A Scottish Acropolis

The Calton Hill is largely responsible for Edinburgh's descriptive title of "Modern Athens."

The hill, commanding the long vista of Princes Street, and itself an arresting feature, visible from this central thoroughfare, carries with its monuments a remarkable suggestion of the classic world.

The most conspicuous of its architectural embellishments is the National Monument itself, that impressive group of huge pillars, recalling the principal feature of the Acropolis of Athens.

The National Monument, designed to commemorate the services of Scottish soldiers in the Peninsular War and the victory of Waterloo, was never completed; yet, in its incomplete state, it is possibly an object of more arresting interest than it would ever have been in its entirety.

The tall spy-glass column of the Nelson Monument co-operates with the Castle gun in giving the time of day to the city, the signal in this instance being the dropping of the ball at the mast-top surmounting the column.

The classic character of the Calton buildings is maintained by the City Observatory near the summit, and on a lower level by the Royal High School buildings and the detached Burns Monument.

In a space, curiously and appropriately set apart, is the Calton burying-ground, where notable Scottish names may be read on the monuments, and where is a striking statue of President Lincoln.

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