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neighbouring country, a grand and picturesque object in the landscape, and affords from its environs, and even from every quarter of its interior, views of surrounding scenery, which, in variety and beauty, are perhaps unequalled in any other situation in the world.

The principal streets in the ancient part of the town, with the exception of the Cowgate, which, placed in the hollow betwixt the middle and southern ridge, is narrow and confined, are spacious; and the whole of the New Town, occupying the northern ridge, and the modern part of the Old Town, both chiefly built within the last half century, and forming now the greater part of the city, are remarkable for the grandeur of their streets and the uniform elegance and substantialness of the houses. From the elevated position of the town,—the irregularity of the surface of the surrounding country, and vicinity of the Forth, it is exposed to currents of wind even in the calmest weather; and the numerous lanes, very properly denominated closes, running from the High Street and Canongate, down the sides of the middle ridge of the town, between rows of high and irregular houses, though in appearance confined and ill aired, have frequently a draught of air passing through them. This complete and steady ventilation, and the high situation and declivity of almost all the streets, in a great measure prevent the possibility of dampness, and afford advantages for cleanliness seldom to be found in any other large town

The population of Edinburgh is calculated to be above 80,000 souls; but as it is not a place of trade, or of extensive manufactures, the number of the labouring classes, and of the poor, is small in proportion to that of the middling classes, and of the rich;—among the labouring classes, too, as they are chiefly mechanics employed in supplying the wants of the inhabitants of the town and surrounding country—porters for the use of the town, and labourers employed in the operations of building, and in agriculture in the vicinity, their employment is in general steady; and though they do not obtain the high wages and luxuries sometimes enjoyed by manufacturers, they are not exposed to the same fluctuations in their circumstances, nor to the frequent extremes of poverty and misery, to which the latter are so liable. Amid the universal distress, however, which has prevailed in all parts of the country during the last year, the poor of Edinburgh could not fail to suffer amongst others; but the extent and degree of this suffering has been very materially diminished by the assistance so seasonably afforded by their richer fellow-citizens, by the sums subscribed in order to give them employment. The circumstances in the state of the poor in this town, already mentioned, made it much more possible to render effectual service to those in want than in most other large towns; and there can be no doubt, that the money laid out has afforded the means of employment and subsistence to many who must otherwise have pined in wretchedness and starvation; while, from the mode in which it has been applied, in extending and repairing the walks in the neighbourhood, it must add to the healthfulness and comforts of the city.

There is nothing perhaps in which luxury and comfort have so much increased, within the last fifty years, as in the style of the houses occupied by the different classes of the community. Since the period of the extension of the town, which was begun about the middle of the last century, it has increased much more in extent than in population, and a great and progressive improvement has taken place in the plans of the houses. The lower classes of the community now occupy, as habitations, the apartments on the flats of the lofty houses of the Old Town, which have been deserted by the richer for the more commodious and splendid houses of the modern part of the town. From this circumstance, the artisans and labourers are provided with more substantial and dry habitations than usually fall to the lot of this class; but the height of the stairs, and the number of families residing under each roof, contribute in some degree to occasion that want of cleanliness and neatness which but too generally prevails.

The climate of Edinburgh being very variable, cannot be said to be pleasant, but it is temperate, and is not liable to any continued extremes of heat, or cold, or moisture. The