X: To the Pentland Hills explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Nature and the Sublime

  The chapter vividly describes the Pentland Hills, the expansive view from the summit, and the interplay of natural elements like wind, birds, and landscape, evoking a sense of the sublime.

• Human Connection and Community

  Reflects on the shared memories of Edinburgh emigrants and the rural community life visible from the hills, including farms, roads, and the anecdote of the distiller and gauger.

• Travel and Discovery

  The chapter is a walk to the Pentland Hills, exploring the countryside and discovering historical and natural features, with a sense of journey and observation.

Characters to notice

• Old Edinburgh

  The city is personified and described as sending abroad an influence and portrait of herself, with emigrants carrying memories of her sights.

• Mr. Bough

  Painted the distant view of Edinburgh engraved for this collection.

Key passages

• “There is no Edinburgh emigrant, far or near, from China to Peru, but he or she carries some lively pictures of the mind, some sunset behind the Castle cliffs, some snow scene, some maze of city lamps, indelible in the memory and delightful to study in the intervals of toil.”

  Every emigrant from Edinburgh, no matter how distant, holds vivid mental images of the city's landmarks and scenes, which bring comfort during hard work.

  Highlights the enduring emotional connection emigrants have with their hometown.

• “The city might be a thousand miles away, and yet it was from close by that Mr. Bough painted the distant view of Edinburgh which has been engraved for this collection; and you have only to look at the cut, to see how near it is at hand.”

  Although the city seems far, the painting of Edinburgh in this book was made from a nearby location, showing how close the hills are to the city.

  Emphasizes the proximity of the Pentland Hills to Edinburgh.

• “But hills and hill people are not easily sophisticated; and if you walk out here on a summer Sunday, it is as like as not the shepherd may set his dogs upon you. But keep an unmoved countenance; they look formidable at the charge, but their hearts are in the right place, and they will only bark and sprawl about you on the grass, unmindful of their master's excitations.”

  The hill folk are simple and may set dogs on strangers, but the dogs are harmless and will just bark and roll on the grass.

  Describes the rustic character of the hill people and their dogs.

• “So you sit, like Jupiter upon Olympus, and look down from afar upon men's life. The city is as silent as a city of the dead: from all its humming thoroughfares, not a voice, not a footfall, reaches you upon the hill.”

  From the hilltop, you feel like a god observing human life below, with the city appearing completely silent despite its usual bustle.

  Conveys the sense of detachment and tranquility from the elevated viewpoint.