tion and plan, this division has not, perhaps, its equal in the world. When the whole of the grounds now comprehended in what is called the New Town, are added to the southern and middle districts, the circumference of Edinburgh, is nearly eight miles. The tribunals of Edinburgh have, in general, splendid accommodations. The judges of the session justiciary and exchequer courts hold their sittings within the buildings called the parliament house, in the great hall of which the Scottish parliament used to meet previous to the union. This hall is the only part of the ancient ouilding which remains in its original state, the other apartments having undergone many alterations within these few years. It is 122 feet long by forty-nine broad, and has a fine arched roof of oak, painted and gilded. A fine statue of the late Viscount Melville, by Chantry, stands on a pede tal near the north end of it. The court of session, before its division into chambers, sat in a room adjoining to the great hall, formerly appropriated for the meeting of the privy council. This apartment, after the division took place, was enlarged and fitted up for the judges of the first division, and a marble statue of the late President Blair, by Chantry, was, in 1818, placed behind the chair of the presiding judge. A new room was likewise erected for the second division, entering from the west side of the great hall; and a statue of president Forbes, which formerly stood in a niche in the outer hall, was removed to this room and placed behind the chair of the lord justice Clerk. This statue was executed by the celebrated sculptor Roubiliac, at the expense of the Faculty of Advocates. An addition was likewise built to the Parliament House in 1819, containing two court rooms for two of the lords ordinary, and a new room for the faculty library. This library, which is one of the most valuable in Britain, now occupies apartments worthy of the rich and rare literary treasures which it contains. The library of the writers to the signet is kept under the same roof. In the centre of the square fronting the Parliament House, there is an elegant equestrian statue of Charles II., which has been much admired. It was cast in Holland, and cost £215. The original Parliament House buildings, as they stood prior to the recent additions and improvements, were begun in 1632, finished in 1640, and cost, what was then deemed, the enormous sum of £11,600 sterling. At the western extremity of the new library rooms of the advocates and writers to the signet, stands a magnificent county hall, the plan of which was taken from one of the finest models of antiquity, the temple of Erectheus, in the Acropolis of Athens. The principal entrance is taken from the Choragic monument of Thrasyllus. The interior of this building is laid out in a large hall, a court room, a committee room, and, in the principal floor, for the use of the freeholders of the county. The other floors are occupied as offices for the sheriff, sheriff-clerks, &c. The expense of its erection was £15,000. It was finished in 1819. The accommodations afforded for the inferior law establishment of Edinburgh, if not nearly so splendid, are generally as commodious as those we have thus described. The North Bridge, which forms the main passage of communication between the Old and New Towns, was founded in 1763, but the contract for building it was not signed till August 21st, 1765. The architect was Mr.William Mylne, who agreed with the town council of Edinburgh to finish the work for £10,140, and to uphold it for ten years. It was also to be finished before Martinmas 1769'; but on the 8th of August that year, when the work was nearly completed, the vaults and side walls on the south fell down, and nine people were buried in the ruins. The bridge was repaired, by pulling down some parts of the side walls; afterwards rebuilding them, and strengthening them with chain bars. The whole was supported at the south end by very strong buttresses and counterforts on each side; but on the north it has only a single support. The length of the bridge, from the High Street in the Old Town to Prince's Street in the New, is 1125 feet; the total length of the piers and arches is 310 feet. The width of the three great arches is seventy-two feet each; of the piers thirteen feet and a half; and of the small arches, each twenty feet. The height of the great arches from the top of the pa rapet to the base, is sixty-eight feet; the breadth of the bridge within the wall over the arches is forty feet, and the breadth at each end fifty feet. The communication betwixt the two towns by this bridge, though very complete and convenient for such as lived in certain parts of either, was yet found insufficient for those who inhabited the western districts. Another bridge being therefore necessary, it was proposed to raise an earthen mound, by filling up the valley with the rubbish dug out in making the foundations of houses in the New Town; and so great was the quantity, that this was accomplished so as to be fit for the passage of carriages in less than five years. Whilst the mound was forming it sunk at different periods above eighty feet on the west side, and was again filled up: 1800 cart-loads of earth were, upon an average, laid upon this mound every day. It has been said, with justice, to be a work unrivalled by any but Alexander the Great's at Tyre. The South Bridge is directly opposite to the North, so as to make but one street, crossing the High Street almost at right angles. It consists of twenty-two arches of different sizes; but only one of them is visible, viz. the large one over the Cowgate; and even this is small, in comparison with those of the North Bridge, being no more than thirty feet wide and thirty-one feet high. This bridge was erected with a design to give an easy access to the great number of streets and squares on the south side, as well as to the country on that quarter from which the city is supplied with coals. So great was the rage for purchasing ground on each side of it for building, that the areas sold by auction at £50 per foot in front. They sold higher than ever was known in any city. Regent Bridge terminates Prince's Street, the southern boundary of the New Town, at the east. This bridge, in connexion with the adjoining buildings, is one of the most splendid of the recent improvements. It was begun in 1815, and finished in 1819. It now forms the principal entrance into Edinburgh from the new London road, by the south side of the Calton hill. The arch over the low Calton is 'semi-circular, and fifty feet wide. At the north front it is forty-five feet in height, and at the south front sixty-four feet two inches, the difference being occasioned by the ground declining to the south. The roadway is formed by a number of reverse arches on each side. The great arch is ornamented on the south and north by two open arches, supported by elegant columns of the Corinthian order. The whole property purchased to open up the communication to the city by this bridge cost £52,000, and the building areas sold for the immense sum of £35,000. The street along the bridge is called Warterloo Place, as it was founded in the year on which that memorable battle was fought, and was intended to commemorate the event. The observatory is seated on the top of the Calton hill, and is furnished with all the instruments necessary for astronomical observations. The scheme for the erection of it was first adopted in 1736; and the earl of Morton and Mr. M'Laurin, professor of mathematics, each contributed to its erection. The foundation stone was laid by provost Stodart, on the 25th of August 1776. But Mr. Adam the architect, conceiving the idea of giving the whole the appearance of a fortification, accordingly a line was marked out for enclosing the limits of the observatory, and of having Gothic towers at the angles. Thus the money designed for the work was totally exhausted, and the observatory long remained unfinished. In 1792, however, the building was completed by the magistrates. But it was not till 1812, when the astronomical institution was founded, that it was furnished with a set of philosophical instruments. In 1818 a new observatory was built a little to the cast of the old one. It is now under the most superior scientific management, and while we write we observe a public announcement of his majesty's having bestowed £2000 upon it to purchase instruments. The palace of Holyrood House, is the only royal habitation in Scotland, that is not in ruins. It is a handsome square of 230 feet in the inside, surrounded with piazzas. The front, facing the west, consists of two double towers joined by a beautiful low building, adorned with a double balustrade above. The gateway in the middle is decorated with double stone columns, supporting a cupola in the middle, representing an imperial crown, with a clock underneath. On the right hand is the great staircase, which leads to the council chamber and the roya apartments. These are large and spacious, and in one of them the Scottish peers meet, to elect sixteen of their number to represent them in the British parliament. The gallery is on the left hand, and measures 150 feet by 27. It is adorned with the supposed portraits of all the kings of Scotland, from Fergus I. to James VII. In the apartments of the duke of Hamilton, which he possesses as hereditary keeper of the palace, queen Mary's bed of crimson damask; bordered with green fringes and tassels, is still to be seen, but almost reduced to rags. Here also strangers are shown a piece of wainscot hung upon hinges, which opens in a trap-stair communicating with the apartments below. Through this passage lord Darnley and the other conspirators rushed in to murder the unhappy Rizzio. Towards the outward door of these apartments are large dusky spots on the floor, said to have been occasioned by Rizzio's blood, which could never be washed out. But a very slight degree of skill in chemistry is sufficient to perpetuate a miracle of this kind. The front of this palace is two stories high; the roof flat; but at each end the front projects, and is ornamented with circular towers at the angles. Here the building is much higher. Great part of it was burnt by Cromwell's soldiers; but it was repaired and altered into its present form after the Restoration. The fabric was planned by Sir William Bruce, a celebrated architect, and executed by Robert Mylne, mason. The environs of the palace afford an asylum for insolvent debtors; and adjoining to it is a field called St. Anne's Yards; beyond which there is an extensive park, called the King's Park, which, with the Duke's Walk, and the hills of Arthur's Seat, Salisbury Crags, and St. Leonard's Hill, are all within the privilege of the sanctuary. The abbey church, built by David I. in 1128, has been long in ruins. See HoLYROOD HOUSE. About the year 1795 some of the chief rooms of the palace were fitted up for the reception of part of the royal family of France, when proscribed and exiled from their native kingdom. Edinburgh is divided into ten parishes, of which there are nine in the old city, named after the nine oldest churches, and one in the new town: besides the Canongate, and St. Cuthbert's, or West Kirk parishes; and those of South and North Leith; in all sixteen, included in the public enumerations of the inhabitants. It has a weekly general market on Wednesday, and an annual fair called Hallow Fair, in November, which lasts a week. The markets of Edinburgh are plentifully supplied with all sorts of provisions. Fresh butchers' meat, as well as fowl and fish, may be had every day; and no city can be better supplied with garden stuffs. A remarkable instance of the plenty of provisions with which Edinburgh is supplied was observed in 1781, when several large fleets, all of them in want of necessaries, arrived in the Forth, to the amount of above 600 sail, and having on board at least 20,000 men; yet the increased consumption of provisions, which certainly ensued upon the arrival of so many strangers, made not the least increase in the rate of the markets, insomuch that several victualling ships, sent down by London merchants, returned without opening their hatches. The city mills are let to the corporation of bakers in Edinburgh; and the bread made in the city is remarkable for its good quality. The revenue of the city, arising partly from duties of different kinds, and partly from landed property, is upwards of £45,000 sterling per annum; but the places of profit and emolument at the disposal of the town council, may be estimated at not less than £30,000. The Theatre stands nearly opposite to the Register Office, in Shakspeare Square. The building is exceedingly plain externally, its only decorations being a statue of Shakspeare, and. emblematical figures of tragedy and comedy on the top of the front. But it is elegantly fitted up within. This building was first opened as a place for theatrical performances in 1769; after much opposition from the clergy, who, for many years, had displayed the greatest hostility to every It was originally amusement of the kind. built by patent from the crown; and the prices of admission were then, three shillings for the boxes and pit, two shillings for the first gallery, and one shilling for the second or upper gallery. At these rates the house could hold with ease about £140. But the box seats were afterwards raised to four shillings, and subsequently in 1815 to five shillings. The seats in the pit and galleries still remain at the old rate. In 1809 the patent was acquired by Mr. Henry Siddons, who was at that time manager, and who continued to conduct it till he died in 1815. It has since been under the management of Mr. Murray, his brother-inlaw, who, in addition to a regular company of excellent performers, presents the public at intervals with all the actors and actresses of eminence that appear on the boards of Drury Lane and Covent Garden. Musical Entertainments, on a scale of great extent and in the highest perfection, have been frequent in Edinburgh, and the records of them go In 1672 a music hall was as far back as 1695. purposely erected at the foot of Niddry Street, after the model of the great Opera Theatre in Parma. This institution flourished for about seventy years, and was a favorite resort of the fashionable society of Edinburgh during the greater part of that time. Admission was obtained by special tickets, not transferable, and which were always gratis, except when benefits were given for the emolument of professional performers. The society, however, at length broke up, and the entertainments began to be gradually neglected. The hall was then disposed of for other purposes, and, after being some time occupied as a Baptist meeting-house, it was purchased in 1812 by the Grand Lodge, and has since been known by the name of Freemasons' Hall. After the weekly concerts of this society were discontinued, subscription concerts were performed in the Assembly Rooms, George's Street, and at Corri's Rooms, formerly the Circus, Musical festivals now the Caledonian Theatre. a plan similar to that of the Oratorios in London, have also thrice taken place in Edinburgh, for the benefit of the public charities. on New Assembly Rooms were erected in George's Street, not unsuitable to the general elegance of the other buildings in the New Town, in 1787. The principal hall is ninety-two feet long, fortyThere two feet wide, and forty feet in height. are also a Tea Room, two Card Rooms, and a grand Saloon. Two Assemblies are held weekly through the winter, the one a dancing, the other a card assembly. The card parties are rather se 683 lect than numerous; but the dancing assemblies No city in the world affords greater security to the inhabitants in their persons and properties than Edinburgh. Robberies are rare, and street murder hardly known; so that a person may walk out at any hour of the night in perfect security. This, in former times, was, in a great measure, owing to the vigilance of a town-guard. In 1700 it consisted of 126 men. From that time it continued embodied till the year 1805, when a new system of police was adopted. It was then reduced to an officer and thirty men, as a guard to the lord provost; and this last remnant was finally disbanded in 1817, when the old Tolbooth was taken down, the lower part of which had been occupied as their guard-room. The arms of this ancient body of men were the same as those used by the king's forces in general, but, in their capacity of night watchmen, they used a weapon called a lochaber axe, the use of which had long been discontinued in every other place. In addition to the town-guard, there was also a body of Militia, called the Trained Bands, consisting of 1600 men; but they have also been long dissolved. The officers, however, are still elected annually, and the provost, ex officio, bears the title of colonel as their commander. In 1805, the town-guard being found inad equate to preserve the peace of the city and protect the inhabitants in its extended state, an act of parliament was applied for, and under its sanction a new system of police was established. By this statute the city was divided into wards, and commissioners were appointed for each ward, for the purpose of assessing the inhabitants in the expense of the establishment, and for other duties. A court was also established, with a judge of police and clerk, for the trial of offences; and the judge was empowered to punish by fine and compensation for damages, by imprisonment in jail, or by commitment to Bridewell. The examination of the offender and witnesses was taken instanter and vivâ voce, and the sentence pronounced was immediately executed. After an experiment of nearly seven years, this system was found not to answer in A new bill was acconsequence of the extravagant powers which had been given to the court. cordingly brought into parliament, and an improved system was established in 1812, the office of judge of police being abolished. The city was divided into twenty-six wards, with three resident commissioners for each; the sheriff of the county and the magistrates of the city were appointed judges; a superintendent was also appointed, and various enactments provided for the cleansing, watching, and paving of the streets, and for other matters of general police. This statute was further amended in 1822. In addition to the superintendent there are now three lieutenants and a clerk. The expense of the establishment for the year 1824 was £20,292 6s. 5d. levied at the rate of one shilling in the pound on a rental of £373,736. The town council of Edinburgh has the direction of all public affairs. The ordinary council consists of twenty-five persons; the extraordinary, of eight, making in all thirty-three. The whole is composed of merchants and tradesmen, whose respective powers and interests are so interwoven, that a sort of balance is preserved between the two bodies. The members of the town-council are partly elected by members of the fourteen incorporations, partly by their predecessors in office. These incorporations are, the companies of the surgeons (also erected into a royal college), goldsmiths, skinners, furriers, hammermen, wrights, masons, tailors, bakers, fleshers, cordiners (or shoemakers), weavers, waukers, bonnet-makers, dyers, and merchants'. The lord-provost of Edinburgh, who is styled right honorable, is high sheriff, coroner, and admiral, within the city and its liberties, and the town, harbour, and road of Leith. He has also a jurisdiction in matters of death, now in desuetude. He is preses of the convention of royal boroughs, colonel of the trained bands, commander of the city guard and of the Edinburgh jail; has the precedency of all the great officers of state and of the nobility, walking on the right hand of the king, or of his majesty's commissioner, and has a sword and mace carried before him. Under him are four magistrates called bailies, whose office is much the same with that of the aldermen in London, excepting that they continue in office only one year. There is also a dean of guild, who has the charge of the public buildings, and without whose warrant no house or building can be erected within the city. He has a council to consult with a nominal treasurer, who formerly had the keeping of the town's money, which is now given to the chamberlain. These seven magistrates are elected annually; and with the seven of the former year, three merchants' and two trades' counsellors, and fourteen deacons, making in all thirty-three, form the council of the city, and have the sole management and disposal of the city revenues. Formerly the provost was also an officer in the Scottish parliament. The magistrates are sheriffs depute and justices of the peace; and the town council are patrons of all the churches of Edinburgh, patrons of the University, and electors of the city's representative in parliament. They have besides a very ample jurisdiction both civil and criminal, are superiors of the Canongate, Portsburgh, and Leith, and appoint over these certain of their own number, who are called baron bailies; but the person who presides over Leith has the title of admiral, because he has there a jurisdiction over maritime affairs. The baron bailies appoint one or two of the inhabitants of their respective districts to be their substitutes. These are called resident bailies, and hold courts in absence of the baron bailies, for petty offences, and discussing civil causes of small moment. In a paper communicated by the Rev. Dr. Blair to Sir John Sinclair containing an enumeration of families and examinable persons in the parishes of the city, in 1722, the total number of families was taken at 5979, and of persons 20,336. Adding the usual proportion of one-fourth of the examinable persons for children, the number of inhabitants would amount to 25,420; and allowing.15,000 for the suburbs, the total would be 40,420 souls. Maitland, in his History of Edinburgh, computing from the register of burials, makes the total number within the nine parishes 48,000 in 1753. And that this was very near the truth, appears from the enumeration actually made at the request of the Rev. Dr. Webster, in 1755, when the total number was found to be 57,195. But, as in this number, the inhabitants of south and north Leith were included, amounting to 9405, the total number of souls in the city and its environs turns out exactly 47,790, which is within 210 of Maitland's computation, and shows it to have been founded on just principles. The population of Edinburgh had increased very much within twenty years following, for the computation made by the late Mr. Hugo Arnot, in 1775, was considerably greater. The number of families in Edinburgh, Leith, &c., is stated by him at 13,806: which multiplied by five, (supposed more just than by six), and adding 1400 for the castle, &c., the number of souls in the city and suburbs, including Leith, amounted, in 1775, to 70,630. An enumeration was made in 1791 for the statistical report of the city, which stated the total of inhabitants, including those of the suburbs and town of Leith, at 84,886. But the accuracy of this enumeration is much doubted; because the parliamentary enumeration of 1801 makes the number of inhabitants in Edinburgh and its suburbs, including Leith, only amount to 82,560. A similar enumeration took place in 1811, when the return was 102,987. The last was in 1821, when the return was as follows: number of families, 29,193; males 62,099, females 76,136; total 138,235. The chief prison, or gaol, stands on the Calton Hill, and was erected about ten years ago. It is in the Saxon style of architecture, and is in length 194 feet by forty feet deep. It is divided into six classes of cells, four for men and two for women, besides a division containing cells for condemned criminals, Each of the classes has on the ground floor a day room with a fire-place, an open arcade for exercise in bad weather, and an airing ground supplied with water. The number of cells is fifty-eight, each being eight feet by six. In the centre of the building there is a chapel, and at the top there are four infirmary rooms for the sick. The house of the governor or captain of the gaol, as he is called, is placed upon an eminence which overlooks the prison. It is a picturesque building in the Gothic style, and contains, besides the governor's apartments, a committee room for the gaol-commissioners, a school for the instruction of juvenile delinquents, &c. The whole is surrounded by a wall about twenty feet high. There is also a prison called the Canongate Tolbooth, built in the reign of James VI., chiefly occupied as a debtors' prison. Besides this there are court-houses and prisons in the other suburbs of the city, but none of them worthy of particular notice. The old Tolbooth, which stood at the north-west corner of St. Giles's church, has been immortalised by the author of the Waverley novels, under the title of the Heart of Mid-lothian. It was built in 1561, but, having become inadequate for modern purposes, it was pulled down in 1817. The great entrance door with its massive lock and ponderous key, and a considerable part of the circular tower in which it was placed, were, upon the demolition of the building, carefully removed to Abbotsford, the residence of Sir Walter Scott, where it has re-assumed its venerable appearance, and forms an entrance to that beautiful but singular structure. The old Tolbooth is said originally to have been occupied as a parliament house as well as a prison. The last Scottish parliament at which majesty in person attended, was held in this Tolbooth, immediately after the coronation of Charles I. in 1633. The Bridewell establishment of Edinburgh, on the Calton Hill, said to be one of the best of the kind in Europe, was founded in 1791. The Exchange is a large and elegant building, with piazzas on the north side, and a court of about ninety feet square in the middle but the merchants have never made use of it to meet in, stiil obstinately preferring the open street as formerly. The back part of the building is used for the city chambers and dependent offices for the different departments, to which the access is by a hanging stair sixty feet in height. The Scottish Mint is kept up according to the articles of the union, with all the offices belonging to it, though no money is ever struck here. It stands in the lane called Gray's Close, but is in a ruinous state, though still inhabited by several of the different officers, who have all free houses. The bell-man's office, however, is not a sinecure, for he regularly rings the bell. This place, as well as Holyrood House, is an asylum for debtors, but only for twenty-four hours. There are three banking companies in Edinburgh, established by statute, or by royal charters. These are the Bank of Scotland, commonly called the Old Bank; the Royal Bank of Scotland, and the British Linen Company. 1. The Bank of Scotland, comnonly called the Old Bank, was erected by act of parliament A.D. 1695. By the statute of erection, the company was empowered to raise a joint stock of £1,200,000, afterwards increased to £1,500,000 sterling, for the purpose of carrying on a public bank. The smallest share any person could hold was declared to be £1000 Scots; and the largest sum for which any one was allowed to subscribe was £20,000 of the same money. £8,000 are declared to be the qualification necessary to entitle any one to be elected governor; and £3000 for each director. The management of the affairs of the company was vested in a governor, deputygovernor, and twenty-four directors; and, in choosing these managers, each proprietor was declared to have a vote for every £1000 of stock held by him. The office of this company prior to 1806 was kept down a narrow lane, at the south side of that part of the High Street called the Lawn-market; but they have since erected for their accommodation an elegant building to the northward of the High Street, in full view of Prince's Street. This bank has branches in ever" considerable town in Scotland. The The original shares of this company, amounting to £83 6s. 8d., sold in 1763 at £119; in 1791 at £180; and in 1827 at £187. 2. The Royal Bank was established in 1727. The stock of this company originally consisted of the equivalent money which was due to Scotland at the union. Proprietors of these sums to the extent of £111,000 were the original subscribers. But, this stock being found insufficient, a second charter was obtained in 1738, by which they were empowered to raise their stock to £150,000 sterling; and, subsequently, to £1,000,000. The business is managed by a governor, deputy-governor, directors, and extraordinary directors. amount of the company's stock is at present £1,500,000 sterling; and each £100 of stock in the market sells for £170. The Royal Bank is situated in St. Andrew's Square, New Town. 3. The British Linen Company, with a capital of £100,000, was incorporated by royal charter in 1746, with a view to encourage the linen manufacture in Scotland. By the constitution of this company, its affairs are under the management of a governor, deputy-governor, and five directors. It carries on the business of banking, and promissory notes, like the two former companies; and the office is situated in St. Andrew's Square. The Commercial Bank was established in 1810, and the National Bank in 1825. These two last are upon the joint stock principle, and have a very numerous proprietary, and extensive capitals. The business of each is conducted like that of the other three old companies, by a board of directors. All these banks issue promissory notes for various sums not under £1 sterling, payable on demand in cash, or Bank of England notes. Two private Banking-houses also issue notes in the same way, viz. those of Sir William Forbes and Co., and Ramsay's, Bonars, and Co. But besides these there are several banking-houses of great reputation in Edinburgh, which do not issue small notes, but which carry on the other branches of the banking trade, by transmitting money, discounting bills, and accommodating individuals with cash accounts. The Custom-house used to be at the back of the Royal Exchange; but some years ago the establishment removed to Bellevue House in the New Town, which forms the eastern termination of Great King Street. The board consists of one resident, and two assistant-commissioners, under whom are a secretary, and various other officers. Some recent arrangements incorporate them with the establishments at Leith. The Excise-office in St. Andrew's Square has been recently purchased by the Royal Bank, the Excise board occupying Bellevue House. There are three commissioners of excise, a secretary, and numerous officers. A cen The Post Office forms part of the splendid buildings in Waterloo Place, and stands to the east of the arch of the Regent Bridge. It has extensive accommodation for the business of this important public establishment. tury ago the revenue of the Post-office of Scotland was inadequate to defray the expense of keeping it up. In 1763, however, it had increased to £11,942 per annum. In 1783 it had reached upwards of £40,000; and now |