SCOTLAND.

In the evening of Friday, a few hours after her arrival at Holyrood House, Queen Victoria hastened to the apartments occupied by Queen Mary Stuart. Her visit was strictly private ; and the Times correspondent reports that an incognito was preserved so strictly, that "the housekeeper who shows the rooms did not know the illustrious personage to whom she pointed out the curious relics placed under her care." "The apartments now occupied by the Royal party," says the same wri- ter, "are in the more modern part of the Palace, erected on the site of that which John Knox's fiery zeal burned down, and which was restored by Charles the Second. Here Charles the Tenth of France resided from 1830 to 1833. The levees of George the Fourth were held in the hall of state on the Eastern side of the Palace. His Grace the Duke of Hamilton is hereditary Keeper of Holyrood, but for a long period of time little has been done to keep this royal residence in good and tenantable repair. Everybody in Scotland had ceased to regard it as anything but a venerable and interesting ruin, worthy a certain amount of care for the sake of old times, and in memorial of the days when the Court lived at the foot of the Canongate. No one ever expected to see the Sovereign residing in that quadrangular and turreted old building again. Hence, its occupation by her Majesty has greatly delighted the people of Edinburgh, and of Scotland generally.'

About ten o'clock on Saturday morning, the Queen and Prince Albert, with their four children, drove to the highest point of the Queen's Drive, and thence on foot climbed to the steep summit of Arthur's Seat. A brilliant sky and clear atmosphere opened to an unusual distance the magnificent panoramic view over the varied scenery of Fife, Berwick- shire, and the three Lothians—the Ochils and Grampians bounding the distant view on the one hand, and the Lammermuir Hills on the other. Many persons were upon Salisbury Crags and Arthur's Seat at the same tune; but, in deference to the Queen's known desire of privacy, they confined their manifestations of respect to silent obeisances. After the inaugural ceremony in which Prince Albert took a principal part, and which we proceed to describe, the Royal party drove round Edinburgh, and visited Donaldson's Hospital and other institutions.

At one o'clock, Prince Albert laid the foundation-stone of the proposed Scottish National Gallery, on the Mound. The correspondent of the Times conveniently epitomizes the circumstances under which this building had its origin-

" At the Union of the two countries, a grant of a certain sum annually was agreed to be set apart for the encouragement of manufactures and fishenes in Scotland. The administration of this sum was vested in the hands of two boards, one entitled the Board of Trustees for Manufactures, &c., the other the Board of British White Herring Fisheries. The former contains thirty, and the latter nineteen members, several of them otherwise much engaged by public business. The same secretary and clerks conduct the affairs of both boards ; and the offices are at the Royal Institution on the Mound, close to the new building of which his Royal Highness Prince Albert laid the foundation-stone. It appears that the annual amount payable to these boards fell largely in arrear, and with 40,000/. of that arrear the Institution

was built. Now, it so happened that when the grant of money at the Union was agreed upon, the encouragement of art WU understood to be included

along with that of manufactures ; and thus it arose, that when the Royal Scottish Society for Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture, received its char- ter, it was placed to a certain extent under the wing of the Board of Trus- tees, who in their turn received some two or three members of the Society into their body. The annual exhibition of the Society, which much resembles that of the Royal Academy, took place at the Institution ; and it is believed that the Board of Trustees have derived considerable emo- lument therefrom. Certain it is, that the Society has always been outvot- ed by the Trustees ; that it is much dissatisfied with the treatment which it receives from them ; and that it alleges, with the general assent of public opinion, that they are incompetent for the efficient discharge of their trust, which is thus thrown into the hands of a small clique, and carried on

in a jobbing spirit. The Trustees in their turn say that they don't want to be bothered with the Society's annual exhibition ; that it compels them to

displace their own pictures, which are thus exposed to serious damage, and

is otherwise a great inconvenience. Out of these quarrels has sprung up a strong desire on the part of the Royal Society to have an academy specially

provided for itself, leaving the Institution to be appropriated to other pur- poses. The Society had saved some thousands of pounds, and Government were asked to obtain a grant of public money for the object in view. They agreed to do so ; and the amount of the vote which they carried, instead of being handed over to the Board of Trustees for expenditure, will, it is under- stood, be administered through the office of Woods and Forests by a Com- mittee of the Board, consisting of his Grace the Duke of Bucelcuch, the Lord Provost, and several other very efficient names." The building will be the repository of works of art belonging to the na- tion, and the school wherein the Scottish Royal Academy will collect its pupils. Both the Gallery and the Academy are to be under the same roof, and to be parallel with each other along the extent of a structure running Southward from the Institution towards the Free Church College, and stand- ing separate from the former edifice, while harmonizing with it in general character. "There are to be two four-columned. Ionic porticoes at either end, and a large transverse portico of six columns in the centre on either side, to break the otherwise monotonous effect of an extent of dead wall considerably longer than the Institution, and plainly decorated with pilasters. The light is to be entirely from above ; the rooms within to be shaped in octagons and squares : and the estimated cost of construction is 40,0001., of which the Government find 25,0001., and the Royal Scottish Society 15,000/. If the edifice when completed at all resembles a design of it published by the architect, it will prove a very great architectural acquisition to the city of Edinburgh."

The ceremony of laying the foundation-stone was striking. "Prince Albert was loudly cheered as he passed in procession along Prince's Street, attended by an escort of cavalry. On alighting at the Institution, a royal salute was fired from the frowning battlements of the Castle, and with grand effect. On all sides, wherever the eye turned, countless mul- titudes of human beings were assembled. The whole space Southward sloping upwards to the many-storied houses of the Old Town was filled with a perfect sea of heads. On the flat roof of the Bank of Scotland, and on the graceful galleries of the Scott monument, and far up on the battle- ments of the Castle—in fact, everywhere whence a commanding view could be obtained, groups of spectators were clustered." The ground was admirably kept by the High Constables of the city, "under their valiant and loyal Moderate;" and by the Royal Scottish Archers—"the ' Queen's body-guard." Prince Albert proceeded through a canopied passage to the spot where he was to officiate, shaking hands with several whom

he recognized on the way. The Reverend Principal Lee offered up a

prayer for the success of the edifice. The Lord Justice-General presented ' an address to Prince Albert, which suitably touched on the objects of the building, and closed with a complimentary glance at the Prince's "mag- nificent undertaking" the Show of Industry, and a rejoicing reference to her Majesty's sojourn in the ancient palace of her ancestors. The usual masonic manipulations having been gone through, Prince Albert addressed the Lord Justice-General and those more immediately around him. Pre- facing with a few expressions of courtesy, he said- . " The building of which we have just begun the foundation is a temple to. ; be erected to the fine arts,—the fine arts, which have so important an influ- ence upon the development of the mind and feeling of a people, and which

are so generally taken as the type of the degree and character of that deve-

lopment, that it is on the fragments of the works of art come down to us- from bygone nations that we are wont to form our estimate of the state of their civilization, manners, customs, and religion. Let us hope that the impulse given to the culture of the fine arts in this country, and the daily increasing attention bestowed upon it by the people at large, will not only tend to refine and elevate the national tastes, bu tU also lead to the pro- duction of works which, if left behind us as memon. 's of our age, will give to after generations an adequate idea of our advanced state of civilization. It must be an additional source of gratification to me to find, that part of the funds rendered available for the support of this undertaking should be the ancient grant which at the union of the two kingdoms was secured towards the encouragement of the fisheries and manufactures of Scotland ; as it af- fords a most pleasing proof that these important branches of industry have arrived at that stage of manhood and prosperity, that, no longer requiring the aid of a fostering government, they can maintain themselves independently, relying upon their own vigour and activity, and can now in their turn lend assistance and support to their younger and weaker sisters, the fine arts. Gentlemen, the history of this grant exhibits to us the picture of a most healthy national progress,—the ruder arts connected with the necessaries of life first gaining strength ; then education and science supervening and di- recting further exertions ; and lastly, the arts, which only adorn life, be- coming longed for by a prosperous and educated people. May nothing dis- turb this progress ; and may, by God's blessing, that peace and prosperity be preserved to the nation which will insure to it a long continuance of moral and intellectual enjoyment."

This concluded the ceremony ; and the Prince almost immediately after returned to Holyrood House, amidst the acclamations of the multitude. i The Queen left Edinburgh, for Babnoral, at half-past eight on Saturday , morning ; the cannon of the Castle thundering a royal salute, which

; thousands of the inhabitants echoed with loyal shouts. As far as Cu- par Angus the journey was by railway ; but at that point the rail was abandoned, and the road through the heart of the Highlands by way of the Spinal of Glenshee was pursued. At every halting-place and point of view along the whole line, the people of all ranks were found

crowding, to gratify their curiosity or manifest their respect. Balmoral was safely reaehed befora seven in the evening.

Sunday is left blank in the diary of the Royal progress but it is noted that on Monday and Tuesday the Queen drove out with her children in an open carriage and Prince Albert went out shooting with the Prince of Leinengen and Sir George Grey.

The trial of Mr. Thomas Henderson, captain of the Orion steamer, and of John Williams her second mate, for the -culpable bereavement of the lives" of the passengers who were lost by the wreck of that steamer off Portpatzick; took place at Edinburgh at the end of last week, before the High Court of Justiciary. It was proved that during the second mate's watch the vessel

approached closer to the shore thtea is usual by upwards of a ; and that this unusual course was taken when the weather was hazy, and against the warming exclamations of the experienced seamen who had the look-out watch: it was further proved that the captain came on deck several times during the second mate's watch, and each time obsen-edboth the com- pass and the ship's position off the shore, which could be distinguished during nearly the whole course : thus the mate was shown to have conducted the ship recklessly, and the captain to have left him uncontrolled in his recklessness. The object was to cut off all corners, and run a straight and swift course. On the part of the captain it was urged, that the usage in the Liverpool and Glasgow service is, that in fine weather he should retire to rest during the flour hours of the second mate's watch, that time including an unhazarelous part of the voyage ; this usage was proved by several ex- perienced captains and pilots: but all these witnesses negatived the propriety of the captain's retirement in hazy weather ; vet the log-book of the Orion enters the weather as "hazy and calm." Moreover, the captain was on board, and supervised the course ; so it was urged that he must share the responsibility of it. For the mate it was urged, first, that the course he gave was practically correct—but he was contradicted both by Captain Ro- binson of the Royal Navy, the hydrographical surveyor of the coast, from whose observations the Admiralty charts are prepared, and by commanders and pilots in the service; secondly, that the compasses were wrong generally —but it was proved that they varied only one point ; and thirdly, that they were falsified on this particular voyage by eight tons of iron freight stowed near to them—but it was proved that this particular cause could only vary them two points. At the end of a trial of two days the Jury found both prisoners guilty: the Court sentenced the captain (Henderson) to be im- prisoned for eighteen months, and the mate (Williams) to be transported for seven yeare.