year. The first thing that broke the monotony of his grief was the arrival of Dr Darwin s poem, the Botanic Garden, about which the author says, " It was your early approbation that contributed to encourage me to go on with the poem" (Memoirs, ii. 113). In 1792 the health of one of Edgeworth s sons took him to Clifton, where he remained with his family for about two years, returning in 1794 to Edgeworthtown. Ireland was, at that time, harassed by internal disturbances, and threats of a French invasion, and Edgeworth offered to establish telegraphic communication of his own invention throughout the country. This offer was declined. A full account of the matter is given in Edge- worth s Letter to Lord Charlemont on the Telegraph; and bis apparatus is explained in an " Essay on the Art of Convey ing Swift and Secret Intelligence," published in the sixth volume of the Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy. In the autumn of 1797 Mrs Edgeworth fell a victim to de cline. Practical Education, a work which embodied the experience of the authors in dealing with children, was pub lished in 1798. " So commenced," says Miss Edgeworth, " that literary partnership which, for so many years, was the pride and joy of my life" (Memoirs, ii. 170). In the same year Edgeworth married Miss Beaufort, and was elected M.P. for the borough of St John s Town, Longford. The same year, too, saw a hostile landing of the French and a formidable rebellion ; and for a short time the Edgeworths took refuge in Longford. The spring of 1802 brought the depressing announcement of Dr Darwin s death ; and the winter of that year was spent by the Edgeworths in Paris, where, among many friends, they particularly valued M. Dumont. On his return home he was gratified by Government accepting of his telegraphic apparatus, which worked admirably. In ] 802 appeared the Essay on Irish Bulls by Mr and Miss Edgeworth; and in 1806 Edgeworth was elected a member of the Board of Commissioners to inquire into Irish education. From 1807 till 1809 much of his time was spent on mechanical experiments and in writing the story of his life. In 1808 appeared Professional Education, and in 1813 his Essay on the Construction of Roads and Carriages. He died on the 13th of June 1817, and was buried in the family
vault in Edgeworthtown churchyard.
Many of Edgeworth s works were suggested by liis zeal for the education of his own children. Such were Poetry Explained for Younrj People, Readings on Poetry, A Rational Primer, and the parts of Early Lessons contributed by him. His speeches in the Irish Parliament have also been published ; and numerous essays, mostly on scientific subjects, have appeared in the Philosophical Transactions, the Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy, the Monthly Magazine, and Nicholson s Journal. The story of his early life, told by himself, is fully as entertaining as the continuation by Maria, as it contains less dissertation and more incident.
EDINBURGH, County of, or Mid-Lothian, one of the lowland counties of Scotland, is situated between 55 39 30" and 55 59 20" N. lat., and between 2 52 and 3 45 10" W. long. It is bounded on the N. by the Firth of Forth, on the N.W. by Linlithgowshire or West-Lothian, on the S.W. by Lanarkshire, on the S. by Peebles and Selkirk, and on the E. by Roxburgh, Berwick, and Haddington or East-Lothian. The area comprises 362 square miles, or 231,724 acres.
The surface of the county presents a great variety of scenery. The Pentland Hills advance boldly from the south-west to within five miles of the sea, rising to a relative height of from 1000 to 1300 feet. The loftiest summits are Scald Law (1898 feet), Carnethie (1890), West and East Cairn Hill (1844 and 1839), and West Kip (1806). They generally present a rounded appearance, and are covered with heath or grass. The south-eastern corner of the county is occupied by the Moorfoot Hills, which form a continuation of the Lammermuirs, and attain in Blackhope Scar a height of 2136 feet. Of more or less isolated emi nences throughout the county it is enough to mention the Braid Hills and Blackford Hill to the S. of the city, Arthur s Seat towards the E., Corstorphine Hill about two miles to the W., and Dalmahoy Crags about seven miles to the S.W.
With the exception of the Gala, which rises on the south-east side of the Moorfoot Hills and flows south to join the Tweed, and the partial exception of the Tyne, which after a course of about seven miles passes into Haddiugtonshire, all the streams, we cannot say the rivers, find their way to the Firth of Forth. The Esk (the largest) drains the district between the Pentlands and the Moorfoot Hills, and falls into the sea at Musselburgh. The southern branch has its sources near Blackhope Scar, receives the Redside and Middleton Burns, and flows past Newbattlo Abbey ; the northern rises in the Peutlauds, and proceeds through much picturesque scenery, past Penicuik, Roslin, Lasswade, and Eskbank ; and the union of the two streams takes place a short distance below Dalkeith, within the grounds of Dalkeith Palace. The Braid Burn from Capelaw Hill passes between the Braid Hills and Blackford Hill, and reaches the sea at Portobello. The Water of Leith, with its head streams on the western slope of the Pentlands, flows past Balerno, Currie, Juniper Green, Colinton, Edinburgh, and Leith. The Almond, which has its origin in Lanark shire, and its right-hand tributary the Breich Water, form the boundary between Mid-Lothian and Linlithgowshire. Most of these streams, and especially the Esk and the Water of Leith, afford a large amount of water-power, well-pre served by means of artificial dams and embankments. The deep ravines which in some places they have formed in the Carboniferous strata through which they flow conceal spots of romantic beauty, in striking contrast to the immediately continguous scenery. The only lake is that at Duddingston, near Edinburgh ; but there are several ex tensive reservoirs connected with the water supply of the city, viz. Threipmuir, Loganlee, Harelaw, Clubbiedean, and Torduff in the Pentlands, and Gladsmuir and Rosebery on the South Esk. The Cobbinshaw reservoir, situated at the head of the Bog Burn, a tributary of the Almond, is used for the supply of the Union Canal.
from its intrinsic characteristics, but also as the subject of investigation of many of the most famous among Scottish geologists Hutton, Hall, Jamieson, Cunningham, Hugh Miller, Fleming, and others. The Lammermuir and Moorfoot Hills are a continuation of the Silurian table land of the south of Scotland, and consist mainly of strata of greywacke, grit, and shale, greatly contorted, broken, and altered in position. Sandstones, grits, shales, and mud-stones of the Upper Silurian occur in three very limited areas in the Pentland Hills, in the midst of Lower Old Red Sandstone formatious. They are abundantly fossili- ferous, especially on the North Esk, Chondrites verisimilis, Amphispongia oblonga, Protaster Sedgwickii, Pterygotus acuminatiis,various Strophomenas, and Euomphahcs funatus being among the characteristic forms. The Lower Old Red Sandstone formations just mentioned are a massive series of grits, conglomerates, and volcanic rocks, resting unconform- ably on the Upper Silurian series ; the Upper Old Red Sand stone is found only in a few small patches in the hollows of the Lower Silurian. All the four series into which it is usual to divide the Carboniferous system are well represented. The Calciferous Sandstone series breaks up into two groups : the former consisting of reddish sandstones, and forming the south-western eminences of the Pentlaud Hills and nearly the whole site of the city of Edinburgh ; while the latter comprises white and grey sandstones, shales,
limestone, and coal, and furnishes a good portion of the
