LETTERS FROM THE OLD WORLD--NO. LXXVI.
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22 BUCCLEUCH PLACE, EDINBURGH,

August 5th, 1861.

MY DEAR FRIEND:— You will be surprised to receive a letter from me, dated from 'Edina, Scotia's darling seat.' Even to me it seems a dream to be once more under the ever hospitable roof of my much loved friend, that 'mother in Israel,' (as you term her,) dear Mrs. RENTON, and to be looking out upon Arthur's Seat, and Salisbury Craigs. I have been favored in weather; blue skies and bright sunshine have shown off the splendid buildings of this fine city to the best advantage. The beautiful gardens, both of Princes Street and the Castle, are decked in their gayest colors, and contrast finely with the sombre heights of the Castle, and the grandeur of the newly erected Free Assembly Hall, and other fine new buildings, to say nothing of SCOTT's Monument, and the splendid range of Princes St., (now more grand than ever,) the towering heights of Carlton Hill, crowned with monuments, and magnificent church edifices, whose towers and spires of beauty meet the eye in all directions.

I am never tired of admiring Edinburgh either from the North Bridge, or from the various heights of both the old and new town, which afford travellers such an ample opportunity of surveying their respective beauties. Yet I, this time, look on Edinburgh with sadder eyes than usual. A few years sometimes produce great changes in a circle of friends, and death and sickness have made great inroads here. My dear hostess, once the most active of the active, the most vigorous of the vigorous, in body as well as mind, is greatly enfeebled and brought low. The mind is as clear as it was wont to be; the loving heart is as warm as ever; but the frail tabernacle is greatly shattered, and the imprisoned spirit seems preparing to wing its flight to that blest abode, where sickness and decay are unknown, and sorrow never enters. I, who have spent so many happy weeks beneath this privileged roof, holding sweet converse with this wise counselor and much valued friend, cannot but feel sad now, though perhaps this is selfish.

Dear, good Dr. HENRY GREY and his wife have been removed to the better land, since my last visit to Edinburgh, and so have several other excellent friends of mine and of humanity; and now there are homes plunged in affliction and woe, too deep for mortal hand to heal. Human sympathy is sweet, yet how powerless is at the best, human friendship, to heal the wounds laid bare before it. At such times we can but point to Him who 'healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.'

I much enjoyed listening, yesterday, to a discourse preached by 'the most popular man in Edinburgh,' (as people call him,) Dr. GUTHRIE. I was fortunate, for it was his first Sunday here after two months' absence. The church was, as usual, crowded to its utmost limits, even though numbers of the Edinburgh families are out of town. Strangers all throng to Dr. GUTHRIE'S church— to secure a ticket is always a favor— since thus you obtain a seat without any undue crowding— and I was comfortably seated some twenty minutes before Dr. GUTHRIE walked into the pulpit. He appeared the same both in mind and body as when last I saw him, and no diminution of power was to me perceptible. He possesses the art of rivetting the attention of his hearers so entirely, that throughout his interesting discourse yesterday, it seemed to me some eyes were fixed on him without intermission. His text was taken from the 8th and five following verses of the second chapter of St. James. Although I have the wish, I have not the time to tell you of this discourse. I will but say that he enlarged considerably on the closing paragraph of the text—'Mercy rejoiceth against judgment'— and all who know the character of this truly great and noble hearted man will feel that God's tender mercy is a theme on which he ever loves to dwell, and to which he is ever ready to direct the weary and sin-laden soul. Long, long may the tall form of Dr. GUTHRIE be seen walking up and down the street of Edinburgh, and long may his strong voice and broad Scotch accent be heard in her churches, telling the people not only of her 'sins and sorrows,' but of their privileges and high re
sponsibilities.

Churches have multiplied greatly in this city since my last visit, and I am astonished at the grandeur of some of the new erections. The Free Assembly Hall is a majestic edifice, towering up on the rise of the Castle Hill, and evincing, aong other things, that the 'Free Church' of Scotland have vast wealth at its control. In this fine Hall, I, one evening last week, listened, for the first time, to the eloquence of Signor GAVAZZI, who delivered an address on 'the Evangelization of Italy.' He gave a graphic picture of the present state of things in his beloved country. His hopes for the future of Italy, both temporally and spiritually, seem bright, and his eulogisms of GARIBALDI and RICASOLI were great; but I must not enlarge.

LEEDS, August 21st.

It was in the railway carriage, while coming from Edinburgh, that the sounds, ',' first met my ears. If I tell the truth, I may say, my ears tingled with shame, as I heard the gentlemen who were conversing together express their joy that such arrant cowards had been beaten! Every mail since then has brought us further intelligence on the subject; yet I am still in complete doubt as to You, my dear friend, will do your British readers a kindness by answering this question, so far as you are able, in the next issue of your paper. Our press copies Southern extracts and Northern extracts from American papers, and we are, thus far, all at sea as to the numbers .

Your August paper is before me; but while it speaks of the defeat 'great losses,'

and 'sorrow and mourning' being carried into 'thousands of hearts and homes,' I have no idea whether 20, 200, or 2,000 men are really billed, and conjectures on this point are endless. Many thanks are due to RUSSELL, 'the correspondent,' for his graphic sketches of the armies, Northern and Southern. There is an old and trite saying, '' and I dare not allow myself to say much about this '' matter—for as the accounts come to us, a more thoroughly contemptible scene of cowardice was never opened up to view; and if the poor, timid Northern Government had been graciously pleased to accept the services of a brave band of colored volunteers, previous to this 'Bull Run' encounter, doubtless those brave men (deserted and left entirely unsupported by the runaway cowards) would have fallen a sacrifice without any real gain to the cause of freedom. I fully concur in all you say in your Bull Run article—it is for the Government to act, for them to proclaim freedom to the slaves at the South and then the sympathy of all Europe would be their's. As matters are now, the people here are stultified, and know not what to hope or fear in regard to this war. For my part, I wish that every colored family of the Northern States would cross the frontier, and take up their permanent abode in Canada, where, sheltered beneath the British flag, and freed form the many disabilities that obstruct their onward career, they might become honest and upright citizens of the good Queen Victoria, and kind hosts to the tens of thousands of poor fugitive slaves who now, more than ever, will be fleeing from their cruel taskmasters to a land where liberty is something more than a name! 'God reigns in Eternity,' said that noble man, HENRY WARD BEECHER, to you and to me, once when speaking on the subject of American slavery. We knowand feel that He will overrule all this confusion, this wrath of men and clang of arms, for the final deliverance of the poor bondmen and that He will bring them out of their Southern prison-house as surely as He brought the children of Israel out of Egypt.

There was a glorious celebration held in Leeds, in commemoration of West India Emancipation, on the 1st of August. The chief speakers were Messrs. DAY, MITCHELL, TROY and JOHNSON, all fine representatives of an oppressed race. Dr. C. occupied the chair, and both he and L considered the crowded meeting a grand success in every point of view. All the speakers acquitted themselves well, and Mr. DAY's speech was most eloquent. I regretted that my visit northwards prevented my being present.

I rejoice greatly that our excellent friend, Dr. CHEEVER, received ere his departure from our shore, an expression (from noble and true friends of the slave) of their admiration of the course he has pursued in respect to the giant sin of his country.

Slavery is such a mighty subject, that when I once begin to touch upon it, all narration of a minor kind is omitted. Not a single word have I said of the Royal Agricultural Show, held in Leeds a few weeks since, and thronged with visitors from all parts of the kingdom. It was open five days, and on the first shilling day there were 73,000 people there. 40,000 were said to be present the
day we went, but so vast was the site of

ground on which the show was held, and so admirably were the arrangements conducted, that, by going early, we saw all the wonders without any inconvenience. The weather was delightful, and tens of thousands of people poured into Leeds from all parts of our island. Open house was every where kept, and a general season of rejoicing it was. The exhibition, both as to animal and agricultural implements, was indeed marvelous; and when I say that the visitors could thread their way up and down fourteen miles of alleys, you may have a slight idea of the vastness of the
whole.

I have no space now to speak of calm, delightful, lovely FULNECK, with its good Moravian brotherhood and sisterhood of Christian people, who, 'far retired from noise and strife,' dwell in that sweet valley, pursuing the even tenor of their way and training youthful minds in whatsoever things are pure and just and right and good. While passing a portion of one bright summer's day there, I could not help appropriating MOORE'S well known lines:

'Sweet "Valley of Fulneck," how calm could
I rest

In thy bosom of shade with the friends I love
best,' &c.

In this sweet retreat JAMES MONTGOMERY passed many years of his life; and when we reached the ancient Prayer Hall, one of our
party struck up his beautiful hymn—

'Forever with the Lord!
Amen! so let it be,
Life from the dead is in that word,
'Tis Immortality,' &c.

One by one we all joined in the chorus. I shall never forget the effect, nor the scene.—You, my dear friend, would have much enjoyed it. Dr. C. pronouced it the most pleasant day he had spent in a long time.

But I must close. With our united kindest regards and best wishes for you and yours, believe me, as always,

Your faithful and affectionate friend.

JULIA G. CROFTS.