Among the few large towns besides London which lie outside the manufacturing and mining region of England, may be noted Norwich, in agricultural Norfolk, a seat of manufactures of the most various kind, introduced by about four thousand Flemings who fled thither in Queen Elizabeth’s reign.
In Scotland.—On the Scottish coal and iron field, Glasgow, favored by its position on the estuary of the Clyde, has risen to be at once the great commercial and manufacturing center of the country, carrying on a large trade with all parts of the world, in manufacturing cottons and machinery, and in building ships. A number of manufacturing towns (Paisley, noted for its shawls; Greenock, for its sugar-refining; Dumbarton, for its iron ships; Airdrie, in the midst of the collieries and iron works) have risen round Glasgow over the Scottish coalfield. Leith, the port of Edinburgh, is mainly engaged in the Baltic grain trade; Dundee, on the estuary of the Tay, owes much of its prosperity to its jute and hemp factories, and to its Greenland whaling and sealing trade.
In Ireland.—Owing to its poverty in coal and iron, the manufactures of Ireland have not attained an extent at all comparable with those of Britain. Its only extensive manufacturing district is that which lies round Belfast, in the northeast, where the flax, grown largely in the north of the country, is made into linen. The linen district extends to Armagh, on the west, and Coleraine, in the north.
Dublin, the capital, is noted for its poplins, stout, and whiskey; its quays afford excellent accommodation for shipping, and it takes the lead in the foreign trade of Ireland.
Cork, with its fine harbor the “Cove of Cork,” or Queenstown, in the south; Limerick, on the Shannon; Galway, the port of the west; Londonderry, in the north, are the other important centers of population in Ireland.
EDUCATIONAL, HISTORICAL AND LITERARY CENTERS
Edinburgh (ed-in-bo-ro; Edwin’s burgh), the metropolis of Scotland, grew up originally beneath the protecting walls of its castle, and is not a manufacturing town, but derives its importance mainly from the law courts, its university and schools, and its printing and publishing trade. It is situated upon two ridges of ground, divided by a deep, narrow valley, formerly a morass, now made into a public park, through which the railways pass. To the north of this park is the New Town, composed of modern and elegant buildings—the principal street, Princes Street, bordering upon and overlooking the park. The principal hotels are on the opposite of Princes Street. The railway stations are in the valley. To the south lies the ridge of the Old Town, terminating, to the west in a rocky bluff, upon which stands the Castle in the heart of the city. The Old Town is the historic part of the city, the New being quite modern. The first Scottish Parliament was convened here by Alex. II., 1215.
The principal places of interest are Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Abbey and Calton Hill. Among the objects of less interest are the house of John Knox, High Street; St. Giles Church; Allan Ramsay’s Theater, the favorite resort of Burns; the Black Turnpike, the prison of Queen Mary, near the Iron Church; and the Heart of Midlothian, the site of an old prison. Annie Laurie was married in Iron Church two hundred and fifty years ago. John Knox is buried in the paved court between the Parliament House and St. Giles; marked by the letters J. K. in the pavement.
The Castle, stands on a precipitous rock about three hundred feet above the valley, accessible only from the east side. It is an extensive mass, of which the oldest portion—and the oldest building in the city—is St. Margaret’s Chapel, the private oratory of the Saxon Princess Margaret, queen of Malcolm Canmore. Another portion is a lofty range of old buildings, in a small apartment of which Queen Mary gave birth to James VI. in 1566; while in an adjoining apartment are kept the ancient regalia of Scotland. Here, also, is the old Parliament Hall, restored in 1888-1889. The castle as a fortress contains accommodation for two thousand soldiers, and the armory space for thirty thousand stand of arms. An old piece of ordnance built of staves of malleable iron, cask fashion, and known as Mons Meg, stands conspicuous in an open area.
Holyrood Palace and Abbey was founded by King David I., who is said to have been saved from the horns of a stag, driven to bay near this spot, by a luminous cross in the sky. In the northwest angle of the building are the apartments which were occupied by Mary, Queen of Scots, nearly in the same state in which they were left by that unfortunate princess.