New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-09-14

ANTIQUITIES - MARY SrUARr'S
MIRROR NIGHT SCENE
ON THE MOUNTAIN OF
ARrHUR's SEAT.
sy1oN STAFF coSlssPoxpxNr THE 1R,BrSR1
Edinburgh; August -.
bright blue sky, across which many masses
Of thin white cloud are borne swiftly on the cool
western wind, bends over the stately city, und
ell her miles Of gray mansions and spacious,
cleanly streets sparkle beneath 1t in a flood of
summer sunshine. 1t is the Lords Day. and
most Of the highways are deserted and quiet.
From the top Of the Cation Hill you look down
upon hundreds Of blue smokc-wreaths, curling
upward from the ohimneys of the resting and
restful town, and in every direction the prospect
is one of opulence and peace. thousand years
Of history are here crystalli4ed within the circuit
Of a single glance. and while you gaze upon one
Of tho grandest emblems that the world contains
Of q storied and romantic past, You behold like
wise living and Respondent pageant Of the
beauty Of To-Day. Nowhere else are the Past and
the Present so lovingly blended. There. in the
centre, towers the great crown OF ST. Giles. Hard
by are the quaint slopes Of the Congratulations
ing with illustrious or picturesque. or terrible
figures of Long Ago. Wonder the glorious Castle
ST64 looks StSaQIaSVly WcSUWdIu-ltS iuduiipiu
wonderful colors continuously changing in the
changeful daylight. Down in the valley Holy
rood, haunted by a myriad of memories and by
one respondent face and enhancing presence.
nestles At the foot of the giant Salisbury Crag;
while the dark, rivened peak of Arthur's Seat
rears itself supamey over the whole stupcndous
scene. Southwark and westward, in the distance.
extends the bleak range of the Pentland Hills;
eastward the cone Of Berwick Law and the desc
late Bass Rock seem to cleave the sea; apd north
ward beyond the glistening crystal Of the FORTH
with The white lines Of embatted lnchkeith like
q dismond on its bosom,-the lovely Lomonds, the
virginia. mountain breasts Of Fife, are barred to
the kiss Of heaven. 1t is such picture as words
can but family suggest; but when you look upon
it you readily comprehend the pride and the pas
sion with which Q Scotchman loves bis native
land.
Dr.. johnson named Edinburgh as "a city too
well known to admit description That judg-
ment was proclaimed more than hundred years
ago-before yet Caledonia had bewitched the
worlds heart as the haunted land Of Robert Burns
and Walter Scotland If it were true then. it is
all the more true now. But while the reverpnt
pilgrim along the ancient highways Of history
may net wisely attempt description which would
he superfuous, he perhaps may usefully indulge
in brief chronicle and impression-for these some
times prove suggestive to minds that ore kindred
with his own. Hundreds OF travellers annually
visit Edinburgh; but it is one thing to visit and
another thing to see; and every suggestion, surely,
is Of some value that helps to clarity our vision
This capital is not learned by driving about 1t in
q cab for Edinburgh to be truly seen and COM
pretended must be seen and comprehended as an
exponent Of the colossal individuality Of the Scot
tsh character, and, therefore it must be observed
with thought Here is no echo and no imitation.
Many another provincial city of Britain is a min
iature copy Of London; but the quality Of Edin-
bursh Is her own. Portions Of her architecture do
indeed denote a rishtful reverence for ancient
ltalisn models, while certain other portions re-
veal the influence Of the semi classical taste that
prevailed In the time Of the Regent. afterward
George the Fourth. The democratic tendency Of
this period depressing itself here precisely as it
does everywhere else in button-making pettiness
and vulgar commonplace,-is likewise sufficiently
obvious Nevertheless. in every important detail
of Edinburgh and of its life the reticent. resolute.
formidable. impetuO0R passionate character OF the
SCOTTISH race is conspicuous and predominant.
Much has been said against the Scotch spirit-the
tide Of cavil purling on from Dr. johnson to Sid
ney Smith: Dignity has been denied to 1t. and
SO has magnanimity. and so has humor; but there
is audience more quick than the Scotch audience
to respond either to pathos to mirth; there is no
literature in the world 80 unsteady, tcnderly and
weirdly poetcal as the Scotch literature; there is
no place on earth where the imaginative instinct
Of the national mind has resisted it has resisted
in Scotland the encroachment Of utility upon the
domain Of romance; there is no people whose his
tory has exceled that Of Scotland in the display
Of heroic Intellectual and moral purpose. COM
biped with passionate sensibility; and city
could possibly surpass the physical fact of
Edinburgh as q manifestation of broad ideas,
instituted opulence. aud grim and rugged gran
deur Whichever way you turn. and whatever
object sou behold. that consciousness is always
present to your thoughts-the consciousness of
race Of beings intensely original. individual,
passionate. assertivc, and magnificent.
The capital Of Scotland is not only beauti-
full, but eloquent. The present. writer does not
assume to describe it. or TO instruct any reader
concerning it. hut only TO declare that at every
step the sensitive mind is impressed with the
splendid intellect, tho individual force. and the
romantic charm Of the Scotch character. as it
is concentrated and displayed in this delight
full place What wealth Of significance it
possesses may be Indicated by even the most
meagre record and the most superficial COM
pentary upon the passing events Of q travellers
ordinary day. The greatest name in the literature
Of Scotland is Walter Scott. He lived and
hborcd for tventy-six years in the modest three
story, gYaystone house, which is No. 80 Castle-st.
Two days ago it wss' my privilege to enter that
house, and to stand in the room in which Scott
wrote the novel Of "|Waverley." Many years roll
back ward under tho spell Of such experience.
and the gray-haired man Is boy again, with all
the delights Of the Waverlcy Novels before him.
health shining in his eyes, and joy beating in
his heart, as he looks onward through vistas Of
golden light into . paradise Of fadeless flowers
and of happy dreams. The room that
SCOTS study is q small one. on the first floor. at
the back. and is dimly lighted by one large
window, opening eastward through which you