The great King of kings,

Hath in the table of his law commanded

That thou shalt do no murder; will you then Spurn at his edict, and fulfil a man's? Shakspeare. Richard III. Severe decrees may keep our tongues in awe, But to our thoughts what edict can give law' Dryden. The ministers are always preaching, and the governours putting out edicts against gaming and fine cloaths. Addison.

It is the business of a sensible government to impress all ranks with a sense of subordination, whether this be effected by a diamond buckle, or a virtuous edict, a sumptuary law, or a glass necklace.

Goldsmith.

If we may judge by the acts, arrets, and edicts, all the world over, for regulating commerce, an assembly of great men is the greatest fool upon earth.

Franklin.

An EDICT is an order or instrument, signed and sealed by a prince, to serve as a law to his subjects. We find frequent mention of the edicts of the prætor, in the Roman law. In the cidevant French law, the edicts were of several kinds some importing new laws or regulations; others, the erection of new offices; establishments of duties, rents, &c.; and sometimes articles of pacification. In despotic governments, an edict is much the same as a proclamation is with us: but with this difference, that the former has the authority of a law from the power which issues it; whereas the latter is only a declaration of a law, to which it refers, and has no power in itself. Edicts cannot exist in Britain, because the enacting of laws is lodged in the parliament and not in the king. Edicts are all sealed with green wax, as a sign of their being perpetual and irrevocable.

It is with infinite caution that any man ought to venture upon pulling down an edifice which has answered in any tolerable degree for ages the common purposes of society, or on building it up again, without having models and patterns of approved utility before his eyes. Burke.

Some decent in demeanour while they preach, That task performed, relapse into themselves. And, having spoken wisely, at the close Grow wanton, and give proof to every eye, Whoe'er was edified, themselves were not.

Cowper.

So fares he in that dreadful hour, When injured Truth exerts her power, Some new phenomenon to raise, Which, bursting on his frighted gaze, From its proud summit to the ground, Proves the whole edifice unsound. E'DILE, n. s. Lat. ædilis. The title of a magistrate in old Rome, whose office seems in some particulars to have resembled that of our justices of peace.

The edile, ho! let him be apprehended.

Beattie.

Shakspeare.

EDINBURGH, the metropolis of Scotland, is situated in long. 3° 14′ W. from London, and lat. 55° 57' N. It is surrounded on all sides, except to the northward, where the ground declines gently towards the Frith of Forth, by lofty hills. Arthur's Seat, Salisbury Crags, and the Calton-hill, bound it on the east; the hills of Braid, and the extensive ridge of the Pentland hills rise on the south; and the beautiful eminence of Corstorphine rears its summit on the west. These hills form a magnificent amphitheatre, in which, on elevated, though less lofty, ground, stands this flourishing city. It is said, with considerable propriety, to stand on three hills, which run in a direction from east to west; and hence its natural division into the southern, middle, and northern districts.

The origin of its name, like that of most other cities, is very uncertain. Some imagine it to be derived from Eth, a king of the Picts; others from Edwin, a Saxon prince of Northumberland, who over-ran the whole or greatest part of the territories of the Picts about A. D. 617; while others derive it from the Gaelic words Dun Edin, signifying the face of a hill. The name Edinburgh, however, seems to have been unknown in the time of the Romans. The most ancient title by which we find this city distinguished is that of Castelh Mynyd Agned; which, in the British language, signifies the fortress of the hill of St. Agnes.' Afterwards it was named Castrum Puellarum, because the Pictish princesses were educated in the castle (a necessary protection in those barbarous ages) till they were married. The most plausible derivation of the present name of the city seems to be that of the Northumbrian prince above mentioned. Simeon of Durham calls it Edwinesburch, and notices it as existing in the middle of the eighth century. The most ancient part of the city, or Old Town, as it is called, stands on the middle or central ridge of the three eminences above mentioned, which is terminated on the west by a lofty and almost inaccessible rock, on which is placed the castle; the New Town occupies an elevated plain on the north; and the southern district is situated on a rising ground in the opposite direction. The hill on which the Old Town is built is separated from the other two districts by a valley on each side, that upon the northern side having been formerly a lake. In the progress of improvement, however, this lake having been drained, and streets and bridges having also been formed, these valleys are no impediment to a complete and ready communication from one district to another. The peculiar situation of the Old Town has often attracted attention. The principal street, which occupies the flat surface of the central hill, extends nearly in a straight line from the castle, on the western extremity, to the palace of Holyrood-house on the east. This street, which is not improperly named the High Street, measures in length from the castle gate to the palace gate, about 5570 feet, and is about ninety feet in breadth. The upper part of it is elevated about 140 feet above the level of the drained

morass of the North Loch; and, on account of the ground which it occupies gently declining to the east, is about 180 feet above the palace of Holyrood-house. The height of the houses in this quarter, has always rendered it an interesting object to a stranger visiting Edinburgh; and perhaps the High Street of this city is not equalled in grandeur by any street in Europe. Parallel to the High Street, in the valley on the south, runs a street called the Cowgate, from ten to twenty feet in breadth. The buildings in this street, though lofty, are less elevated than those of the High Street. From the High Street down to the loch on the north, and to the Cowgate on the south, run narrow cross streets or lanes, called wynds and closes, many of which, from the abrupt descent of the ground, are extremely steep and difficult of passage; an inconvenience not at all remedied by their width, which is rarely more than six feet.

The origin of this city is, likewise, involved in obscurity. The most absurd and fabulous accounts have been given of its first possessors; and, without sharing in the credulity of the monkish writers, no credit can be given to its remote annals. Situated in that part of the country which formed the Roman province of Valentia, and which, more than any other, was the subject of wars and devastations, it is almost impossible to trace its foundation. If we are to believe our earliest historians, however, the castle was built by Camelon king of the Picts, about A. A. C. 330. It was in the hands of the AngloSaxons, from the invasion of Octa and Ebufa in 452, till the defeat of Egfrid king of Northumberland in 685 by the Picts, who then repossessed themselves of it. The Saxon kings of Northumberland reconquered it in the ninth century ; and it was retained by their successors till the year 956, when it was given up to Indulfus king of Scotland. In 1093 it was unsuccessfully besieged by the usurper Donald Bane. In 1128 King David I. founded the abbey of Holyrood-house, for certain canons regular; and granted them a charter, in which he styled the town Burgo meo de Edwinesbergh, my borough of Edinburgh'. In 1174 the castle was surrendered to Henry II. of England, to purchase the liberty of king William I. who had been taken prisoner by the English. But William afterwards entered into an alliance with Henry, and married his cousin Ermengarde; upon which the castle was restored as part of the queen's dower.

James II. in 1450 first bestowed on the community the privilege of fortifying the city with a wall, and empowered them to levy a tax upon the inhabitants for defraying the expense. This original wall of Edinburgh began at the foot of the north-east rock of the castle, where it was strengthened by a small fortress called the Well House Tower, and was carried quite across the hill, having a gate on the top as a communica tion between the town and castle. It at first proceeded eastward in such a manner, as would have cut off not only all the Cowgate, but some part of the parliament house; and turning to the

north-east was connected with the buildings on the north side of the High Street, at the original Netherbow Port; but after the battle of Floddon the wall of the city was extended. It now began on the south-east side of the rock on which the castle is built. From thence it descended obliquely, to the West Port; it then ascended part of a hill on the other side, called the High Riggs; after which it ran east with but little alteration in its course, to the Bristo and Potter Row ports, and from thence to the Pleasance. Here it took a northerly direction, which it kept from thence to the Cowgate port, after which the enclosure was completed to the Netherbow by the houses of St. Mary's wynd. For 250 years the city of Edinburgh occupied the same space of ground. In the middle of the sixteenth century, it is described as extending in length about an Italian mile, and about half as much in breadth. This space of ground, however, was not at that time occupied in the manner it has been since. The houses of the Old Town were neither so high nor so crowded upon each other as they are now. These were consequences of the number of inhabitants increasing, which occasioned the raising of the houses to such a height, as perhaps is not to be paralleled.

The castle of Edinburgh stands on a high rock, accessible only on the east side. On all others it is very steep, and in some places perpendicular. It is about 300 feet high from its base, and 383 above the level of the sea. The entrance to this fortress is defended by an outer barrier of palisadoes; within this is a dry ditch, draw-bridge, and gate, defended by two batteries which flank it; and the whole is commanded by a half moon mounted with cannon. Beyond these are two gate-ways, the first of which is very strong, and has two portcullises. Immediately beyond the second gate-way, on the right hand, is a battery mounted with cannon, carrying balls of 12 and 18 lbs. weight. On the north side are a mortar and some gun batteries. The upper part of the castle contains a half-moon battery, a chapel, a parade for exercise, and a number of houses in the form of a square, which are laid out in barracks for the officers. There are also other barracks sufficient to contain 1200 men; a powder magazine, bomb-proof; a grand arsenal, capable of containing 8000 stand of arms; and other apartments which can contain full 22,000 more. On the east side of the square were formerly royal apartments; in one of which king James VI. was born. In this quarter, immediately under the square tower, is the apartment called the crown room, wherein are deposited the Scottish regalia: consisting of the crown, sceptre, and sword of state, which were placed here on the 26th of March, 1707. It was long doubted whether these ensigns of royalty had not been removed; but in 1818, when commissioners were appointed by his present majesty, then prince regent, to search for them, a large oaken chest in the crown room was forced open, and the relics of the Scottish monarchy were discovered. They were found in a state of the most perfect preservation, and have since been open to the inspection of the public. The crown room was neatly fitted up for the exhibition of VOL. VII.

them; and two persons, in the dress of the wardens of the tower, attended to show them to visitors. The governor of the castle is generally a Scottish nobleman; and there is a deputy governor, who resides in the garrison; also a fortmajor, a store-keeper, master gunner, and chaplain. In its present improved state this castle can accommodate 2000 men; but its natural strength of situation was not sufficient to render it impregnable, even before the invention of artillery, much less would it be capable of securing it against the attacks of a modern army provided with cannon.

In

St. Giles's church is a beautiful Gothic building, measuring in length 206 feet. At the west end, its breadth is 110 feet, in the middle, 129; and at the east end, seventy-six. It is adorned with a lofty square tower, from the sides and corners of which rise arches of figured stone work; these, meeting with each other in the middle, complete the figure of an imperial crown, the top of which terminates in a pointed spire. The whole height of this tower is 161 feet. This is the most ancient church in Edinburgh, and its tutelar saint was St. Giles, a native of Greece. It was at first simply a parish church, of which the bishop of Lindisfarn or Holy Island, in the county of Northumberland, was patron. 1466, it was erected into a collegiate church by James III. At the Reformation it was divided into several parts. The four principal divisions form as many churches appropriated to divine worship; the smaller ones to other purposes. At the same time the religious utensils belonging to it were seized and sold by the magistrates; part of the money being applied to its repair, and the rest added to the funds of the corporation. In the steeple are three ancient bells: there is also a set of music bells, upon which tunes are played by the hand. The principal division is called the High Church, in which the general assembly sits. The church is fitted up with seats for all the great officers of the assembly; and there is a throne for his majesty's commissioner. In this church is a monument to the celebrated Napier, inventor of logarithms; another to the regent Murray; and a third to the great marquis of Montrose. The names of the four churches, into which St. Giles's is divided, are, the New, or High Church, above described; the Old Church; the New North Church, or Haddow's Hole, so named from the Laird of Haddow having been for some time imprisoned in it; and the Tolbooth Church. The Tron Church is an elegant structure, erected in 1641, with a spire, and stands on the south side of the High Street, between the north and south bridges. The spire was burnt down in 1824, having accidentally caught fire from the burning embers blown by the wind from the great tenements on the west. Lady Yester's Church is situated nearly opposite to the Royal Infirmary. The Old and New Gray Friars churches are situated on the top of the south ridge, east of Heriot's Hospital, nearly in the middle of the ancient gardens belonging to the Gray Friars These churches are both under one roof, and have one common portico; but are separated by a partition wall. The Old Gray Friars was

2 X

founded about 1612, and had once a steeple. Trinity College Church was founded by queen Mary, wife of king James II. in 1461, at the same time with the Trinity Hospital. It is situated at the east end of the north loch.

Canongate Church stands near the middle of the north side of the street called the Canongate, and was founded in 1688. It is a Gothic building, in the form of a cross, and was erected at the cost of about £2400, being the accumulated principal and interest of 20,000 merks, bequeathed by a Mr. Thomas Moodie, for the pious purpose of building a church. In the cemetery lie the remains of the celebrated author of the Wealth of Nations, Dr. Adam Smith; and a simple stone, erected at the expense of Burns, marks the burial place of his fellow-bard Ferguson. St. Cuthbert's Church, or the West Kirk, stands at the western extremity of the valley which divides the New from the Old Town, near the base of the castle rock. Its architecture is by no means elegant, but a handsome spire atones for the homely appearance of the church itself. It is deemed the largest place of worship in Edinburgh. St. Andrew's Church stands on the north side of George's Street, in the New Town, surmounted with a fine spire 168 feet in height. A portico, supported by four columns of the Corinthian order, projects a few feet into the street. In the spire there is a chime of eight bells. The whole is elegantly finished, and has a fine appearance. St. George's Church stands on the west side of Charlotte Square, and forms the terminating object of George's Street, from which it is seen along its whole extent. The front to the square consists of a portico, or vestibule, with four columns and two pilasters of the Ionic order, elevated on a flight of steps sixty-eight feet in width. Behind the portico rises a dome, intended as a miniature representation of that of St. Paul's, London. The whole building, with the exception of the dome, which is seen to advantage in almost every direction round the city, has a heavy appearance, and it has often been regretted that the original design of the celebrated architect, Adam, was abandoned merely with a view to economy. The building, as it stands, cost £33,000; but it has since been ascertained that, according to Mr. Adam's plan, the expense would have been considerably under that sum. This church was opened for public worship in 1814, and is calculated to contain 1600 people. The other churches of Edinburgh, remarkable for the elegance of their architecture, are St. Mary's Church, situated in Bellevue Crescent, opened for worship, in 1825; St. Paul's Chapel, on the north side of York Street, finished in 1818, at an expense of £12,000; St. John's Chapel, situated a little to the south of the western extremity of Prince's Street, also finished in 1818, at an expense of £15,000. St. George's Chapel, in York-place, built from a design by Robert Adam, in 1794; the Roman Catholic Chapel, at the head of Leith-walk, built from a design by Gillespie in 1813, possessing a very fine organ, and a beautiful altar-piece, painted by Vandyke; the Methodist Chapel, in Nicholson'ssquare, built in 1814, at an expense of £5000;

Dr. Jameson's Chapel, at the south end of Ni cholson-street, founded in 1819, and finished in 1820; Dr. Hall's Chapel, terminating the east end of Broughton Street. Mr. Paxton's Chapel, in Infirmary Street; and the Relief Chapel, Cowgate. The architecture of the other places of worship in Edinburgh, is not such as to require them to be particularly noticed on that account. Till of late years, the plainest and most homely accommodation was all that was aimed at in the erection of places of worship. Besides the churches and chapels already particularised, however, there are various others in this city of great importance, either for the extent of the congregations which they contain, or the celebrity and talents of their pastors. The Scottish Episcopal Church alone has several places of worship. There are also Lady Glenorchy's Chapel, and the Gaelic Chapel, in which latter the service is performed in the Erse language, for the benefit of the Highlanders: it was erected in 1769, and stood on the south side of the castle; but the congregation removed in 1815 to a more commodious place of worship, at the head of the Horse-Wynd. At present, the number of places for divine worship in Edinburgh and Leith, distinguishing the different persuasions, is as follow: Established Church, 16; Chapels of Ease, 9; Scottish Episcopal, 7; Cameronians, 1; United Associate Synod of the Secession, 9; Associate Synod, 1; Original Burgher, 1; Original Antiburgher, 1; Relief, 6; Independents, 3; Baptists, 4; Methodists, 2; Roman Catholics, 2; Glassites, 1; Society of Friends, 1; Bereans, 1; New Jerusalem Temple, 1; Unitarians, 1; Jews, 1: in all sixty-eight. The regular established clergy connected with Edinburgh are twenty-five. The number of parishes is sixteen, nine of which are called collegiate charges, or have two ministers each joined in the discharge of the pastoral office. Besides these there are, under the control of the established church, seven of the chapels of ease, as they are called; two of which are in the Canongate, one in the old part of the town, two in the southern district, one at Stockbridge, and one in Leith.

In 1215 this city was first distinguished by having a parliament and provincial synod held in it; but it does not appear to have been looked upon as the capital of Scotland till about the middle of the fifteenth century, when parliaments began to be held in it regularly, and when civil institutions succeeded to the rude military anarchy, which had previously prevailed. For the improvements which were introduced into the kingdom at that period, Scotland was chiefly indebted to her amiable and enlightened monarch, James I., who unfortunately fell a victim to the jealousy entertained by the nobility, of the measures he projected in favor of the people. In 1329 the town of Leith, with its harbour and mills, had been bestowed upon Edinburgh, by Robert I.; and his grandson, Robert III. conferred upon all the burgesses the singular privilege of building houses in the castle, upon the sole condition that they should be persons of good fame. From the middle of the fifteenth century, its privileges continued to be increased

from various causes. In 1482 the citizens had an opportunity of liberating king James III. from the oppression of his nobles, by whom he had been imprisoned in the castle. On this account the provost was by that monarch made hereditary high sheriff within the city, an office which he continues still to enjoy. The council, at the same time, were invested with the power of making laws and statutes for the government of the city; and the trades, as a testimony of the royal gratitude for their loyalty, received the celebrated banner known by the name of the Blue Blanket, which still exists, and is kept by the convener of the trades for the time. By the overthrow of James IV, at the battle of Floddon, Edinburgh was overwhelmed with grief, that monarch having been attended in his unfortunate expedition by the earl of Angus, then provost, with the rest of the magistrates, and a number of the principal inhabitants, most of whom perished in the battle. The inhabitants, alarmed for the safety of their city, enacted that every fourth man should keep watch at night; the fortifications of the town were renewed, and the wall extended, as we have before mentioned. After this, the inhabitants were gradually relieved from the trouble of watching at night, by a certain number of militia being appointed to prevent disturbances. About this period, the city was almost depopulated by a dreadful plague; so that, to stop if possible, the progress of the infection, all houses and shops were shut up for fourteen days; and some, where infected persons had died, were pulled down altogether. In 1540 the tract of ground, called the BurroughMuir, was totally overgrown with wood, and it was sagely enacted by the town-council, that whoever would purchase as much as was sufficient to make a new front for his house, might extend it seven feet into the street. Thus, while the city was, in a short time, filled with wooden houses, the streets were, in many instances, narrowed fourteen feet.

In 1542 an English fleet of 200 sail entered the Forth; and, having landed their forces, quickly made themselves masters of the towns of Leith and Edinburgh. They next attacked the castle, but were repulsed from it with loss; and by this were so enraged, that they not only destroyed both towns, but laid waste the country for a great way round. In 1547 Leith was again burned by the English after the battle of Pinkey, but Edinburgh was spared. Several disturbances happened in the capital at the time of the Reformation, of which an account will be given under the article SCOTLAND; but none of these greatly affected the city till 1570, when the civil war took place on account of queen Mary's forced resignation. The city was then sometimes in the hands of one party, and sometimes of another; during which the inhabitants, as may easily be imagined, suffered extremely. The earl of Morton, when regent, in 1573, built two bulwarks across the High Street, nearly opposite to the Tolbooth, to defend the city from the fire of the castle. A treaty was at last concluded between the leaders of the opposite factions; but Kirkaldy refused to be comprehended in it. The regent therefore solicited the assistance of queen

Elizabeth, and Sir W. Drury was sent intc Scotland with 1500 foot, and a train of artillery. The castle was now besieged in form, and batteries raised against it in different places. The governor defended himself with great bravery for thirty-three days; but finding most of the fortifications demolished, the well choked up with rubbish, and all supplies of water cut off, he was obliged to surrender. The English general, in the name of his mistress, promised him honorable treatment; but the queen of England shamefully gave him up to the regent, by whom he was hanged. Soon after, the most violent religious commotions of Scotland took place, in which the king was insulted and railed at by the clergy, seconded by the magistrates of Edinburgh, as well as the citizens. This led to various severe measures against the city and ministers, which will be detailed under the article SCOTLAND. A reconciliation, however, at length took place, which appears to have been satisfactory to all parties, as the king not only allowed the clergy, some of whom had been degraded, to be replaced, but in 1610 conferred various marks of his favor on the town. Another invasion from England being apprehended in 1558, the city raised 1450 men for its defence, among whom there are said to have been 200 tailors.

In the beginning of the reign of Charles I., a perfect harmony seems to have subsisted between the court and the city: for in 1627 that monarch presented the city with a new sword and gown, to be worn by the provost. Next year he paid a visit to this capital, and was received by the magistrates in a most loyal manner. When this prince attempted to introduce Episcopacy into Scotland, his first step was the erection of the three Lothians, and part of Berwick into a diocese, Edinburgh being the episcopal seat, and the church of St. Giles the cathedral. Much disturbance was occasioned in 1637, by the first attempt to read the prayer-book there, and next winter the neighbouring people resorted to town in such multitudes, that the privy council thought proper to publish two acts; by one of which they were commanded, under severe penalties, to leave the town in twenty-four hours; and by the other, the court of session was removed to Linlithgow. The bishops on some of these occasions narrowly escaped with their lives. Notwithstanding these disturbances, however, the king again visited Edinburgh in 1641, and was entertained by the magistrates at an expense of £12,000 Scots. It does not appear that after this the city was in any way particularly concerned with the commotions which followed, either throughout the remainder of the reign of Charles I., the Commonwealth, or the reign of Charles II. In 1680 the duke of York, with his duchess, the princess Anne, and the whole court of Scotland, were entertained by the city in the Parliament House, at the expense of £15,000 Scots. At this time, it is said, that the scheme of building the bridge over the North Lough was first projected by the duke. An act passed in 1621, that the houses, instead of bein covered with straw or boards, should have their roofs constructed of slate. tiles, or lead. This