Page. :TTER XXXVII.-Richmond-Strawberry Hill-Horace Walpole-Deptford-Greenwich Hospital-View from the Observatory--Rural life in England-Irving's misrepresentations-American peasantry-England and the United States compared, -XXXVIII.—Are the English an intelligent people-Dif- -XL.-Bath--Smollett's satirical observations- -XLI.-Concourse at London-Fashionable season- -XLII.-Gothic Structures-Westminster Abbey- XLIV.-Manners of Sovereigns-Instances of their 45 55 66 73 80 86 98 106 LETTER XLV.-A Day in London--Street population-Shop keepers-Dinner Parties-Evening PartyNight-Tea Gardens-Cellars-Drunkards -Robberies-Suicide-Beggars, Page -XLVI.-Periodical works-North American Review -XLVII.-House of Commons-Reporters-Taxes- -XLVIII.-High and Low Classes-Happiness of the Gaming, -XLIX.-Old Bailey-Capital Punishments-Dread of -L.-Women-their Influence on Society-Parallel between English and French LadiesSociety-Old Maids and Gossips-Drums and Routs-Love-Marriages, -LI.-The Theatre-Eulogy of the Drama-Rise and Progress of the English Stage-Fluctuations of Dramatic Genius-Splendid Illumination of the Theatres-Behaviour of the Audience-Melo drama-Kean-YoungMiss O'Neill-Immorality of the English Comedy-Comic Actors--Munden-Ellis ton-Jones-Liston-Dowton-Ch. Kemble-Miss Kelly-Miss Foote-Miss Stephens-Crowd at the Doors-Mathews' Country Cousins, -LII-The Coronation, 114 128 134 142 151 159 175 195 ar FRANKLIN'S LETTERS ΤΟ HIS KINSFOLK. LETTER I. Edina! Scotia's darling seat! Edinburgh, November 9, 1818. On my first entering this city, I was struck with the remarkable contrast between the Old and New Town. The old part of Edinburgh appears to be "blasted with antiquity"-whereas the New Town is really elegant-the houses are all regular, and many of them magnificent; the streets are spacious and extremely well paved, and the public squares would not disparage any city in the world. When I walk in the deep valley of the North Loch, in a dark night, my imagination sometimes transports me into those gloomy forests described in the Arabian Tales, and the lofty edifices at a distance, give me the idea of those fairy enchanted palaces, which spring up before the benighted traveller, and invite him to satisfy his hunger and curiosity. Edinburgh is a city of palaces. The natural grandeur of her situation has excited a kindred enthusiasm in her artists; the spirit of improvement is abroad, and calls forth the productions of architecture and sculpture: the romantic edifices of the old town, and the open and airy splendour of the new, associate with the magnificent scenery of the environs, and make "Auld Reekie" the wonder of Europe. Previous to 1763, a lake separated the New from the Old Town of Edinburgh. In that year, the North Loch was drained, and the mud removed. At present it has the appearance of a valley, in which there are a few scattered buildings. A mound and a bridge communicate between the Old and New Town, and stretch over the Loch. The coup-d'œil from the bridge, in a fine starry evening is extremely magnificent. The depth and darkness of the valley prevent you from seeing the houses and other objects in the Loch, and you discern nothing but the lights which glimmer in the windows. You fancy that a real lake floats before you, and that her "mirror blue" reflects the starry host with which the firmament is spangled. The amazing height of the houses in the Old Town of Edinburgh,* attracted my ob "The extraordinary height of the houses was marked by lights, which, glimmering irregularly along their front, ascended so high among the attics, that they seemed at length to twinkle in the middle sky." Guy Mannering. ervation, as soon as I commenced my walks through the city. Many of them are 13 stories high, not to mention the ground floor! In a cloudy day (that is, almost every day!) the tops of the houses appear at a distance to be confounded with the firmament, and the clouds are seen rolling over their roofs. At night, the view of these elevated buildings, when the numberless windows are illuminated, is extremely beautiful. Opposite to High street, in which these high houses are situated, and on the other side of the Loch, is Princes street, which is the emporium of fashion and elegance. The buildings are all new, constructed of a beautiful gray stone, and arranged with the utmost symmetry. The shops are not inferior to the most splendid magazines of fashion in Bond street, and the hotels are the dearest and the most elegant in Scotland. This long street presents a delightful prospect when illuminated with gas at night. The extensive range of lighted candles, and the brilliant effect of the gas, with the rich and vivid colours in the druggists' windows, produce one of the most magnificent prospects that I ever beheld, and give an idea of "th' immortal lights that live along the sky." I had not been long in the " Athens of the North," as Edinburgh is gratuitously termed, before I was made sensible of a certain Presbyterian stiffness in the manners of its inhabitants. I was immediately struck with the fu |