hemes in Ireland.

The Union between England and Scotland was only seven years old when
George came to the throne of these kingdoms, and already an attempt had
been made by a {84} powerful party in Scotland to obtain its repeal.
The union was unquestionably accomplished by Lord Somers and other
English statesmen, with the object of securing the succession much
rather than the national interests of the Scottish people. It was for
a long time detested in Scotland. The manner of its accomplishment,
mainly by bribery and threats, made it more odious. Yet it was based
on principles which secured the dearest interests of Scotland and
respected the religious opinions of the population. Scottish law,
Scottish systems, and the Scotch Church were left without interference,
and constitutional security was given for the maintenance of the
Presbyterian Establishment. In plain words, the Union admitted and
maintained the rights and the claims of the great majority of the
Scotch people, and therefore, when the first heat of dislike to it had
gone out, Scotland began to find that she could be old Scotland still,
even when combined in one constitutional system with England. She soon
accepted cordially the conditions which opened new ways to her
industrial and trading energy, and did not practically interfere with
her true national independence.

[Sidenote: 1714--Life in Edinburgh]

Edinburgh was then, and remained for generations to come, much the same
as it appeared when Mary Stuart first visited it. Historians like
Brantome, and poets like Ronsard, lamented for their fair princess
exiled in a savage land. But the daughter of the House of Lorraine
might well have been content with the curious beauty of her new
capital. Even now, more than three centuries since Mary Stuart landed
in Scotland, and more than a century and a half since her descendant
raised the standard of rebellion against the Elector of Hanover,
Edinburgh Old Town retains more of its antique characteristics than
either of the capitals of the sister kingdoms. It is true that the
Northern Athens has followed the example of its Greek original in
shifting the scene of its social life. The Attic Athens of to-day
occupies a different site from that of the city of Pericles. New
Edinburgh {85} has reared itself on the other bank of that chasm where
once the North River flowed, and where now the trains run. Edinburgh,
however, more fortunate than the city of Cecro