, the magistrates set up for the first time a regular state carriage; and were so much pleased with the accommodation and conveniency of this novelty, that they ordered two coaches from London for their own especial use, with the addition of four horses. On the demise of Charles II. in 1685, the town-council erected an equestrian statue to him in the Parliament Square, as a proof of their gratitude to and affection for that monarch. Soon after James's accession, the unfortunate Earl of Argyll was brought a prisoner to Edinburgh; and after being ignominiously paraded through the streets, his head was struck off by the Maiden, this being the last time, it is believed, that the instrument was employed. After a series of disturbances and tumultuary proceedings, occasioned by the attempts of James VII. to restore the Roman Catholic religion, a convention of estates was held at Edinburgh, in which it was declared that James had forfeited the crown; and in March 1689 it was offered to William and Mary.

In 1696 Edinburgh was deeply interested in the celebrated Darien expedition, and was full of the high anticipations which this speculation had diffused throughout Scotland. About L400,000 sterling were subscribed in the country. Six ships of considerable force and burden, and laden with various commodities, sailed from the Firth of Forth; and in 1699, when intelligence arrived of the settlement being formed, the rejoicings in Edinburgh were unbounded. On the other hand, the disappointment excited on learning in the following year of its failure, filled the streets for several days with tumult and riot; and the city altogether presented such a scene of lawless anarchy, that the commissioner and officers of state deemed it necessary, for their personal safety, to retire until the popular fury had somewhat abated.

In 1704, on the occasion of a Captain Green and two of the crew of the Worcester, connected with the East India trade, being convicted, on circumstantial and insufficient evidence, of piracy and murder on the high seas, a commotion was excited by an apprehension on the part of the populace that they were to be permitted to escape the consummation The lord chancellor, in passing from the privy-council in his coach, was attacked at the Tron Church, the glasses were broken, and he himself was dragged from the carriage. He was rescued by some of his friends; but it was found necessary to sacrifice the seamen to the resentment of the populace. The year 1703 had been distinguished by its presenting the last exhibition of the ancient Scottish national pageant called the Riding of the Parliament, which took place on the 6th of May; in 1704 the inhabitants of Edinburgh were gratified by another ceremony quite in accordance with the spirit of the age, when, under the authority of an act of the privy-council, a large quantity of vestments, beads, chalices, crucifixes, and other appurtenances of Catholic worship, were brought to the cross, and there publicly burnt before the eyes of a delighted populace.

The tumults to which the city had been so frequently subject were revived in 1706, on the occasion of the proposed union of the kingdoms. This, as is well known, was at first vehemently opposed by the Jacobites and ultra Covenanters in Scotland, and gave rise to a series of the most violent and outrageous proceedings on the part of the mob, in order to intimidate those members of the Scottish parliament who were favourable to the measure. The deed, however, was finally accomplished, though not without great danger to the lives of its most active promoters. On the 6th of March 1707, the act received the royal assent in the House of Lords.

In the civil war of 1715 an unsuccessful attempt was made by the Jacobites to surprise the Castle. About this period the provost received a regular salary of £300 per annum in order to defray his expenses; and in 1718 the scheme which had for some time been framed of extending the pier and building docks at Leith was in part executed; the town's debts, which even then amounted to £25,000, being thereby, in the space of five years, nearly doubled.

The celebrated tumult designated the Porteous Mob took place in September 1736. The accounts of this remarkable affair are so numerous, so easily accessible, and within in general so full, that it is deemed unnecessary to give more than a mere outline in this place. Porteous, whose name distinguishes the transaction, was captain of the city guard. At the execution of a criminal of the name of Wilson, whose fate had excited an extraordinary sympathy, Porteous, dreading a rescue by the mob, who suddenly became tumultuary, ordered the guard to fire on them. Six people were killed by the discharge, and eleven wounded. For this Porteous was tried and condemned to death; but he was afterwards reprieved by Queen Caroline, then regent. Resolved however that he should not thus escape the fate which they conceived he merited, the mob, on the evening of the day previous to that on which he was to have been executed, broke into the jail in which he was confined, and having dragged him out, led him to the Grassmarket, the usual place of execution at that period, and there hanged him by torchlight on a dyer's pole.

On the 17th September 1745, a party of the Highlanders having made themselves masters of the Netherbow Port, Edinburgh was taken possession of by the rebels under Prince Charles Edward. The main body of the rebel army arrived shortly afterwards at the King's Park, headed by the Chevalier in person, who took up his residence in Holyrood, where he held open court, and was visited by great numbers of the inhabitants. The city remained on this occasion in the hands of the rebels till the 31st of October, when, finding it impossible to reduce the castle, they proceeded on their march towards England.

The public transactions of an historical nature which occurred in the metropolis after these events, are not, except in a few instances, such as to require a particular description.

On the 2d of February 1779, an infuriated mob, Edinburgh, under the influence of religious fanaticism, burnt one Roman Catholic chapel and plundered another. Twelve years later, on the outbreaking of the revolution in France, a considerable body of the inhabitants manifested their admiration of the new political principles which were then brought so prominently forward, by forming themselves into associations for supporting the cause of political regeneration. These societies, the members of which received the appellation of Friends of the People, at length drew down upon themselves the notice and vengeance of government. Several persons accused of having been concerned in spreading sedition, and engaged in treasonable practices, were arrested and brought to trial. One of them, named Watt, was condemned and beheaded, whilst others were transported. Subsequently, during the war with France, the citizens showed great zeal in support of the government, by forming themselves into regiments of volunteers, consisting of yeomanry, artillery, and several corps of infantry. On the last night of the year 1811, being the season devoted to innocent festivity, the streets of Edinburgh were disgraced by a series of riots, outrages, and robberies, hitherto unparalleled. During almost the whole night, after eleven o'clock, a gang, principally composed of young men, armed with bludgeons and other weapons, infested some of the principal streets of the metropolis, and knocked down, robbed, and otherwise wantonly maltreated almost every person who had the misfortune to fall in their way. In the dreadfull tumult and scuffles which ensued, one officer of police was killed and many persons dangerously wounded, some of whom died in consequence, whilst a great number received severe contusions. Several rioters were seized, and being brought to trial, three were condemned and hanged, whilst some others were transported. This fearful outbreaking of juvenile delinquency led to the adoption of several beneficial plans for the better instruction of the lower classes, the benefits of which still continue to be felt.

George IV., visited Scotland in 1822, and spent upwards of a fortnight in the metropolis, inspecting its public institutions, and receiving the congratulations of his Scottish subjects.

In 1824 the city suffered from a series of conflagrations of a most destructive and appalling description. The first of these commenced on the 24th of June, when some of the private dwellings in the Parliament Square, with a part of the High Street, and several closes, were consumed. The second and the most extensive began on the evening of the 15th November, and continued for three days, destroying an immense number of houses, chiefly between the High Street and Cowgate, also several fronting the High Street at the Cross, another portion of the Parliament Square, and likewise the spire of the Tron Church, which had accidentally caught fire from the flying brands.

In no part of the United Kingdom was the passing of the Reform bill hailed with more heartfelt demonstrations of joy than in Edinburgh. The first election of members of parliament by the citizens took place at the cross on the 21st of December 1832.

The only important event of interest in the subsequent history of Edinburgh is the "Disruption" of the Church of Scotland, which formally took place at the General Assembly convened in St Andrew's Church, George Street, May 18, 1843.

Edinburgh is surrounded on all sides excepting on the north, where the ground slopes gently towards the Firth of Forth, by lofty hills. On the east, in the immediate vicinity of the city, are the abrupt and rocky elevations of Arthur's Seat, Salisbury Crags, and the Calton Hill, the first of which rises to the height of 822 feet above the level of the sea. On the south are the Braids and Pentland Hills, and on the west is the hill of Corstorphine. Salisbury Crags form a con- Edinburgh, situated range of naked and perpendicular cliffs, which rise like a mural crown from the summit of the hill, and at a distance have a singularly wild and romantic appearance, the interest of which is heightened by the contrast of the splendid city over which they tower majestically. The town stands on high and uneven ground, being built on three eminences, which run parallel to one another from east to west. The most elevated of these, on which the city was originally built, is terminated abruptly on the west by a precipitous rock surmounted by the castle, whilst to the east it gradually inclines to the plain from which rises the lofty elevation of Arthur's Seat. The valley to the north of this ridge, which was formerly filled with water, has been of late years drained, and is now laid out in public gardens.

Till the middle of the eighteenth century, Edinburgh continued to occupy little more than the same space of ground which it had covered in the reigns of James III. and James IV., namely, the ridge between the Castle on the west and Holyrood House on the east, with the hollow called the Cowgate on the south, and part of the rising ground beyond. This was surrounded by a wall with several gates, or ports as they were called, a considerable part of which is still to be seen in the Vennel, leading from Lauriston Place into the Grassmarket. In a great proportion of this Old Town the buildings are crowded and irregular, and the houses in some parts rise to the unusual height of eleven stories. The principal, or High Street, which is somewhat more than a mile in length, and is in some parts ninety feet in breadth, occupies the centre of the ridge, and extends, under different designations, nearly in a straight line from the Castle on the western extremity to the Palace of Holyrood on the eastern. Both sides of the ridge occupied by this street are covered with buildings crowded together in the closest array, and descending from the High Street, chiefly in narrow lanes, or closes as they are termed, which are seldom broader than six feet, and which, consisting of high houses on either side, are inhabited by numerous families, with little regard either to health or cleanliness. A proposal in the reign of Charles II. to extend the town over the lands to the north, beyond the hollow called the North Loch, having been frustrated, nothing was done till 1751, when an old building having fallen, by which one person was killed, a strong feeling regarding the inconvenience and decayed condition of the houses began to be expressed. The first decided step towards extending the city was taken by Provost Drummond, on the 21st of October 1763, when he laid the foundation-stone of what is now styled the North Bridge, in order to connect the town with the properties on the north. This edifice consists of three great arches, each 72 feet in width and 68 in height, with small side arches, making the total length 310 feet. In 1767, whilst this work was proceeding, an act for extending the royalty was obtained; and a plan for the New Town being then formed by Mr Craig, architect, the foundation of the first house was laid on the 20th of October the same year. By this plan the chief streets of the New Town of Edinburgh were disposed in three parallel lines from east to west, intersected by cross streets at right angles from north to south. Princes Street, on the south side, is formed like a terrace, facing the Old Town; a similar street, facing the north, is called Queen Street; while George Street is in the centre. Charlotte Square, at the west end of George Street, corresponds with another at its eastern extremity, designated St Andrew Square. Coeval with the erection of these, a spacious street was opened from the extremity of the North Bridge and Princes Street, towards Leith Walk, or main road to Leith, opening an excellent communication with that seaport. The whole of the new edifices, according to Mr Craig's plan, were completed about the year 1815, but the greater part much earlier.

Such was the success attending the building of the New Town, that in time a second extension of the same nature was projected, still farther towards the north, beyond an open area in front of Queen Street. The design of this second town intimately resembled that of its predecessor, consisting of a terrace in front and rear, a large central street, with two intermediate narrow ones, and cross streets in continuation of those in the former New Town. This vast and splendid addition to Edinburgh was commenced in 1801, and was nearly finished in the year 1826.

About the time when the second New Town approached its completion, a series of superb edifices began to be erected on its north-western confines, between Charlotte Square and the Water of Leith, on the Earl of Moray's property of Drumsheugh. This magnificent part of Edinburgh was erected during the years 1823, 1824, and 1825. This quarter of the town was greatly improved by the erection, in 1832, of the Dean Bridge, consisting of four arches, stretching across the deep dell or ravine at the bottom of which flows the Water of Leith.

The extension of the New Town to the north and west absorbed public attention till about the year 1813, when the idea was started of opening an entrance from the east. The foundation-stone of the Regent Bridge, to form a connection with the Calton Hill, was laid in September 1815, and the work was completed in 1819. The arch of this structure is 50 feet wide, by about the same in height. On the top of the ledges of the bridge are arches and ornamental pillars of the Corinthian order, which on both sides are connected with the houses in the line of street formed at the same time. The street, or Waterloo Place as it has been designated, is composed of very superb houses of four stories, and each is terminated at Princes Street by a pediment and columns above the lower story. From Waterloo Place, the new road by which most of the vehicles and passengers from the east enter the city, proceeds by a sweep round the southern face of the Calton Hill. The entrance by this thoroughfare is not less commanding and beautiful than that by the west; and the houses in segments of circles, forming the Royal and Regent Terraces, erected on the slope of the hill, have a very striking effect.

Some years prior to the foundation of the New Town, certain private proprietors began to build lines of houses, of a good style of architecture, on the grounds to the south of the Old Town; and in this way George Square, Argyle Square, and Brown Square were opened for the reception of the higher class of citizens. The erection of these and other edifices soon suggested the necessity of a proper communication between them and the High Street, on the plan of the North Bridge; and on the 1st of August 1875, the foundation-stone of a bridge crossing the Cowgate, styled the South Bridge, was laid, and the thoroughfare opened for passengers in March 1788. The South Bridge consists of twenty-two arches, all of which are concealed by the buildings along its sides, with the exception of one at the centre spanning the Cowgate. The formation of the Union Canal, to serve as a water communication with Glasgow, by joining the Forth and Clyde Canal, took place in virtue of an act of parliament procured in 1817 by a joint-stock company. Its eastern termination is about half a mile S.W. from the Castle, near the present terminus of the Caledonian railway. This locality was greatly improved by the formation of the New West approach and Castle Terrace. The greatest recent improvement in Edinburgh has been the construction of the four railways that leave it on each side; the Edinburgh and Glasgow on the west, the North British on the east, the Caledonian on the south, and the Edinburgh, Perth, and Dundee on the north. With the exception of the Caledonian, the stations are concentrated at Waverley Bridge, a most convenient locality, situated in the hollow between Princes Street and the Old Town.

At the present day the city extends about two miles in The Castle, as has already been stated, owes its origin as a regular place of defence to the Anglo-Saxon dynasty, near the end of the fifth century; but its fortifications appear to be of comparatively modern date. The rock, surmounted by battlements, lofty barracks, and other buildings, rises to a height of 300 feet, and is precipitous on all sides except the east, on which it is connected with the town by an open glacis or esplanade. In a small apartment on the ground floor of the palace erected by Queen Mary, that princess was delivered of her son, James VI., on the 19th of June 1566. In the same part of the edifice is situated the crown room, where the regalia of Scotland were lodged in 1707, and found in 1818, after being lost sight of for upwards of one hundred years. These regalia consist of a crown, sceptre, sword of state, and lord treasurer's rod: the former is supposed to be even more ancient than the time of Robert Bruce, though it has undergone several changes since that period; the sword was a present from Pope Julius II. to James IV. The arsenal or storehouse of the Castle is capable of containing 30,000 stand of arms, and the whole buildings about 2000 men. In March 1829 an addition was made to the curiosities of the castle by the restoration of an ancient piece of ordnance called Mons Meg, which had been removed from the fortress and carried into England in 1754. This immense cannon, for it is of an unusual size, was fabricated in the year 1498, and is curious from its structure, being formed of bars bound together with rings. It was employed at the siege of Norham Castle, but was rent in 1682, when firing a salute in honour of James Duke of York.

Holyrood.—The charter of foundation of the Abbey of Holyrood has no date—the Abbey however was founded about the year 1128. It was largely endowed by the founder David I., and was considered as one of the wealthiest ecclesiastical establishments in Scotland. In 1544 it was sacked, and in part destroyed, by the Earl of Hertford when he invaded Scotland; and again in 1547. The nave used as a chapel was desecrated and dismantled by the mob in 1688; and in 1768 the roof fell in, and it was left in the ruined condition in which it now stands. Within this chapel were interred, amongst others, David II., James II., James V., his queen Magdalen, and Darnley. The royal palace is contiguous. It is not known at what time a palace was first erected on this spot. The more ancient parts of that which is now in existence were built by James V.; but it has since undergone many changes, and little if any of the original building remains. It was burnt by the soldiers of Cromwell, and was rebuilt after the Restoration by Charles II. The architect on this occasion was Sir William Bruce, and the builder who carried his designs into execution was Robert Mylne. The edifice is of a quadrangular figure, with an open court in the centre, surrounded with piazzas. Amongst the curiosities exhibited in the Palace of Holyrood is the chamber of Queen Mary, in which may still be seen, though in a decayed state, the bed of that unfortunate princess. In a hall or gallery 150 feet in length, 27½ in breadth, and 18 in height, containing 106 mythical portraits of Scottish monarchs, the election of representative peers for Scotland takes place. The most remarkable circumstance connected with Holyrood House is its privilege of affording a sanctuary to debtors. The limit of this privileged territory is marked in the direction of the town by a channel or gutter at the foot of the Canongate, and at the distance of about 100 yards from the palace. Altogether the sanctuary describes a circle of about five miles, including Salisbury Crags and Arthur's Seat. The immunities of the sanctuary have existed since the date of the monastery. Considerable improvements were made on the exterior walls of the palace during 1832, and some years previously. The locality has also been greatly improved recently by the removal of many of the Edinburgh-surrounding old houses, which, with the numerous additional repairs and alterations in the palace that have been made lately, render it an agreeable residence for her present Majesty Queen Victoria.

Courts of Law.—Edinburgh is now chiefly distinguished as a capital by being the seat of the Scottish supreme courts or College of Justice, which, as has already been mentioned, was constituted in 1532 by James V. This body consists of persons intimately connected with the various supreme courts, and comprehends the judges or senators, the faculty of advocates, writers to the signet, solicitors in the supreme courts, advocates' first clerks, clerks to the judges, extractors, keepers of the different departments, &c. This influential body at one time possessed some valuable privileges, the chief of which now remaining is exemption from certain local taxes.

The Parliament House.—The edifice, which has been appropriated since the Union as the place of meeting of the supreme courts, is the old Parliament House of Scotland, situated in the centre of the Old Town, and separated from the High Street by the cathedral of St Giles. This structure was erected between the years 1632 and 1640, at an expense of £11,600 sterling to the civic corporation. In recent times, however, with the exception of the great hall, it has been almost totally renewed. It stands on the southern and western sides of the inclosure called the Parliament Square, a place formerly surrounded with the shops of tradesmen, but entirely remodelled since the destructive fires of 1824. These improvements, which extend over the front of the old parliament house, or present court-house, have been executed chiefly by government at a great expense. The entrance to the courts is at the south-west angle of the square: the great hall is 122 feet by 49, and has a lofty roof of carved oak, arched and trussed in an admirable style of carpentry. This hall is the waiting-room of the advocates and other practitioners in the Supreme Courts; and the floor during session is the daily resort of all persons connected with them. The Lords Ordinary sit in small court-rooms at the south end of the hall. On a pedestal near the south end of the hall is a statue in white marble by Chantrey of Henry Viscount Melville, who died in 1811; and in recesses in the walls other statues have been placed, including those of Duncan Forbes of Culloden, erected in 1752, five years after his death, of Robert Dundas of Armiston, who died in 1819, and of Robert Blair of Avontoun, who died in 1811; the last also by Chantrey. More recently additional niches have been prepared for the reception of the statues of Lord Jeffrey and President Boyle.

Adjoining the Parliament House are certain spacious apartments fitted up as libraries for the Faculty of Advocates, the Writers to the Signet, and the Solicitors of the Supreme Courts. The Advocates' Library was founded in 1682, at the instance of Sir George Mackenzie, then Dean of Faculty. The collection is now the largest and most valuable in Scotland, and is in every sense one of the noblest national libraries. It is one of the five libraries entitled by act of parliament to a copy of every work printed in Britain; and, with the sums annually disbursed in the purchase of useful and rare books, it is rapidly increasing. The library is under the charge of six curators, a librarian, and assistants.

The Library of the Society of Writers to the Signet occupies a modern erection of two stories, in the Roman style of architecture, extending westward from the north-west corner of the Parliament House, and having a front to the Lawnmarket. This edifice contains two large and beautiful apartments, decorated in front of the book-presses with rows of columns. These noble apartments have cost the society £25,000. The library, like that of the Advocates, is under the charge of curators, a librarian, and assistants. Register House.—The Scottish Supreme Courts possess accommodations for their records, and the functionaries connected therewith, in a building styled the General Register House of Scotland, one of the most remarkable national edifices in the metropolis. It stands at the eastern extremity of Princes Street, fronting the thoroughfare of the North Bridge. The foundation was laid on the 17th of June 1776, and £1,200 were given by George III. out of the money arising from the sale of the forfeited estates, to assist in its erection. It was fully completed in 1822, at a very great expense, which has been defrayed by an accumulation of fees paid by persons searching the records, and for writs in the chancery office. The building, which was planned by Mr Robert Adam, forms a square, with a quadrangular court in the centre, containing a circular edifice or dome fifty feet in diameter, which joins the sides of the court, leaving spaces at the angles for the admission of light. Viewed from the street, it presents a compact building of 200 feet in length, by a breadth of 120. Each of the corners is surmounted by a small turret, and the central tower is crowned with a dome. The interior consists principally of small fire-proof chambers, in which are deposited state papers, copies or records of all the title-deeds of property, and of all legal contracts, mortgages, &c.; also records of all suits at law from an early period. In front of it is an equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington in bronze by Steele.

Royal Institution.—In looking along the noble line of Princes Street, the eye is arrested by two structures upon the Earthen Mound—the Royal Institution and the National Gallery—both of which were designed and executed by Mr W. H. Playfair. The Royal Institution was originally founded in 1823, but was enlarged, by an extension towards the south, in the year 1832, which was completed in 1836. It is of the Grecian Doric order, of the era of Pericles, and is designed upon the theme of a peristyle temple. The great projection of the north portico surrounded and filled with columns, and the long ranges of pillars upon each flank, preserve the columnar richness of the original; while the necessary departure from the simple parallelogram, caused by the necessities of the plan, is compensated by the introduction of small side porticos of classic design. A statue of the Queen in stone by Mr John Steele, R.S.A., is placed on an attic immediately behind the northern portico. The building, which fronts the opening of Hanover Street, is the property of the Board of Trustees for Manufactures in Scotland; and besides furnishing official apartments for the Board and galleries for the School of Design under their charge, is appropriated by them for the accommodation of the following institutions:—The Board of British White-Herring Fishery; The Incorporation of the Royal Institution for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts in Scotland; and the Royal Society; to which will be added the Society of Antiquaries as soon as the adjoining building of the National Gallery is completed.

The interior accommodations consist below of a large central gallery for exhibitions, the ends of which are formed into octagons of some size. On both sides of this gallery is a range of smaller apartments, those on the east side being reserved as offices for the Board of Trustees and for the Board of Fishery, and those on the west being tenanted by the Royal Society. Above is another spacious gallery in which is a noble collection of casts from the best ancient works of sculpture, with some of modern date. This gallery, along with the adjoining apartments, is occupied by the School of Design. In one of the apartments is contained the admirable set of busts of celebrated Greeks and Romans, known by the name of the Albacini Collection. In the picture gallery is deposited a small but valuable collection of works by ancient and modern masters, among which are some very fine specimens of Van Dyck, and in the modern section some masterly paintings by Etty. The collection since its first formation has been enlarged by the addition of the pictures, bronzes, and marbles belonging to the late Sir James Erskine of Torrie, who bequeathed them to the college at Edinburgh, for the purpose of laying a foundation for a gallery for the encouragement of the fine arts; and in the year 1845, with the consent of the Senatus Academicus, an agreement was entered into between the trustees of Sir James Erskine's will and the Board of Trustees for Manufactures, that the collection should be placed in the Royal Institution for public exhibition, where it passes under the name of "The Torrie Collection." The whole of the collections are increased from time to time by gifts or purchases of works of art, or by their temporary deposit in charge of the Board for the purpose of exhibition. The galleries are opened gratuitously to the public; the statue gallery for five days in the week, and the picture gallery for two. On other days the picture gallery is reserved for the use of artists and students.

The Board of Trustees for Manufactures owes its origin to the 15th article of the Treaty of Union between England and Scotland, by which, amongst other provisions by way of equivalent for the increase of the duties of excise and customs then imposed on Scotland, it was agreed that out of certain funds therein mentioned, £1,200 per annum should be applied towards the encouraging and promoting of the fisheries, and such manufactures and improvements in Scotland, as might most conduct to the general good of the United Kingdom; which grant was afterwards made payable out of the customs and excise in Scotland. The Board itself, however, was not constituted until the year 1727, when letters patent were issued by King George II. empowering it to administer this grant upon which accumulations had arisen in previous years so as to form a reserve fund. By the original letters patent the Board was made to consist of 21 trustees; these were afterwards increased to 28 by the act 48 Geo. III., cap. 110. They are chiefly gentlemen of distinction and property, judges of the supreme courts, &c.; and at the present moment three members of the Royal Scottish Academy have seats at the Board. Vacancies are filled up by the crown; five members form a quorum; and meetings are held periodically throughout the year. For many years the Board made specific appropriations of the monies at its disposal, half being usually allotted to the improvement of the fisheries until a separate Fishery Board was established in 1809, the other half to premiums and other measures for the encouragement of the linen and hempen manufactures. Ultimately this system was abandoned, and the funds have now for a long while been almost entirely appropriated to the maintenance of a School of Design, which is justly regarded as the most effective method of permanently improving the arts and manufactures of the country.

This school had its commencement in 1760, when a drawing academy on a small scale was formed, and placed under the direction of M. Delacour, a French artist. He was succeeded in 1768 by M. Pavillon, another French artist; Runicam, an eminent Scottish artist, was appointed in 1772; who, in 1786, was succeeded by David Allan, a Scottish artist of great genius. Under his successor John Graham were brought up Wilkie, Burnet, the late Sir William Allan, and the present President of the Royal Scottish Academy, Sir John Watson Gordon. The sphere of the school has been enlarged of late years, so as to be converted from a drawing academy into a School of Design, embracing, besides the study of the antique, the art of manufacturing design and of architectural and general ornament. In this stage, it has been successively superintended by Andrew Wilson, Sir William Allan, William Dyce, and Thomas Duncan, and is now (1855) directed in architecture and ornament by Alexander Christie, R.S.A., and in the antique by Robert Scott Lander, R.S.A. In the department of architecture and ornament this school gives instruction in drawing; painting, and modelling, and in architectural and ornamental design of every kind; and in the department of the antique, in drawing, painting, and modelling from the antique; and also from the living model. There are upwards of 180 students attending the school, who are divided into separate male and female classes. Among these, besides the ordinary students, are several schoolmasters and schoolmistresses and pupil teachers; so that the establishment has the character of a normal institution for drawing and painting, as well as that of a school for art. The Board of Scottish White and Herring Fisheries has also apartments in this building. See Scotland, and Fisheries.

The National Gallery, the foundation stone of which was laid by Prince Albert in August 1850, was finished externally in 1854. It is of the Greek Ionic order, and has a central mass with large hexastyle porticos to the east and west. At each side of this central portion, stretching to the north and south, ranges of ante are terminated by smaller tetra-style porticos which form the north and south fronts of the building—two porticos separated by a recessed portion being upon each front. The absence of windows on the flanks increases the classic aspect of the entire building. It was erected at the joint expense of the Board of Trustees for Manufactures and of the Government, under arrangements made with the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, and confirmed by act of parliament. The Government have made a grant of L25,000 towards the building, and the Board of Trustees have undertaken to furnish other L15,000. Its objects are the giving of suitable accommodation for the annual exhibitions of the Royal Scottish Academy, for the extension of the School of Design, and for the institution of a Scottish National Gallery of Painting and Sculpture, and thus to promote the successful progress of the fine arts in Scotland, and afford facilities to the public for viewing exhibitions and collections of modern and ancient art. The site was purchased in part from the city of Edinburgh and in part from the Free Church. By the act 13th and 14th Victoria, cap. 86, the whole of the property and buildings have been vested by parliament in the Board of Trustees, who are appointed to determine and regulate the appropriation thereof, subject to the approbation of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury.

Royal Institution for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts.—This Institution had its origin in the year 1819 as a private association formed for the encouragement of the fine arts in Scotland, on the model of the British Institution of London. It was not an association of artists, but of noblemen and gentlemen admirers of art, who were desirous by their united pecuniary contributions and personal influence to diffuse a taste for art among their countrymen. The first aim of the institution was to furnish exhibitions of the pictures of ancient masters, drawn from the private collections of members and their friends, and to which, at the same time, professional artists should have private access for the purposes of study. Exhibitions of this nature accordingly took place in the years 1819 and 1820. In 1821 it was suggested that an exhibition of the works of living artists should for that year be substituted, and the exhibitions of modern paintings were continued during the years 1821, 1822, 1824, and 1825. The institution had found great difficulty in procuring commodious rooms for the purposes of exhibition; and when it was subsequently arranged that a building should be erected at the expense of the Board of Trustees for Scottish Manufactures, and that other public societies should become their tenants, the Royal Institution obtained under this arrangement the galleries which were first opened in the year 1826. In March 1827 the institution was incorporated by royal charter from the crown by the name and title of the Royal Institution for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts in Scotland. The charter contains the following provision in regard to the application of the funds:—"The ordinary directors shall be entitled to apply the funds of the institution for the purpose of acquiring such property and buildings as may appear to them necessary and proper for the objects of the institution, and in the purchase of the works of art and books for the institution, and, generally, in such manner as they may consider to be expedient for the encouragement of the arts in Scotland."

The management of the Royal Institution is vested in governors and extraordinary and ordinary directors, a secretary, treasurer, and manager. The directors are likewise trustees for the Spalding Fund for the purpose of providing annuities for decayed and superannuated artists. This fund was left by the late Peter Spalding, Esq., by his will dated 12th June 1826, and the directors of the Royal Institution were intrusted with its management as trustees. The fund is a limited one, and from the annual proceeds, which amount to about L200 a-year, annuities are granted to artists rendered incapable, by sickness or age, of maintaining themselves.

The Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture was instituted in 1826, and incorporated by royal charter in 1838. It was formed, with some modifications, on the plan of the Royal Academy in London, and its success has been very remarkable, as, besides considerable funds, it has accumulated a valuable collection of pictures, which are made available to the public gratuitously. As yet the academy has received no assistance from government, but its efforts have been favourably recognised, and it is to be placed in Scotland in a position analogous to that held by the Royal Academy in England. The Royal Scottish Academy is not merely the only successful fine-art body in Scotland, but there is no other society in the whole kingdom, out of London, that possesses sufficient vigour within itself to be able to place before the public an exhibition of works, almost all of which are contributed by its own members or artists who have enrolled themselves as candidates for membership.

The Royal Association for the Promotion of the Fine Arts in Scotland.—The first of the societies now generally known in this country under the name of "Art Unions," was founded in the year 1834, and was incorporated by royal charter in 1847.

The association is composed of annual subscribers of one guinea and upwards, and the funds are appropriated to the purchase of modern works of art in painting, drawing, or statuary, and to the execution or purchase of engravings, bronzes, bas-reliefs, models, or other productions of art, for distribution among the subscribers, by lots publicly drawn at an annual general meeting which is held in July for that purpose. A portion of the funds is also devoted to the production of an engraving which is annually given to each subscriber, and to the acquisition of modern works of art, towards the formation of a National Gallery.

Eminent success has attended the association since its commencement; and to its animating influence must mainly be attributed the improved condition of art and artists in Scotland.

The Royal Society of Edinburgh was incorporated by royal charter in 1788, for the purpose of encouraging philosophical inquiry and discussing matters connected with nature and art. Its meetings take place on the evenings of the first and third Mondays of each month during winter and spring; and it has published twenty volumes of transactions. It is governed by a president, six vice-presidents, and twelve councillors. It possesses apartments, an extensive library, and a small museum, in the Royal Institution buildings.

The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland originated in Edinburgh, 1780, and was incorporated by letters under the great seal in 1783. Their museum, or collection of antiquities, in the apartments No. 24 George Street, is open to visitors two days in the week on the most liberal terms; and by some arrangements recently made it will, upon the completion of the National Gallery, be transferred to the Royal Institution buildings as national property, but remaining under the custody of the society. The meetings are usually held on the second and fourth Mondays from December to May inclusive; and the proceedings are now printed annually for the use of the members.

The Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland was the first institution of the kind in the United Kingdom, and the parent of the very numerous bodies which now devote special attention to the advancement of agriculture. The society's chambers are in Albyn Place, where also is the secretary's official residence. The museum and hall for public meetings are on George IV. Bridge; the former being open to the public free every day, except Monday, from eleven o'clock to three. (For particulars of this Society see Scotland.)

Ecclesiastical institutions and buildings.

During the reign of episcopacy in Scotland, Edinburgh was the seat of a bishop. It is now the place of meeting of the General Assembly of the Church, and the seat of a synod and presbytery. Ecclesiastically, the ancient and extended royalty comprehend thirteen parochial divisions, eight of which have one clergyman each, and five are double or collegiate charges. That portion of the town which is not within these divisions belongs to one or other of the parishes of St Cuthbert's, Canongate, and South Leith. Originally the city consisted of only one parish, of which the ancient church of St Giles was the place of worship.

The fifteen city churches are the charge of the civic corporation, who appoint the ministers. The clergy, eighteen in number, are supported by an assessment, called annuity-tax, levied within the ancient and extended royalty on all houses and shops, with the exception of the dwelling-houses of the members of the College of Justice. This tax is six per cent. on the rental of the city, and has been levied for more than two centuries. During the last 100 years the sum so raised has exceeded £400,000, which, it was urged in a statement of the lord provost, magistrates, and council, unanimously adopted 26th May 1851, should have been provided out of the proper ecclesiastical funds of the nation. This tax has long been a source of strife and heart-burning among the citizens, and many attempts have been made to get it abolished or equitably adjusted, but without effect.

The following statement (from the Report of Select Committee ordered by House of Commons to be printed July 1851—No. 617) shows the free proceeds of the annuity-tax and other revenues belonging to the ministers of Edinburgh, after deducting all the expenses of survey and collection payable in the collector's department; but without deducting the salary paid to the factor for the ministers, law expenses not recovered from parties prosecuted, and general law and miscellaneous expenditure in the department of the factor and law agent, on an average of seven years from Whitsunday 1844 to 1850:

| Description | Amount (£) | |-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------| | Average amount of assessment | 11,168 | | Average amount of the annuity-tax collected, including arrears | 8,611 | | Average expenses of survey and collection | 580 | | Average net proceeds of the annuity-tax | 8,230 | | Average net proceeds of the Leith revenue and Lady Yester's fund | 2,008 | | Average total revenues belonging to the ministers | 10,239 | | Average stipend to each minister, subject to the deductions above mentioned | 588 |

Another statement from the same report, made up from the published accounts of the Free Church of Scotland, shows the average stipends of the 25 Free Church ministers of Edinburgh, for the years ended 31st March 1849, and 30th March 1850, including supplementary grants and Edinburgh sums received from the Sustentation Fund, to have been as follows:—1849, L280, 18s.; 1850, L289, 18s. 5d.

The following table, from the religious census of 1851, gives the statistics of the several sects in Edinburgh and Leith:

| Religious Denomination | Population of Parishes, Burghs, &c., 1851 | Places of Worship | Sitings | Attend- ants Morning | Attend- ants Afternoon | |---------------------------------|------------------------------------------|-------------------|---------|---------------------|-----------------------| | Established | | 26 | 19,984 | 8,674 | 6,887 | | Free | | 29 | 20,820 | 15,315 | 15,922 | | United Presbyterian | | 20 | 20,465 | 12,792 | 15,235 | | Episcopal | | 10 | 3,796 | 3,052 | 1,630 | | Roman Catholic | | 4 | 1,500 | 2,454 | 2,068 | | Independent | | 6 | 5,610 | 2,375 | 2,792 | | Relief Presbyterian | | 1 | 540 | 317 | 360 | | Original Seceders | | 1 | 900 | 250 | 350 | | Baptists | | 7 | 3,096 | 1,654 | 1,265 | | Friends | | 1 | 439 | 47 | 58 | | Unitarians | | 1 | 750 | 110 | 75 | | Wesleyans | | 4 | 1,885 | 682 | 179 | | Primitive | | 1 | 250 | 50 | | | Glorious | | 1 | 250 | 150 | 180 | | New Church | | 1 | 150 | 50 | | | Evangelical | | | | | | | Isolated | | 8 | 1,070 | 750 | 155 | | Catholic and Apostolic Church | | 1 | 300 | 185 | 14 | | Latter Day Saints | | 1 | 67 | 28 | | | Jews | | | | | | | Total | | 123 | 81,873 | 48,886 | 47,227 |

The evening attendance in the churches of Edinburgh was 11,319. And with regard to Edinburgh it is stated that the number of sittings is not returned for 17 places of worship—3 Established Church, 2 United Presbyterian, 3 Free Church, 3 Episcopalian, 1 Baptist, 2 Roman Catholic, and 3 isolated congregations; and returns are altogether wanting for 16 other places of worship—8 belonging to the Established Church, 2 Original Secession, 1 United Presbyterian, 1 Free Church, 1 Episcopalian, 1 Roman Catholic, 1 Evangelical Union, and 1 isolated congregation.

St Giles.—This venerable fabric, which occupies a prominent situation in the centre of the Old Town, on the south side of the High Street, is of unknown origin and date. It has been presumed that a church existed on its site as early as the year 854; but the first certain intelligence regarding it occurs in 1359, when a charter was granted by David II. bestowing some land on a chaplain who officiated at one of its altars. The building, previously to certain alterations which were made upon it, was cruciform, and of Gothic architecture, but rather substantial than elegant. From the centre of the whole there rises a square tower, the top of which is encircled with open figured stone work, whilst from each corner of the tower springs an arch, and the four meeting together produce the appearance of an imperial crown. These arches are highly ornamented with small pinnacles, and from the apex rises an equally ornamented short spire. This elegant object is prominent above the whole of the town; and being 161 feet in height, it may be seen at a great distance. After the Reformation, the church was divided by internal walls into separate places of worship. By these and other subsequent alterations, the choir or eastern division formed the High Church; the one occupying the centre of the building was styled the Old Church; another, entering from the south-west corner, the Tolbooth Church; and one at the north-west corner was named the New North Church. Between the years 1829–33 this extensive edifice was remodelled by an entire casing of new walls, and fitted for the accommodation of three churches, on a plan by William Burn.

Trinity College Church, which was next in point of anti- Edinburgh, quilty to St Giles, was removed from the low ground east from the North Bridge, by virtue of an act of parliament, procured by the North British Railway Company in 1846. It was founded in 1642 by Mary of Gueldres, widow of James II.; and in 1502 James IV. invested it with some additional revenues. At the period of the Reformation it shared the fate of the other ecclesiastical establishments of the kingdom. In 1567 the Regent Murray gave it to the town-council to "be an hospital for the poor, to be biggit and upholdane be the gude town," and the council soon afterwards founded within its precincts the Trinity Hospital. When the building was taken down, the body of its royal foundress was disinterred from beneath the aisle on the north side of the church, and deposited in Holyrood Abbey; within its walls were likewise the remains of many persons celebrated in Scottish history. As this church was by far the finest specimen of ecclesiastical architecture in Edinburgh, being a noble fragment of the second-pointed style, arrangements were made when it was taken down for restoring it on a new site; and it is hoped that this design may be carried out, so as to continue a valuable architectural ornament to the city.

The Old Greyfriars Church was built in 1612, but it was not constituted a parish church till 1722. Previously to this, in May 1718, its spire was blown up by gunpowder, which had been lodged in it by the town authorities for security. It was destroyed by fire in 1845; but arrangements are in contemplation for its re-erection in conformity with the New Greyfriars Church, to which it is contiguous. The New Greyfriars Church was built in 1721. Both of these buildings, which were separated only by a wall, were erected on what was formerly the garden ground of the monastery of Greyfriars, in the south part of the town, and which, on the demolition of the friary in 1559, was conferred by Queen Mary on the town, to be used as a public cemetery. The Old Greyfriars Church was remarkable as being the place where the National Covenant was begun to be signed in 1638, and as including amongst its ministers Robertson, the celebrated historian of Charles V.

The Assembly Hall, or Victoria Hall as it is sometimes called, was erected in 1843, as a place of meeting for the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and also to be used as one of the city churches. The spire is 241 feet high, and, from its elevated position, forms an elegant and conspicuous object from almost every point of view. The design is by Gillespie Graham; and the spire is one of the best specimens of modern Gothic architecture in the kingdom.

St John's, situated at the west end of Princes Street, is the most elegant Episcopal church. It was founded in 1816, and finished in two years at an expense of L15,000. It is of the florid Gothic style, from a design by Mr Burn, measures 113 feet in length by 62 in breadth, and is terminated at the western extremity by a beautiful square tower, rising to a height of 120 feet. Another Episcopal chapel, of tasteful Gothic architecture, is that of St Paul's in York Place. It was designed by Mr Elliot, founded in 1816, and finished in 1818, at an expense of about L12,000. It measures 122 feet by 73, and from each corner there rises a small circular turret. St Paul's Chapel, Carrubber's Close, is the oldest Episcopal chapel in Edinburgh, having been erected about the end of the seventeenth century.

The University.—Edinburgh has long derived celebrity from its educational establishments, the chief of which is the University. This institution was founded by James VI., by charter dated 24th April 1582, and the first professor was appointed in 1583. About the year 1660, by means of benefactions from public bodies and from private individuals, the establishment had attained a respectable rank among similar institutions. As a school of medicine it first rose into repute under Dr Alexander Monro, who became professor of anatomy in 1720; and in this branch of science it afterwards attained a distinguished pre-eminence, from possessing professors remarkable for their abilities and success as teachers. In the other branches of knowledge, its reputation was gradually exalted to the highest pitch by MacLaurin, Black, Fergusson, Stewart, Robertson, and other eminent men. The decay and insufficiency of the old buildings had long been complained of; and at length, in 1789, the foundation was laid of a new and extensive structure, the plan of which had been furnished by Mr Robert Adam. But this plan, after it had been partly carried into execution, was altered and modified; and the building has been finished in conformity with a very skilful and tasteful design furnished by W. H. Playfair. This edifice forms a parallelogram, inclosing an open court which is occupied with the class-rooms, the museum, and the library.

The number of professorships is thirty-two, and these are divided into four faculties, viz., theology, law, medicine, and arts. The latter includes all the chairs devoted to literature and general science. The principal and professors constitute the Senatus Academicus.

The magistrates and town-council are the patrons of the university, and have the nomination to the greater number of the chairs; the others are under the patronage of the crown, except three, the patronage of which is shared by the faculty of advocates, the writers to the signet, and the town-council. The degrees it bestows are the same as in the other Scottish colleges, namely, those of doctor of divinity, doctor of laws, doctor of medicine, and master of arts. The winter session commences on the 1st of November and closes at the end of April, and the summer session begins on the first Monday of May and terminates at the end of June. During the latter term the lectures given are confined to botany, natural history, medical jurisprudence, histology, and clinical lectures on medicine and surgery. Those who wish to qualify for a degree in arts are required to attend the classes of humanity, Greek, logic, mathematics, moral philosophy, natural philosophy, and rhetoric. There are 34 foundations for bursaries, of the aggregate value of L1,172 per annum, for the benefit of 80 students. The number of students who matriculated in 1853–4 was 808, of whom 453 joined literary classes, 298 attended the medical faculty, and 57 were students of law.

The College Museum is particularly rich in objects of natural history, amongst which are specimens of from eight to nine thousand birds, foreign and British. The mammiferous amount to about 950 specimens. The mineral and geological collections are of immense extent; but can only be partially exhibited for want of sufficient accommodation. The Museum occupies two large rooms, each ninety feet by thirty, besides minor apartments.

Her Majesty's government having resolved to establish in Edinburgh a National Industrial Museum, a first parliamentary grant was obtained for the purpose last session (1854), and a suitable site has been obtained adjoining the west end of the college.

The College Library consists of about 100,000 volumes. It is supported from a fund formed by the contribution of one pound exigible from every student who matriculates, five pounds payable by every professor on his admission, and a portion of the fees of graduates both in medicine and arts. It was besides entitled, along with the other libraries belonging to the Scottish universities, to a copy of every work published in Great Britain, instead of which it now receives an annual grant of L575. There is also an excellent collection of books on theology and church history connected with the class of divinity, and which is supported by certain annual fees paid by the students attending the class. The principal apartment, called the Library Hall, is 198 feet in length by 50 in width.

The Botanic Garden, which is connected with the chair Edinburgh, of botany in the university, may be traced as far back as about 1670. It was founded by Sir Andrew Balfour and Sir Robert Sibbald, who enriched it in part with plants from the garden of Patrick Murray, baron of Livingstone. The garden was first confined to a small spot near Holyrood; it was afterwards transferred to the vicinity of Trinity Hospital, occupying the ground long known as the Physic Gardens, and now covered by railway buildings. In 1767 it was transferred to Leith Walk, and in 1822 it was removed to its present locality in Inverleith Row. It is the only Royal Botanic Garden in Scotland, and is maintained by government. It contains a large collection of plants, an extensive range of houses, including a palm house, and a museum of economic botany. The professor of botany in the university lectures in the class-room at the garden during the summer months.

The Royal Observatory, presided over by the Astronomer Royal for Scotland, who also holds the conjoint office of professor of practical astronomy in the university, is situated on the Calton Hill, in N. Lat. 55° 37' 29.2", and W. Long. 0° 12' 43.0" of time, or 3° 10' 45" of space, of the meridian of Greenwich. It is the property of government, who contribute an annual grant of L100 toward its maintenance. Its principal objects are the provision of suitable instruments for the pursuit of the study of practical astronomy, and also to enable the Astronomer Royal to make those observations and calculations which are regularly published for comparison with those of sister observatories in this and foreign countries.

Besides his duties at the observatory, and the laborious reduction of a vast mass of important astronomical observations with the aid of a single assistant, the Astronomer Royal annually delivers regular courses of lectures on practical astronomy.

The Royal College of Surgeons.—The celebrity of Edinburgh as a place of education has been in some measure derived from the schools of a number of extramural lecturers of eminence in their several departments of science, particularly in medicine. These lecturers are chiefly members of the Royal College of Surgeons. This body, which was incorporated by charter in 1505, confers the same privileges on medical students as the University, that of doctor of medicine excepted. The College possesses a beautiful edifice in Nicolson Street, from a design by Playfair. Towards the street it is adorned with a lofty portico, which has a striking effect; and the details, though elaborate, are exquisitely finished, and in admirable harmony with the design. It cost the Royal College L19,050, and forms several splendid halls for the accommodation of the members and the pathological museums. These museums, enriched by the collections of the late Dr Barclay and others, exhibit a valuable repository of preparations and objects calculated to advance the study of surgical science.

The Royal College of Physicians was established in 1681, by a charter of Charles II.; and the number of its fellows, resident and non-resident, is now about a hundred and sixty. The meetings of the body take place in the Physicians' Hall, a handsome edifice in Queen Street. It contains a good library, and very valuable museum of materia medica.

The New or Free-Church College was instituted in 1843, for the benefit of students qualifying themselves for the ministry. The session commences on first Tuesday of November and closes early in April. The classes consist of divinity, church history, Hebrew and Oriental languages, exegetical theology, apologetics, and pastoral theology, natural science, logic, and metaphysics. There are six professors, one of whom is principal. It forms one of the schemes of the Free Church of Scotland, and is supported by that body. The building, part of which forms the Free High Church, is plain but handsome, and was designed by W. H. Playfair. It stands at the head of the Mound.

The High School is one of the two chief seminaries in Edinburgh, Edinburgh for classical education, and has long maintained an eminent place amongst similar establishments. Its origin may be traced to an earlier period in the sixteenth century; but it has been greatly extended and improved in recent times. The building now occupies a site on the south side of the Calton Hill, facing the road that sweeps round that eminence. The design was furnished by Thomas Hamilton, and the foundation-stone was laid on the 28th of July 1825. The main building extends about 270 feet in front, and in the centre of the edifice is a magnificent hexastyle Doric portico. On each side of the portico there is a corridor, the entablature of which is supported by six Doric columns. The apartments, which are entered through a spacious play-ground, consist of a large hall of 75 by 43 feet, and rooms for the accommodation of the various classes taught in the establishment. The cost of this extensive building was about L30,000, which was partly raised by subscription. The patronage of the High School is vested in the town-council of the city. The curriculum of study extends over six years, and embraces the Latin, Greek, French, and German languages; history, geography, and the elements of natural science; with writing, arithmetic, algebra, and geometry; drawing, fencing and gymnastics. Each class in the classical department is taught by the same master for the first four years, after which it passes into the charge of the rector. Connected with the school is a library of 7000 volumes, comprising many of the most important works in ancient and modern literature, to which the pupils have access. The vacation is during the months of August and September. The quarterly fees are:—Rector's class, L1, 5s.; four junior classes, L1, 1s.; writing and arithmetic, 7s. 6d. each; the other classes, 10s. 6d. each, attendance on the last seven branches being optional. The system of education is divided into two departments—Classical and English, and Commercial; and the whole is conducted by a rector and four classical masters, with teachers for the other branches. The usual number of pupils is from three to four hundred.

The Edinburgh Academy is a similar institution with the High School, but its fees are higher. It was begun a few years ago by a society with a capital of L12,900, which may be augmented to L16,000, raised by proprietary shares of L50 each. The superintendence of the establishment is vested in fifteen directors, chosen by the proprietors from their own body. The system of education is nearly the same as that pursued in the High School. There are here also a rector, four classical masters, besides masters of modern languages and literature, mathematics, elocution, writing, fencing, and drawing. The complete course extends over seven years.

Besides the High School and Academy, there are a number of excellent private academies, many on very moderate scales of charges, and numerous free schools.

Free Schools.—The principal of these are the Heriot Foundation Schools, erected from the surplus revenues of Heriot's Hospital, in accordance with an act of parliament obtained in 1836, for educating within the royalty of the city free of expense poor children of burgesses and freemen deceased, or who are unable to provide for their support, or the children of poor citizens and inhabitants of Edinburgh residing within the royalty. There are twelve of these schools, eight for juveniles and four for infants, attended by about 3000 children; and this number is supposed, according to the census of 1851, to form about one-half of all the children belonging to the poorer classes within the royalty of the city of Edinburgh, from which alone the children are admissible. In the juvenile schools there are Sabbath-morning classes.

Dr Bell's Schools (two in number), under the patronage of the lord provost and magistrates and council, are also noted for the admirable way in which they are conducted. Edinburgh. In each of them upwards of 300 children, who pay small fees, are instructed in English, grammar, etymology, geography, arithmetic, writing, the principles of the Christian religion, &c. There are attached to the schools eight apprentices, who receive fixed wages, and are indentured for assisting in the business of the school, and being trained as teachers.

Besides these, there are the Local Day Institution founded by Dr Andrew Thomson, the Canongate Burgh School, the Sessional School of Canongate, the Lancasterian School, the Apprentice Schools, and various others.

There are two Normal Schools, one in connection with the Established, and the other with the Free Church, and two Ragged or Industrial Schools.

The following table is taken from a parliamentary paper published in 1864, and, so far as it may be relied on, gives a brief view of the state of education in the city. It is, however, explained in that paper, that, in large towns especially, some schools have been overlooked, which is clearly the case in regard to Edinburgh, particularly as regards private schools not denominational:

| Denomination | Number of Schools | Number of Teachers | Number of Scholars | Number of Scholars Graduated | Income of Trustees | |-----------------------|------------------|-------------------|-------------------|-----------------------------|-------------------| | Established Churches | 20 | 61 | 3,271 | 841 | £2,572 15 0 | | Free Church | 22 | 98 | 3,918 | 176 | 3,367 5 3 | | United Presbyterian | 10 | 120 | 1,261 | 170 | 600 10 0 | | Scottish Episcopal | 6 | 13 | 919 | 177 | 465 0 0 | | Roman Catholic | 4 | 33 | 700 | 500 | 739 0 0 | | No Denomination | 31 | 183 | 6,743 | 3,299 | 13,661 15 8 | | Total | 92 | 405 | 17,114 | 5,152 | £21,215 6 11 |

Heriot's Hospital.—The founder, George Heriot, was born in the parish of Gladsmuir, and in the year 1597 he was appointed goldsmith and jeweller to James VI. He died in London (whither he had removed on the accession of James to the English throne) on the 12th of February 1624, leaving a fortune, it is supposed, of not less than L50,000. Of this sum L23,625, 10s. 3½d. were, by his bequest, appropriated to the founding and endowing of the hospital which bears his name; for the maintenance and education of children, the sons of burgesses of the city "who are not able to maintain them." The magistrates, town-council, and ministers of the town, were nominated the governors; and certain trustees were appointed to superintend the execution of the will. The building of the hospital was begun in 1628, and, after some interruptions, completed in 1650, at an expense altogether of L30,000. It was not however opened for its legitimate purpose till 1659, when 30 boys only were admitted. There are now 180 in the establishment, all of whom are comfortably lodged, fed, and clothed; and all pains are bestowed upon their education, which comprehends Greek, Latin, English, writing, arithmetic, book-keeping, mathematics, and geography. On leaving the hospital they are furnished with a liberal supply of articles of dress of their own choosing; and such of them as are apprenticed to trades receive an apprentice fee of L50, besides an allowance of clothing at the expiration of their indentures. Boys who distinguish themselves by their literary attainments, and who are qualified to enter the university with a view to the learned professions, receive bursaries of L30 per annum for four years. Ten other bursaries of L20 each, for the same period, are bestowed upon young men unconnected with the hospital who give proofs of superior talents. Boys are not admitted under seven years of age, and generally leave it at fourteen. As already mentioned under that head, the Free Schools in connection with this hospital form now a most important branch of its operations.

The hospital is situated in the southern part of the town, and is one of the most remarkable buildings connected with the city. It is three stories in height in the central parts, and four stories at the corners, with an interior quadrangle or court. It has been traditionally said to have been designed by Inigo Jones, and though no direct evidence can be produced for this, yet it seems highly probable. The character of the architecture is supposed to be an improvement on the common turreted Scottish style of the day; and the names of two Scotsmen have been brought forward, William Wallace and William Aytoun, both at different times called "master masons" of the work, to one or other of whom the design has also been supposed to be due. In 1832-33 this beautiful structure received some external repairs, and a lodge, which is a miniature of the hospital, was erected at the principal entrance.

Donaldson's Hospital was founded by James Donaldson of Broughton Hall, a lawyer in Edinburgh, who died in 1830, and bequeathed by his will, dated 4th July 1828, the greater part of his property, amounting to nearly L200,000, to certain trustees for the endowment and erection of an hospital for the maintenance of poor boys and girls after the plan of the Orphan Hospital and John Watson's Institution. Poor children of the name of Donaldson or Marshall have a preference. The management is vested in trustees appointed in conformity with the deed of constitution. The building, commenced in 1842 and finished in 1850, is a structure of large dimensions, exceeding those of any building in the city excepting the university. The length of its south or principal front is 270 feet, and its depth (exclusive of the chapel which projects 90 feet from the north front) is 260 feet. The size of the quadrangle within is 175 x 163 feet, being greater than the external dimensions of Heriot's Hospital, which is 160 feet square. The style of architecture employed in the design is that which arose in Britain in the sixteenth century, when, upon mediæval architecture (which had been verging from ecclesiastical into civic and domestic application) were engrained many features of modern Italian buildings; resulting in combinations which assumed a marked and individual style, eminently expressive of a high condition of social refinement and grandeur. On the centre of the south front a tower 49 feet square, with lofty central oriel corbelled above the entrance doorway, and with bold enriched cornices, embattled parapets, and perforated chimney-shafts, rises to the height of 120 feet; at each angle of which are attached octagonal towers pierced with mullioned windows, enriched with multiplied panellings, armorial bearings, devices and ornaments, and finished with ogee leaded roofs surmounted by richly carved stone lanterns and finials. The four corners of the building have each a tower 43 feet square, and 92 feet high, with attached square towers terminated by lead roofs and finials, the main tower having oriels, battlements, and chimney-shafts. These corner towers are connected with each other and with the large central tower of the south front by intermediate stretches of building, having mullioned and labelled windows and buttresses surmounted by little curved pediments with angels' heads and terminal ornaments, the whole being crowned by a corbelled cornice and parapet with shields and devices, and terminal shafts above each buttress. The chapel, projecting to the north, partakes of the same general character of detail which obtains throughout the main building, but resumes somewhat of an ecclesiastical aspect by the introduction of archedmullioned, and transomed windows, which, with a lintelled oriel to the north, serve to mark the idea of a domestic or baronial chapel. The interior, roofed with corbelled beams and panelling and having the walls filled all round with massive panelling and the windows filled with richly stained glass, sustains and enhances the effect of the exterior. The entire structure was designed and carried into execution by W. H. Playfair. It stands on a piece of ground about a mile to the westward of the city, on the line of the Edinburgh and Glasgow road. | Name of Hospital | For maintenance and education of | Age of admission | Number admitted or maintained | Fees on leaving | Governors or Directors | Date of Bequest | |------------------|---------------------------------|-----------------|------------------------------|----------------|-----------------------|---------------| | Trinity | Burgessesses, their wives, or children not married, nor under 50 years of age. | Above 50. | 108 | ... | Magistrates and Town-Council. | 1567 | | Heriot's | Sons of burgesses and freemen of Edinburgh. | 7 to 10, leaving at 14. | 180 | Apprentice fee of L.50, according to circumstances, and allowance of clothes, or L.30 for 4 years for those who receive a college education. | Magistrates, Town-Council, and City Ministers. | 1623 | | Merchant Maiden | Daughters and granddaughters of merchant burgesses of city, or of ministers of city and suburbs, or of those who have been governors or benefactors to the hospital. | 7 and under 11, leaving at 17. | 100 | L.9, 6s. 8d. | Firemembers of the Town-Council, master and 3 assistants of Merchant Company, 3 clergymen of city or suburbs, Earl of Mar, and 9 persons elected by the Merchant Company. | 1693 | | Trades Maiden | Daughters and granddaughters of decayed craftsmen in Edinburgh, and the rest from any part of Scotland. | 7 to 11, leaving at 17. | 48 | ... | Convener of Trades, and deacons of 13 incorporations, 2 trades councillors, 2 persons of name of Erskine, president of Society of Barbers, and 9 persons elected by the other governors. | 1704 | | George Watson's | Sons and grandsons of decayed merchants, burgesses, or guild-brothers of Edinburgh, with a preference to the Merchant Company. | 7 and under 10. | 86 | Apprentice fee L.10 for 5 years, and on attaining 25 years of age, if unmarried and able to show testimonials of good behaviour, a premium of L.50, boys preferring a college education receive L.20 per annum for 6 years. | Master, 12 assistants of Merchant Company, 5 of the Town-Council, and minister of the Old Church. | 1723 | | Orphan | Boys and girls from any part of Scotland. | 7 and not above 10. | 100 | ... | Variable, and appointed by Trustees. | 1727 | | John Watson's | Destitute boys and girls. | 5 and under 8, leaving at 14. | 120 | ... | The Lord Clerk-Register and Depute-Keeper of the Signet, the treasurer of the fund, and 12 commissioners of the Writers to the Signet. | 1759 | | Gillespie's | Old men and women, and Poor boys. | 55 and upwards, 6 to 12, and retained for 3 years | 40 (200) | ... | Master, treasurer, and 12 assistants of Merchant Company, 5 of Town-Council, and ministers of Tolbooth and St Stephen. | 1796 | | Donaldson's | Poor boys and girls, especially of the names of Donaldson and Marshall, from any part of Scotland (of those already admitted a third are deaf and dumb). | 6 to 9, leaving at 14. | 300 | Such sum of money or other assistance during apprenticeship or otherwise, as governors think advisable. | The Lord Justice-General, Lord Clerk-Register, Lord Advocate, Lord Provost, Lord Lieutenant of county, Principal of the University, senior minister of Established Churches, 2 ministers of College of Physicians, treasurer and secretary of the Bank of Scotland, and 14 other gentlemen, 3 of whom go out annually by rotation, their successors being appointed by the remaining managers. | 1828 | | Cauvin's | Sons of poor teachers and farmers, whom falling, of printers, booksellers, or agricultural servants. | 6 to 8, and retained for 6 years. | 26 | ... | The Lord Provost, the Principal of the University and Professor of Humanity, Rector of High School, ministers of Duddingston, Liberton, and Newton, and others. | 1825 | | Stewart's | Poor sons of honest and industrious parents. | ... | ... | ... | Trustees. | 1814 | | Chalmers' | Sick and hurt. | ... | ... | Building not yet erected. | Dean and Faculty of Advocates. | 1836 | | Fettes' | Young people whose parents have fallen into adverse circumstances. | ... | ... | Do. do. | Trustees. | 1836 | Although not itself an extensive trading or commercial town, Edinburgh may be said to have contributed in an important degree to the vast progress which trade and commerce have made in Scotland, no less than in the other parts of the empire. By means of its banking institutions, capital has been diffused over every district of the country; and thus a beneficial influence has been exerted upon all branches of industry, commercial and agricultural.

Banks.—There are ten banks and branches of banks in Edinburgh, all joint-stock companies. Five are properly Edinburgh institutions, originating and having their principal establishments there. These possess an aggregate capital of £5,600,000 sterling. Of the other five, two may be considered as partly Edinburgh and partly Glasgow establishments, having head offices and directors in both cities. These have each a capital of one million. The remaining three are branches of Glasgow banks.

The oldest bank in Edinburgh is the Bank of Scotland, which was established in 1695 by an act of the Scottish Parliament. The capital of the company was originally £1,200,000 Scots (£1,000,000 sterling), raised by shares of £1,000 Scots (£83, 6s. 8d. sterling). This capital is now increased to one million sterling, and the shares have been converted into stock. The establishment is situated in Bank Street, near the head of the Earthen Mound.

The Royal Bank of Scotland was instituted in 1727 by royal charter. Its capital stock was originally £1,111,000 sterling. This was raised in 1738 to £1,511,000, and by various subsequent additions to two millions. The Royal Bank is in St Andrew Square.

The British Linen Company was erected into a bank in 1746, with a capital of £100,000, which has now been raised to one million. This bank is also incorporated by royal charter. Its premises, lately rebuilt, are handsome and commodious; they are also in St Andrew Square.

The Commercial Bank of Scotland was established in 1810, and has a capital of £600,000. It is incorporated, but its charter reserves the liability of its partners. It occupies a splendid new edifice in George Street, on the former site of the Physicians' Hall.

The National Bank of Scotland was instituted in 1825; capital one million. This bank is also incorporated, its charter containing a similar provision with that of the Commercial Bank. The bank is in St Andrew Square.

The other banks in Edinburgh are the Union Bank of Scotland, Parliament Square, an establishment which was originally the private banking-house of Sir William Forbes and Co., and joined the Union Bank in 1843; the Edinburgh and Glasgow Bank, George Street, established 1838; Branch of the Western Bank of Scotland (1832); St Andrew Square; Branch of the Clydesdale Bank (1838); Royal Exchange; and Branch of the City of Glasgow Bank (1839); Hanover Street.

There is also a National Security Savings Bank in Edinburgh, instituted in 1836. It occupies premises in North Bank Street.

The Merchants of Edinburgh form a body, called the Merchant Company, incorporated by a charter of Charles II. in 1681. This company is entrusted with the management of several charitable institutions, and is active in superintending measures connected with the commercial interests of the city. Its business is conducted by a master, treasurer, and twelve assistants, and their hall of meeting is a spacious apartment in Hunter Square.

Literature.—Edinburgh is distinguished as a mart of literature, and its inhabitants enjoy a reputation for cultivated tastes and habits. This character, however, is not of much older date than the latter part of the eighteenth century. Thirty years after Caxton had set up his press at Westminster, Walter Chapman and Andro Myllar, by a royal privilege of James IV., granted in 1507, established here the first printing-press in Scotland. From this only two publications are known to have issued—one (in 1508), a collection of pamphlets, chiefly metrical romances and ballads, of which an imperfect copy is preserved in the Advocates' Library; and the other (in 1509 and 1510), the Scottish Service Book, including the Legends of the Scottish Saints, commonly called the Breviary of Aberdeen, in two volumes 8vo, printed in red and black letter, a copy of which is preserved in the University Library. The next work was published about the year 1506, and consisted of a black-letter folio volume, entitled "The History and Croniklis of Scotland, compilit and newly correett be the Reuerend and Noble Clerke, Maister Hector Boece. Translatit laity be Maister Johne Bellenden. Imprentit in Edinburgh be Thomas Davidson, dwelling fôrment the Frere Wynd." The whole works of Sir David Lindsay were also printed by Davidson in 1540. Davidson was succeeded by Lekprevik, Vautreller, Hart, Young, and others; but the press of Edinburgh did not become distinguished until the appearance of Thomas Ruddiman, the well-known philologist, born in 1674, and Allan Ramsay the poet, born in 1686. The numerous classical works which issued from the press under the editorship or authorship of Ruddiman were then models of typographical accuracy and beauty, while the general excellence of his Rudiments of the Latin tongue, which appeared in 1714 and is well known to every schoolboy in Scotland, is still acknowledged. The long practice he had acquired in superintending the press during the publication of his own works, induced him, in 1715, to establish a printing-press on his own account; and while proprietor of the Caledonian Mercury newspaper, he received the honourable appointment of librarian to the Faculty of Advocates.

Contemporaneously with Ruddiman, Allan Ramsay, the poet and bookseller, was engaged in the publication of several works of his own, among which the Gentle Shepherd, a pastoral comedy in the Scottish dialect, which appeared in 1735, then acquired and still retains great popularity. Previously to this, in 1721, Ruddiman had printed, in a handsome quarto volume, a collected edition of his minor poems and ballads, which Ramsay published in the succeeding year at the sign of the Mercury, opposite the head of Niddry's Wynd, and by which he is said to have realized four hundred guineas.

It was thus in the beginning of the eighteenth century that these two men first imparted to Edinburgh that literary character which it still enjoys, and which was the precursor of the era of a new system of publishing commencing with the establishment of the Edinburgh Review in the year 1802, and the publication of such large works as the early editions of the Encyclopedia Britannica. The person to whom Edinburgh is most indebted for an increase of its literary reputation is Sir Walter Scott, whose poetical productions appeared at intervals from 1802 till 1812, and whose novels and tales began to be published in 1814. The principal literary men whose names have generally been associated with Edinburgh, are David Hume (died 1776); Henry Home, Lord Kames (1782); Robert Henry (1790); David Dalrymple, Lord Hailes (1792); W. Robertson (1793); Hugh Blair (1800); John Home (1808); Adam Ferguson (1816); Malcolm Laing (1819); John Playfair (1819); Thomas Brown (1820); Dugald Stewart (1828); H. Mackenzie (1831); Sir John Leslie (1832); Sir James Macintosh (1832); T. M'Crie (1835); Sir Charles Bell (1842); John Abercrombie (1844); Thomas Chalmers (1847); P. F. Tytler (1849); Francis Jeffrey (1850); D. M. Moir (1851); and John Wilson (1854).

The principal newspapers published in Edinburgh are the Scotsman, the Witness, Caledonian Mercury, Edinburgh Evening Courant, Edinburgh Advertiser, Scottish Press, and Evening Post, some of which are published Edinburgh twice, and some thrice a-week. There are two weekly papers, the Guardian and the News; also a paper solely devoted to advertisements, and distributed gratis, on Saturday, called the North British Advertiser.

The Corporation.—The ancient civic establishment of Edinburgh was remodelled in 1833 by the act of parliament for reforming the royal burghs of Scotland. The management of the general municipal affairs within the royalty is vested in a town-council, consisting of thirty-one members chosen by the parliamentary electors of the five different wards, and renewed by one-third annually. To these are added one of the deacons of the ancient incorporated trades, elected annually as their convener by his brother deacons and trades' councillors, and the Dean of Guild elected by the guild brethren of the city. The council, thus composed of thirty-three members, elects out of their own number a chief magistrate, with the title of Lord Provost, and four bailies, who together form the magistracy of the city. Besides the ordinary powers of magistrates of royal burghs, the magistrates of Edinburgh are also, by virtue of ancient charters, sheriffs, coroners, and justices of peace, within the city and liberties, and possess and exercise all the powers, privileges, and jurisdictions competent to such officers. The city and liberties form a county of itself, and the Lord Provost is vested with the office of Lord Lieutenant. The magistrates are likewise admirals of Leith and the road thereof, but delegate their powers of holding admiralty courts to the magistrates of the burgh of Leith. The revenue of the Corporation of Edinburgh proper for the period from 2d August, 1853 to 1st August 1854 was £24,000, 14s. By the parliamentary reform act of 1832, Edinburgh and the adjoining districts and suburbs were formed into a parliamentary district, 9½ miles in circumference, which returns two members to parliament. The number of parliamentary electors on the roll in November 1854 was 7713, and the number within the municipal district 4229.

The Dean of Guild Court consists of the Dean of Guild (an office resembling that of the Roman Edile), and five guild councillors, with the dean of the previous year. The powers of this court were formerly far more extensive than they are at present, having relation to causes between merchant and mariner, as well as to those between merchant and merchant. The institution, however, of the Admiralty Court, by the act 1681, cap. 16, superseded its interference with maritime affairs. The Dean of Guild is chosen yearly, and with his council has power to regulate the buildings within the burgh, agreeably to law. He alone is competent to grant authority, by his warrants, or judges as they are called, for pulling down or erecting houses within the burgh and liberties. The provost and bailies have no power to review the decrees of the Dean of Guild, redress being only competent in the Court of Session; as is the case also with the decisions of the bailie court. The public business connected with the civic establishment or corporation is conducted in the Royal Exchange Buildings. The public business of the county, and the sittings of the sheriff and justices, take place in the County Hall, adjacent to the Parliament House, and erected in 1819, at an expense of £15,000.

The superiority of the Canongate jurisdiction, which formerly belonged to the abbot of Holyrood, was purchased by the town of Edinburgh from the Earl of Roxburgh, into whose hands it had fallen, in the year 1636. Since that period the burgh of Canongate has been governed by baron bailies appointed by the town-council from their own body, and by two resident bailies, also appointed by the same authority on the recommendation of the parliamentary electors. In a similar manner bailies are appointed to the subordinate districts of Easter and Wester Portsburgh.

Police.—Till the year 1805 the city was protected only by a feeble body of old men in the garb of soldiers, entitled the City Guard, which constituted the remains of a civic defensive force originally raised in 1514, after the battle of Flodden. In 1805 a regular police establishment was formed, and the city guard was finally dissolved in 1817. The police establishment was remodelled by specific acts of parliament in 1812, 1822, and 1832, and latterly in 1848 and 1854. The establishment consists of 32 general commissioners elected by the inhabitants of the same number of wards, qualified to vote by paying an annual rent of L10. The body of general commissioners is increased by eight ex officio members, the lord provost, four bailies, the sheriff of the county, and his substitutes. Under this body there is an executive police, with a superintendent; and a criminal court is held daily on the plan of that at Bow Street in London. In it a town bailie officiates as magistrate or judge in all cases which occur within the ancient and extended royalty; whilst cases originating in that portion of the city included between the exterior limits of the royalty and the general police boundary fall under the cognizance of the sheriff. Edinburgh is now in all its parts well watched, lighted, and cleaned; and the expenditure for these purposes amounted in the year ending at Whitsunday 1854, to L38,746, 1s. 5d. An assessment on the inhabitants, of about 1s. 2d. per pound on the rental, the produce of street manure, and the surplus of general fines, supply the revenue of the establishment. The head police-office is a large building in the High Street, with one of its sides to Parliament Square; and the number of the police force is 827.

Edinburgh Police Statistics for 1853.

Persons apprehended by the City Police and remitted to a higher Court consisting of the Sheriff and Bailies—285 males, 194 females, and 59 juveniles.

Persons tried in the Police Court for thefts, &c., 707 males, and 487 females. Of these there were under 14 years of age, 294 males and 33 females.

Results of these trials—

| Imprisoned (for periods under 60 days) | 210 | 187 | | Whipped (males under 14 years of age) | 140 | | | Ordered to find caution | 68 | 40 | | Dismissed with an admonition | 131 | 98 | | Fined | 5 | |

Total number convicted | 552 | 325

Persons tried in the Police Court for offences and contraventions, assaults, &c., 5401 males and 5443 females.

Results of these trials—

| Imprisoned | 345 | 667 | | Whipped | 43 | | | Fined | 2504 | 1796 | | Ordered to find caution | 528 | 677 | | Dismissed with an admonition | 1579 | 2099 |

Total number convicted* | 4999 | 5169

*Of these there were for contravening cleaning regulations, 2159.

Prisons.—After the removal of the Old Tolbooth in the High Street, an extensive building situated on the Calton Hill, fronting the road which sweeps round that eminence, was provided for the city and county prison. The centre division of the range, called the prison of Edinburgh since the passing of the prison act for Scotland in 1839, was formerly the city bridewell, so called from having been built on the same principle as the St Brideswell prison in London. It was constructed in 1791, in the Panopticon form, after a plan by Robert Adam.

The west wing of the prison was erected in 1817, after a plan by Archibald Elliot—it was this part of the prison which was erected in lieu of the Old Tolbooth; and Edinburgh the east wing was erected in 1847, after a plan by Robert Brown. The buildings are in the castellated style of architecture, and have a fine appearance from whatever point they are viewed. The prison contains about 430 cells and rooms, and affords accommodation for both civil and criminal prisoners. The expenses of the establishment are defrayed chiefly by assessments, and partly by the labour of the inmates. A small lock-up-house adjoins the County Hall, and is used for prisoners under examination and before committal for trial. Since the passing of the present police act, prisoners remanded for further examination, and prisoners under sentence of three days' imprisonment from the police court, may be kept in the cells of the new police office in the High Street. The Canongate jail, an old-fashioned plain edifice of the time of James VI., and used for debtors, was discontinued as a prison after the erection of the east wing of the prison of Edinburgh in 1847.

The Poor.—Edinburgh, as regards poor-rates, is divided into three districts, the City parish (or ancient and extended royalty), the parish of St Cuthbert's, and the Canongate, each of which has a house for the reception of paupers, with distinct funds and a separate board of management. A portion of the eastern part of the city is in South Leith parish, for which there is no workhouse. The principal resource for the support of the poor is an assessment. The amount of money collected for this purpose in 1833 was £13,479, 19s. 4d., whereas in 1814 it was only £6948, 19s. 4d.

The following table shows the amount of accommodation available in the poor-houses of Edinburgh, and the number of inmates in each house on 1st of July, in each of the years 1850 to 1853, with the population of the parish, according to the census of 1851:

| Poor-Houses | Pop. 1851 | Accommodation | Number of Inmates 1st July | |-------------|-----------|---------------|--------------------------| | | | | | | Canongate of Edinburgh | 10,801 | 163 | 163 | 160 | 107 | 121 | 117 | 100 | | Edinburgh City Parish | 60,608 | 691 | 895 | 900 | 657 | 627 | 549 | 615 | | St Cuthbert's Parish | 82,479 | 686 | 691 | 661 | 554 | 551 | 599 | 619 | | Totals... | 159,888 | 1540 | 1749 | 1739 | 1288 | 1299 | 1235 | 1334 |

In the city parishes of Edinburgh and St Cuthbert's, the orphans and deserted children that become chargeable, instead of being collected in the poor-house, are dispersed in the surrounding rural districts, where they are boarded in houses of the working-classes, and regularly visited by an assistant inspector appointed to that duty.

The income from the assessment (for 1853) was as follows:

- City parish: £21,056 13s. 8d. - St Cuthbert's do.: £18,059 6s. 11½d. - Canongate do.: £2,946 4s. 3½d.

The average amount of cost of house inmates in the city parish poor-house for the last year was £8, 10s., and for children at nurse £7, 12s.

The number of permanent and outdoor poor and children at nurse, in 1853 was as follows:

- City parish, permanent: 2000 - Do. children at nurse: 325 - St Cuthbert's: 1776 - Do. children at nurse: 498 - Canongate: 4599

Besides these public institutions for the relief of the poor, there are numerous other charitable associations of a public and private nature.

Markets.—There are three market-days, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, each week; for the sale of butcher-meat, Edinburgh, and vegetables; but on Wednesday only are held the markets for the sale of horses, cattle, sheep, corn, and other agricultural produce. The spacious street called the Grassmarket used to be the place where these Wednesday markets were held; but being found to be too small and inconvenient, a place for the cattle and sheep market was procured in the neighbourhood, and fitted up for the purpose in 1844, at the cost of £8000. In 1849 a spacious corn-market was erected on the south side of the Grassmarket at the cost of £17,500. It is a handsome building, with a front of three stories, in the Italian style, and a campanile or belfry at the west end. The covered market-place behind is 156 feet 6 in. in length by 97 feet in width, and is lighted from the roof. The butcher meat, fish, and vegetable markets are situate in the centre of the city, and consist of a series of descending open areas, connected by flights of steps from the back of the High Street to Market Street, below the North Bridge. They are well supplied with provisions; but a great part of the business formerly transacted in them is now carried on in private shops throughout the city. A public market for the sale of the same kind of provisions was erected about thirty years ago in Nicolson Street, a second in Old Broughton, and a third, on a large and expensive scale, costing upwards of £20,000, at Stockbridge; but these speculations of private companies have proved almost complete failures. In 1852 an extensive range of slaughter-houses was erected by the town-council on an area of four acres purchased by them at Lochrin, in the south-west quarter of the city, at the cost of £22,163; but they have been found already too small for the trade, and will require a speedy enlargement. These slaughter-houses and the corn market were erected from designs by David Cousin, architect, the city's superintendent of public works.

Edinburgh has the privilege of holding two yearly fairs, called the Trinity and the Hallow fairs; the former on the Monday after Trinity Sunday, and the latter in the first week of November, following the feast of All-Hallows, or All-Saints. The former, however, has long since fallen into disuse; but the latter is still held, and is a well-frequented market for the sale of cattle, horses, and sheep. It is held in such fields as can be hired for the purpose in the vicinity of the city. There is also a great market for sheep and lambs held on the first and second Mondays of April yearly, at the House of Muir, about 7 miles south of the city, the privilege of holding which was acquired by the magistrates and council from the Lord Abernethy of Saltoun in 1612.

Supply of Water.—Edinburgh seems to have been anciently supplied with water chiefly from wells within the burgh; but about the year 1680 a supply was brought in by a leaden pipe from the Tod's Well, on the estate of Comiston, a distance of four miles. An addition was subsequently procured from Bonaly; but the supply proving quite inadequate for the wants of the inhabitants, the town-council, being unable to raise money for the purpose themselves surrendered their rights for £30,000 to a water company, which was incorporated by act of parliament in 1819. This company expected to derive a sufficient supply of water from the Crawley spring, a feeder of the North Esk in Glencorse parish, and expended nearly £200,000 in their works for bringing it into town. In the course of years this supply likewise proved utterly inadequate, and the company were forced at last, by public clamour, and the threatened rivalry of new companies, to take measures for increasing the supply. This they have effected by collecting the rain water that falls on the Pentland Hills into great ponds or reservoirs formed in the valleys of the Logan water, and the Ravelaw Burn; and their capital has been fixed by act of parliament (in 1853) at £322,000. Still the supply is not overabundant, being only about 25 gallons a-day to each per- Edinburgh, son in the district supplied, which, besides the city of Edinburgh, includes likewise the towns and villages of Leith, Portobello, Newhaven, and Granton. The company are empowered to levy certain rates upon the rental of the city; but the maximum of their dividends is fixed at 6½ per cent. per annum.

Gas-light.—Edinburgh is lighted with gas supplied by two companies, namely, the Edinburgh Gas-light Company, whose works are situated in the Canongate, and the Edinburgh and Leith Gas-light Company, whose works are situated in Leith.

The Theatre Royal was built in 1768, shortly after the commencement of the New Town, and acquired great reputation under the successive managements of Henry Siddons, and his brother-in-law W. H. Murray. Previously to this period the theatrical performances of the city were exhibited in the Canongate, where a play-house was erected in 1746, in opposition to a rival establishment in the Cowgate. The present house accommodates about 1500 people, and although externally of plain appearance, in internal arrangements it is neat and comfortable; and the company of actors has generally been considered as one of the best out of London. Recently during the winter months it has been used with much success for the representation of operas. It is situated at the east end of Princes Street. There is also a Minor or Summer Theatre, called the Adelphi, at the head of Leith Walk.

The Assembly Rooms, George Street, where public assemblies, balls, and concerts are held, are plain and unpretending in their external appearance, and were erected in 1787. The Music Hall, a recent addition to the original edifice, forms the largest of the apartments; it is seated for 1486, exclusive of the orchestra, which measures 108 feet long by 91 broad and accommodates 200 people. It contains a large organ, and is well adapted for concerts and public meetings. The hall-room is 92 feet long, 42 feet wide, and 40 feet high.

Princes Street Gardens.—Perhaps the most beautiful feature of Edinburgh in its modern state consists in the highly ornamental pleasure-grounds which occupy the open spaces between the Old and New Towns, as well as between the parallel ranges of Queen Street and Heriot Row. The low grounds to the east and west of the Earthen Mound continued for about fifty years after the commencement of the New Town in a very marshy and unprofitable condition. At length, in 1821, under the authority of an act of parliament, the ground on the west was drained, inclosed, laid out, planted, and highly beautified with walks, and has since been opened to the proprietors or tenants of property in Princes Street, or others, on payment of an annual fee. In 1832–33 the ground on the east was similarly inclosed; but having been recently purchased by the town, it has, under the superintendence of the city architect, been greatly improved and ornamented, and is now open to the public. Since the year 1820 the greater part of the ground north of Queen Street was inclosed and laid out in gardens or promenades in the same tasteful and pleasing style.

The Calton Hill (350 feet above the level of the sea) is the higher portion of one of those heights upon which part of the town is built, and forms one of the principal public parks or promenades. From its position, and the number of monuments with which it is covered, it conveys great picturesque beauty on the town, and has been compared to the Acropolis of Athens. The principal access to it is from Waterloo Place, nearly opposite the prison, and convenient and well-made roads for pedestrians are carried over and around the hill in various directions, affording panoramic views of the town and surrounding country.

On the north are the lines of streets of the New Town, constructed of white sandstone, gradually extending with a moderate descent towards the flat ornamental grounds adjacent to the sea. Westwards we have the vista of Princes Street, nearly a mile in length; and on the opposite side of the Princes Street pleasure-grounds, the huge unbroken line of tall structures forming the Old Town, terminated by the towers of the Castle. Towards the south the town is seen to spread out in lines of streets and detached houses, till arrested by the Braid and Pentland Hills, or on the east by Arthur's Seat and Salisbury Crags. The view from the Calton Hill in a northerly direction beyond the town is also remarkably fine, comprehending a prospect of the whole Firth of Forth and the hills of Fifeshire.

Arthur's Seat and the Queen's Park (surrounding Holyrood Palace) are now rendered additionally attractive by the formation of the Queen's Drive, an excellent road round the hill, made recently in the most perfect style by the Commissioners of Woods and Forests, and affording the finest views of Edinburgh and its neighbourhood. The hill itself is a noble object, presenting bold pieces of rocky scenery, the principal of which are Salisbury Crags and Samson's Ribs. The summit is 822 feet above the level of the sea.

The Meadows.—In the year 1722 a marshy ground, anciently called the Burrowloch Boroughmuir, in the southern environs of the city, was inclosed, drained, planted with trees, and traversed by extensive broad walks, for the accommodation of the citizens. These public grounds, which receive the appellation of the Meadows, and bear some resemblance to the Green Park in London, are bordered on the south-west side with extensive open downs, called Bruntsfield Links, which are also open to the public, and form a place of agreeable recreation for youth, as well as an excellent golfing ground.

The National Monument occupies a prominent situation on the Calton Hill. It was begun by a body of subscribers in 1822, and was intended to be an exact model of the Parthenon at Athens. Its object was to commemorate those Scotchmen who had fallen in the different engagements by sea and land during the wars consequent on the French revolution; but it has been arrested in its progress for want of funds, and only twelve massive pillars of exquisite workmanship have as yet been completed.

A monument of a singularly elegant description, designed by Mr Playfair, and which is a reproduction, with some variations, of the choragic monument of Lysicrates, was erected in 1830–31 on a prominent situation on the Calton Hill. It is commemorative of the late Dugald Stewart, professor of moral philosophy in the University of Edinburgh. A monumental erection, commemorative of Professor Playfair, is also placed on the Calton Hill, at the corner of the inclosure of the Royal Observatory; and more recently another to the memory of Robert Burns, from the street of the Triops, has been raised on an isolated eminence fronting the new High School. David Hume's Monument, after the model of an ancient Roman tomb, stands within the old Calton Hill burying-ground.

Lord Melville's Monument, an elegant fluted column, in the centre of St Andrew Square, was finished in 1828. It was raised by subscriptions chiefly among gentlemen connected with the royal navy. On the summit is a colossal figure of the above nobleman cut in freestone. This beautiful column rises to the height of 136 feet, is modelled after Trajan's pillar at Rome, but without the sculptures, and forms altogether a very prominent and striking object.

The monument to Sir Walter Scott is situated in the East Princes Street Garden, opposite the foot of St David Street. It was designed by George M. Kemp, a young man of humble condition, who died before the structure was completed. The foundation was laid in 1840, and the building completed in 1844, at a cost of £15,650. A stair conducts to the top of the monument, which is 200 feet high. A marble statue of Scott by Steele, for which the sculptor received £2000, is placed underneath the princi- The equestrian statue of Charles II. (Parliament Square), in vigour of design and general effect, maintains its rank as one of the best specimens of metal statuary in the city. It was cast in Holland, and is composed of lead.

The fine equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington, by Steele, occupies a prominent position in front of the Register Office. The statue is fully 13 feet in height, and contains about 12 tons of metal. The pedestal, of Aberdeen granite, is 12½ feet high. The different parts were connected by fusion—a novel operation, attended with considerable labour and difficulty. The ceremony of its inauguration took place in 1852. A statue of Burns, by Flaxman, is in the hall of the University Library. The equestrian statue of John Fourth Earl of Hopetoun, in bronze, stands in front of the Royal Bank, St Andrew Square. There are two statues of Queen Victoria; one, by Steele, on the top of the Royal Institution, and another in front of Holyrood Palace, by A. H. Ritchie. In George Street, at the crossing of Hanover Street, stands a pedestal surmounted by a bronze figure of George IV., erected in 1832, in commemoration of the visit of His Majesty to Scotland in 1822. A statue of Pitt, on a similar pedestal, was erected in George Street, at the crossing of Frederick Street, in 1833. Both statues are by Chantrey. There is a bronze statue of Frederick Duke of York on the Castle Hill; and a statue of Watt, in freestone, by Selater, is placed in front of the School of Arts, Adam Square.

In 1755, shortly before the commencement of the New Town, Edinburgh had a population amounting to 57,195; in 1775 it was computed at 70,430; and in 1791 it had risen to about 80,000. In 1801, by parliamentary census, the amount was 82,560; in 1811 it was 102,987; in 1821 it was 138,235; but in these latter enumerations the population of Leith was included.

Statistics of Population, extracted from Mr Thorburn's Analysis of the Census of 1861.

| Divisions and Parishes | Males | Females | Total | Increase | |------------------------|-------|---------|-------|----------| | I. Old Town | | | | | | 1. Greyfriars (New) Church Parish | 1,340 | 1,282 | 2,622 | 2,631 | | 2. Greyfriars (Old) | 1,445 | 1,005 | 2,450 | 2,450 | | 3. High | 1,581 | 1,377 | 3,318 | 3,333 | | 4. Lady Yester's | 1,055 | 1,200 | 2,255 | 1,800 | | 5. New North | 1,530 | 1,600 | 3,130 | 1,600 | | 6. Old | 2,029 | 2,508 | 4,537 | 2,949 | | 7. St John's | 1,223 | 1,194 | 2,417 | 1,194 | | 8. Tolbooth | 1,518 | 1,541 | 3,159 | 1,319 | | 9. Trinity College | 1,723 | 1,709 | 3,432 | 1,824 | | 10. Tron | | | | | | II. New Town | | | | | | 1. Greenside Church Parish | 1,613 | 1,523 | 3,136 | 3,105 | | 2. St Andrew's | 2,078 | 2,724 | 4,802 | 4,941 | | 3. St George's | 3,007 | 5,643 | 8,650 | 8,064 | | 4. St Mary's | 2,554 | 6,029 | 8,583 | 6,724 | | 5. St Stephen's | 2,975 | 4,832 | 7,807 | 6,754 | | III. Public Institutions | | | | | | Recapitulation | 13,127| 20,181 | 33,308| 29,588 | | 1. Old Town | 14,850| 16,007 | 30,857| 24,200 | | 2. New Town | 13,127| 20,181 | 33,308| 29,588 | | 3. Public Institutions| 1,149 | 1,294 | 2,443 | 2,258 | | Total | 29,126| 37,682 | 66,808| 56,336 |

Increase.—The population, which between the census of 1831 and that of 1841 had been almost stationary, has during the last ten years received a very considerable augmentation. The increase is 10,477 or 18 per cent., while, taking the Old Town separately, the increase is 6,467 or 27 per cent., demonstrating generally the prosperity of the city during the last ten years.

In the absence of extended commercial transactions and manufactures, which have caused such a large accession to the population of Glasgow, and in England to that of the metropolis, Liverpool, Manchester, and other manufacturing towns, the increase in the Old Town may perhaps be ascribed to the construction of the railways communicating with the city, which, since the date of the last census, had, in consideration of the high wages, induced many of the natives of Ireland to leave their own country and settle in Edinburgh. Again, by the operation of the acts for extending the royalty, Leith Street Terrace, the greater part of Leith Street, part of East Register Street, East Broughton Place, and part of Broughton Place, containing collectively a population of about 1200 persons, have, since the census of 1841, been disjoined from St Cuthbert's Parish, and annexed to the extended royalty. Another cause has tended in some degree to augment the population. The census, which in 1851 was taken on the 30th of March, was in 1841 taken on the 6th June, at which time considerable numbers of the population generally retire to the country. Against these "accidental" causes of increase must be placed the dislodgment of the population residing in Canal Street and its immediate neighbourhood, removed since 1841 to make room for the various railway stations.

Old Church Parish is pre-eminent in the department of Features of Increase. That of the males amounts to 50 per cent. parishes. The females show an increase of 32 per cent.; the average of both sexes is 44 per cent.

For the information of such as may not be resident in Edinburgh, it may be proper to state, that "City," "Royal Burgh," and "Ancient and Extended Royalty," are synonymous terms. "Old Town" and "New Town," again, correspond with "Ancient Royalty" and "Extended Royalty," respectively. St Mary's Parish exhibits strikingly the disparity of the sexes, which forms so remarkable a feature in the New Town; while the male population numbers 2854, the females amount to 5029, or nearly double. If we exclude the juvenile portion of the population, the results are still more extraordinary; for, while the male population above 15 years of age amounts to 1804, the females of the same class are 3970—being considerably more than double the male population. The solution of this remarkable fact is to be found in the number of female servants in this parish. Of these there are 2254 above 15 years of age—a number considerably above half of the entire adult female population.

Rental.—The gross amount of the rental of dwellings, houses, shops, warehouses, &c., producing above five pounds of rent, within the bounds of police, for the year ending at Whitunday 1833, was L406,484. In the year 1853 this sum had risen to L479,051, and in 1854 to L484,963.