Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1851-09-25
The City of Edinburgh.
BY HORACE GREELEY.

knew this was city of noble and beautiful
structures, but the reality surpassed my expect
auons. The town was mainly built in deep
valley running northward into the Firth of Forth,
with the royal palace of Hoyrood in the midst
OF the fort of Leith on the Firth, a few miles
northward, and the Castle on a commanding
crag overlooking the old town from the west.
The Dannongate and Hghstreet lead up to the
esplanade of the Castle from the east, but its
other sides are precipitous and inaccessible, a
deep valley skirting on the north, while the south
end OF the town fills the other side, the former,
or more northern valley. has for thA rnast mart
been kept clear Of buildings, the spacious Prin-
ces-street Gardens, and the grounds of several
charitable institutions have had possession of it,
until they were recently required to surrender
part of ii for the railroads running south to Ber-
wick, &C., and west to Glasgow, and for gen.
eral depot. Across this deep valley or chasm,
northward, rises the eminence on which the new
town of Edinburgh is constructed, with the deep
chasm in which runs the rapid mill-stream known
as the "Water of Leith," separating it from
similar though lower hill still further north and
west, on which few fine buildings and very
pleasant gardens are located. The new town is
thus perhaps one hundred and fifty feet above
the old town, mile and half long, and half
mile wide, commanding magnificent views of the
old town, the fort Leith, the broad ocean.like
Firth of Forth, and the finely cultivated country
stretching southwark; and, as if there was not
enough to secure its salubrity, it has more gar
dens and public squares than any other city of
its size in the world. Its streets are broad and
handsome its houses built almost wholly of
stone, and never saw so many good ones with
so few different Were to choose from all the
world city wherein to make an effort for lon
gevity, would select the new town of Edin-
burgh; but should prefer to live fewer years
where there is more sunshine.
Public monuments would seem the grand pas
sion of the Edinburghers. The most conspicu-
Gus are those of Lord Nelson on Carlton Hill,
(next to the Castle if not before it, the most COM
manding location in the city, and of Walter
Scott, on Princes street, nearly opposite the
Castle across the glen, in full sight of all who
arrive in Edinburgh by railroad, as also from tn
Castle, and its vicinity, as we'll as from the broad
and thronged street beside which it is located.
But there are monuments also to Pitt, to Lord
Melville, and some twenty or thirty other de-
ceased notables. These are generally located
in the higher squares, or gardens, which wisely
4 occupy large portion of the ground-plot of the
f new town. Public Hospitals and Infrmaries
are also prominent feature Of the Scottish cap
ital, there being several spacious and fine edih-
> ces devoted TO the healing Of the sick, most, if
/ not all of them, founded and endowed by pri
n vate munifcence. There are several bridges
: across the two principal and more secondary OF
Y cross valleys, ravines, or gorges, which may well
, attract attention. They are frequently several
4 hundred feet long, and from thirty to eighty fee
high, and you look down from the road way up
on the red tiled roofs of large eight or nine story
houses beside and below them. Nearly or quite
every house in Edinburgh is built of stone,
which is abundant in Scotland, and often of a
+ fair, free, easily worked quality. Many, even
of the larger houses, especially in the old town,
are built of coarse, rough, undrsssed stone, and
, often Of round irregular boulders, made to re-
> tain the places assigned them by dint of abun-
, dant and excellent mortar. In the better build
ings however, the stone is of finer quality, and
is handsomely cut, though almost entirely of a
brown or dark gray color. The winding drive
! to the summit Of Carlton Hill, looking down
o upon large, tall castle.like houses of varied ma
terial and workmanship, with the prospect from
, the summit, are among the most impressive l
have seen in Europe.
| was interested this afternoon in looking
around from one to another of the edifces with
which history, or the pen of the Wizard Of the
North has rendered us all familiar-the Tol-
booth, the Parliament House, the Castle, the
= house of John Knox, the principal churches, etc.
, | spent most Time of all in the palace of Holy
rood, which, though unwisely located, never
gorgeousy furnished, and long since abandoned
ofroyality to dilapdation and decay, still wears
the stamp of majesty, and will be regal even
: when crumbled into ruins, Its tapestries are
! faded and rotten; its paintings never brilliant
specimens of art have also felt the tooth o
:, Time; its furniture, never sumptuous, woult
. /, but poorly answer at this day the needs of al
:, ordinary family; its ballroom is now lumber
room; its beds excite premontions of rheuma
! tism; its boudor says naught of beauty, bu
- that it pusseh away. Yet the carefully pre-
g served ivory miniature of the hapless Queen @
Scots is still radient with that superlative lowell
- =, ness which seems unearthly and prophetic @
coming sorrows and it were difficult to vie'
Az without emotions the tapestry she worked, tn
y, furniture she brought over from France, som
oi mementoes of her unwise marriage, the lttl
0o room in which she sat at supper, with Rizzio an
ie three or four friends when the assassins rushe
u in through secret door, and stabbed her i'll
e. starred favorite, and dragged him through he
IN bed room into an outer audience chamber, an
We there left him to die, his life blood oozing OF
from fifty-six wounds The partition still stand
i'll which the Queen had erected to shut off tn
ag scene of this horrible tragedy from that large
portion of the reception-room which she WI
still to occupy, therein to greet daily those who
70 public cares and duties constrained her to col
fer with and listen to, though murder had staine
NJ inefaceably the floor of all that regal hall. Ala
no unhappy Queen and yet not all unhappy
io' Other sovereigns have their little day of adu
ton, then shriyel to dust and are forgotten b.
she still lives and reigns wherever beauty fin
= admirers, or suferings command sympath