The magistracy of Edinburgh is changed every
year by election, and seems to be very well adapted both for
state and authority. -- The lord provost is equal in dignity to the
lord mayor of London; and the four bailies are equivalent to the
rank of aldermen. -- There is a dean of guild, who takes cognizance
of mercantile affairs; a treasurer; a town-clerk; and the council
is composed of deacons, one of whom is returned every year, in
rotation, as representative of every company of artificers or
handicraftsmen. Though this city, from the nature of its
situation, can never be made either very convenient or very
cleanly, it has, nevertheless, an air of magnificence that
commands respect. -- The castle is an instance of the sublime in
scite and architecture. -- Its fortifications are kept in good
order, and there is always in it a garrison of regular soldiers,
which is relieved every year; but it is incapable of sustaining a
siege carried on according to the modern operations of war. -- The
castle hill, which extends from the outward gate to the upper end
of the high street, is used as a public walk for the citizens,
and commands a prospect, equally extensive and delightful, over
the county of Fife, on the other side of the Frith, and all along
the sea-coast, which is covered with a succession of towns that
would seem to indicate a considerable share of commerce; but, if
the truth must be told, these towns have been falling to decay
ever since the union, by which the Scots were in a great measure
deprived of their trade with France.
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