Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 06.djvu/744

* EDINBURGH. 646 EDINBURGH. Beet the Old Town — High Street, which is knovn throiigliout its length by five dillerent names, viz.. Castle Hill, Lawnniarket, llisli Street, Netherbow, and Canongato; and Cowgate. The Castle, which stands on the site of a struc- ture built early in the seventh century by ICdwin, King of Northuuibria, occupies a rocky eminence 300 feet above the valley, and is accessible only on its eastern side. The present edifice dates from the fourteenth century. It has frequently served both as a place of residence and a prison for the Scottish kings. It was here that Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to her son James. In the so-called crown-room are kept the crown regalia, known as the Honours of Scotland. Holyrood Palace (q.v. ) had its origin in an abbey founded by David I. in the twelfth cen- tury. It subsequently became the favorite resi- dence of the Scotch monarchs, and was the scene of some of the tragic events in the life of Mary, Queen of Scots. Among the other notable features of the Old Town are the parish church of Saint Giles, the present edifice dat- ing from the fourteenth century, with a hand- some lantern spire, the burial-place of the Marquis of Montrose and the scene of the signing of the Solemn league and Covenant; the old Tron Church, the house occupied for a num- ber of years by the great reformer, .lohn Knox; Parliament House, formerly the meeting-place of the Scottish Parliament, but utilized since the Union as the seat of the Supreme Courts and containing the Advocates' Library, with over 48.5,000 volumes, the largest in Scotland and one of the five in the United Kingdom entitled to a copy of every book published in the king- dom. It also contains the Signet Library (G5,- 000 volumes). The churchyard of Canongate Church is the burial-place of Dugald Stewart, Robert Fergusson. and Adam Smith, and Grey- friars' Churchyard contains the tombs of George Buchanan, Allan Ramsay, and Robertson, the historian. The chief thoroughfare of the New Town is Princes Street, which skirts the ravine separat- ing the two towns, and commands for its entire length an excellent view of the picturesque Old Town. In the eastern gardens facing Princes Street stands the Scoft Jloniiment, and at the easterly end of the street stand the PostOlhce and Register House, the latter being the reposi- tory for all title deeds and iniblie records. Above these buildings rises the Calton Hill to a height of about 355 feet above the sea-level, crowned by the Royal Observatory, Xelson Monu- ment, and Xational 'Monument. It commands a magnificent panorama, only excelled by that ob- tained from Arthur's Seat, which rises to a height of over 800 feet behind Holyrood. .t the foot of Calton is the old Calton burial-ground, which contains the grave of David Hume, the philoso- pher ilnd historian. Edinburgh is governed by a city council, which elects from its own members a lord provost, a city treasurer, and seven bailies, who constitute the civil magistracy. The Dean of Guild is elected to the council by the Guild Brethren. The city sends four representatives to Parliament. In the matter of municipal under- takings Edinburgh has been most active. Its water and gas supplies are managed by a joint commission with Leith. Since I SOS it has suc- cessfully operated an electric-light plant at a substantial annual profit. It also owas its street-railway lines, which, however, are oper- ated by a private company at a rental of about 7 per cent, of the capital outlay. The traction- power is mostly cable. Baths, a public laundry, cemeteries, markets, and slaughter-houses are maintained by the corporation, and a consider- able sum is exjiended annually in aid of tech- nical education and for the maintenance of pub- lic libraries, I'ollowing the lead of its sister city tJlasgow, Edinburgh has undertaken nu- merous schemes for the better housing of its working classes, and has erected several blocks of dwelling-houses, which are let in fiats at an exceedingly low rental. The city's system of sewerage has been much improved, and now has four separate outlets into the sea. Its garbage is disposed of in destructors or sold for fertiliz- ing purposes. Ediiiliurgh has long borne an enviable reputation as an educational centre. .t the head of its institutions of learning stand* the university (q.v.). Other prominent ediu'a- tional institutions are the Heriot-Watt College: Heriot's Hospital, founded by a bequest of (jcorge Heriot, the jeweler of James ^'I.; Don- aldson's Hospital, Gillespie's Hospital, the Merchant Company's Schools, the high school and Eettes College, the last-named being mod- eled on the plan of Rugby and Eton. The Royal Infirmary, consisting of a series of detached buildings in the Scottish baronial style, cost in the neighborhood of .$2,000,000, and is consid- ered one of the most excellently equipped insti- tutions of its kind in Europe. There are nu- merous |)arks and recreation grounds, including Queen's Park of nearly 700 acres, the Meadows, the Links, and Braid Hills. Edinburgh is not an important manufacturing town: it. liowcver. derives considerable cimimer- cial importance from its various banks and in- surance offices. The principal industries are brewing (two-thirds of all the ale or beer brewed in Scotland being made in or near Edinburgh), printing and publishing with the kindred arts, distilling, iron-founding, tanning, and coach-building, manufacture of articles in india-rubber, of house furniture, and of jewelry, and the rearing of young trees in nurseries in and around the town, for which the climate is favorable. Edinl)urgh is the ])Iace of residence of consid- erable numbers of the Scottish landed gentry, and its society is regarded as unusually polished from the predominance of the professional aiul literary elements in its composition. This arise* from its status as a university town, and from the presence of the Supreme Law Courts of Scotland. The picturesque and commanding sit- uation of the city, eomliined with its literary fame, has acquired for it the name of the 'Modern Athens.' The seaport of Leith is contiguous to Edinburgh. The climate is healthful, the mean temperature averaging 48° Fahr., with an average rainfall of about 27 inches. Population, royal and municipal bnrough, 1!)01, 310,470. Edinburgh is sujiposed to have sprung lip round the castle built in the seventh century by Edwin. King of Xorthumbria (Eadwin'* bnrgh). It quickly grew to be a jilacc of im- portance, and in the eleventh century was a royal residence, .round the .bbey of Holyrood (q.v.), which David I. founiled in 1128. rose the town of Canongate, later annexed to old Edin-