Слике страница
PDF
ePub
[blocks in formation]

THE utility of periodical publications, of a miscellaneous nature, has been long acknowledged. But on the commencement of a new work of this description, some explanation of the nature and design of the undertaking is usually expected.

AP 4

E255

no. 1-11

PRICE 1S.

periods, it is hoped, will afford ample gratification to that eager spirit of inquiry for which our countrymen are distinguished, and will be peculiarly adapted to the conveniency of a numerous class of readers.

Considering how rarely it happens that the premature With the return of the arts of Peace, men are naturally promises of excellence which are usually held out in the led into the calmer pursuits of life; and those hours which commencement of a new undertaking are fulfilled, the were daily passed in anxious anticipations on the mighty conductors of the EDINBURGH OBSERVER are desirous events which lately arrested the attention of the world, of appealing to the judgment of the Public, by a reference or in reflections on the triumphs and disappointments of to the work itself, rather than of anticipating confidence military operations, must now be devoted to less splendid, by the display of an elaborate and ingenious plan which but more useful objects. The great number of new pe- may never be fully executed; and for the same reason, riodical journals which have been lately instituted in Eu- they have been now more anxious to exhibit, by attemptrope, is not less a proof of the remarkable change thating a judicious variety of selection, an exemplification of has taken place in the condition and feelings of mankind, than an indication of an increased desire of knowledge, and a pleasing presage of the progressive improvement of human society. Single sheets and Magazines, whose pages are occupied with matter of a miscellaneous and less fu gitive kind than what generally finds a place in most Newspapers, have now a wide circulation: a publication once a fortnight has been greatly encouraged in several provincial towns of England, and one which is to appear at similar intervals has been announced at Rome.

[blocks in formation]

the plan to be pursued, than by a strained effort to gain a character by the publication of a single Number. If assiduity and industry be essential to success, whatever may be its other merits, the Edinburgh Observer will not fail in securing some portion of the countenance and approbation of the public.

Politics form no essential part of the plan now pro-~ posed; but it is a subject which will not altogether escapeattention. An impartial detail of facts shall be our first object; and our sentiments shall never be concealed under the affected guise of impartiality, which is too often a dark covering to insidious designs and opinions of which prudence forbids the open avowal: we have no hesitation, at the commencement, in declaring our attachment to the constitution of our country, and our desire to fix on the minds of our fellow-citizens a deep impression of the inestimable blessings which it affords.

|| greatest of any bridge in the kingdom. The following account of it was furnished by the Architect:

The extreme length, from the point of suspension, is 261 feet; the breadth, at the ends, 64 feet; the centre five feet; the object of which is to prevent oscillation, The bearing or horizontal chains

are made of inch diameter finest low moor iron, in links of about 17 feet long: the chains are secured to four logs of wood 14 inches

A CHAIN bridge is just finished at Dryburgh, which has been erected at the expense of the Earl of Buchan, for the convenience of foot passengers, across the river Tweed. The appearance of this bridge is uncommonly light and elegant, and, connected with the fine scenery of Dry-square, built in the large stone abutments; these logs are placed burgh, it is beautiful and interesting. It consists of a platform of wood, supported by chains suspended from pillars on each side of the river, at the height of eighteen feet above low water, and has no support under it. The passage is easy and level, and has very little vibration. The span between the two points of suspension is the

15 feet distant from each other, in order that the angle stay chains,

secured by strong two inch screws, fixed on the top, at the height of 35 feet above the horizontal level of the bridge, may act, so as

not only to prevent oscillation, but to suspend the bridge. Over the horizontal chains, which are screwed up nine inches above the level in the centre, are placed nine-inch by three planks, set on edge, grooved in the under edge, to admit the chains: these planks

A

[blocks in formation]

are stayed together at proper lengths, by screw bolts across : on these planks are laid boards, two inches thick, forming the roadway: each board is shifted six inches, so as to form a block cornice at the ends, which serves as an ornament; and a small space is left between each board, to allow the rain water to pass through. A trussed parapet railing, well secured to the planks on each side, not planks o

[13th Sept. 1817.

only serves for the security of passengers, but contributes to the strength of the bridge.

The bridge is 18 feet above the level of the water: and as the greatest rise of the Tweed at this place was never known to exceed 13 feet, it must, exclusive of the advantages of the want of piers, 6, well accured to the chain Bridge over the Tweed at Dryburgh. be perfectly secure from the effects of the river. perfectly the effects of the river.

[graphic]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small]

Walks in Edinburgh and its Vicinity.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE EDINBURGH OBSERVER.

APPROVING, as I most cordially do, of the plan of your publication, which I think must be highly acceptable to a numerous class of readers, I shall be glad to contribute occasionally to their amusement or instruction, if, with this view, my remarks on the recent improvements, the antiquities, natural history, or other topics, as they sug-I gest themselves to my observation, shall be deemed worthy of a place in your Miscellany; and with your permission they may be introduced under the above title, but, at the same time, I do not promise to observe any strict methodical arrangement. As my walks are often of a rambling nature, my reflections will probably appear unconnected and desultory.

The view which has lately been opened up, by the removal of the houses on the east-side of Shakespeare Square, has attracted very general notice. In place of the abrupt and awkward termination of Princes-street at this busy spot, we shall have now a continuation of the same line forming the principal access into the city. The approach by the great London road is at present by the irregular and narrow course of Abbey-hill and Canongate, or by the circuitous route of Leith; but now a direct communication is effected between Musselburgh, Portobello, and the environs on the east and the centre of the city. I scarcely know which to admire most, the original conception of this magnificent design, or the promptness and ability with which it has been carried into execution. To connect Princes-street by means of a bridge with the Calton-hill, and cut down part of the lat

ter, so as to form a commodious road, which would at once be more direct and more level than any other, is a project which must appear altogether visionary to a native, who, for the first time, hears any thing of the proposal.But the enormous sum of £.25,000, which is to be paid for the feu of seven houses in the vicinity of the bridge, sufficiently bespeaks the value of the improvement; and as these houses are to be finished in about twelve months, presume it is expected that the entire line of road will be completed before the expiration of that period.

The gates of the new prison, I understand, are to be opened on Monday first, for the reception of its unfortunate inhabitants. As on every other topic of a public nature, the situation, design, and other circumstances connected with this edifice, have been the subject of great diversity of opinion; but on some points, I think, all must agree, and particularly with regard to the elegant simplicity of the structure, and the admirable internal arrangements, so well calculated for the security and comforts of those whom depravity or misfortune has destined to occupy its cells. For all this they are indebted to the anxious care of Sir William Rae, sheriff of the county, who was at the greatest pains in collecting information on the subject, and, if I do not mistake, formed the design from personal inspection of the chief prisons in England.

On approaching the prison at this time, one is struck with astonishment at the depth of rock which has been cut through, and at the comparative facility with which this arduous work has been accomplished. The elevated part, which was occupied as a burying ground, presented the greatest difficulty; for here the rock is from fifteen

[ocr errors]

13th Sept. 1817,]

[ocr errors]

Letters from Edinburgh on Men and Manners.

3

Indulging in the reflections which the contemplation of such scenes naturally inspire, I perceived two of the grave-diggers, who were resting on their spades, as if waiting for orders to proceed in their calling. I observed to them, that I supposed this had been a busy season with them: they admitted that it had been tolerably so, especially among the young, on account of the prevalence of those diseases to which childhood is particularly liable. Curiosity led me to make some enquiry about the state in which the bodies were found which had been removed. One gentleman, I was informed, who had taken an active part in opposing the line of road, attended one morning early, to witness the removal of two near relatives to a spot some hundred feet distant; and although the bodies had been seven years in the grave, the coffins were still entire! On observing that this was a circumstance which must have been very consolatory to the feelings of the gentleman on such a melancholy occasion, they emphatically added, and to us too, Sir. Though it is probable that the warmth of sympathy has been long extinguished in the breast of

5-23-19 to twenty feet above the level of the road. On removing the soil, several graves were found sunk down into the rock itself, a narrow bed having been excavated by the operation of mining. It is not easy to describe the feelings with which an observer must contemplate this scene; The mutability of human life is a subject familiar to every one, but of all those whose ashes were consigned to this spot, I believe no one could have doubted, that the asylum which he had found in such a place, would have been equally permanent with the world itself:that the foundation of these rocky cells should only give way to some grand convulsion of nature, must have been the conviction of every one who had ever seen them laid open, and had allowed a single reflection on the subject to occupy his thoughts. A clergyman, whose remains are deposited here, seems to have secured, as far as human foresight could reach, an undisturbed possession: on a large flat stone is recorded, that the person underneath had left a bursary to the College of Edinburgh, burdened with a feu-duty of one penny for his grave, and the expence of keeping the stone in repair! Such is the vanity and uncertainty of our best and wisest calcu· lations. But while we cannot avoid thinking, with pain and regret, on this violation of the sanctuary of the dead, we must readily admit the expediency and propriety of the measure on the present occasion. The feelings and prejudices of individuals, however honourable and natural they may be, must give way to the accomplishment of plans of general utility. But it will not excite any surprise to learn, that those whose bosoms cherished the warmth of kindness and affection for relations and friends while alive, should not be altogether indifferent Letters from Edinburgh on Men and Manners; written to their memory. Considerable opposition was accordingly made to the line of road passing through the burying ground; but the legislature, as might be expected, did not yield to the natural suggestions of private feelings.

In traversing a spot in which the ashes of the dead repose, nothing serves to make a deeper impression on the mind of the vanities of life, than the reflection of the indiscriminate groups of all ranks, ages, and sexes, which lie below. Here we observe the honest heel and lastmaker, and the aged smith, members of the ancient incorporation of Calton, placed beside a gentleman, native of Belfast, who died after a few days illness while on a visit to Edinburgh: but nothing can excite a deeper interest than the numerous instances of a fatal mortality which had taken place in particular families. The record on one stone, I observe, announces that five children, who died young, occupy the mansion below; the inscription on another bears, that six are interred under it; on a third, that seven are deposited in the same grave; and in two different places, I find the melancholy fact repeated, that eight children repose, the parents of whom, in one case, still survive to deplore their loss: an obelisk, close to the side of the path, informs the passenger, that a youthful mother had been interred, with her two children, at the same time, and in the same grave: the death of one a few days before the birth of the other had probably led to so mournful an event-so overwhelming a calamity, as the sudden and unexpected decease of three members of one family.

"Yonder maker of the dead man's bed-
The sexton, hoary-headed chronicle,

Of hard, unmeaning face, down which ne'er stole
A gentle tear;

yet the expression of it could not fail to be gratifying
to those kindred emotions which the scenes before me and
the events alluded to naturally excited.
Sept. 6th. Continued p. 25.

in 1814. From the North-American Journal.

THERE is every circumstance to make the society in Edinburgh interesting. It is not so splendid and so scrupulously free from occasional affectations as that of the higher classes in London. There is not in Edinburgh that assemblage of ancient and opulent families which we find in the west end of London, to give a sort of solid, rich, and permanent dignity to society, and to put down its little eccentricities and absurdities. But the New Town, which contains about 30,000 people, is the winter residence of a greater part of the rich families in Scotland. The seat of a university, to which 1800 or 2000 students annually resort, many of them young noblemen and men of fortune, who add something to the gaiety, and little to the industry, of the place. This is also the portico in which several of the most distinguished literary men in Great Britain assemble their disciples. There is moreover annually produced here several bulky poems, besides numerous small effusions, various histories, learned treatises, lots of books of travels, scores of new plays, abundance of journals, reviews, a few novels, editions of black letter and encyclopædias, besides registers, almanacks, catechisms, &c. &c.

The society is then reckoned very literary-it is no pedantry to talk about books-Lord Byron's monthly muse makes conversation for the next month's routesthe young men walk up and down the street with an elegant book under their arm instead of a small stick—the character of the place betrays itself in various other symp

« ПретходнаНастави »