by Mabeuse, recently sent from Hampton Court. In the olden time, many a scene of courtly gaiety has enlivened this hall; among the last balls given were those by Prince Charles Edward in 1745. It is still the place for the election of the representative Peers of Scotland, and for the levées and entertainments given by the Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. In the south side of the quadrangle is the Hall of State, fitted up for the levées of George IV. in 1822; and in the eastern side is the suite of apartments occupied by Charles X. (of France) and his family in 1830-33. Her present Majesty has rescued the Palace from the neglect into which it had fallen, by making it a place of occasional residence during the summer.

ABBEY OF HOLYROODHOUSE,

66

a sair

on the north side of the Palace, was founded in 1128 by David I., a prince whose prodigal liberality to the clergy drew from James VI. the pithy observation that he was sanct for the Crown."* It was bestowed on canons regular of St. Augustine, brought from St. Andrews; hence the name 66 Canongate." The fragment which remains forms the nave of the ancient building, and among the additions of a later age may be traced the original work of the twelfth century. The west front (represented in the accompanying woodcut), although partly the work of different periods, is on the whole in the most beautiful style of Early English, and its sculptured arcade, boldly cut heads, and rich variety of ornament in the doorway, are much admired. The windows above are additions of the time of Charles I. whose initials appear below. The tablet between the windows contains the following inscription : BASILICAM HANC, CAROLUS REX, OPTIMUS IN

* The legend connected with its foundation is as follows:-The pious David, while hunting in the forest of Drumsheuch (where Moray Place now stands), was placed in the utmost peril by the attack of a stag. When defending himself from his assailant, a cross miraculously descended from heaven into his hand, upon seeing which the stag fled in dismay. The sequel is more credible. In a dream which visited the slumbers of the monarch, he was commanded to erect an abbey to commemorate his remarkable preservation; and in obedience to the heavenly mandate, he founded the Abbey of Holyrood House.

STAVRAVIT, 1633. HE SHALL BUILD A HOUSE FOR MY NAME, AND I WILL ESTABLISH THE THRONE OF HIS KINGDOM FOR EVER. It was fitted up by Charles I. as a

chapel royal, that it might serve as a model of the English form of worship, which he was anxious to introduce into Scotland. He was himself crowned in it in 1633. James II. (VII. of Scotland) afterwards turned it into a model of Roman Catholic worship, to equally little purpose. Since the fall of the roof in 1768, it has been a ruin. In the south-east is the Royal Vault in which are deposited the remains of David II., James II., James V. and Magdalen his Queen, Henry Lord Darnley, and other illustrious persons. Riccio's grave is in the passage leading from the quadrangle. The precincts of the Abbey, including Arthur's Seat, are a sanctuary for insolvent debtors. The limit of the privileged territory, on the side next the town, extends to about a hundred yards from the Palace.*

Arthur's Seat, which rises up immediately from Holyrood, is 822 feet high, and one of the most delightful resorts about Edinburgh. The name is supposed to be derived from Arthur, the British prince who, in the end of the sixth century, defeated the Saxons in this neighbourhood; and that of Salisbury Crags, from the Earl of Salisbury, who, in the reign of Edward III., accompanied that prince in an expedition against the Scots-(Whittaker's History, vol. ii. p. 54). It is surrounded by an excellent carriage road, called "The Queen's Drive," formed by the Commissioners of H. M. Woods and Forests. The spot where Jeanie Deans (Heart of Midlothian) is represented to have met with the ruffian Robertson may be seen in ascending the hill, although no remains of the actual cairn are now visible. The ascent of the hill, is neither difficult nor dangerous, and may be made from Holyrood by crossing the Park, and then either taking the footpath leading past the ruins of St. Anthony's Chapel along the summit of Salisbury Crags; or by following the Queen's Drive to Dunsapie Loch (the edge of which is skirted by the road), and which is the point presenting the easiest access to the summit. "The path along the Crags," says Sir Walter Scott, “used to be my favourite evening and morning resort when engaged with a favourite author or new subject of study." The solid and commodious road which has now superseded the winding * In Croftanrigh, a narrow lane close by the Abbey, is a house said to have been occupied by the Regent Murray.

footpath was suggested by Scott's glowing eulogy of the surrounding landscape.

Duddingston Loch and village lie at the foot of the southwest portion of Arthur's Seat. The loch is the favourite resort of skaters and curlers during the winter months. The road in this direction is overhung by a range of porphyritic greenstone columns of a pentagonal or hexagonal form, from 50 to 60 feet in length, and 5 in diameter, called Samson's ribs.

NORTH BRIDGE-TRON CHURCH-SOUTH BRIDGE-THE UNIVERSITYSURGEON'S HALL-GEORGE IV. BRIDGE-GREYFRIARS' CHURCHYARD HERIOT'S HOSPITAL - BRUNTSFIELD LINKS GEORGE SQUARE.

STARTING again from the Register Office, the stranger will now proceed southwards by crossing the North Bridge. This bridge was founded in 1763, and completed in 1769. On the 3d of August in the latter year, the arches of three vaults in the south abutment, in consequence of an error in construction, gave way with a tremendous crash, and filled the whole city with alarm. Five persons were killed by the accident. There is a floating prediction that a similar catastrophe is once more destined to occur. In the spacious area seen immediately below, when looking over the western parapet, the conjunct station of the North British and Edinburgh and Glasgow Railways. The same area also contains the fruit and vegetable markets, and the fish, butcher, and poultry markets are