Calton Hill (call-ton) is at the eastern end of Princes Street and has an altitude of about three hundred and fifty feet. Upon the hill, adjacent to the stairs, is Dugald Stewart’s monument at the left; to the north is the Old Observatory, and the New Observatory with a small dome. To the south is Nelson’s monument, one [463] hundred and two feet high, surmounted by a time-ball. The unfinished colonnade is a part of a structure in honor of Waterloo, intended to be a copy of the Parthenon at Athens. The foundation was laid 1822, but, proving too costly, the project was abandoned.
The view from the summit of this hill is scarcely to be surpassed. To the north is what may be called New Edinburgh, extending toward Granton and the port of Leith. Across the Forth, is Fifeshire. Following down the Forth, is first, the islands of Inch Keith, Portobello, Bass Rock, and the Isle of May, farther at sea. Toward the south and west the Burns monument; Holyrood immediately below; Salisbury Craig and south, Arthur’s Seat, eight hundred and twenty feet high; thence to the north the Old Town, commanded by the frowning Castle.
VIEW OF EDINBURGH FROM THE CASTLE
Oxford, capital of Oxford county, and seat of one of the most celebrated universities in the world, is situated about fifty miles northwest of London, on a gentle acclivity between the Cherwell and the Thames, here called the Isis. Oxford, as a city of towers and spires, of fine collegiate buildings, old and new, of gardens, groves, and avenues of trees, is unique in England.
Of the university buildings the most remarkable are Christ’s Church, the largest and grandest of all the colleges, with a fine quadrangle and other buildings, and a noble avenue of trees. It was founded by Wolsey in 1525, and its magnificent chapel is the cathedral church of the see of Oxford. The hall is a noble room.
Merton College, founded about 1264, has a very beautiful chapel of the fifteenth century, and the library is the oldest in the kingdom.
New College, founded by William of Wykeham, in 1386, is one of the wealthiest of the colleges, and the chapel is very handsome.
The gardens of St. John’s College are much admired and the grounds of Magdalen College (perhaps the most beautiful college in Oxford) are no less attractive. The latter include “Addison’s Walk,” a shaded avenue that was his favorite resort when a student here. The Bodleian Library and Picture Gallery, the Theatre (built by Wren), the Ashmolean Museum (also by Wren), the Radcliffe Library and Observatory, the Divinity School (in the hall of which Cranmer, Latimer, and Ridley were tried in 1555), St. Mary’s Church, the Taylor Institute, the University Galleries and Museum, the Botanical Gardens, and the Martyr’s Memorial are also among the noteworthy things in Oxford. The High Street is the subject of one of Wordsworth’s sonnets; and Hawthorne calls it “the noblest old street in England.” Oxford depends mostly on the university, and on its attractions as a place of residence.
Stratford-on-Avon, Shakespeare’s birthplace, is a pleasant town of Warwickshire, eight miles southwest of Warwick, twenty-two miles southeast of Birmingham, and one hundred and ten miles northeast of London. It stands on the right bank of the quiet Avon, which here is spanned by the “great and sumptuous bridge” of fourteen pointed arches, three hundred and seventy-six yards long, that was built by the Lord Mayor of London.