ever, in 1313, history tells us that it was recovered from the English by the Earl of Moray, assisted by thirty men, who, in the darkness of night, scaled the western precipice, guided by one of their number, "who had been in the habit of descending and reascending the cliff surreptitiously to pay court to his mistress." In the crown room, within a grated inclosure, we saw the insignia of Scottish royalty, consisting of a crown, scepter, and sword of state, and with them is the Lord Treasurer's rod of office-all which had been concealed in an oak chest in 1707, and not discovered until 1818. The most attractive point here is Queen Mary's room, where her son, James VI., was born, and when only six days old was let down from a window of his room in a basket, to be taken to a place of greater safety. It makes one dizzy to look from this window to the ground. A remarkable portrait of Queen Mary hangs in this room, and on the wall, surmounted by the Scottish arms, is the following inscription: "Lord Jesu Chryst that crounit was with Thornes, 19th IVNII, 1566." In this chamber Queen Mary's bedstead, and one of her chairs in which we had the honor of sitting, still remain. On the bomb battery lies dismounted a gigantic cannon, called "Mons Megs," capable of discharging a twenty-inch ball. It was made of thick iron bars hooped together, at Mons, in Brittany, and was employed at the siege of Norham Castle, in 1513. In 1684 it was removed to the Tower of London, where it was regarded as a most interesting relic until 1829, when it was restored to the Castle. It burst in 1682, while being used in firing a salute to the Duke of York. On our way from the Castle we gazed with strange interest upon the "Heart of Mid Lothian"—the form of a heart set in the cobble-stone pavement on the spot where stood the old Tolbooth, in which Effie Deans was incarcerated, and where the Porteous mob, so vividly described in Scott's "Heart of Mid Lothian," took place. A little further on, in a lower part of the city, we came to the house of John Knox, which is a very old and odd-looking affair; but three rooms-the sitting-room, bed-room and study-are all that are shown to visitors. It was provided for him when he was elected Minister of Edinburgh in 1559, and he occupied it, with some interruptions, from 1560 until his death in 1572. Over the door is the following inscription: LUFE.GOD. ABOVE.ALL.AND. YOUR. Under the window, from which it is said he used to address the populace, is an effigy of him in the attitude of speaking. Continuing our walk along this part of the old town, called "The Canongate," we came to the house now, or lately, used as a printing office, in which Boswell, the biographer of Johnson, resided, and in which he received Johnson in 1773. Opening from Longmarket street is a narrow alley called "Lady Stair's Close," in which is laid the scene of Sir Walter Scott's romantic story, "My Aunt Margaret's Mirror." Over the doorway of the house described in the story is the inscription: "Fear the Lord and depart from evil." E CHAPTER VII. DINBURGH, JUNE 8.-We have had a week's delightful enjoyment in old Edinburgh and vicinity, going one day a few miles out of town to visit Roslin Castle, only the ruins of which remain. The Chapel near by, however, has been preserved, and is much admired for its exquisite architecture, including what is called the "Apprentice's Pillar,' which has been reproduced in plaster in the South Kensington Museum, London. Nothing could be more charming than the scenery surrounding the Castle, and through Hawthornden, the home of the poet Drummond in the the time of Shakspeare. Here, too, are labyrinthine paths 66 To caverns dark and low, Wherein, they say, King Robert Bruce Edinburgh is conspicuous not only for its solid stone edifices, but also for its monuments. In Parliament Square is a fine equestrian statue of Charles II. In one street are statues of Pitt, George IV., John, the fourth Earl of Hoptonn, and a column, one hundred and thirty-six feet in height, to Lord Melville, surmounted with his statue; and, then, on Calton Hill are Nelson's monument, two hundred feet in height, Dugald Stewart's monument, and an unfinished national monument, after the style of the Parthenon, erected in honor of the heroes of Waterloo. Besides these monuments on Calton Hill, which overlooks the city, there is an observatory from which a splendid view is had of the surrounding country, embracing Arthur's Seat, Lammermoor, and Pentland Hills. "Traced like a map the landscape lies There ocean with its azure tide, There Arthur's Seat—and, gleaming through A distant giant range. - are seen North Berwick Law, with cone of green, But the most graceful monument, perhaps, in Europe is that to Sir Walter Scott in Princess street garden. It takes two hundred and eighty-seven steps to reach its top. Under the canopy is a statue of Sir Walter in a sitting posture, his faithful dog by his side. The niches are filled from characters in Scott's novels, such as Prince Charles, Meg Merrilies, the Lady of the Lake, and the Last Minstrel. At a short distance from this monument is a bronze statue of John Wilson, (Christopher North,) and a little further on is a white marble statue of Allan Ramsay. In the Canongate churchyard we saw the stones that mark the graves of Adam Smith, author of the Wealth of Nations," Dugald Stewart, David Allan, artist, and Ferguson, the poet. That over the grave of Ferguson was erected by Robert Burns, "to remain forever sacred to the memory of Robert Ferguson, born September 5, 1751, died October 16, 1774," to which record are added these lines: "No sculptured marble here, nor pompous lay; No storied urn, nor animated bust This simple stone directs pale Scotia's way The White House Inn, now in a dilapidated condition, is another object of curiosity, as the house where Dr. Johnson put up when he visited Edinburgh |