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have in recent years been renovated-a circumstance which has materially impaired the venerable aspect of the building.

In the centre of the Parliament Square, of which the Cathedral just described may be said to form the northern side, stands THE EQUESTRIAN STATUE OF CHARLES II., which, in vigour of design and general effect, still maintains its rank as the best specimen of metal statuary which Edinburgh pos

sesses.

The Police Office, the Chambers of the Court of Exchequer, the Parliament House, and the Libraries of the Faculty of Advocates and of the Writers to the Signet, form the eastern, western, and southern sides of the Square.

THE PARLIAMENT HOUSE

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is situated in the south-west angle. hall, now known by the name of the Outer-House, is the place in which the Scottish Parliament met before the Union. This hall is 122 feet long by 49 broad. Its roof is of oak, arched and handsomely finished. It contains two statues -one of Henry Dundas, the first Lord Melville, and the other of that eminent lawyer, Lord President Blair, who died in 1811. At the south end of the OuterHouse are four small Chambers or Courts, in which the Lords Ordinary sit. Entering from the east side, are two larger Courts of modern and elegant structure, appropriated to the First and Second Divisions of the Court, before whom are tried those cases which are of unusual importance or difficulty,

or where the judgment of a Lord Ordinary has been brought under review of the Court by a reclaimer or appeal. Adjoining to the Court-Rooms of the Divisions is another Court-Room of nearly similar appearance, in which sits the High Court of Justiciary, the supreme criminal tribunal of Scotland.

In session time, and during the hours of business, the Outer-House presents a very animated scene. As all the Courts open into it, it affords a very convenient promenade or lounging-place for those counsel or agents whose cases are not then actually going on in Court. The well-employed advocates may be seen flitting from bar to bar, or Court to Court, while agents, whose causes have just been called, may be observed pressing through the crowd, with anxious face and hurried step, looking out for the counsel, whose absence from the debate might be fatal to their clients. Occasionally may be seen some unfortunate litigant, listening with all reverence and humility to an opinion on the merits of his case from one of the fathers of the bar, his countenance reflecting the alternate lights and shadows of hope and apprehension. The less employed and unemployed counsel and agents, and a number of loungers who make this hall a place of resort, may be seen in groups conversing together in every variety of tone and manner, from the gravity of consultation to the gaiety of uncontrolled merriment.*

* For an account of the various classes of Law Practitioners, see the foot-note, page 10.

THE ADVOCATES' LIBRARY

adjoins the Parliament House, with which it has a communication. It contains the most valuable collection of books in Scotland, the printed works amounting to 150,000 volumes, and the manuscripts to 1700. The collection of Scottish poetry is exceedingly rare and curious. The volumes in this department amount to nearly 400, and the number is receiving constant additions, from the laudable ambition of the "Faculty," and the zeal of their librarian to augment its treasures. Of the manuscripts, the most valuable are those relating to the civil and ecclesiastical history of Scotland. The funds of the Library are chiefly derived from the fees paid by each advocate, upon his entering as a member of the Faculty. It is also one of the five libraries which receive from Stationers' Hall a copy of every new work published in Great Britain or Ireland. No public in

stitution in Great Britain is conducted with greater liberality. Strangers are freely admitted without introduction; and no one who is at all known is ever denied the privilege of resorting to, and of reading or writing in the Library. The members are entitled to borrow twenty-five volumes at one time, and to lend any of the books so borrowed to their friends. The literary wealth of the Library is at present deposited in a suite of apartments neither spacious, elegant, nor commodious. It is proposed to build a new library in the neighbourhood for their reception. The office of principal

librarian has been held by men eminently distinguished in the world of letters, Thomas Ruddiman, David Hume, and Adam Ferguson, having honoured the institution by filling this situation. More recently the office was held by David Irving, LL.D., an accomplished scholar and learned civilian; and it is at present filled by Mr. S. Halkett, a very eminent linguist.

THE SIGNET LIBRARY

is also immediately adjoining to the Parliament House. It possesses two handsome rooms, one of which was acquired a few years ago from the Advocates' Library. These rooms, more especially the upper one, are well worthy the attention of strangers. This Library is peculiarly rich in the department of history, more especially in British and Irish history. The total number of volumes it contains may be estimated at 50,000. It is supported exclusively by the contributions of the Writers to Her Majesty's Signet, and the same liberality which distinguishes the Advocates' Library also prevails in the management of its affairs. The present librarian, Mr. David Laing, is distinguished by the extent and accuracy of his bibliographical knowledge. He also possesses that general acquaintance with literature which forms one of the most valuable qualifications for the office which he holds.

THE COUNTY HALL stands at the western termination of the Libraries above described. The general plan is taken from the Temple of Erectheus

at Athens, and the principal entrance from the Choragic Monument of Thrasyllus. The Hall is decorated with a statue of Lord Chief Baron Dundas, by Chantrey.

THE OLD TOLBOOTH, sometimes called by the inhabitants" The Heart of Mid-Lothian," and

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which, under this name, has become so renowned in the novel of Sir Walter Scott, formerly stood in the middle of the High Street, at the north-west corner of St. Giles's Church.* This gloomy look

* A few years ago a chartist orator, in addressing an audience upon the Calton Hill, commenced with the inauspicious phrase, "Men of the Heart of Mid-Lothian!" The compliment, which unquestionably belongs to the class called "left-handed," was, of course, acknowledged by an unanimous burst of laughter from the crowd.

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