The Sun.
London, England, 1850-09-02 00:00:00

THE ROYAL VISIT to SCOTLAND.
EDINBURGH, AUG. 31.—My last detailed communica-
, tion closed with the account of her Majesty's arrival at
Holyrood on Thursday afternoon. The same evening,
and before night had closed in, the Queen proceeded to
the suite of apartments occupied by the beautiful and
unfortunate Mary Stuart. Her visit was a strictly pri-
vate one, so much so that the housekeeper who shows
the rooms did not know who the illustrious personage
was to whom she pointed out the curious relics placed
beneath her care. To all who feel an interest in that
fascinating page of history which records the life of
Queen Mary, the announcement of this visit made by
her descendant will be read with interest. The sceptre
in both cases swayed by female hands, in both husbands
not sharing with them the regal office—bow great
in every other respect is the contrast which the
fortunes, and, it must be added, the character •of
Victoria, present to those of the ill-fated Mary! The
apartments now occupied by the royal party are in the
more modern part of the Palace, erected on the site of
that which John Knox's fiery zeal burned down, and
which was restored by Charles 11. Here Charles X..of
France resided from 1830 to 1833. The levees of George
IV. were held in the hall of state on the eastern side of
the Palace. His Grace the Duke of Hamilton is here-
ditary keeper of Holyrood, but for a long period of time
little has been done to keep this royal residence in good
and tenantable repair. Everybody in Scotland had
ceased to regard it as anything but a venerable and in-
teresting ruin, worthy a certain amount of care for the
sake of old times, and in memorial of the days when the
Court lived at the foot of the Canongate. No one ever
expected to see the Sovereign residing in that
quadrangular and turreted old building again. Hence
its occupation by her Majesty has greatly delighted the
people of Edinburgh, and of Scotland generally.
Yesterday morning the Queen and the Prince Consort
were early astir, and ascended to the very summit of
Arthur's Seat. They also visited at a later period of
the day Donaldson's Hospital, but these were in the
nature of private visits, and the only proceeding of a
formal and public character which took place was the
ceremony of laying the fourdation-stone of the proposed
National Gallery on the Mound. This ceremony was
performed by his Royal Highness Prince Albert at one
o'clock, and drew together an immense concourse of
spectators ; but, before describing the scene, and giving
the details of what took place, it is necessary to say some-
thing about the circumstances under which the new
building is about to be erected, the objects to which it
is to be dedicated, and the style of edifice which it is
proposed to construct. At the Union of the two
countries a grant of a certain sum annually was
agreed to be set apart for the encouragement
of manufactures and fisheries in Scotland. The
administration of this sure was vetted in the
hands of two boards, one entitled " the Beard
of Trustees for Manufactures," &c„ the other " the
Board of British White Herring Fisheries." The former
contains thirty, and the latter nineteen members, several
of them calierwise much engaged by public business.
The same secretary and clerks conduct the affairs of
both boards, and the offices are at the Royal Institution
on the Mound, close to the new building of which his
Royal Ilighnees Prince Albert laid the foundation-stone
yeeierday. It appears that the annual amount payable
to these hoards fell largely it, arrear, and with 40,0001.
of that arrear the in-eitution wee built. _New, Jr eo
happened, that when the grant of money at the Union
was ogre el upon, the etwou,a;,,eutent of art was mid( r-
stood to be included along erth that of manufactures,
and thus it arose that when the Royal Scottish Society
for Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture received its
charter, it was placed to a certain extent under the wing
of the board of trustte4,vvho in their turn re ceivedseme two
or three members of the society into their body. '1 he an-
nual exhibition of the society, which much resembles
that of the Royal Academy, took place at the Institution,
and it is believed that the beard of trustees have de-
rived considerable emolument therefrom. Certain it is,
that the society has always be ei outvoted by the trustees,
that it is much dissatisfied with the treatment which it
receives from them, and that it alleges, with the general
assent of public opinion, that they are incompetent for
the efficient discharge of their trust, which is thus
thrown into the hands of a small clique and carried on in
a jobbing spirit. The trustees in their turn say that
they don't want to bu bothered with the society's annual
exhibition, that it compels them to displace their own
pictures, which are thus exposed to serious damage, and
is otherwise a great inconvenience. Which of the dis-
puting bodies is right remains to be decided by higher
authority, but in the meantime out of these quarrels has
s;.Tung up a strong desire on the part of the Rod al
Society to have an academy specially provided fur itself,
leaving the Institution to be appropriated to other pur-
poses. The society had saved some thousands of
pounds, and Government were asked to obtain a grant
of public money for the object in view. They agreed to
do so, and the amount of the vote which they carried,
instead of being handed over to the board of trustees for
expenditure, will, it is understood, be administered
through the office of Woods and Forests by a,cotnmittee
of the board, consisting of his Grace the Duke of 13uc-
cleuch, the Lord Provost, and several other very effi-
cient names. Such are the circumstances under which
the new building is about to be erected. The objects to
which it is to be dedicated are twofold, viz,, first, the
erection of a National Gallery, where great works of
art, become public property, may be collected
and exhibited ; secondly, the formation of a
Royal Academy, where young artists may be
instructed in their profession. and the more ad-
vanced have an opportunity of annually displaying
and comparing their powers. Both are to be under the
same roof, and to be parallel with each other along the
extent of a structure running southward from the Insti-
tution towards the Free Church College, and standing
separate from the former edifice, while harmonizing
with it in general character. There are to be two four-
columned lonic porticoes at either end, and a largo
transverse portico of six columns in the centre on either
side, to break the otherwise monotonous effect of an
extent of dead wall considerably longer than the insti-
tution, and plainly decorated with pilasters. The light
is to be entirely from above, the rooms within to bo
shaped in octagons and squares, and the estimated cost
of construction is 40,0001., of which the Government find
25,0001., and the Royal Scottish Society 15,0001. If the
edifice when completed at all resembles a design of it
published by the architect, it will:prove a very great ar-
chitectural acquisition to the city of Edinburgh.
The ceremony yesterday was a very fine one. Prince
Albert was loudly cheered as he passed in procession
along Prince's•street, attended by an escort of cavalry.
On alighting at the Institution, o royal salute was fired
from the frowning battlements of the castle, and with
grand effect. The halfmoon battery opened its fire, and
trom that point battery after battery took up the salute
in order, the flash of each report being visible several
seconds before the sound was heard, and the smoke of
the discharges as they took place being swept athwart
the stern and warlike mass of the lofty old fortress till
the mimic cannonade seemed to grow into a reality.
On all eide,i, wherever the eye turned, countless multi-
tudes of human beings were assembled. The whole
space southward sloping upwards to the many storied
houses of the old town was filled with a perfect tea
of heads. On the fiat roof of the Bank of Scotland,
and ou the graceful galleries of the Scott monument, and
far up on the battlements of the Castle—in fact, every-
where whence a commanding view could be obtained,
groups of spectators were clustered. The pensioners,
under the command of Colonel Jones, kept the ground
admirable, but bad their patience been lass conspicuous,
or their bearing less firm, there was drawn up for the
protection of the Queen'. peace, that long•eeteblished
force the high constables el the city, armed with elabo-
rately ornamented truncheons, and headed by ttheird 1
val-
bent and loyal • Moderator." Had this hod)' failed
the
Royal Scottish Archers, her Majesty's bodyguard, who
duty, which it is hardly possible to imagine,
were also present, might have been called
requisi-
tion, and tried the eil'ect of a discharge
of arrows upon a
into
ocnonentestettehde northern
extremity 19th century. The enclosed space had
mob in the
tt,eheenfopurensdeanttieodn.sttooneh,
Through
institution by a canopied passage, and set apart for
t e several
bl) aS beard of of the
tetrhrueesiteenedsc w n'ibdul building;
Intdhi nei it;
friends.
this, after the members of the board, and those of the
bands on his way with several of the
,sedhadto him, his
assembled there. Among
Board of Fisherpieass
those were—the Duchess of Buccleuch, the Dowager
Duchess of Rosburgbe, the Duchess of Buburghc sad
dull! t)1 inlinglg rani Highness
shaking