The Sun.
London, England, 1840-08-19 00:00:00

laid, about three o'clock. A gallery was here erected
for the accommodation of spectators, and of those who,
composed the procession, which was filled with a
fashionable assemblage, and was also occupied by a
civic procession, which had assembled in the build-
ings of the Royal Institution, consisting of the Sub-
committee of the Scott monument, the Magistrates
and Council of Edinburgh, the Magistrates of Canon-
gate, of Portsburgh, and the Provost, Magistrates,
and Council of Leith. There were also present the
Earl of Rothes, the Earl of Stair, Lord Belhaven,
Lord Cockburn, Sir David Kinloch, the Solicitor-
General, Sir J. Robinson, Sir H. Jardine, Thomas
Thomson, Esq., William Clerk, Esq., Professors
Wilson, Graham, Mr. Horsman, Mr. Fletcher,
of Dunans, Mr. Anderson, of Meredun, W. Allan;
Esq., P.R.S.A., J. Steel, Esq., sculptor of the
statue for the monument, R. Cadall, Esq., Adam Black,
Esqr., and J. T. Gordon, Esq., . Advocate. The
civic procession was marshalled by Mr. W. Anderson,
Marchmont herald, assisted by Mr. R. Hamilton, Kin-
tyre pursuivant.
These different processions having arrived on
the ground, and taken up their positions, the band
of the :29th Regiment played the Queen's anthem,
which was followed by a Royal salute of twenty-ore
guns from a battery 'stationed on the opposite bank,
in front of the wall at the hack of the Bank of
Scotland.
The effect of the artillery, which was very judiciously
pladed among the wooded ground, was grand and
striking. Perhaps no city abounds so much as Edin-
burgh in fine positions for displaying crowds of specta-
tors. The view from Prince's-street of the vast and
picturesque masses of building in the old town, with
the spectators clustered on the windows, balconies, and
other elevated points of the high buildings ; the gardens
below with the groups wandering through the groundi
—the wooden and rising ground opposite site,-,ularly
beautiful and romantic, with the Castle to the right—
the military works crowning the rock, and the rich ve-
getation mingling with the rocky scenery beneath—
formed an assemblage of striking objects, and gave a
peculiar interest and animation to the scene. A prayer
was then offered up by the Grand Chaplain, after which
two engraved plates were placed in the cavity of the
stone, ono containing- the names of the office-bearers of
the Grand Lodge, and the other bearing the following
inscription :
" THIS GRAVEN PLATE,
Deposited in the Base of a Votive Building
On the 15th day of August, in the year of
Christ, 1840,
And never likely to see the light again,
Till all the surrounding structures are crumbled
to dust
By the decay of Time, or by Human or Elemental
violence,
May then testify to a distant posterity that
y His Countryman began on that day
Tu raise an Effigy and Architectural Monument
TO THE MEMORY OF
SIR WALTER SCOTT, BART. ;
Whose admirable Writings were then allov.ed
To have given more delight, and suggested
better feeling
To a larger Class of Readers in every rank of
Society,
Than those of any other Author, with the exception
of Shakspeare alone,
And which were therefore thought likely to be
remembered
Long after this Act of Gratitude
On the part of the first generation of his Admirers
should be forgotten.

11 was born at Edinburgh, 15th August, 1771 ;
And died at Abbotsford, 21st September, 1832.

The foundation of the Monument was laid by the
Right Hon. Sir JAMES FORREST of Comiston, Bart.,
Lord Provost of Edinburgh,
And Grand-Master Mason of Scotland,
The Sub-Committee in charge of the Work bz4ing
The Right Hon. Sir William Rae of
St. Catherine's, Bart. ;
Sir Thomas Dick Lauder of Fountainball, Bart;
Dr. Thomas Hope, Professor of Chemistry ;
George Forbes, Esq., Treasurer ;
Thomas Thompson, Esq., Advocate;
And
William Burn, Esq., Architect.
With the aid and advice of
The Right Hon. Lord Viscount Melville.
James Skene, Esq., of Rubislaw, Secretary.
GEORGE M. KEMP, Architect.
JOHN STEELL, Sculptor.
IN THE FOURTH YEAR OF TIIE REIGN OF VICTORIA THE FIRST.
A glass jar was also deposited in the cavity of the
stone, the contents of which were as follow Al-
manack of 1840. 2. Six newspapers, namely, the
"6 Edinburgh Evening Courant," the '6 Caledonian Mer-
cury," the " Edinburgh Advertiser," " Scotsman,"
" Edinburgh Observer," and " Witness." 3. The fol-
lowing coins :—a Doubly Sovereign of George IV., a
Sovereign of Victoria, a Half Sovereign of ditto, Crown
of George IV., Half Crown of William IV., a Shidirg,
Sixpence, Great, 3d., 2d., and Id. Silver Pieces—and a
Penny, Halfpenny, and Farthing in copper. 4. Copies
of Inscription Plates. 5. Plan of the City and County
or Edinburgh. 6. Medal struck for the occasion. 7.
List of names of Auxiliary Subscribers.
' The usual masonic ceremonies having been gone
through, the Lord Provost, as Grand-Master Mason,
proceeded w:th all due honour to lay the stone, amidst
the cheers of the assembled crowd, and the lively
strains of the band of the 29th Regiment. His Lord-
ship used, on this occasion, a silver trowel, which was
presented to him in the University, by the members of
St. Mary's Lodge, the most ancient Lodge in Edin-
burgh, bearing a handsome inscription. Ho then re-
turned to his place, and addressed Sir William Rae and
the other gentlemen of the Scott Committee.
Sir WILLIAM RAE, in the name of the Committee,
acknowledged the address, and, among other things,
stated that the funds collected amounted to 9,5001., and
that the poor as well as the rich had contributed their
subscriptions to honour the memory of Scott. In one
b
district, the Cow,rate, it appeared that forty subscrip-
tions only realized 31. 75., thus showing the strong feel-
ing in the very humblest ranks to contribute their
mite towards the testimonial to their distinguished
countryman.
The monument is to be of Gothic architecture, ISO

feet high, and will cost 12,000/.
At the conclusion the band commenced playing
" Rule Britannia," and another salute of seven guns
from the battery concluded the ceremony, after which
the crowd began to disperse.