The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1866-08-24
Especial Cor. fthe Cincinnati Gazette
GRAsMERE, ENGLAND L
L-a L.L July 81. 1866. "

i
r. -. -GRAsMERE, ENeLAND.l 4
b-b July 81, 1866. y
Our recent run through Scotland. if
not nine days wonder was at least
nine days ofpleasure. We were thrill
ed with new sensations, as we crossed
the Tweed, entering Scotland, and
until we left the country day or
two sinee-scarcelysj walking hour
passed that did not bring psb some
fresh joy. shrr edi sod bas .saiaI
1t is remarkable how much that is
in fthelhistory of any coun-
try, gathers around few of its great
names. All 4 the while we were in
Scotland, we could hardly refrain
from saying to ourselves, This is the
land of Wallace and Bruce; of Knox
and Chalmers, of Burns and Walter
Scott. y The great bulk of history is
comprised in the biography of a few
heroic ,men-Mr Buckle, and all the
naturalistic philosophers TO the con-
trary notwithstanding. ise3ro9 a.
n Almost every inch of Scotland is
made famous by its historic associa-
tions. Wherever we went, we felt
that these were clustering about aus.
Without, however, attempting togpre-
sent these, will, as in former letters,
invite yourr readers merely to- leok
through my eyes, on some of the chief
objects of interest presenting them
selves to me in Scotland. And first of
EDINBURGH, g" @o2d
into which. my last letter saw. us Just
entered And certainly Scotia's an
cient capital is a unique city. (Not
indeed In the sense of that word put
upon it by the witty derivation, ltaus,
onej equs, horse.) 1t is a city Of rocks
and ravines, of, ten story stone front
houses and beautiful monuments, of
the highest civilization and the lowest
barbarism. -, ~ tr
Columbus is said to have described
the island of Santa Cruz, in the West
Indies, to Queen Isabella, by crush
ing a sheet Of brown paper in his hand
and throwing it ,sprawling on the
floor. Well, there is. scarcely level
spot in Edinburgh. Woe to him who
goes sight seeing in that goodly city,
with complaining lungs or legs I'M
used to pedestrination. He must go
where no carriage can t. ke hinl-to
the Castle-to the top. OF Cotton hill
nay, he must not shrink from the
ascent of Arthur's. Seatzeight hun
dred feet perpendicular = for ,the
Queen climbed it, and who will reuse
to follow her example? ,o5
We stopped at a pleasant hotsl on
Princes Street, the fashionablestreet
of the new town. The next day was
Sunday, and it did our Presbyterian
hearts good to. enjoy, the quiet of
Scottish Sabbath, and to 60 With the
multitudes- literally multitules, for
about church time the sidewalks
could not contain them, and hey oyer
flowed upon the fun thorouglfare--the
multitudes that kept holy-day. But
having thus, seen Edinburgh on the
bright side, we thought it we'll to see
also the reverse picture. So, the next
day, after visiting the Castle, and duly
admiring the regalia, and cooking into
the room where Queen Mary gave
birth to James, and seeing the one
O'Clock gun fired by electricity from
the Astronomical Observatory, mile
of, we went for a walk through "sthe
Cowgate'n - and the Canongate." " We
did not need to go far to reach these
streets. High Street, leading down
from the Castle, past elegant churches,
soon becomes the Cowgate; and a sin
gle square to the one sid" of High
Street, just back of the old Parliament
House and the fine court-rooms Of the
city, is the Canongate, along the bot
tom Of the ravine, almost a subterra-
mean city. These streets fairly
swarm with life, They are crowd
| ed like beehives. When the tall
houses of the Cowgate, and, of
the innumerable courts and closes
which open upon it - houses tow
ering till they almost shut out the
light of day-when they discharge
their inhabitants upon the street, of a
fair summer noon, It is a sight to wit
ness. The multitudes now appear
| very different from those we saw yes
terday on the street above. Itsis, to
be sure, gratifying that 50, few evi-
dences ofvice are paipa able. And tits
/ very Noteworthy that beggary is wholly
/ 1sabsent.o But it.makes ones heart ache
to, Took On the countless throng OF
/ women and children in such squalld,
co1ate1,ted poverty. Our experiences in
Scotland, then, were not wholly pleas
! ouFabIe Yet even the pain connected
with this walk. had a mitigation, in the
sight Of good and Christian people to
relieve Z Tpauperism and reform tice.
| Temnerance coffee rooms and Soup
bouses. and Christian schools, find a
Mace amidst the dram shops and
crowded tenements.
/ have spoken of the Castle. This is
in the midst of the city, on a high
rock, inaccessible except from the
east side. Passing from the Castle
4 down High street and the Canongate,
as mentioned, we reach Holyood
Palace, at the very foot of the slope,
and at the eastern extremity If the
city. Why a palace should be Ilaced