A VISIT TO EDINBURGH.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2292, 22 July 1880, Page 2

A VISIT TO EDINBURGH.

(uv YOU KG TIJUKU.) I left London (Kings Cross station) at 10.30 a.m. on September 30th 1879, by the Express train for Edinburgh arrived at York at 3.5 p.m. whore we stayed twenty minutes for lunch, and I managed to get outside of the leg of a turkey and several other good things before we were ordered to take our seats. At 9 p.m. I was safely lauded in Edinburgh, hired a cab and at once repaired to the “ Waverley Hotel,” had a good supper, afterwards a short stroll clown Princess and then retired to “Blanket bay” and enjoyed Nature’s sweet restorer, “ balmy sleep” and slept in blissful dreams away, and visions of the eternal day. Breakfasted the next morning at 10 o’clock hired a cab for the whole day and visited the principal sights and places of interest in the city. First visited Burns’ monument in

Begent road ; it contains a number of interesting letters of the poet, an excellent bust of him by William Broaclie, and numerous relics viz., the knife and fork he used &c., Next visited Holyrood Palace and Chapel, The following is (he order of procedure. The picture gallery, Lord Darnley’s Booms. Tapestry Booms. Queen Mary’s apartment. The Chapel Boyal. picture Gallery. The largest apartment in the Palace measures 150 feet long, by 29 broad. Upon the walls are hung De Witt’s fanciful potraits of 106 Scottish Kings. The Tapestry Boom contains two large pieces of ancient tapestry, portraits of James, fourth Duke of Hamilton, and others. Queen Mary’s apartments are certainly the most interesting in the Palace, and remain nearly in the same state as when last occupied by the unhappy Princess ; the order of procedure is—l. Private supping-room ; 2. Dressing-room; 3. Bed-room ; 4. Audience Chamber ; 5. Bed of Charles I. ; 6. Place where Bizzio was found ; 7. Stair by which the conspirators entered. Through all these rooms and in fact all over the Palace you are conducted by a guide who gives you every information. The roof of Queen Mary’s bed-room is divided into panels on which are painted various initials and coats-of-arms. In one side of the room is the door of the secret passage by which the conspirators entered, and adjoining is the cabinet or closet where they found their victim Bizzio. He was dragged out from this to the door of the Audience Chamber, where he was finally despatched, and the exact spot where the body lay is identified b} r marks of blood still visible. Youthen proceed to the Chapel Boyal which is a fragment of the ancient sanetury. It was litted up bjr Charles I. as a chapel ro\ r al that it might serve as a model of the English form of worship which he was anxious to introduce into Scotland. Ho was himself crowned in it in 1633. Since the fall of the roof in 1768 it has been a ruin. In the south-east corner of the building is the Boyal vault, in which arc deposited the remains of David 11., James 11., James Y. and Magdalen his Queen, Henry, Lord Darnlcy, and other illustrious persons. Bizzio’s grave is in the passage leading from the quadrangle. Arthurs Seat which rises up immediately from Holyrood, is 822 feet in height, and one of the most delightful resorts about Edinburgh. It is surrounded by the Queen’s Drive an excellent carriage road around which I had the pleasure of riding. I next visited the Boyal College of Surgeons or Surgeons Museum which is considered one of the best of its kind in the world. I also paid a Hying visit to the University of Edinburgh. The library was the only portion of the building which I was privileged to view, as all the other rooms were being thoroughly renovated and cleaned during vacation. The library contains 133,000 printed books, and above 700 volumes of M.S.S. many of which arc of great interest. Banged along each side of the immense room (which is 108 x 50) arc marble busts of Professors of the University. I now ordered cabby to drive me to Edinburgh Castle. The principal objects of interest arc : The Begalia of Scotland, viz., a crown, a sceptre, and a sword of State, which arc carefully preserved in a small room. Along with them is also shown the Lord Treasurer’s rod of olllcc, found deposited in the same strong oak chest in which the Begalia were discovered in 1818, exactly as they had been in 170/, after the ratification of the Treaty of Union. On the ground flour of the castle is a a small apartment, Queen Mary’s room where she gave birth to James YL, an event commemorated (he inwrought initials H. and W. ; and the date, 1566 over the doorway. The room is small and irregular in form. Almost adjoining is Queen Margaret’s Chapel, which is more than 800 years old. Close by, on the Bomb Battery, is “ Mens Meg,” a gigantic piece of artillery, made at Mons Brittany, in 1176. It is coopered of thick iron bars hooped together, and is about 20 inches in diameter in the bore. The inscription on the carriage on which it is mounted states that it was employed at the siege of Porham Castle, in 1513. Prom Edinburgh Castle, you have a beautiful view of the city. I also visited the Parliamentary Buildings, Museum of Science and Arts, St. Giles’ Church,and finished up with a drive round the city. Saturday, 29.—Left Edinbugh by the 10.30 a.m. train for Melrose, a distance of 37 miles, arrived at 11.40, and at once repaired to Melrose Abbey. Melrose is situated at the base of the Eildon Hills, in the valley of the Tweed. The village is one of neat and clean appearance, and takes its name from the Abbey, one of the finest remains of Gothic architecture in Scotland. Within the Abbey lie the remains of many a gallant warrior and venerable priest. The Abbey was founded by David I. in 1136, but the building was not completed until 1146, when it was dedicated to the Yirgin Mary, After surveying the Abbey, I walked to Dryburgh Abbey, a distance of two miles from Melrose. Dryburgh Abbey was founded iu 1150, destroyed by Edward 11. iu 1322, and restored again by Bruce. Again destroyed bj r the English in 1544, and restored by James YL There arc a great many buried within its walls, amongst whom are Sir Walter Scott, his wife and son., Beturned to Edinburgh by the 7.30 train, having thoroughly cnjoj'ed my day’s ramble. Sunday, 30. —Breakfast early, then walked to Leith (the seaport town of Edinburgh), a distance of two miles, went on board the Lord Mar, for an excursion to Bass Bock, which is twenty miles from Leith ; it is interesting, as containing the ruins of an ancient fortress, latterly used as a State prison by the Government, where were confined many of the Covenanters. Its tremendous cliffs afford a home for immense varieties and numbers of wild fowl. There were about 200 passengers and the weather being delightfully line, the trip proved an enjoyable one, wc arrived at Leith at 4.30 p.m., returnticket onl\ r eighteen pence saloon, or a shilling steerage. In the evening I went to the Established Church of Scotland, and heard a capital sermon from the Bov. Mr Somebody, text 4th chapter of—l’ve forgotten what, and the third verse. On my way home I heard parts of three open air services. On Monday, October 1, went to Leith by rail on a visit to the mills of Messrs Gibson and Walker, to whom I had a letter of introduction from a friend in London. The whole of the premises, including, offices stands on 4.V acres of land, besides wheat they manufacture, peas, barley, and pearl barley ; thirtyfive pair of stones, eight boilers, and eight engines, four rooms, with two engines iu each, workiu side by side,

one high the other I>w pressure. The two largest rooms have beam, the remaining live horizontal engines. The stones are all lit. 6in. in diameter, and they drive them on an average 130 revolutions in a minute. They put all their wheat through rollers before it goes into the stones, and put the meal through a wire dresser to take the rough bran out before it goes into the silk-dressers. They have a large number of silk dressers all arranged side by side on one floor, they work on a level with an interna! screw to carry the meal along. This property is valued at £IIO,OOO, and they employ, when in full swing, 150 hands. It took me just two hours to walkthrough the various compartments with the chief engineer. If I had been a mechanic I might have picked up a wrinkle or two, but as I am not, consequently I am not much the wiser ; but it is really wonderful the perfection that milling can be brought to. From two till three in the afternoon I was at the National Gallery; afterwards went to Newhaven by ’bus ; returned to the Botanical Gardens, which are mid-way between Newhaven and Edinburgh. The Gardens embrace an extent of acres, including an arboretum, herbarium, and Winter Garden, The palm house is 100 feet in length, 57 in breadth, and 70 in height, and contains some very magnificent palms. In the evening I went to a grand concert at the Music Hall. The building, which is very large, was crowded to excess. The great attraction was the world - renowned Sims Beeves, who sang “Good-bye Sweetheart, Goodbye,” and several other well-known songs. Mr Beeves and Mr Santley rendered the duct “All’s Well” and it fairly brought down the house. The lady celebrities were Mrs Osgood and Miss Orridgo. The concert was a grand success, and I felt heartily sorry when it came to an end, as such talent cannot be heard very often. I was very much pleased with Edinburgh, it is indeed a beautiful city, the streets arc very wide and regular, and so thoroughly clean ; the buildings are distinguished by chaste design and excellent masonry, some of them being 12 stories high, most of them are seven and eight stories. At the Wavcrly Hotel, I slept in bedroom No. 90, and hud to ascend seven flights of stairs. The length and breadth of Edinburgh are nearly equal, measuring about 2 miles iu caeh direction ; the site upon which it is built is most striking, and the views obtained from any elevated point are charming ; the view from Arthur’s scat is truly magnificent.