To most of the great cities in the kingdom the approaches lie through mean and squalid suburbs, by which the stranger is gradually introduced to the more striking streets and public edifices. The avenues to Edinburgh, on the contrary, are lined with streets of a highly respectable class, the abodes of poverty being, for the most part, confined to those gigantic piles of building in the older parts of the borough.

The general architecture of the city is very imposing, whether we regard the picturesque disorder of the buildings in the Old Town, or the symmetrical proportions of the streets and squares in the New. Of the public edifices it may be observed, that while the greater number are distinguished by chaste design and excellent masonry,* there are none of those sumptuous structures which, like St. Paul's or Westminster Abbey, York Minster, and some other of the English provincial cathedrals, astonish the beholder alike by their magnitude and their achitectural splendour. In few cities of the kingdom is the general standard of excellence so well maintained; if there be no edifice to overwhelm the imagination by its magnificence, there are comparatively few to offend taste by their deformity or meanness of design.

The resemblance between Athens and Edinburgh, which has been remarked by most travellers who have visited both

* The Craigleith stone, of which the majority of the buildings of Edinburgh are constructed, is obtained from the carboniferous formation, and is composed of minute grains of quartz, with occasional plates of mica, united by a silicious cement, containing usually about 98 per cent of silica, 1 of carbonate of lime, and 1 of bituminous and other miscellaneous ingredients. The weight of a foot cube of the Craigleith stone is about 146 lbs., and it is stated to resist a crushing weight of 5800 on the inch superficial. Generally speaking, the colour is of a grayish white, and in consequence of the density and the non-absorbent character of the material, it retains a clean appearance for a very long time. The London atmosphere has very little action upon it. (Builder, March 1860.)

capitals, has conferred upon the Scottish metropolis the title of "The Modern Athens." Stuart, author of "The Antiquities of Athens," was the first to draw attention to this resemblance, and his opinion has been confirmed by the testimony of many later writers. Dr. Clarke remarks, that the neighbourhood of Athens is just the Highlands of Scotland enriched with the splendid remains of art; and Mr. W. H. Williams observes that the distant view of Athens from the Ægean Sea, is extremely like that of Edinburgh from the Firth of Forth, "though certainly the latter is considerably superior."

The natural or artificial beauties of the place, however, are not its only attractions. Many of its localities teem with the recollections of the past, and are associated with events of deep historical importance; others have been invested with an interest no less engrossing by the transcendent genius of Sir Walter Scott, whose novels have not only refreshed and embellished the incidents of history, but have conferred on many a spot, formerly unknown to fame, a reputation as enduring as the annals of history itself.

In literary eminence, the University of Edinburgh claims a distinguished place. At the commencement of the present century it displayed an array of contemporaneous talent unequalled before by any similar institution; and we have only to remind our readers of the names of Robertson, Playfair, Leslie, Black, Cullen, Robison, Blair, Dugald Stewart, Brown, Gregory, and Munro, to vindicate this assertion. This high status has been honourably maintained by their successors among whom are numbered some of the most distinguished men of modern times.

In 1755, it had increased to The population of the city according to the decennial

The population of Edinburgh and Leith, at the Union in 1707, was estimated at 35,000. 57,195; and in 1775, to 70,430. and suburbs, exclusive of Leith, census since 1801, has been-in 1801, 66,544; in 1811, 81,784; in 1821, 112,235; in 1831, 136,301; in 1841, 138,182; and in 1851, 166,511. Including Leith (which is virtually a part of Edinburgh), the population is 193,929.

The prosperity of the city depends much upon its College and Schools, and still more essentially upon the Courts of Judicature. The former attract many strangers who desire to

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secure for their families a liberal education at a moderate expense; the latter afford employment for the gentlemen of the legal profession, whose number may be said to form at least one-third of the population in the higher and middle ranks of society.*

As it has no very extensive manufactures, the city is exempt from those sudden mercantile convulsions productive of so much misery in many other of the great towns of the kingdom. Printing and publishing are carried on to a considerable extent, and in this department of industry, Edinburgh is second only to London, many of the most valuable and popular works of the age emanating from the Edinburgh press. Paper is manufactured to a large extent in the neighbourhood, and many of the mills are within a few miles of the city.

The climate of Edinburgh, although it cannot be called mild or genial, is yet eminently salubrious; and favourable, not only to longevity, but to the development of the mental and physical powers. Its mean temperature is about 49° Fahr. and the annual quantity of rain is moderate, compared with the fall upon the western coast; for while the average in Edinburgh is 24.55, in Glasgow it is about 29.65. The violent winds to which the city is exposed by its elevated situation, are by no means unfavourable to general health, as they carry the benefit of a thorough ventilation into the close-built lanes and alleys of the Old Town.

* The family of Lawyers may be divided into the following classes :-The first class consists of thirteen Judges of the Court of Session, generally styled LORDS OF SESSION. The ADVOCATES (Barristers) form the second class, and they possess the privilege of pleading before every Court in Scotland, and also in Scotch appeals before the House of Lords. The next class consists of the WRITERS TO THE SIGNET, who are in many respects similar to the English Attorneys or Solicitors; they are the oldest, most numerous, and most wealthy body of law practitioners in Scotland. The SOLICITORS BEFORE THE SUPREME COURTS, and ADVOCATES' FIRST CLERKS, form a section of this class; and these three classes, along with certain functionaries connected with the Court, form the College of Justice. The SOLICITORS-AT-LAW (who practise before the inferior courts), and the ACCOUNTANTS, are also included in the family of Lawyers.

Blackwood's Magazine, the North British Review, the Journal of Agriculture, the Philosophical Journal, Chambers' Journal, Good Words, etc., are some of the more important periodical publications. Chambers' Journal is deserving of notice as being the first and most extensively circulated of the periodicals of its class.

The markets are liberally supplied with all the necessaries and luxuries of the table. White fish is more especially abundant, cod, haddocks, and, at certain seasons, herrings, being sold at a very low price. Coal of good quality is found in the immediate neighbourhood of the city; and the supply of water is abundant, and of the best quality. Upon the whole, it would be difficult to name a city which unites so many social advantages, and where a person of cultivated mind and moderate fortune could pass his time more agreeably.

The most convenient mode of imparting information to strangers, is to select particular districts of the city to be perambulated, describing the objects of interest on the way. With this view, we shall visit all the more important public buildings and institutions in four successive walks, adding in notes such collateral or subordinate information as may appear necessary to convey a more accurate idea of the city and its institutions, as well as other matter which may tend to enliven the dulness of topographical details.

FIRST WALK.

PRINCES STREET-SCOTT MONUMENT-ROYAL INSTITUTION--NATIONAL GALLERY-REGISTER OFFICE AND CALTON HILL.

PRINCES STREET

is the principal street of Edinburgh, and the one in which most of the hotels are situated. It is a mile in length, quite straight, and with a southerly exposure, and is separated from the old town by extensive pleasure grounds which sweep round the base of the Castle, and cover the valley originally occupied by a stagnant marsh called the Nor' Loch.

The East Princes Street Gardens were recently acquired by the town, and, under the superintendence of the city architect, have been tastefully laid out for the benefit of the public. Their principal attraction is the elegant Monument erected to the memory of Sir Walter Scott, which was designed by George M. Kemp, an architect little known to fame, and who died