Edinburgh
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Edinburgh. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
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 2026 Editor's Note: By way of comparison, Edinburgh today has about 520,000 residents, up from the 327,441 this article reports for 1903. (Ed: BR 2026-07-06)
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
the metropolis of Scotland and one of the finest as well as most ancient cities in the British empire; lies within 2 miles of the S. shore of the Firth of Forth. It is picturesquely situated, being built on three eminences which run in a direction from E. to W., and surrounded on all sides by lofty hills except on the N., where the ground slopes gently toward the Firth of Forth. The central ridge, which constituted the site of the ancient city is terminated by the castle on the W., situated on a high rock and by Holyrood House on the E., not far from which rise the lofty elevations of Salisbury Crags, Arthur's Seat (822 feet high), and the Calton Hill overlooking the city. The valley to the N., once the North Loch, but now drained and traversed by the North British railway, leads to the New Town on the rising ground beyond. The houses here are all built of a beautiful white freestone found in the neighborhood. From Prince's street, which is lined by fine gardens adorned with Sir Walter Scott's monument and other notable buildings, a magnificent view of the Old Town with its picturesque outline may be obtained. The principal street of the Old Town is that which occupies the crest of the ridge on which the latter is built, and which bears at different points the names of Canongate, High street, Lawnmarket, and Castle Hill. This ancient and very remarkable street is upward of a mile in length, rising gradually with a regular incline from a small plain at the E. end of the town, on which stands the palace of Holyrood, and terminating in the huge rock on which the castle is built, 383 feet above sea-level. The houses are lofty and of antique appearance . Among the notable buildings are the ancient Parliament House, now the seat of the supreme courts of Scotland; St. Giles' church or cathedral, an imposing edifice in the later Gothic style, recently carefully restored; the Tron Church; Victoria Hall (where the General Assembly of the Established Church meets), with a fine spire; the Bank of Scotland, etc. From this main street descend laterally in regular rows numerous narrow lanes called closes; those which are broader, and admit of the passage of carriages, are called wynds. In these and the adjacent streets the houses are frequently more than 120 feet in height, and divided into from 6 to 10 stories, or flats. In the Old Town the most remarkable public building is the castle. This fortress contains accommoand George IV. Bridge), stands the remaining portion of the city, which is mostly modern . Besides the buildings already noticed Edinburgh possesses a large number of important edifices and institutions , chief among which are the of Scotland, the Museum of Science and Royal Institution , the National Gallery Art, the new Episcopal Cathedral of St. Mary's, etc. Among the more prominent educational institutions are the university , the high school, the academy, the New or Free Church Theological College, the United Presbyterian Theological Hall, the Edinburgh School of Medicine, the Veterinary College, the Fettes College, the Heriot- Watt College and Literature. The manufactures of College of Science Edinburgh are neither extensive nor important. Printing, book-binding, coachbuilding, type-founding, machine-making, furniture-making , ale-brewing, and distilling are the principal industries. Edin- EDINBURGH CASTLE dations for 2,000 soldiers, and the armory space for 30,000 stand of arms. The palace of Holyrood, or Holyrood House , stands, at the lower or E. extremity of the street leading to the castle. No part of the present palace is older than the time of James V. (1528), while the greater portion of it dates only from the time of Charles II. In the N. W. angle of the building are the apartments which were occupied by Queen Mary. Adjoining the palace are the ruins of the chapel belonging to the Abbey of Holyrood, founded in 1128 by David I. The Advocates' Library, the largest library in Scotland, contains upward of 250,000 printed volumes and 2,000 MSS. On the S. side of the Old Town, and separated from it also by a hollow crossed by two bridges (the South Bridge burgh is the headquarters of the book chief government departments. trade in Scotland, and the seat of the Its name is thought to be derived from The origin of Edinburgh is uncertain. Eadwinsburh , the Burgh of Edwin, a powerful Northumbrian king, who absorbed the Lothians in his rule. The town was made a royal burgh in the time of David I.; but it was not until the 15th century that it became the recognized capital of Scotland. Pop. (1918) 333,833.