Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 4.djvu/598

 578 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

If one were to choose a point on the main street near the castle, where he could see the city, old and new, spread out before him, he could read, not merely the chronicle of Edinburgh, but the history of civilization. Such a point has, in fact, been chosen by one of the pioneers in modern sociological investiga- tion and social activity.

As early as 1887 one might walk along the great central artery of Old Edinburgh, and, passing in through a narrow close, enter one of the dingy courts, which give access to the tall build- ings that line this ancient street. Ascending three flights of dark stairs, almost feeling one's way, one might knock at the door which admitted to the apartments of Professor and Mrs. Geddes. After the gloomy climb to step within the well- adorned rooms was a pleasure, but to pass to the windows was to enjoy a scene bewildering, both in its surprise and its charm. The ascent of three flights on the southern side of the build- ing had given one an elevation or eight stories on the north- ern front, on account of the steepness of the hill on which the buildings are located. And the picture framed by this seem- ingly magic casement was of Princes Gardens immediately before the windows, edged with the splendidness of the famed Princes street, lying on the slope which leads down to the Firth of Forth, beyond whose cool and blue waters rise the proud Scottish highlands. This panorama of natural grandeur and beauty, second only to the scene from the castle, is typical, too, of the commanding intellectual survey which is made possible by the effort of Professor Geddes, who here, in 1887, established a university hall.

The beginning of this social work seems to date from the organization in 1886 of a summer meeting, which included in that year only courses in seaside zoology and garden botany. The next year there was added a course in the theory of evolu- tion ; the three following years, in the classes held at Granton Marine Station, near Edinburgh, the attendance continually increasing, botany and zoology continued to be the chief sub- jects of instruction. In 1889 and 1890 the application of the idea of evolution to social as well as biological studies consti-