16 State of Arts, Manners, &c. in Edinburgh, and Leith. [Feb. 15 
‘The world bas not feen judges more up- 
right, more learned, of greater abilities, 
or more affiduous in their functions, than 
thofe who have for many fucceflions filled 
the benches ‘of the Courts of Seffion, Juf- 
ticiary, and Exchequer. The advocates 
or countellors are men of family; often 
eminently fkilled in all the branches of 
erudition, {cience and ornamental litera- 
ture 5 always, in confiderable number, 
confummate mafters of the jurifprudence 
of their own and other countries. ‘Their 
order never wants a few orators whofe 
picadings arenot exceeded sn eloquence by 
thofe ar any other bar. ‘The writers to 
the fignet are more uniformly refpectable 
than the attornies in England. The in- 
ferior perfons belonging to this profeffion 
are, in no refpeét, fuch as to do it dif- 
credit. Even the loweft who are diligent 
and of fair charaéter, may derive from 
their bufinefs the means of living as gen- 
tlemen. I fliould fcarce think that the 
ageregate profeffional incomes of the 
whole body can exceed the fum_ of 
150,000]. a year. ‘The Scots are indeed 
incomparably litigious. And when once 
2 man gets tnto a lawyer’s hands asa 
client, he will not eafily fiip from them 
again. 
' The Officers of the Cuftoms, the Ex- 
¢cife, the Stamp-duties, the General Poft- 
office, the Court of Admiralty, the Poft- 
office, the Herald’s-office, the Staff of the 
Army for Scotland, &c. forma numerous, 
aid, efpecially for the higher orders, an 
eminently refp2étable body of men. Their 
duties are faithfully difcharged; their in- 
comes are honourably expended. Edin- 
burgh and Leith owe to them much of 
the refpectability of their fociety and 
the aétivity of their bufinefs. 
~ In regard to the fyftem of education for 
the youth of this place, and the knowledge 
here cultivated, all that is favourable 
may be, with juftice, affirmed. For the 
firft inftru€tion of children in ‘letters, 
there are a fuficient number of Englifh 
fchcols open under the authority and in- 
{peStion of the magiftrates, which never 
fail to he fupplied with excellent teachers. 
The High School for inftru&ion in the 
Latin Janguage, and in Englifh fo far as 
it is unavoidably conneéted with the ele- 
ments of the Latin, is filled by five maf- 
ters, the moft eminent for kill iA Roman 
‘literature, and of the higheft reputation 
for that gravity, mildnefs, prudence, 
piety, and unoftentatious virtue which 
are the requifite qualities in a good teacher. 
‘Lhere are allo {chocls of public inftitu- 
tion for inftruétion in writing, arithmetic, 
and the immediately practical branches of 
mathematics. Befides the {chools of. public 
inflitution within the city of Edinburgh, 
there are many private fchoois for the 
modern languages, and for every different 
part of education neceflary or liberal, 
Leith and the other fuburbs havealfo their 
{chools, public and private. ‘The bodily 
exercifes of dancing and fencing are not 
neglected, but are taught by proper maf- 
ters. It is ufual for all parents, without 
exception, to fend their children to fchool. 
All expend as much on their children’s 
education, as they can poffibly afford. . 
The Univerfity confifts but of a fingle 
college founded by King James the Sixth. 
Tt has. ptofeffors for Greek and Roman 
literature ; for the different branches of . 
philofophy phyfical and moral; for ma+_ 
thematics; for the feveral parts of medical 
{cience ; for theology; for natural, eccle- 
fiafticaland civil hiftory ; and for the diffe- 
rent branches of the ftudy of jurifprudence, 
Theprofefforsare,almoft without exception, 
men of excellent.chara&ter, of great learn- 
ing. and fcience, of the happteft talents 
and addrefs. for communicating know. 
ledge, and of diligence admwably ex- 
emplary in the difcharge of their profefs 
‘fional functions. The feffion is for feven 
months, from Oftober to May. The 
ufual number of attending fiudents is 
feldom under twelve hundred. The courfe 
for the languages, philofophy, and, after 
thefe, either law, medicine, or theology 
as a profeffional fiudy, is‘ about feven or 
eight fefons. Degrees are conferred in 
jurifprudence, medicine, and theology. 
The profeffors enjoy {mall falaries ; receive 
fees from the ftudents; deliver lectures. 
Of Jate, for the convenience of the ftu- 
dents, feveral of them have been accuftoms 
ed to read a fecond courfe of leétures in 
fummer, after clofing that for the winter; 
The expence of refidence and. education 
for a young man living here, genteelly, 
but frugally and with uniform prudence 
may be about 100]. a year. There are 
feveral focieties, medical, juridical, thec- 
logical, philofophical, and literary, in 
which the ftudents voluntarily meet, to 
debate and read efflays which they, in 
turn, compofe and prefent. There is a 
good library, of which the ftudents oeca- 
fionally complain, perhaps without reafon, 
that the ufe is too exclufively confined to 
the profeflors and their friends. The 
Profefflor of Anatomy has a very large 
and excellent collection of preparations 
for illuttrating the fubject of his lectures. 
4 There 
