Page:Meda - a tale of the future.djvu/192

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188
MEDA:

behind. They took the place of lower gardeners, and were useful in their station of life. Occasionally some of this class showed abilities, and were advanced to a higher grade.

Conversing in this way we did not feel the journey to Edinburgh a long one, in fact it only lasted forty minutes. The Recorder said he would not take me through the ruined city as it was not considered elevating to visit the seats of ancient iniquity. We, however, saw the ruins as we skirted them. There was the old rock on which the castle once stood; there was the Calton Hill, but one looked in vain for a trace of the monuments that once stood there. It was truly not now modern Athens, but an ancient Athens. The whole place was completely in ruins. The sad thoughts that flocked in swarms through my brain made me silent. I remembered well the many pleasant days I had spent in this picturesque city, and I felt inclined to rebel against this new order of things. I had no unpleasant recollections of Edinburgh. All my visits there were of a