Edinburgh
ed'in-bur-ro', the capital city of Scotland. It is situated near the eastern shore, about two miles from the Firth of Forth. Leith is its principal port. The site is hilly. Seen from the sea, the city presents an imposing appearance, gaining for it the title of the Athens of the North. Like the chief city of the Athenians, Edinburgh grew up under the shelter of an acropolis. The scenic feature of the city is a sloping ridge of rock, shaped like a lady's leg-o'-mutton sleeve. The shoulder rises toward the west into a precipitous crag, and is accessible only from the east by way of the wrist and arm. Crowning the height sits the ancient citadel known to every Scot as the Castle.
Viewed from the castle height, a valley three hundred feet below runs east and west quite through the center of the town. It is admirably laid off in parks, gardens, and shrubbery, half concealing the railroads that in this way gain access to the heart of the city without destroying its beauty or rendering too painful the contrast between the ivy-clad historical past and the sooty, cinder-covered present. North of these gardens rises the New City, tier after tier, a splendid assembly of streets, palatial hotels, places of business, and elegant homes--all very attractive and well enough for the permanent resident; but the mind of the traveler returns to the castle.
Edinburgh was founded by the Northumbrian King Edwin, and was a favorite stronghold of the Stuarts. Sometimes it was a residence and sometimes it was the prison of a Scottish king. Although royalty left Edinburgh in 1603, when James VI of Scotland became James I of England, and though the Scottish Parliament was merged with the English Parliament a century later, the old rock is still regarded affectionately as the guardian of the liberties of Scotland. Although the wall that surrounds its summit would soon crumble beneath the fire of modern artillery, the castle has withstood many a siege, and, if guarded by a watchful garrison, was once considered impregnable. A garrison is still maintained. A huge cannon called Mons Meg, made at Mons in Belgium in 1476, still guards the ramparts. It is constructed of iron bars, carefully fitted together and bound with hoops. Its bore is twenty inches in diameter. A boy can swing himself into it with ease. Two of the old castle rooms are of especial interest,--Queen Mary's Room, where her son James, already mentioned, was born, and the Crown Room, where the regalia of the Stuarts, the ancient crown, sceptre, sword of state, and lord treasurer's rod of office, were kept.
Save in Athens and Rome, it would be difficult to find a half hour's walk of greater interest than that down the long descent of High Street, leading from the Castle to Holyrood Palace at its eastern foot a mile away. This street was considered once the finest in Europe, though much of its glory has departed. The entire thoroughfare is known as High Street, but different parts as Castle Hill, Lawn market, where linen was sold, Netherbow, and Cannongate are known by special names. A branch called Westbow leads off to Grassmarket, whither the hangman's cart bore prisoners and criminals to be executed. A mere enumeration of the houses connected with notable persons would be tedious. For instance, tablets inform the curious, that this was the house occupied by Hume, the historian; this the residence of John Knox; here Boswell entertained Samuel Johnson on their way to the Hebrides, etc.
One of the most notable buildings is St. Giles' Church, with a history dating from 1259. It is the Presbyterian or parish church of Edinburgh. John Knox preached here. The Solemn Pledge and Covenant was signed here. In his attempt to introduce Episcopacy and thus unify the churches of England and Scotland, Charles I made St. Giles' a cathedral; and it was here that Jenny Geddes, in righteous indignation, threw her cutty stool at the head of the dean who began to read from the new Episcopal service book. The lofty spire of St. Giles' overlooks the site of the ancient Tolbooth or the county gaol immortalized in Scott's Heart of Midlothian. The spot where the gaol once stood is marked by the large figure of a heart wrought in the stone pavement.
The old Parliament House is now devoted to the use of the supreme court. The great hall, with its oak carvings and statues of eminent men, is now a walk or lobby for lawyers in their wigs and black gowns. In this connection may be mentioned the Advocates' Library, the most extensive and valuable collection of books in Scotland. It is one of five libraries entitled by law to a copy of every book issued in the United Kingdom.
A description of all the buildings of note is out of the question, but visitors seldom fail to inspect and admire Holyrood Palace at the lower end of the street. It was originally an abbey. The main entrance is a magnificent stone portal richly carved. Queen Mary's apartments are shown still, and are said to be much as she left them. Her bedroom contains the ancient bed and other furnishings used by the hapless princess. The place at the head of the staircase where the assassins stabbed her favorite, Rizzio, is pointed out. A dark stain, possibly but not probably of blood, still marks the spot. Other buildings are those of the University, the Royal Infirmary, and Heriot's Hospital. The latter was founded by George Heriot, the Scotch goldsmith of James I, whose name is familiar to readers of the Fortunes of Nigel.
Edinburgh has never been a commercial or manufacturing city. To the last statement, one exception must be made. Edinburgh has been noted as a center of the publishing trade. An English translation of the Bible was published here as early as 1576. The Edinburgh Review and Blackwood's Magazine, Chamber's Encyclopedia, The Encyclopedia Britannica, the Waverley Novels, and many other notable publications have come from the Edinburgh press.
The population of the city in 1903 was 327,441. In 1908 it was 350,524. The city is growing. It depends for prosperity on the courts of law, the university with 3,000 students, and various colleges, as well as its desirability as a place of residence. The climate is delightful, and favorable to longevity. The average temperature for January is 36.6 deg; that for July is 58.3 deg. The annual rainfall is twenty-six inches. The city has just expended $56,000,000 in building reservoirs and securing a supply of water from the head waters of the Tweed.
Sir Walter Scott is the writer who has described Edinburgh as Dickens has described London. His birthplace is pointed out. A Gothic canopy in the New Town on Princes Street overlooking the gardens shelters a statue of the great romancer. Its topmost pinnacle is 200 feet high. The available niches are occupied by figures of Scott's characters. Meg Merrilies, Red-gauntlet, Rob Roy, Wamba, and three score others are all there. It is one of the most remarkable monuments ever erected to the memory of a literary man-a fitting tribute from the city by him so often and so well described.
Edinburgh is known by many names, as Modern Athens, the City of Homes, Dunedin, and the Capital of the North. "A city of incomparable loveliness," says Oliver Wendell Holmes, but, to the genuuine Scot at home or abroad, the best name of all is just Auld Reekie-Old Smoky.
See Scotland; Scot