326 THE BRITISH ISLES. 



devious course there rises ii rock of basalt, forming a bold scarp to the east, 

 but sinking do^Yn gently towards the west. A picturesque castle of irregular 

 shape, and formed of groups of buildings erected in the course of ten centuries, 

 occupies the western brow of this rock, whilst at its foot rises the old palace of 

 llolvrood, with its crenellated towers and the ruins of its abbey. Between castle 

 and palace, on both slopes of the hill, the old town of Edinburgh has been built, 

 its houses rising, according to the nature of the ground, to a height of seven or 

 eight floors. This site, however, soon proved too small for the growing city, 

 which invaded the valley to the south of the castle, and climbed the slopes beyond. 

 Later still, during the second half of the eighteenth century, it overflowed the 

 narrow ravine to the north, and sumptuous dwellings arose upon a third hill, 

 which slopes gently down in the west and north in the direction of the Water of 

 Leith and the sea. Bridges joined the new quarters in the north and south to the 

 old town, whilst beautiful gardens, ornamented with statues, occupy the vacant 

 spaces and the ravine, formerly the abode of a pestilential swamp. Calton Hill, 

 alreadv surrounded b}" houses, and Arthur's Seat (822 feet), both to the east, afford 

 excellent views of the city with its public buildings and gardens, of the fertile 

 country around it, its ports and jetties on the Firth of Forth, and of distant 

 mountains as far as Ben Lomond. At the present day unbroken avenues of houses 

 join Edinburgh to Leith, its principal port, as well as to the minor ports of 

 Newhaven and Granton ; bvit there was a time when an uninhabited plain 

 separated it from the sea. This was a feature which it had in common with 

 Athens. The citizens of Edinburgh could therefore talk about their Piroeus and 

 Acropolis ; and indeed, looking to the many great men whom the capital of 

 Scotland has produced, no other town has equal claims upon the epithet of 

 " Athens of the North." Foremost amongst the famous children of Edinburgh 

 are Hume, Robertson, Dugald Stewart, Erskine, Napier (theinventor of logarithms), 

 "Walter Scott, Brougham, ^lacaulay, Hugh Miller, and Nasmyth. 



The ancient capital of a kingdom, Edinburgh still guards regalia in its castle, 

 and one of its buildings retains the name of Parliament House, although now 

 merely the seat of the High Courts of Judicature and the depository of the Advocates' 

 and Signet Libraries, supported by the advocates and writers to the Signet, but 

 thrown open, with commendable liberality, to the public at large. The Advocates' 

 Library is entitled to a copy of every book published in the United Kingdom, and 

 amongst other treasures bearing upon the history of Scotland, it contains the 

 precious collection of Gaelic manuscripts formed by the Highland Society in the 

 course of the inquiry instituted to determine the authenticity of Ossian's poems. 

 The Signet Library is rich in works relating to the history of England and 

 Ireland. Holyrood Palace possesses the remains of its abbatial church and a few 

 curious pictures, but historical associations attract the crowds who visit it more 

 especially to the apartments formerly occupied by Mary, Queen of Scots. 



The most prominent public buildings of Edinburgh are consecrated to educa- 

 tion. The university, founded in 1582, is attended by 1,-jOO students, and 

 possesses a library of 100,000 volumes and valuable museums. The Museum of 



