are decent and#oriiffvin a ve (MOE a Fal ur
“
f Jan,
\ ſions faſhionable at EDINBÚRGH, than in thoſe of London. The people of Edinburgh have ſometimes claíñned the praiſe of ex- traordinary juflneſs and delicagyzof taſte: in the compoſitions and
Anecdotes of Commercial Cities
repreſentations of the DRAMAŸ This praiſe, however, cannot be honeſtly allowed them. They delight in gorgeous ſcenery, in pantomime, and in all thoſe-tricks of exhibition which give the he to nature: they ſometimes venture to condemn what Lon+ don audiences havé“apprÆed; but they are religiouſly cautious never to err on thé‘ôther- fide, nor are they ever guilty of ap- Ÿ plauding what has not been honoured with previous applauſe. In regard to other elegant and faſhiapable amuſements, their taſte 1s bette# and their, eandu&t more prarſe-worthy.
The morals of Slk&he graverpas of ſociety at EDINBURGH, : cufinent degree. The police is vigilagtt, vigorous, yt not opp ivezz‘Robberies, murders, even thefts‘üre compáratively rare. So: great a proportion of the in- “habitants Æ EDINBURGH are in a côffition of life above temp- tation to the meaneſt vices, that: it would: be ſurpriſing if ſtreet- robberies and other ſimilar enormities were as frequent hére as in thoſe manufaéturing towns, if which.the people are in a greaîd Proportion, poor, meas and illitérate. Perhaps the moſt diflo-
ED Rh,» 3 “4 lute claſs conſiſt of ſhopkeepers, attendants at maſon-lodges, of
young men who are clerks in the chambers of writers to the Sig- ñet, and of a few young men of fortune who paſs ſome ſeaſons here idly, undér the pretence of: receiving education. The fu- dents at the Univerſity‘are in general leſs diſſolute in their man- ners, and in their very vices leſs grofs and inelegant, than the ma/ſonic ſhophkeepers and the young retainers of the law. Fhe inhabitants of Edinburgh, in general, are eminently charitable to the poor, nor will it be eaſy to name any equal aſfemblage-of po- pulation, in which the numbers of the mdigent poor are ſmaller, or thoſe more readily, compaſſionately, and abundántly relieved. The churches are here afMſiduoufly frequented, even by many of the great and faſhionable; the preachers in general excel in all the éxcellencies of pulpit-eloquence, thoſe who fll the pulpits of the metropolis of England. The morals of the labouring claſs -_ of people are far from bad; Þut they uſe too much whiſky, too little of porter or ale. It muſt be owned, too, that the mard-fer- vants are no where leſs ſcrupuloufly chaſte than here; and that the number of the proflitutes is exceedingly great.
In ſuch a city as ÉDINBURGH, there 1s naturally a good deal of learning; yet it is not to be denied, that, unleſs aimong the STUDENTS OF MEDICINE, the true enthuſiaſm of genius, of ſcience, of erudition, is not to be found. David Hume, Lord
Kaimes, Dr. Robertſon, are gone, and have left no diſciples worthy‘of their maſters. When BLAIR ſhall be no more, 1s there one among the riſing race of rhetoricians and preachers who can be deemed worthy to fill his place in the public eſtima- tion? Do not the young members of the Faculty ot Adyocates


