we looked an adieu, and disappeared among the ruins. We found whom we sought, however, along with another respectable bibliopolist, whose active exertions throughout the whole of this week did him infinite honour-saw Captain Head and the whole apparatus-and if that gentleman availed himself of any of our suggestions, which happened to coincide with his own opinion, we take no merit on that score, for he is a clever little fellow, and a gentleman for whom we entertain the highest respect.

At twelve o'clock on Saturday, the mines being charged, and everything ready, the strength of the apparatus was tried on the great south gable; and an immense mass instantly fell inwards with tremendous noise. The dense cloud of dust which arose from the crumbling ruins, and spread round to a great distance, totally obscured the view for a few minutes; but when it cleared off, a pinnacle of the great Babel, a few feet broad, and extending the whole height of the building, was still seen standing, threatening danger more imminent than the whole conjoined mass. Orders were now given to fire the mines at the base of the wall on the east side of the square. A few seconds elapsed before the explosions took place, and a few more before their effect was observed on the ruins. It was a pause of breathless expectation. At last the cross wall which supported the larger mass was seen to fall majestically inwards, bringing with it a great part of the connected wall. The remainder followed in two successive masses, in the same direction. Again the dense clouds of dust arose, and a shout from the spectators testified their feelings at the successful result of measures which, it was feared, could not have been accomplished without danger to life and destruction of property.

The frightful pinnacle remaining of the highg able, now stood like an obelisk among the mass of ruins. It seemed to be cracked and shaken a little above where the chain appeared still hanging, and that little force would be required to bring it down also. The only danger apprehended was its falling to the south. Observers from the Cowgate perceived that the chain at one side was loose, and this having been communicated to Captain Head, and the other directors of these

measures, in the Parliament Square, the cable was again tightened, and the ruin, from a little above where the cable was fastened, gave way, and slid majestically, and almost perpendicularly, down, and added to the heap below. The great business was now over, and though some frightful fragments remained, yet these were neither so elevated nor so dangerous, as longer to occupy the time of those who had come forward so generously with their assistance, and they were pulled down in the course of the ensuing week. The avenues to the Square, and to the places backwards, which might be in danger from the ruins, were guarded all morning by a detachment of cavalry, and these, with the Yeomanry of the city and county, were of essential service during the whole of this memorable week, in keeping the passages open, and protecting the property.

Sir Walter Scott, some of the Judges, Magistrates, and other individuals of distinction, witnessed the demolition from the top of St Giles's church, and numerous artists were observed during the whole week taking sketches of the ruins. Many of these sketches have been published with all the speed of lithography; but by far the most spirited are those which are said to have been drawn by a young advocate, and which were published by Constable and Co. for behoof of the sufferers. The one, particularly, which presents a view of the preparations inade for pulling down the great gable, struck us as being the best.

Having thus given a full, true, and particular account of the greatest fire which ever desolated Edinburgh, we now come, as all good clergymen do at the close of a good discourse, to make some practical application of the subject. And, in the first place, now that the affair is over, and our hands free from the blisters occasioned by working the crazy fire-engines, we beg to remark, that all similar calamities, however much individual misery they create, end in general good. We know it has been asserted by some pious old ladies, that nothing else could have been expected from having the Musical Festival on the week previous to the Sacramental Sabbaththat the Tron Church steeple was burnt because its reverend pastors are

very fond of music; and not a few believe that the Jury Court buildings shared the same fate from the infamous character of its inmates. Nay, we heard an eminent barrister ask two printers in the Parliament Square, what they had been printing, thus to draw down the anger of the Gods? Now, had the proceeds of the Musical Festival been ten times greater, we do not conceive that charity itself could have found fault with it-though it certainly night have been managed to have had it a week or two earlier. The Jury Court is unpopular, and we have the authority of John Knox for believing that the true way to banish the rooks, is to pull down their nests; but unless the fire had happened during the sitting of the Court-the Judges, Counsel,and Jury all asleep,-we do not see how this mends the matter. As to our friends the printers, more estimable men never lived; and touching the Courant newspaper, we sincerely believe it to be the most inoffensive paper, as well as the most widely circulated, within the bills of mortality. No-we will not believe that the sins of the old buildings of the Old Town are greater than those of the palaces of the New and we should have much hesitation in believing, that the destruction of the Water Company's office arose from their taking undue advantage in the matter of water, (as Sir Patrick Walker alleges,) of their fellow-citizens. Neither will we suppose that the chambers of the Auditor of Court were consumed from any improper conduct on his part -nor that the Jury Court fell a sacrifice to the injured law of Scotland -nor that Messrs Brougham and Anderson's wines were not of the first quality. No such thing-the Water Company take no more in name of water tax than is permitted them by law. The Lord Chief Commissioner is one of the most amiable men in the world, albeit he inclines a little to whiggery-and Mr Brougham's Madeira is said to be so wonderfully improved by the heat applied, that he must make a fortune by it. Were we to hazard a conjecture on the origin of the late fires, we should attribute them to carelessness and coal gas. Before the introduction of gas, we never had a fire in Edinburgh worth the speaking of.

The loss of property by the fire has

been immense; but we hope, that in most cases where the loss would be most severely felt, it has been at least alleviated by insurance. For those unfortunate individuals whose circumstances or habits never lead their thoughts this way, public beneficence has provided largely. Blankets and petticoats without number have been furnished and made by charitable ladies-Queensberry barracks have been fitted up for the houseless-a larger sum than ever was raised in Edinburgh for the purposes of charity in a period so short, is now distributing by a committee of gentlemen; and everything has been done by the civic authorities for lightening or removing the evil. So, leaving the sufferers to the luxury of flannel petticoats and comfortable dinners, we now come to the second head of improvement, and that is, What is to be the result to the public and to the city from the late calamitous fires?

This is the age of speculation-of stock companies, bridges, crescents, and approaches; and no sooner is room made by any accident for a new house or a new street-than all the architects in Edinburgh are scratching their heads for plans and elevationsand the public are inundated with sections and levels, and stuff about Athenian grandeur and Roman magnificence. The first effort at architectural design, on a large scale, displayed itself in parallel lines and acute angles, as may be seen in the original streets of the New Town-nothing was thought of but uniformity and convenience. But the planners of the present day soon found out that straight lines were a bore-that the most direct road to one's house was not always the best, and that curves, and crescents, and circles, were much more pleasant figures to look at, and live in, than stiff, lengthened rows of houses, which any person could plan, and every one execute. Hence arose our crescents and circuses, and turnings and windings every street bending this way or that way; and whether or not calculated for convenience or for the climate, Grecian fronts and pillars, and pilasters and pediments, became the order of the day-set down of course often at random, and without much regard to situation or general effect. In making this observation, we by no means mean to insinuate that the city

is not much improved by the introduction of the curve line in streets, or that the public buildings lately erected on Grecian models are not better than a heterogeneous mixture of all the orders, without the effect of any: we mean only to give a caveat against carrying the principle too far; and to instance the want of real taste, or defect of judgment, which cased up the fine old front of the Parliament House with unmeaning masses of Craigleith rock, and which threatens, should a few more fires occur, to make the magnificent High Street of Edinburgh rival in its curves the windings of the Forth.

We have seen the Plan and Report of Messrs Burn and Hamilton, regarding the projected bridge over the Cowgate by the Candlemaker-row, and the new approach to the city from the west by the south back of the castle, and we heartily approve of both-the first, as absolutely necessary for the convenience of a large part of the population; and the second, as a useful, and, we hope, a splendid entrance, to the city from the west. The levelling of the High Street, or the raising of the County Hall and Advocates' New Library, seem likewise to be improvements no less judicious than necessary. That something should likewise be done to the cathedral church of St Giles -something calculated to improve the appearance of this ancient fabricwithout entirely destroying its personal identity, we readily concede; and we feel more inclined to adopt the suggestions of Messrs Burn and Hamilton, which seem dictated by good sense and good taste, than to follow the sweeping plan of Mr Elliot, which would have left nothing of the old fabric but the spire. But let not our Magistrates undertake too much at once. Now, that they have got rid of the Water and the Docks, we venture to recommend caution in acceding to new schemes, of which the utility is not manifest, and the returns proportioned to the expense. The execution of the plans, of which parliamentary notice has been given, is enough for the fame of those under whose patronage they are brought forward, and enough for the finances of the city, The addition to the plan of projected improvements upon the Parliament Square, and the suggestions of Mr Playfair, in the appendix to the Re

port, ought to be conducted, if carried into execution at all, by government, so far as the Courts are concerned,and by the Parliamentary Commis sioners who take charge of the buildings of the University.

It is to this adjected part of the plan, which has been fudged in with so much unnecessary haste, (the ruins are not yet cold,) that we strongly object. The High Street, such as it was before the recent fires, had, we believe, no parallel in Europe. Its most majestic line of houses-(a deformed mass, the writer of the Caledonian Mercury terms them)-are now destroyed, with the exception of the building which contained the shop of our friend Mr Miller, over whom neither the flames of the burning houses, nor any other flames, seem to have any power; and it is proposed by the plan to form a kind of square from the head of the Old Assembly Close a large gaping thing, of no earthly use that we can perceive, and for no human purpose, we believe, but for the pleasure of pulling down the Police-Office, recently fitted up at so much expense. Where were the curve and crescent architects when this unseemly half square was projected? That something should be now agitated regarding the widening of the carriage entrance to the Parliament Square, is perfectly proper, and will, we have no doubt, be attended to; but if any human being exists who can think the cutting up of the High Street at such a place, and at such an expense, and for no purpose in the universe that anybody would care about, is at all necessary, we would enlarge the sphere of his ideas, by suggesting that the whole High Street from Hunter's Square, beginning with the Merchants' Hall, should be taken down-the Cowgate be covered with large flag stones, and made a common-sewer of-and then there would be no need of bridges. The proposed bridge by Mr Playfair, from the Parliament-House to the College, highly as we estimate the talents of that gentleman, we see no earthly occasion for, if the Lawnmarket one goes forward. To keep up the line of communication with the New Town, it would be necessary to carry a continuous road through the Council Chamber and Exchange Buildings to Prince's Street. But a minute's additional walking can be of no great importance

to a student. The shutting up of North College Street, and keeping the houses a little further from the College, is judicious, and we hope will be accomplished.

As every human being in Edinburgh, who fancies he is arrived at the years of discretion, thinks it incumbent upon himself to bother the public with plans and speculations, we trust we shall be excused for mentioning our ideas with regard to the disposal of the ground occupied by the houses destroyed by the fire. It is not our plan, however, but was suggested to us by one of the respectable members of the Town-Council, who regretted, on the occurrence of the fire in June last, that it was not the Jury Court which had been destroyed in place of John's Coffeehouse. We have adopt ed the idea of the worthy Magistrate, however, and now consider it as our own. His idea was, that in place of beginning with a square so far down the street as is proposed, a crescent (see how the idea of curves is spreading) might be formed, beginning at the head of the Old Fishmarket Close, and after making a semicircle round the Parliament House and Libraries, join the projected bridge at the west end of the County Hall. This range of buildings, passing through property by no means valuable, would completely isolate the Courts and Libraries; and would give a carriage road all round. At the back of the buildings, a terrace might be formed, and the whole circle might be appropriated as chambers for writers to the signet or advocates. Till the commencement of the curve at the Police Office, which in this case would not require to be removed, the street might be built in a straight line as before, by the proprietors of the houses, in better style of architecture it may be supposed, and without costing the public one farthing of expense. The formation of the semicircle round the Parliament House would, of course, be taken charge of by government; and the expense would be amply repaid from the rental of the houses erected, whether occupied as shops or chambers. Mr Playfair's third bridge would thus be rendered unnecessary; the quiet of the College would be insured by making the law students walk a few paces about; and the Magistracy would be enabled to carry on their own plans

for the New Approach and New Bridge with undivided attention, and unexhausted means.

In the third place, having left the sufferers in very good hands, and plan ned a Crescent to occupy part of the space left in ruins, we now come to the last and most important consideration of all, namely, to call your atten tion, our dear public, to the best mode of preventing such a dangerous calamity in time to come. The miserable inefficiency of all the measures taken at the late fires, seems to call loudly for new and better arrangements; and now that the College of Justice have got every building demolished that endangered either their persons or libraries-and the enemies of the Jury Court have little more to wish for, we flatter ourselves that no serious oppo→ sition will be made to the repair of fireengines-the mending of hose-and to the procuring of serviceable directors. We ourselves, indeed, have been cogitating over the midnight lamp, plan after plan, for the speedy extinction of accidental fires, and have about fourteen very promising, though untried schemes, for this purpose, at the service of the public; but until Sir Humphrey Davy finds out a pinch of detonating powder that shall blow out fires like the blowing out of a candle, we mortify our vanity by the suppres➡ sion of our own ideas, and rather advise the introduction of arrangements which have been found practically successful in another country.

It may be necessary to mention, for the information of that august body whose fire committee and fire extinguishing director did such wonders at the late conflagration, that there is a place in the world inhabited by tribes of men called Yankee-Doodles, and named by travelling men and geographers America. This country or continent, a good deal larger than Great Britain, contains many cities, and among others one denominated Philadelphia, the population of which is said to exceed even that of our "own romantic town." These people wear clothes, live in houses, read books, and eat and drink, as we do here. Their houses do also sometimes catch fire, as ours do, occasionally; and it is to the mode adopted by the citizens of Philadelphia, for the prevention and extinction of fires when they occur, that we now wish to direct the public atten

tion. And without allowing brother Jonathan to be much wiser than ourselves, we certainly do think that in several little matters he has turned the knowledge he possesses to purposes more practically useful than we in all the plenitude of intellectual superiority. The naked invention of steam navigation, to mention one instance, was nothing in our hands till its value was practically demonstrated by our American brethren.

The fire-engines in Philadelphia, and all the apparatus of hose, buckets, &c. belong to different individuals, in different districts, who furnish and work them at their own expense. Each engine is under the particular command of leaders, elected by those interested; and as all the male inhabitants of the district to which the engine belongs, without distinction of rank, are under the orders of these persons, the work goes on regularly, and with the spirit and adventure necessarily inspired by the competition of rival parties, and rival engines, in the cause of humanity. Paid firemen are not known; and it is found in practice, that gentlemen, whom a sense of duty and of the obligations of society alone, urge to the performance of this service, do ten times the work which can ever be expected from those whose only inducement to labour is the pittance distributed by insurance companies, or the public authorities.

We should have been glad to have had it in our power to present the detailed regulations of these voluntary associations, as a model for similar institutions in our own city. But we are promised a copy from an intelligent American friend, whose observation of the results of our late conflagrations, led him to remark to us how much better these things were managed in Philadelphia. As far as we understand the plan, there is a chief director to every engine, and subordinate officers, and the whole individuals of the district or class, who have associated in its purchase, are under the orders of these persons for the time. The engines are occasionally exercised, and kept in the best order; and every householder is required to have several water buckets in his possession, marked with his name, and the number of his house, which, in cases of danger, are either used by the parties

themselves, or set down in the street to be used by others. The police of the city, at the conclusion of the fire, return the buckets to the owners. Even classes of journeymen mechanics, we understand, have their engines and apparatus, furnished by small subscriptions among themselves, and any little assistance which the public authorities voluntarily give; and the emulation, where several engines meet at the same fire, of persons of different rank and circumstances, to be the first who shall put it down, renders great conflagrations rare, and, indeed, almost impossible. Absentees from their engines, in the moment of danger, are fined; and the number connected with each is not only such as to insure a plentiful change of hands at every department of the work, but a sufficient number to line the passages to the water, where it is distant. Those who, notwithstanding they belong to a particular engine, are perceived either to hang back from the work, or to interrupt it, are turned off from the ground-perhaps cooled with a bucket of water for their pusillanimity. A reward is given by the public to the first engine which arrives at the spot, which goes not, however, into the pockets of the individuals, but is appropriated to keeping the engine and tackle in order. A spirit of emulation-of rivalry-in the work of humanity, is found to be excited by these arrangements, which leads to exertions which no other motives could inspire.

There is, we will not doubt, public spirit enough among the inhabitants of Edinburgh to perfect a plan of this kind, and an honest pride, we should hope, among many classes of the inferior orders, to attach them to such an arrangement. People who will only assist, when the lives or property of their fellow-citizens is in danger, for the paltry sum which they expect to be paid them for their work, had better be wanted altogether. There will always be found, we are persuaded, a sufficient number on these melancholy occasions, whose services will be voluntarily given-whose consciousness that they have done to others what in the same circumstances they should wish others to do to them, will form their best reward.