tisement of a vile newspaper, that of some religious book; instead of notices of auctions, or the sailing of steamers, those of the meetings of some religious body.

The construction of the houses differs greatly from ours. In the new town the mansions of the wealthy nobles are sumptuous palaces, built of beautifully cut stone, and very large; in the suburbs are smaller houses, occupied by the wealthier class of business men; but the construction of the houses in which the great bulk of the merchants, lawyers, literary men, &c., reside, are essentially different from both. These buildings, which are built of stone, are often from seventy-five to one hundred feet front, by perhaps one hundred and fifty feet in depth. An entry goes back to the centre of the house, from which a circular stone stair ascends to the uppermost story. The houses generally consist of four or five stories. At the landing place on each story one door leads to the right, and another to the left. You enter the one to the right, and find a complete house, consisting of a dining-room, drawing-room, several bed-rooms, kitchen, pantries, &c., all on one floor. You take the door to the left, and you find the

same thing; so that there are in fact for all practical purposes two complete and distinct houses on each floor. Sometimes these buildings are owned by one individual, and let out to the different tenants; but it not unfrequently happens that each householder owns the premises he occupies, and there are thus often eight property holders in one building. The stair leading up to all these different dwellings is lighted by a skylight at the top during the day, and by gas at night. The introduction of gas is much more general than in New York. Scarcely a house, office, shop, or store, either in cities or country towns, but is lighted with it.

On the summit of an abrupt and rocky hill overlooking the city stands Edinburgh Castleone of the strongholds of Scotland, and, before the discovery of gunpowder, considered impregnable. It can be approached only from one side, the remaining three sides being very precipitous; some parts, it has been observed by a wit, being more than perpendicular. Its elevation is about three hundred and eighty-three feet above the level of the sea. It contains accommodations for two thousand soldiers, and its armory affords space for

thirty thousand stands of arms. Having procured an order from the Lord Provost to see the Regalia, (which are here deposited,) I proceeded one fine morning to examine this celebrated fortress. After ascending the hill and passing through the massive gateway into the interior, I was shown a small room, resembling a vault or cave, built in the wall, which is of great thickness, where these emblems of Scottish royalty are kept. This room is lighted with gas. A white marble table stands in the centre, covered with a velvet cushionupon this lie the crown, the sceptre, and the sword of state. The crown is the same which Bruce wore when he delivered his country from the thraldom of the English, and it graced the brow of every Scottish monarch, from that period till the union of the two kingdoms. They are less splendid than the Regalia of England, but much more ancient, and possessed of far greater historical interest. They were concealed in a large oaken chest, which still stands in this room, for one hundred and seventeen years; the room having been built up, it was supposed to be a part of the wall, and the existence of these ancient relics was unknown for that period, until dis

covered by Sir Walter Scott in 1817. I was next shown the room in which James the Sixth was born. It is a very small bedroom, curiously painted, from the window of which he was let down in a basket when only eight days old. The following prayer is said to have been offered by his mother, Queen Mary, at the time :—

"Lord Jesus Christ, that crownit was with thorns,
Preserve the birth quhais badjie heir is borne,
And send her some successione to reign still
Long in this realm, if that it be thy will.
Also grant, O Lord, whatever of heir prosseed,
Be to thy glory, honor, and prais sobeid."

On the parapet of the Castle stands the famous "Mons Meg." This monster gun is like a barrel, made with staves of iron, very thick, and bound together by prodigious hoops of the same material. It was made at Mons, in 1486, was at the siege of Norham Castle in 1497, was sent to the Tower of London in 1754, and returned to Scotland in 1829. The armory contains a great many curiosities, such as Rob Roy's dirk, the Black Douglas' coat of mail, a spear from Culloden, &c., also a large quantity of guns, most of which were trophies taken from the French. The view from the Castle

wall is very extensive, both of the city and the

adjacent country.

The city arms of Edinburgh consists of the castle, guarded by a woman and a hind, with a Latin motto, expressing the sentiment of the Psalm, "Unless the Lord keep the city, the watchmen watch in vain."

The Advocates' Library, the finest collection of books in Scotland, contains 150,000 volumes and 1700 MSS. Room after room is filled with the choicest books, most of which are in elegant binding. In one of these rooms hangs suspended from the wall, in a gilt frame, the original of the Solemn League and Covenant, written on parchment. It is perfectly square, about twenty-two inches each way. It seems to have been neglected for some time, as it is very dirty. The penmanship is beautiful; the lines, although of great length, are perfectly straight and regular. The writing occupies about one-half of the surface, and the signatures, which are very irregular, some of them written in blood, the other half. At the sight of that venerable document, I felt transported to covenanting days, when religion was not a matter of custom or fashion.