one of the most ancient towns in Scotland and capital of the county of the same name, is built on the slope and around the base of a ridge of rock situated in the course or plain watered by the river Forth; Long. 5° 45' west, Lat. 56° 6' north. It is chiefly interesting for its antiquities, its historical associations, and its singularly beautiful, picturesque, and central situation. The town is, from the nature of the ground, very irregular, and the houses in one part, or what may be called the old town, are antiquated and Stirling, destitute of all architectural beauty, with narrow and confined streets; while in the other, or new town, quite the reverse is the case. Towards the south and south-west, extensive suburbs are springing up containing many large and handsome villas. Numbers of new streets and terraces have been projected, and some promise to be speedily completed. Great improvements have been made and are still taking place, and the streets are now well paved and kept in good order. The old rickety and unsightly houses are being demolished one by one, and new and substantial ones built in their stead. A plentiful supply of pure water was a few years ago led in from the Touch Hills, about 4 miles distant, by means of cast-metal pipes.

The Castle. The Castle, the most prominent place of interest in Stirling, is built on the western extremity of the ridge on which the town is situated, and is of much greater antiquity than the town itself. It is defended on three sides by the precipitous rocks on which it is built, and on the fourth, or town side, by a deep broad fosse, crossed by a drawbridge, and two strong walls, the approach being commanded by flanking batteries. In the centre of the castle stands the old Parliament-House, now used as barracks; on the left is the palace of James V., a magnificent structure, the hall of which is now also converted into barracks, but still known as the "King's room," the remainder being used as officers' rooms, canteen, suttery, &c. The building to the west of the palace is of much older date, and contains the well-known "Douglas room," (so called from James II. having killed William earl of Douglas in it.) This room, along with other portions of the building, was burned down in 1867, but has been rebuilt in its original form in every respect, except that the ornaments are iron instead of wood, in case of further accidents. Adjoining this building is the Chapel-Royal of James VI., now used as an armory.

Near the castle is the Lady's Hill and Valley, where in olden time the joists and tournaments were held. They have now, in the course of improvement, been inclosed in the new cemetery, but have not lost their distinctive features. In this cemetery is a most beautiful and chaste group of statuary, erected by William Drummond of Rockdale Lodge to the memory of the martyred Margaret Wilson and her sister Agnes. At the head of King Street is a monument, by Mr Handyside Ritchie of Edinburgh, to Wallace, and presented to the town by Mr Drummond. In front of the First U.P. Church is a beautiful Corinthian monument to Ebenezer Erskine, the founder of the Secession body in Scotland, and the first minister of that congregation.

The public buildings are the East and West Churches, both in the Gothic style (the upper windows, however, of the latter have Saxon arches), with a modern erection between, which adds nothing to their beauty, and which it is contemplated to remove. The West Church was erected in 1494 by James IV.; the East at a later period by Cardinal Beaton. Close beside these churches is a ruin called "Mar's Work." It was a mansion-house commenced by the Earl of Mar out of the stones of Cambuskenneth Abbey, but was never completed. Near it is the ancient palace of the Argyle family, and now converted into a military hospital under the name of "Argyle-House." In Broad Street stands the ancient town-house, with its spire and old jail attached. In the town-house are still kept the pint jug, the ancient standard for liquid measure in Scotland; and in the court-room are about a dozen fine ancient carvings on oak, known as the Stirling heads which formerly adorned the hall of the palace of James V., and are believed to represent the king's family and courtiers. The county sheriff-court and also the justice of peace court are held here, and the circuit court meets here twice every year. The new jail is a strong handsome building, lately erected in room of the old one, which was too small and insecure. It is one of the finest buildings in Stirling. The Athenaeum is a good building in King Street, with a spire 120 feet high; and in it is a public reading-room and a library of about 7000 volumes. The North Church is decidedly the most elaborate building in town. The Free North Church and the Second U.P. Church are both handsome buildings, and the National Bank is also a fine building.

To the south of the Castle was the Royal Gardens, of Parks, which nothing now remains except the trace of the terraces rising the one above the other, in the centre of which is an octagonal mound called the "King's Knot." To the south of the gardens is the "King's Park," where the kings of Scotland used to keep their deer. It is now given over by government to the town as a public park. The Gowlan Hills to the north of the Castle was the place where, in very early times, justice was administered, where at a later period executions took place, and where, later still, James V. used to slide or "hurl" down its steep slope on a cow's head, hence called "Hurly Hawkie," another name for the same hill. Between this hill and the castle is a pass called Ballengeich or "windy-gowl," from which James V. took the cognomen of "The gudeman of Ballengeich." The public walks about Stirling are unrivalled in Scotland. The oldest and best of them runs along the top of the rock on which the town is built, and is known as the Back Walk.

Stirling Bridge is the most noted structure of the kind in Scotland for its antiquity and the historical events connected with it. It was till within about 30 years the only access for wheeled carriages into the north of Scotland. Its age is unknown, but it was in existence in 1571. It is of very antique structure, being narrow, high in the centre, and is composed of 4 arches. Formerly it had two gates, one at each end, each gate being flanked by two small towers. The gates are now removed, though the towers still remain. This bridge, though once very strong, is now beginning to show signs of decay, and large rents are appearing in it.

Stirling has, since the introduction of railways, become a manufacturing place of great importance. The Scottish Central Railway runs past it, and it is the terminus of other three lines: the Stirling and Dunfermline, the Forth and Clyde, and the Dunblane, Doune, and Callender, the two latter being single lines. Though a place of no great commercial importance in itself, it has, through its central situation, both in regard to Scotland and the rich agricultural, mining, and manufacturing districts around, become one of the most important towns in Scotland. There are three considerable wool-mills and one carpet and shawl manufactory connected with the town; also two extensive coach factories, a number of timber-yards, and two tanneries. Drummond's Agricultural Museum holds a prominent place in the town as a seed and implement warehouse, exporting to all parts of the globe. Though the Forth flows past the town, shipping is necessarily very limited on account of the shallowness of the water, it being confined to a few small sloops and occasional vessel of between one or two hundred tons. A line of passenger-steamers runs between Stirling and Granton, but the business has since the railway opened greatly fallen off. There are two weekly newspapers, the "Stirling Journal" and "Stirling Observer." There are seven banks, all of them doing a large business, and a very prosperous savings-bank.

There are in the town 3 Established churches, 2 Free Religion churches, 2 United Presbyterian, 1 Reformed Presbyterian, and 1 Episcopalian, 1 Congregational, 1 Baptist, 1 Methodist, and a Roman Catholic—in all, 13 places of worship. Connected with the religious element is the Stirling Tract Enterprise, instituted by Mr Peter Drummond in 1848, and which alone increases the revenue of the Stirling Post Office by upwards of £2000 annually. In education the town stands high. A new academy was built in 1854, having a classical master, a master of modern languages, an English master, a mathematical master, a drawing master, a gymna- stirling-shire, and between 300 or 400 pupils. There is also a school, known as Allan's School, for the education of the poorer classes, besides several other private educational establishments, all of which are well attended. There is a Ragged School sustained by public liberality, which contains between 60 and 70 outcast children.

Among the charitable endowments are Spittal's Hospital, with an income of nearly £1,000 derived from land, which is expended on the aged poor belonging to the seven incorporated trades; and Cowan's Hospital, which has an income of about £400, also derived from land, and which is expended on the decayed members of the Incorporation of Guildry. The finest hall in the town is the Guild Hall, belonging to the latter of these institutions, and was originally built for the accommodation of twelve decayed guild brethren; but as no one would inhabit it, the funds accumulated till they now produce the above sum. The house has now been turned into a hall for the meetings of guildry. Allan's and Cunningham's mortifications have incomes of £600 and £200 respectively, wholly devoted for the education of youth.

Stirling as a town, or rather a place of defence, is of unknown antiquity. It is even believed that it was used as a place of defence at a time when all the Low Country was under water. It first emerges into history as one of the four burghs forming what is now called the Convention of Royal Burghs. Its history since then has been so intimately connected with the history of Scotland, that it is unnecessary to give a sketch of it here.

The town is governed by a provost, 4 magistrates, and 16 councillors, 21 in all, a third retiring every year.

The population is 12,837; inhabited houses, 1270; annual value of real property in 1859-60, £36,791 (exclusive of railways); parliamentary constituency, 592; municipal constituency, 475. Stirling is united with the burghs of Dunfermline, Culross, Queensferry, and Inverkeithing in returning a member to Parliament.