ROLLO IN SCOTLAND,

Chapter XI.

Loch Leven.

"And where are we going next, uncle George?" said Rollo, as they were all coming home to the hotel, from their last walk up to the castle.

"I am going to Kinross," said Mr. George.

"What is there at Kinross?" asked Rollo.

"There is a lake," said Mr. George, "and in the lake is an island, and on the island are the ruins of an old castle, and in the castle Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned."

"Yes," said Waldron, "I have heard of Mary, Queen of Scots, but I do not know much about her."

Waldron, it must be confessed, was not much of a scholar. He had read very little, either of history or of any thing else.

"What was she remarkable for?" he asked.

"In the first place," said Mr. George, "she was very beautiful, and she was also very lovely."

"That is the same thing; is it not?" said Rollo.

"No, not by any means," said Mr. George. [Pg 136]"There are many beautiful girls that are not lovely, and there are many lovely girls that are not particularly beautiful."

"You mean lovely in character, I suppose," said Rollo.

"No," said Mr. George, "I mean lovely in looks. There is a great difference, I think, between loveliness and beauty, in looks."

"I think so, too," said Waldron.

"Now, Mary, Queen of Scots," continued Mr. George, "was beautiful, and she was also very lovely; and while she lived she charmed and fascinated almost every body who knew her.

"Then, besides," continued Mr. George, "her life was an exceedingly romantic one. She met with an extraordinary number of most remarkable adventures. She was sent to France, when she was a little child, to be educated. There were four little girls of her own age sent with her, to be her playmates there, and they were all named Mary. She called them her four Marys.

"She grew up to be a young lady in France, and married the king's son, and she lived there for a time in great prosperity and splendor. At last her husband died, and her enemies came into power in France, and she became unhappy. Besides, there were some difficulties and troubles in [Pg 137]Scotland, and she was obliged to return to her native land. She was, however, very unhappy about it. She loved France very much, and the friends that she had made there, and when she came away she said that she had left half her heart behind.

"When we go to Edinburgh," continued Mr. George, "we shall go to Holyrood, and see the palace where she lived. While she was there a great many extraordinary and curious events and incidents befell her."

"Tell us about them," said Waldron.

"No," said Mr. George. "It would take me too long. You must read her history yourself. It is an exceedingly interesting story. She was accused of some great crimes, but mankind have never been able to decide whether she was guilty of them or not. Some are very sure that she was innocent, and some are equally positive that she was guilty."

"What crimes were they?" asked Waldron.

"Why, one was," said Mr. George, "that of murdering her husband. It was her second husband, one that she married after she came to Scotland. They did not live happily together. He killed one of Mary's friends, named Rizzio, and afterwards he was killed himself. The house that he was in was blown up in the night with gunpowder."

[Pg 138]"My!" exclaimed Waldron; "I should like to read about it."

"It is a very interesting and curious story," said Mr. George.

"And could not they find out who did it?" asked Waldron.

"Yes," said Mr. George, "they found out who did it; but what they could not find out was, whether Mary herself took any part in the crime or not. There was no direct proof. They could only judge from the circumstances."

"What were the circumstances?" asked Waldron.

"O, I could not tell you very well," said Mr. George. "It would take me half a day to tell the whole story. You must get some life of Mary, Queen of Scots, and read it for yourself. You will have to begin at the beginning, and read it all carefully through, and remember all the persons that are mentioned, and consider their characters and motives, and then you will be able to judge for yourself about it. There have been a great many histories of her life written."

"And what about her being imprisoned in the castle that we are going to see?" asked Waldron.

"O, you must read and find out for yourself [Pg 139]about that, too," said Mr. George. "The country got into great difficulty, and two parties were formed, one of which was in favor of Mary, and one was against her. Her enemies proved to be the strongest, and so they shut her up in this castle. But she got away."

"How?" asked Waldron.

"You will learn all about it," replied Mr. George, "when you come to read the history of her life. When we go to the castle you will see the window where she climbed down into the boat."

"Did she escape in a boat?" asked Waldron.

"I am positively not going to tell you any more about it," said Mr. George. "You must find out for yourself. Your father has paid ever so much money to send you to school, to have you educated, so that you could read history for yourself, and not be dependent upon any body; and now for me to tell it to you would be ridiculous. You must go to a bookstore, and buy a history of Mary, Queen of Scots, and begin at the beginning, and read the whole story."

Mr. George said this in a somewhat jocose sort of manner, and Waldron understood that his refusing to give him more full information about Mary, Queen of Scots, arose, not from any unwillingness to oblige him, but only to induce [Pg 140]him to read the story himself, in full, which he knew very well would be far better for him than to receive a meagre statement of the principal points of the narrative from another person.

"I mean to get the book," said Waldron, "as soon as we arrive at Edinburgh. But there is one thing I can do," he added; "I can ask the guide. The guide that shows us the castle will tell me how she got away."

"Well," said Mr. George, "you can ask the guide; but I don't believe you will get much satisfaction in that way."

The next morning after this conversation took place, Mr. George and the boys bade Stirling farewell, and set off in the cars, on the way to Loch Leven. After riding about an hour they left the train at the station called Dunfermline, where there was a ruin of an abbey, and of an ancient royal palace of Scotland. They left their baggage at the station, and walked through the village till they came to the ruin. It was a very beautiful ruin, and the party spent more than an hour in rambling about it, and looking at the old monuments, and the carved and sculptured windows, and arches, and cornices, all wasted and blackened by time and decay. A part of the ruin was still in good repair, and was used as a church, though it was full of old sepulchral [Pg 141]monuments and relics. There was a woman in attendance at the door, to show the church to those who wished to see the interior of it.

After looking at these ruins as long as they wished, Mr. George and the boys went back to the station, in order to take the next train that came by, and continue their journey. They went on about an hour longer, and then they got out again at a station called Cowdenbeath, which was the place on the road that was nearest to Loch Leven, and where they had understood that there was a coach, which went to Loch Leven twice a day. The place was very quiet and still, and was in the midst of a green and pretty country, with small groups of stone cottages here and there. There were also several pretty tall chimneys scattered about the fields, with a sort of platform, and some wheels and machinery near each of them. These were the mouths of coal pits. The wheels and machinery were for hoisting up the coal.

In the yard of the station they found the Loch Leven coach. It was in the form of a very short omnibus. The coachman said that he had just come in from Loch Leven, and that he was going to set out on his return at eight. It was now about seven, so that Mr. George and the boys had an hour to walk about, and see what was to be seen.

[Pg 142]It was a pleasant summer evening, and they enjoyed the rambles that they took very much indeed. They walked through several of the little hamlets, and saw the women sitting at the doors of their cottages, with their young children in their arms, while the older ones were running about, here and there, at play. They went to some of the coal pits, and saw the immense iron levers, driven by steam, that were slowly moving to and fro, hard at work pumping up water from the bottom of the mine. They took quite a walk, too, along the turnpike road, and saw a post-chaise drive swiftly by, with a footman behind, and a postilion in livery on one of the horses.

At last, when the hour of eight began to draw nigh, they all went back to a little inn near the station, where the coachman had said that he would call for them. When the coach came Mr. George got in, and the two boys mounted on the top, and took their places on a high seat behind that of the driver. They had a very pleasant ride. The country was beautiful, and the horses trotted so fast over the smooth, hard road, that a continued succession of most enchanting pictures of rural scenery was presented to the eyes of the boys, as they rode along. The distance was not far from ten miles, but both the boys wished that it had been twenty.

[Pg 143]At length they came in sight of a large village bordered by groves of trees, lying in the midst of a gentle depression of the ground, and in a few minutes more they began to get glimpses of the water. The village was Kinross, and the water was Loch Leven. Presently, in going over a gentle elevation of land, a large portion of the surface of the water came into view. Far out towards the centre of it was a small, low island, covered with trees. In the midst of the trees the boys could see the top of the ruin of a large, square tower. They asked the coachman if that was Loch Leven Castle, and he said it was.

"Uncle George," said Rollo, leaning over and calling out to his uncle inside, "there's the castle."

"Yes," said Mr. George, "I see it."

"It seems to me," said Rollo to Waldron, "that that is a very small island to build a castle upon."

"Yes," said the coachman; "but it was a great deal smaller in the days when the castle was inhabited. It was only just large enough then for the castle itself, and for the castle garden. It is a great deal larger now. The way it came to be larger was this. Some years ago the proprietor cut down the outlet of the loch four feet deeper than it was before; and that drew [Pg 144]off four feet of water from the whole loch, and of course all the places where the water was less than four feet deep were laid bare. This enlarged the castle island a great deal, for before the water was very shallow all around it. When the land became dry they planted trees there, and now the ruins are in the midst of quite a grove."

By this time the coach began to enter the village, and very soon it stopped at the door of a very neat and tidy-looking inn. Mr. George engaged lodgings for the night, and called for supper. The supper was served in a pleasant little coffee room, which was fitted up in a very snug and comfortable manner, like a back parlor in a gentleman's house.

After supper Mr. George proposed to the boys that they should take a walk about the village, as it was only nine o'clock, and it would not be dark for another hour. So they went out and walked through the street, back and forth. The houses were built of a sort of gray stone, and they stood all close together in rows, one on each side of the street, with nothing green around them or near them. The street thus presented a very gray, sombre, and monotonous appearance; very different from the animated and cheerful aspect of American villages, with their white [Pg 145]houses and green blinds, and pretty yards and gardens, enclosed with ornamental palings. The boys wished to go down to the shore of the loch; but as they did not see the water any where, Mr. George said he thought it would be too far. So they went back to the inn.

The next morning, after breakfast, they set out to go and visit the castle. A boy went with them from the inn to show them the way. He led them down the street of the village, to a house where he said the man lived who "had the fishing" of the loch. It seems that the loch, including the right to fish in it, is private property, and that the owner of it lets the fishing to a man in the village, and that he keeps a boat to take visitors out to see the castle. So they went to the house where this man lived. They explained what they wanted at the door, and pretty soon a boatman came out, and went with them to the shore of the pond. The way was through a wide green field, that had been formed out of the bottom of the loch, by drawing off the water. When they came to the shore they found a small pier there, with a boat fastened to it. There was a small boat house near the pier. The boatman brought some oars out of the boat house, and put them in the boat, and then they all got in.

The morning was calm, and the loch was very [Pg 146]smooth, and the boat glided along very gently over the water. There was a great curve in the shore near the pier, so that for some time the boat, though headed directly for the island, which was in the middle of the loch, moved parallel to the shore, and very near it. There was a smooth and beautiful green field all the way along the shore, which sloped down gently to the margin of the water. Beyond this field, which was not wide, there was a road, and beyond the road there was a wall. Over the wall were to be seen the trees of a great park; and presently the boat came opposite to the gateway, through which the boys could see, as they sailed by, a large and handsome stone house, or castle. The boatman said it was not inhabited, because the owner of it was not yet of age.

After passing the house they came, before long, to the end of these grounds, which formed a point projecting into the lake. There was a small and very ancient-looking burying ground on the point. This burying ground will be referred to hereafter; so do not forget it.

After passing this point of land, the boat, in her course towards the castle, came out into the open loch—the little island on which the ruins of the castle stand being in full view.

[Pg 147]There was, however, yet a pretty broad sheet of open water to pass before reaching the island.

LOCH LEVEN.

"Now we have passed Cape Race," said Waldron, "and are striking out into the open sea."

Cape Race is the southern cape of Newfoundland, and is the last land to be seen on the American coast, in crossing the Atlantic.

After about a quarter of an hour, the boat began to approach the shores of the little island. And now the great square tower, and the rampart wall connected with it, came plainly in sight. There were a few very large and old trees overhanging the ruins, and all the rest of [Pg 148]the island was covered with a dense grove of young trees. The boat came up to the land, and Mr. George and the boys stepped out of it upon a sort of jetty, formed of stones loosely thrown together. There was a path leading through the grass, and among the trees, towards the ruins of the castle.

The castle consisted, when it was entire, of a square area enclosed in a high wall, with various buildings along the inner side of it. The principal of these buildings was the square tower. This was in one corner of the enclosure. At the opposite corner of the enclosure were the ruins of a smaller tower, hexagonal in its form. The square tower contained the principal apartments occupied by the family that resided in the castle. The hexagonal one contained the rooms where Queen Mary was imprisoned.

Then, besides these structures, there were several other buildings within the area, though they are now gone almost entirely to ruin. There was a chapel, for religious services and worship; there were ovens for baking, and a brewery for brewing beer. The guide showed Mr. George and the boys the places where these buildings stood; though nothing was left of them now but the rude ranges of stone which marked the foundations of them. Indeed, throughout the whole [Pg 149]interior of the area enclosed by the castle wall there was nothing to be seen but stones and heaps of rubbish, all overgrown with rank grass, and tall wild-flowers, and overshadowed by the wide-spreading limbs and dense foliage of several enormous trees, that had by chance sprung up since the castle went to ruin. It was a very mournful spectacle.

The boys walked directly across the area, towards the hexagonal tower, in order to see the place where Queen Mary escaped by climbing out of the window.

Mr. George had thought that Waldron would not succeed in obtaining any satisfactory information from the guide in respect to the circumstances of Queen Mary's escape; for, generally, the guides who show these old places in England and Scotland know little more than a certain lesson, which they have learned by rote. But the guides who show the Castle of Loch Leven seem to me exceptions to this rule. I have visited the place two or three times, at intervals of many years, and the guides who have conducted me to the spot have always been very intelligent and well-informed young men, and have seemed to possess a very clear and comprehensive understanding of the events of Queen Mary's life. At any rate, the guide in this instance gave Waldron [Pg 150]and Rollo a very good account of the escape; separating in his narrative, in a very discriminating manner, those things which are known, on good historical evidence, to be true, from those which rest only on the authority of traditionary legends. He gave his account, too, in a very gentle tone of voice, and with a Scotch accent, which seemed so appropriate to the place and to the occasion that it imparted to his conversation a peculiar charm.

"The country was divided in those days," said he, "and some of the nobles were for the poor queen, and some were against her. The owner of this castle was Lady Douglass, and she was against her; and so they sent Mary here, for Lady Douglass to keep her safely, while they arranged a new government.

"But she made her escape by this window, which I will show ye."

So saying, the guide led the way up two or three old, time-worn, and dilapidated steps, into the hexagonal tower. The tower was small—being, apparently, not more than twelve feet diameter within. The floors, except the lower one, and also the roof, were entirely gone, so that as soon as you entered you could look up to the sky.

The walls were very thick, so that there was room, not only for deep fireplaces, but also for [Pg 151]closets and for a staircase, in them. You could see the openings for these closets, and also various loopholes and windows, at different heights. The top of the wall was all broken away, and so were the sills of the windows; and little tufts of grass and of wall flowers were to be seen, here and there, growing out of clefts and crevices. There were also rows of small square holes to be seen, at different heights, where the ends of the timbers had been inserted, to form the floors of the several stories.

"This was the window where she is supposed to have got out," said the guide.

So saying, he pointed to a large opening in the wall, on the outer side, where there had once, evidently, been a window.

The boys went to the place, and looked out. They saw beneath the window a smooth, green lawn, with the young trees which had been planted growing luxuriantly upon it.

"I suppose," said Mr. George, "that before the lake was lowered the water came up close under the window."

"Yes, sir," said the guide; "and if you stand upon the sill, and look down, you will see a course of projecting stone at the foot of the wall which was laid to meet the wash of the water."

"Let me see," said Waldron, eagerly.

[Pg 152]So saying, Waldron advanced by the side of Mr. George, and looked down. By leaning over pretty far he could see the course of stone very distinctly that the guide had referred to.

"Who brought the boat here for Mary to go away in?" asked Waldron.

"Young Douglass," said the guide, "Lady Douglass's son. He was a young lad, only eighteen years old. His mother was Queen Mary's enemy; but he pitied her, and became her friend, and he devised this way to assist her to escape. There was a plan devised before this, by his brother. His name was George Douglass. The one who came in the boat was William. George's plan was for Mary to go on shore in the disguise of a laundress. The laundress came over to the island from the shore in a boat, to bring the linen; and while she was in Mary's room Mary exchanged clothes with her, and attempted to go on shore in the boat with the empty basket. But the boatmen happened to notice her hand, which was very delicate and white, and they knew that such a hand as that could never belong to a real laundress. So they made her lift up her veil, and thus she was discovered."

"That was very curious," said Waldron.

"It is supposed," said the guide, "that this [Pg 153]floor, where we stand, was Mary's drawing room, and the floor above was her bed chamber. The staircase where she went up is there, in the wall."

"Let's go up," said Rollo.

So Rollo and Waldron went up the stairway. It was very narrow, and rather steep, and the steps were much worn away. When the boys reached the top they came to an opening, through which they could look down to where Mr. George and the guide were standing below; though, of course, they could not go out; for the floor in the second story was entirely gone.

"There was a room above the bed chamber," said the guide, "as we see by the windows and the fireplace, but there was no stairway to it from Queen Mary's apartments. The only access to it was through that door, which leads in from the top of the rampart wall. And there is another room below, and partly under ground. That is the room where Walter Scott represents the false keys to have been forged."

"What false keys?" asked Waldron.

"Why, the story is," said the guide, "that young Douglass had false keys made, to resemble the true ones as nearly as possible, so as to deceive his mother. He then contrived to get the true ones away from his mother, and put the false ones in their place. I will show you where [Pg 154]he did this, and explain how he did it, when we go into the square tower."

"Let us go now," said Waldron.

So they all went across the court yard, and approached the square tower. The guide explained to the boys that formerly the entrance was in the second story, through an opening in the wall, which he showed them. The way to get up to this opening was by a step ladder, which could be let down or drawn up by the people within, by means of chains coming down from a window above. The step ladder was, of course, entirely gone; but deep grooves were to be seen in the sill of the upper window, which had been worn by the chains in letting down and drawing up the ladder.

To accommodate modern visitors a flight of loose stone steps had been laid outside the square tower, leading to a window in the lower story of it. Mr. George and the boys ascended these steps and went in. The lower room was the kitchen, and they were all much interested and amused in looking at the very strange and curious fixtures and contrivances which remained there—the memorials of the domestic usages of those ancient times.

In a corner of the room was a flight of steps, built in the thickness of the wall, leading to the [Pg 155]story above. This was the dining room and parlor of the castle.

"It was here," said the guide, "according to the story of Walter Scott, that Douglass contrived to get possession of the castle keys. There was a window on one side of the room, from which there was a view, across the water of the lake, of the burying ground already mentioned. Lady Douglass, like almost every body else in those times, was somewhat superstitious, and William arranged it with a page that he was to pretend to see what was called a corpse light, moving about in the burying ground; and while his mother went to see, he shifted the keys which she had left upon the table, taking the true ones himself, and leaving the false ones in their place.

"That is the story which Sir Walter Scott relates," said the guide; "but I am not sure that there is any historical authority for it."

"And what became of Queen Mary, after she escaped in the boat?" asked Waldron.

"O, there were several of her friends," said the guide, "waiting for her on the shore of the loch where she was to land, and they hurried her away on horseback to a castle in the south of Scotland, and there they gathered an army for her, to defend her rights."

After this the boys looked down through a [Pg 156]trap door, which led to a dark dungeon, where it is supposed that prisoners were sometimes confined. They rambled about the ruins for some time longer, and then they returned to the boat, and came back to the shore. When they arrived at the pier they paid the boatman his customary fee, which was about a dollar and a quarter, and then began to walk up towards the inn.

"Well, boys," said Mr. George, "how did you like it?"

"Very much indeed," said Waldron. "It is the best old castle I ever saw."

"You will like the Palace of Holyrood better, I think," said Mr. George.

"Where is that?" asked Rollo.

"At Edinburgh," said Mr. George. "It is the place where Mary lived. We shall see the little room there where they murdered her poor secretary, David Rizzio."

"What did they murder him for?" asked Waldron.

"O, you will see when you come to read the history," said Mr. George. "It is a very curious story."

[Pg 157]

Chapter XII.

Edinburgh.

From Loch Leven Castle our party returned in the coach to the railway station, and thence proceeded to Edinburgh. They crossed the Frith of Forth by a ferry, at a place where it was about five miles wide.

Edinburgh is considered one of the most remarkable cities in the world, in respect to the picturesqueness of its situation. It stands upon and among a very extraordinary group of steep hills and deep valleys. A part of it is very ancient, and another part is quite modern, so that in describing it, it is often said that it consists of the old town and the new town. But it seems to me that a more obvious distinction would be, to divide it into the upper town and the lower town; for there are almost literally two towns, one upon the top of the other. The upper town is built on the hills. The lower one lies in the valleys. The streets of the upper town are connected by bridges; and when you stand upon one [Pg 158]of these bridges, and look down, you see a street instead of a river below, with ranges of strange and antique-looking buildings on each side, for banks, and a current of men, women, and children flowing along, instead of water.

The different portions of the lower town, on the other hand, are connected by tunnels and arched passage ways under the bridges above described; and then there are flights of steps, and steep winding or zigzag paths, leading up and down between the lower streets and the upper, in the most surprising manner.

There are twenty places, more or less, in the town, where you have two streets crossing each other at right angles, one fifty feet below the other, with an immense traffic of horses, carriages, carts, and foot passengers, going to and fro in both of them. You come upon these places sometimes very unexpectedly. You are walking along on the pavement of a crowded street, when you come suddenly upon the break, or interruption in the line of building on each side. The space is occupied by a parapet, or by a high iron balustrade. You stop to look over, expecting to see a river or a canal; instead of which, you find yourself looking down into the chimneys of four-story houses bordering another street below you, which is so far down that the people walking in [Pg 159]it, and the children playing on the sidewalk, look like pygmies.

At one place, in looking over the parapet of such a bridge, you see a vast market, with carts filled with vegetables standing all around it. At another, you behold a great railway station, with crowds of passengers on the platforms, and trains of cars coming and going; at another, a range of beautiful gardens and pleasure grounds, with ladies and gentlemen walking in them, or sitting on seats under the trees, and children trundling their hoops, or rolling their balls, over the smooth gravel walks.

Sometimes a street of the upper town, running along on the crest or side of a hill, lies parallel with one in the lower town, that extends below it in the valley. In this case the block of houses that comes between will be very high indeed on the side towards the lower street; so that you see buildings sometimes eight or ten stories high at one front, and only four or five on the other. These structures consist, in fact, of two houses, one on top of the other; the entrances to the lower house being from one of the streets of the lower town, and those leading to the one on the top being from a street in the upper town.

The reason why Edinburgh was built in this extraordinary position was, because it had its [Pg 160]origin in a castle on a rock. This rock, with the castle that crowns the summit of it, rears its lofty head now in the very centre of the town, with deep valleys all around it. This rock, or rather rocky hill,—for it is nearly a mile in circumference,—is very steep on all sides but one. On that side there is a gradual slope, a mile or more in length, leading down to the level country. A great many centuries ago the military chieftains of those days built the castle on the hill. About the same time the monks built a monastery on the level ground at the foot of the long slope leading down from the castle. The rocky hill was an excellent place for the castle, for there was a hundred feet of almost perpendicular precipice on all sides but one, and on that side there was a convenient slope for the people who lived in the castle to go up and down; and thus, by fortifying this side, and making slight walls on all the other sides, the whole place would be very secure. The level ground below, too, was a very good place for the monastery or abbey; for it was easily accessible from all the country around, and was, moreover, in the midst of a region of fertile land, easy for the lay brethren to till. There was no necessity that the abbey should be in a fortified place, for such establishments were [Pg 161]considered sacred in those days, and even in the most furious wars they were seldom molested.

In process of time a palace was built by the side of the abbey. This palace and a part of the ruins of the abbey still remain. Of course, when the palace was built, a town would gradually grow up near it. Many noblemen of the realm came and built houses along the street which led from the palace up to the castle—now called High Street. The fronts of these houses were on the street, and the gardens behind them extended down the slopes of the ridge on both sides, into the deep valleys that bordered them. Little lanes were left between these houses, leading down the slopes; but they were closed at the bottom by a wall, which was built along at the foot of the descent on each side, and formed the enclosure of the town.

In process of time the town extended down into these valleys, and then to the other hills beyond them. Then bridges were built here and there across the valleys, to lead from one hill to another, and tunnels and other subterranean passages were made, to connect one valley with another, until, finally, the town assumed the very extraordinary appearance which it now presents to view. Besides the hills within the town, there are some very large and high ones just beyond [Pg 162]the limits of it. One of these is called Arthur's Seat, and is quite a little mountain. The path leading to the top of it runs along upon the crest of a remarkable range of precipices, called Salisbury Crags. These precipices face towards the town, and together with the lofty summit of Arthur's Seat, which rises immediately behind them, form a very conspicuous object from a great many points of view in and around the town.

Unfortunately, however, none of this exceedingly picturesque scenery could be seen to advantage by our party, on the day that they arrived in Edinburgh, on account of the rain. All that they knew was, that they came into the town by a tunnel, and when they left the train at the station they were at the bottom of so deep a valley that they had to ascend to the third story before they could get out, and then they had to go up a hill to get to the street in which the hotel was situated.

The name of this street was Prince's Street. It lay along the margin of one of the Edinburgh hills, overlooking a long valley, which extended between it and Castle Hill, on which the town was first built. There were no houses in this street on the side towards the valley, but there were several bridges leading across the valley, as if it had been a river. Beyond the valley were [Pg 163]to be seen the backs of the houses in High Street, which looked like a range of cliffs, divided by vertical chasms and seams, and blackened by time. At one end of the hill was the castle rock, crowned with the towers, and bastions, and battlemented walls of the ancient fortress.

The boys went directly to their rooms when they arrived at the hotel, and while Mr. George was unstrapping and opening his valise, Waldron and Rollo went to look out at the window, to see what they could see.

"Well, boys," said Mr. George, "how does it look?"

"It looks rainy," said Rollo. "But we can see something."

"What can you see?" asked Mr. George.

"We can see the castle on the hill," said Rollo. "At least, I suppose it is the castle. It is right before us, across the valley, with a precipice of rocks all around it, on every side but one. There is a zigzag wall running round on the top of the precipices, close to the brink of them. If a man could climb up the rocks he could not get in, after all."

"And what is there inside the wall?" asked Mr. George.

"O, there are ever so many buildings," said [Pg 164]Rollo—"great stone forts, and barracks, and bastions, rising up one above another, and watch towers on the angles of the walls. I can see one, two, three watch towers. I should like to be in one of them. I could look over the whole city, and all the country around.

"I can see some portholes, with guns pointing out,—and—O, and now I see a monstrous great gun, looking over this way, from one of the highest platforms. I believe it is a gun."

"I suppose it must be Mons Meg," said Mr. George.

"Mons Meg?" repeated Rollo. "I'll get a glass and see."

"Yes," said Mr. George. "There is a very famous old gun in Edinburgh Castle, named Mons Meg. I think it may be that."

"I can't see very plain," said Rollo, "the air is so thick with the rain; but it is a monstrous gun."

Just at this time the waiter came into the room to ask the party if they would have any thing to eat.

"Yes," said Mr. George, "we will. Go down with the waiter, boys, and see what there is, and order a good supper. I will come down in fifteen minutes."

So the boys went down, and in fifteen minutes [Pg 165]Mr. George followed. He found the supper table ready in a corner of the coffee room, and Rollo sitting by it alone.

"Where is Waldron?" asked Mr. George.

"He's gone to the circulating library," said Rollo.

"The circulating library?" repeated Mr. George.

"He has gone to get a book about the history of Scotland," said Rollo. "We have been reading in the guide book about the castle, and Waldron says he wants to know something more about the kings, and the battles they fought."

"How does he know there is any circulating library?" asked Mr. George.

"He asked the waiter," said Rollo, "and the waiter told him where there was one. He said he would try to be back before the supper was ready, and that we must not wait for him if he did not come."

"He ought to have asked me if I was willing that he should go," said Mr. George.

In a few minutes Waldron came in with two pretty big books under his arm. They were covered with paper, in the manner usual with the books of circulating libraries. Waldron advanced to the supper table, and laid the books down upon it with an air of great satisfaction.

[Pg 166]"Then you found a circulating library," said Mr. George.

"Yes, sir," said Waldron, "and I have got two volumes of the history of the great men of Scotland."

"What did you get two volumes for?" asked Mr. George.

"One for Rollo and one for me," said Waldron. "They are for us to read this evening, because it rains."

"Well," said Mr. George, after a moment's pause. "I am very glad to find that you take an interest in reading about Scotland; but you ought to have asked me, before you went away to get books from a circulating library."

Waldron paused a moment on hearing this remark, and his countenance assumed a very serious expression.

"So I ought," said he. "I did not think of that. And now, if you think I had better, I will go and carry them right back."

"No," said Mr. George, "I don't wish you to carry them back. But I should not have thought they would have intrusted such books to you—a perfect stranger—and a boy besides."

"I made a deposit," said Waldron.

Just at this time the waiter brought the supper [Pg 167]to the table, and the party, being all hungry, set themselves to the work of eating it.

"You see," said Waldron, when they had nearly finished their supper, "I thought we should want something to do this evening; it rains, and we can't go out."

"What time in the evening do you suppose it is?" asked Mr. George.

"Why, it is not near dark yet," said Waldron.

"True," said Mr. George; "but it is almost ten o'clock."

"O Mr. George!" exclaimed Waldron.

"It is half past nine, at any rate," said Mr. George.

The boys were greatly surprised at hearing this. They were very slow in learning to keep in mind how late the sun goes down in the middle of June in these extreme northern latitudes.

However, on this occasion it was dark earlier than usual, on account of the clouds and the rain; and the waiter came to light the gas over the table where our party were at supper, before they finished their meal, although it was only a little more than half past nine. This made it very bright and cheerful in the corner, and Mr. George proposed that they should all stay there one hour. "I will write," said he, "and you may read in your books. We will stay here till half past ten, and [Pg 168]then, after you have gone to bed, you can talk yourselves to sleep by telling each other what you have read about in your books."

This plan was carried into effect. Mr. George wrote, and the boys read, by the light of the gas for an hour. Then Mr. George put away his papers, and said it was time to go to bed. When the boys went to their bedroom they found two narrow beds in it, one in each corner of the room. Waldron took one of them, and Rollo the other. When both the boys were in bed they commenced conversation in respect to what they had been reading.

"Come, Waldron," said Rollo, "tell me what you have been reading about."

"No," said Waldron, "you must begin."

"Well," said Rollo, "I read about King James the First. There have been a good many King Jameses in Scotland."

"Yes," said Waldron, "six."

"This was King James the First. He was a bad king. He oppressed his people, and they determined to kill him. So they banded together and made a plot. They were going to kill him in a monastery where he stopped on a journey.

"He was going over a river just before he came to the monastery, and a woman, who pretended to be a prophetess, called out to him as [Pg 169]he went by towards the bank of the river, and told him to beware, for if he crossed that river he would certainly be killed. The king was very superstitious; so he sent one of his men back to ask the woman what she meant. The man came to him again very soon, and said that it was nothing but an old drunken woman raving, and that he must not mind her. So the king went on.

"He crossed the water, and went to the monastery. The conspirators were there before him. The leader of them was a man named Graham. He had three hundred Highlanders with him. They were all concealed in the neighborhood of the monastery. They were going to break into the king's room in the monastery, at night, and kill him. They found out the room where he was going to sleep, and they took off the bolts from the doors, so as to keep them from fastening them.

"The woman that had met the king on the way followed him to the monastery, and wanted to see the king. They told her she could not see him. She said she must see him. They told her that at any rate she could not see him then—he was tired with his journey. She must go away, they said, and come the next day. So she went away; but she told them they would all be sorry for not letting her in."

[Pg 170]"Do you suppose she really knew," asked Waldron, "that they were going to kill the king?"

"I don't know," said Rollo. "At any rate, she seemed very much in earnest about warning him."

"Well; go on with the story," said Waldron.

"Why, the conspirators broke into the room that night just as the king was going to bed. He was sitting near the fire, in his gown and slippers, talking with the queen and the other ladies that were there, when, all at once, he heard a terrible noise at the doors of the monastery. It was the conspirators trying to get in."

"Why did not they come right in," asked Waldron, "if the doors were not fastened?"

"Why, I suppose there were guards, or something, outside, that tried to prevent them. At any rate, the king heard a frightful noise, like clattering and jingling of armor, and of men trying to get in. He and the women who were there ran to the door and tried to fasten it; but the bolts and bars were gone. So the king told them to hold the door with all their strength, till he could find something to fasten it with. The king went to the window, and tried to tear off an iron stanchion there was there, but he could not. Then he saw a trap door in the floor, which [Pg 171]led down to a kind of dark dungeon. So he took the tongs and pried up the door, and jumped down.

"By the time that he got down, and the door was shut over him, the conspirators came in, and began to look all about for him; but they could not find him. I suppose they did not see the trap door. Or, perhaps, the women had covered it over with something."

"Well, and what did they do?" asked Waldron.

"Why, they were dreadfully angry because they could not find the king, and some of them were going to kill the queen; but the rest would not let them. But there was one of the women that got her arm broken."

"How?" asked Waldron.

"She did it somehow or other holding the door. I suppose she got it wedged in some way. She was a countess.

"After a while," continued Rollo, "the men went away to look in some of the other rooms of the monastery, and see if they could not find the king there. As soon as they were gone the king wanted to get out of the dungeon. The women opened the trap door, but he could not reach up high enough to get out. So he told them to go [Pg 172]and get some sheets and let them down, for ropes to pull him up by.

"They brought the sheets, and while they were letting them down, and trying to get the king out, one of the ladies fell down herself into the hole. So there were two to get up; and while the others were trying to get them up, the conspirators came in again."

"Hoh!" said Waldron.

"One of them had a torch," said Rollo, continuing his narrative. "He brought the torch and held it down the trap door, and presently he caught sight of the king. So he called out to the other conspirators that he had found him, and they all came round the place, with their swords, and daggers, and knives in their hands.

"One of them let himself down into the dungeon. He had a great knife in his hand for a dagger. But the king seized him the instant he came down, got his knife away from him, and pinned him to the ground. The king was a very strong man. Immediately another man came down, and the king seized him, and held him down in the same way. Next Graham himself came with a sword. He stabbed the king with his sword, and so disabled him. The king then began to beg for his life, and Graham did not seem to like to strike him again. But the other [Pg 173]conspirators, who were looking down through the trap door, said if he did not do it they would kill him. So at last he stabbed the king again, and killed him."

When Rollo had finished the story he paused, expecting that Waldron would say something in relation to it.

"Is that all?" said Waldron, after waiting a moment. He spoke, however, in a very sleepy tone of voice.

"Yes," said Rollo, "that is all. Now tell me your story."

Waldron began; but he seemed very sleepy, and he had advanced only a very little way before his words began to grow incoherent and faltering, and very soon Rollo perceived that he was going to sleep. Indeed, Rollo himself was beginning to feel sleepy, too; so he said,—

"No matter, Waldron. You can tell me your story to-morrow."

In five minutes from that time both the boys were fast asleep.

[Pg 174]

Chapter XIII.

The Palace of Holyrood.

While Mr. George and the boys were in Edinburgh, they went one day to visit the Palace of Holyrood, and they were extremely interested in what they saw there. This palace stands, as has already been stated, on a plain, not far from the foot of a long slope which leads up to the castle.

As long as Scotland remained an independent kingdom, the Palace of Holyrood was the principal residence of the royal family. Queen Mary was the last of the Scottish sovereigns—that is, she was the last that reigned over Scotland alone—for her son, James VI., succeeded to the throne of England, as well as to that of Scotland. The reason of this was, that the English branch of the royal line failed, and he was the next heir. So he became James the First of England, while he still remained James the Sixth of Scotland. And from this time forward the kings of England and Scotland were one.

Mary, therefore, was the last of the exclusively [Pg 175]Scottish line. She lived at Holyrood as long as she was allowed to live any where in peace; and on account of certain very peculiar circumstances which occurred just before the time that she left the palace, her rooms were never occupied after she left them, but have remained to this day in the same state, and with almost the same furniture in them as at the hour when she went away. These rooms are called Queen Mary's rooms, and almost every body who visits Scotland goes to see them.

The reason why the rooms which Mary occupied in the Palace of Holyrood were left as they were, and never occupied by any other person after Mary went away, was principally that a dreadful murder was committed there just before Mary quitted them. This, of course, connected very gloomy associations with the palace; and while great numbers of persons were eager to go and see the place where the man was killed, few would be willing to live there. The consequence has been, that the apartments have been vacant of occupants ever since, though they are filled all the time with a perpetually flowing stream of visitors. The circumstances of the murder were very extraordinary. Mr. George explained the case briefly to the boys during their visit to the palace, as we shall presently see.

[Pg 176]On leaving the hotel they went for a little way along Prince's Street. On one side of the street there was a row of stores, hotels, and other such buildings, as in Broadway, in New York. On the other side extended the long and deep valley which lies between Prince's Street and Castle Hill. The valley was crossed by various bridges, and beyond it were to be seen the backs of the lofty houses of High Street, rising tier above tier to a great height, looking, as has already been said, like a range of stupendous cliffs, lifting their crests to the sky.

There were scarcely any buildings on the valley side of the street, except one or two edifices of an ornamental or public character. One of these was the celebrated monument to Sir Walter Scott.

[Pg 177-78]

SCOTT'S MONUMENT.

The party paused a short time before this monument, and then went on. They passed by one or two bridges that led across the valley, and also, at one place, a broad flight of steps, that went down, with many turnings, from landing to landing, to the railway station in the valley. At last they came to the bridge where they were to cross the valley. They stopped on the middle of the bridge, to look down. They saw streets far below them, and a market, and trains of railway carriages coming and going, and beyond [Pg 179]at some distance, an extensive range of pleasure grounds, with ladies and gentlemen rambling about them, and groups of children playing. These pleasure grounds extended some way up the slope of the Castle Hill. Indeed, the upper walks lay close along under the foot of the precipices on which the castle walls were built above.

After passing the bridge, Mr. George and the boys went on, until, at length, they came to High Street; which is the great central street of ancient Edinburgh, leading from the palace and abbey on the plain up to the castle on the hill. There, if they had turned to the right, they would have gone up to the castle; but they turned to the left, and so descended towards the palace, on the plain.

At length they reached the foot of the descent, and then, at a turn in the street, the palace came suddenly into view.

There was a broad paved area in front of it. In the centre of the building was a large arched doorway, with a sentry box on each side. At each of these sentry boxes stood a soldier on guard. All the royal palaces of England are guarded thus. There was a cab, that had brought a company of visitors to see the castle, standing near the centre of the square, by a great statue [Pg 180]that was there. Another cab drove up just at the time that Mr. George arrived, and a party of visitors got out of it. All the new comers went in under the archway together. The soldiers paid no attention to them whatever.

The arched passage way led into a square court, with a piazza extending all around it. The visitors turned to the left, and walked along under the piazza till they came to the corner, where there was a little office, and a man at the window of it to give them tickets. They paid sixpence apiece for their tickets.

After getting their tickets they walked on under the piazza a little way farther, till at length they came to a door, and a broad stone staircase, leading up into the palace, and they all went in and began to ascend the stairs.

At the head of the stairs they passed through a wide door, which led into a room where they saw visitors, that had gone in before them, walking about. They were met at the door by a well-dressed man, who received them politely, and asked them to walk in.

"This, gentlemen," said he, "was Lord Darnley's audience chamber. That," he continued, pointing through an open door at the side, "was his bedroom; and there," pointing to another [Pg 181]small door on the other side, "was the passage way leading up to Queen Mary's apartments."

Having said this, the attendant turned away to answer some questions asked him by the other visitors, leaving Mr. George and the boys, for the moment, to look about the rooms by themselves.

The rooms were large, but the interior finishing of them was very plain. The walls were hung with antique-looking pictures. The furniture, too, looked very ancient and venerable.

"Who was Lord Darnley?" asked Waldron.

"He was Queen Mary's husband," replied Mr. George.

"Then he was the king, I suppose," said Waldron.

"No," replied Mr. George, "not at all. A king is one who inherits the throne in his own right. When the throne descends to a woman, she is the queen; but if she marries, her husband does not become king."

"What is he then?" said Waldron.

"Nothing but the queen's husband," said Mr. George.

"Hoh!" exclaimed Waldron, in a tone of contempt.

"He does not acquire any share of the queen's power," continued Mr. George, "because he marries [Pg 182]her. She is the sovereign alone afterwards just as much as before."

"And so I suppose," said Rollo, "that when a king marries, the lady that he marries does not become a queen."

"Yes," said Mr. George, "the rule does not seem to work both ways. A lady who marries a king is always called a queen; though, after all, she acquires no share of the royal power. She is a queen in name only. But let us hear what this man is explaining to the visitors about the paintings and the furniture."

So they advanced to the part of the room where the attendant was standing, with two or three ladies and gentlemen, who were looking at one of the old pictures that were hanging on the wall. It was a picture of Queen Mary when she was fifteen years old. The dress was very quaint and queer, and the picture seemed a good deal faded; but the face wore a very sweet and charming expression.

"I think she was a very pretty girl," whispered Waldron in Rollo's ear.

"She was in France at that time," said the attendant, "and the picture, if it is an original, must have been painted there, and she must have brought it with her to Scotland, on her return from that country. She brought a great deal [Pg 183]with her on her return. There were several vessel loads of furniture, paintings, &c. The tapestry in the bedroom was brought. It was wrought at the Gobelins."

Mr. George went into the bedroom, to look at the tapestry. Two sides of the room were hung with it.

"It looks like a carpet hung on the walls," said Waldron.

"Yes," said Mr. George; "a richly embroidered carpet."

The figures on the tapestry consisted of groups of horsemen, elegantly equipped and caparisoned. The horses were prancing about in a very spirited manner. The whole work looked very dingy, and the colors were very much faded; but it was evident that it must have been very splendid in its day.

After looking at the tapestry, and at the various articles of quaint and queer old furniture in this room, the company followed the attendant into another apartment.

"This," said he, "is the room where Lord Darnley, Ruthven, and the rest, held their consultation and formed their plans for the murder of Rizzio; and there is the door leading to the private stairway where they went up. You cannot go up that way now, but you will see where [Pg 184]they came out above when you go up into Queen Mary's apartments."

"Let us go now," said Waldron.

"Well," said Mr. George, "and then we can come into these rooms again when we come down."

So Mr. George and the boys walked back, through Lord Darnley's rooms, to the place where they came in. Here they saw that the same broad flight of stone stairs, by which they had come up from the court below, continued to ascend to the upper stories. There was a painted inscription on a board there, too, saying, "To Queen Mary's apartments," with a hand pointing up the staircase. So they knew that that was the way they must go.

As they went up, both Rollo and Waldron asked Mr. George to explain to them something about the murder, so that they might know a little what they were going to see.

"Well," said Mr. George, "I will. Let us sit down here, and I will tell you as much as I can tell in five minutes. Really to understand the whole affair, you would have to read as much as you could read in a week. And I assure you it is an exceedingly interesting and entertaining story.

"Darnley, you know, was the queen's husband. [Pg 185]Her first husband was the young Prince of France; but he died before Queen Mary came home. So that when she came home she was a widow; very young, and exceedingly beautiful. There is a very beautiful painting of her, I am told, in the castle."

"Let us go and see it," said Waldron.

"To-morrow," said Mr. George.

"After Queen Mary had been in Scotland some little time," continued Mr. George, "she was married again to this Lord Darnley. He was an English prince. The whole story of her first becoming acquainted with Darnley, and how the marriage was brought about, is extremely interesting; but I have not time now to tell it to you.

"After they were married they lived together for a time very happily; but at length some causes of difficulty and dissension occurred between them. Darnley was not contented to be merely the queen's husband. He wanted, also, to be king."

"I don't blame him," said Waldron.

"I should have thought," said Rollo, "that Mary would have been willing that he should be king."

"Very likely she might have been willing herself," said Mr. George, "but her people were not willing. There were a great many powerful nobles and chieftains in the kingdom, and about her [Pg 186]court, and they took sides, one way and the other, and there was a great deal of trouble. It is a long story, and I can't tell you half of it, now. What made the matter worse was, that Darnley, finding he could not have every thing his own way, began to be very harsh and cruel in his treatment of Mary. This made Mary very unhappy, and caused her to live a great deal in retirement, with a few near and intimate friends, who treated her with kindness and sympathy.

"One of these was David Rizzio, the man who was murdered. He was one of the officers of the court. His office was private secretary. He was a great deal older than Mary, and it seems he was an excellent man for his office. He used to write for the queen when it was necessary, and perform other such duties; and as he was very gentle and kind in his disposition, and took a great interest in every thing that concerned the queen, Mary became, at last, quite attached to him, and considered him as one of her best friends. At last Lord Darnley and his party became very jealous of him. They thought that he had a great deal too much influence over the queen. It was as if he were the prime minister, they said, while they, the old nobles of the realm, were all set aside, as if they were of no consequence at all. So they determined to kill him.

[Pg 187]"They formed their plot in the room below, where we have just been. It was in the evening. Mary was at supper that night in a little room in the tower up above, where we are now going. There were two or three friends with her. The men went up the private stairway, and burst into the little supper room, and killed Rizzio on the spot."

"Let us go up and see the place," said Waldron.

So Mr. George rose, and followed by the boys, he led the way into Queen Mary's apartments.

[Pg 188]

Chapter XIV.

Queen Mary's Apartments.

Before we follow Mr. George and the boys into Queen Mary's apartments, I have one or two other explanations to make, in addition to the information which Mr. George communicated to the boys on the stairs. These explanations relate to the situation of Mary's apartments in the palace. They were in a sort of wing, which forms the extreme left of the front of the palace. The wing is square. It projects to the front. At the two corners of it, in front, are two round towers, which are surmounted above by short spires. As there is a similar wing at the right hand end of the front, with similar towers at the corners, the façade of the building is marked with four towers and four spires. The left hand portion is represented in the engraving opposite.

[Pg 189-90]

THE CORNER TOWER OF THE PALACE OF HOLYROOD.

Queen Mary's rooms are in the third story, as seen in the engraving. The principal room is in the square part of the wing, between the two round towers. This was the bedroom. In the [Pg 191]right hand tower, as seen in the engraving, is a small room, as large as the tower can contain, which was used by Mary as an oratory; that is, a little chapel for her private devotions. In the left hand tower was another small room, similar to the oratory, which Mary used as a private sitting room or boudoir. It is just large enough for a window and a fireplace, and for a very few persons to sit. It was in this little room that Mary was having supper, with two or three of her friends, when Darnley and his gang came up to murder Rizzio, who was one among them.

Besides Mary's bedroom, which was in the front part of the wing, between the two towers, there was another large room behind it, which also belonged to her. Darnley's apartments were very similar to the queen's, only they were in the story below. It was the custom in those days, as it is now, indeed, in high life, for the husband and wife to have separate ranges of apartments, with a private passage connecting them. In this case the private passage leading from Darnley's apartments to Mary's was in the wall. It was a narrow stairway, leading up to Mary's bedroom, and the door where it came out was very near to the door leading to the little room in the tower where Mary and her friends [Pg 192]were taking supper on the night of Rizzio's murder.

When Mr. George and the boys reached the top of the stairs, they entered a large room, which, they were told by an attendant who was there to receive them, was Mary's audience chamber. This was the room situated back of the bedroom. The room itself, and every thing which it contained, wore a very antique and venerable appearance. The furniture was dilapidated, and the coverings of it were worn and moth-eaten. Very ancient-looking pictures were hanging on the walls. There was a large fireplace, with an immense movable iron grate in it. The grate was almost entirely worn out. The attendant who showed these rooms said that it was the oldest grate in Scotland. Still, it was not so old as the time of Mary, for it was brought into Scotland, the attendant said, by Charles II., who was Mary's great grandson.

There was a window in a very deep recess in this room. It looked out upon a green park, on the side of the palace. A very ancient-looking table stood in this recess, which, the attendant said, was brought by Mary from France. The ceiling was carved and ornamented in a very curious manner.

[Pg 193-94]

QUEEN MARY'S BEDROOM.

"And which is the door," said Waldron to the [Pg 195]attendant, "where Darnley and his men came in, to murder Rizzio?"

"That is in the next room," said the attendant. So saying, he pointed to a door, and Mr. George and the boys, and also two or three other visitors whom they had found in the room when they came in, went forward and entered the room.

"This, gentlemen and ladies," said the attendant, as they went in, "was Queen Mary's bed chamber. The door where we are coming in was the main or principal entrance to it. This is the bed and bedstead, just as they were left when Queen Mary vacated the apartment. That door,"—pointing to a corner of the room diagonally opposite to where the company had entered,—"leads to the little boudoir[G] where Rizzio was killed, and that opening in the wall by the side of it, under the tapestry, is the place where Darnley and the other assassins came up by the private stair."

A view of the room, and of the various objects which the attendant showing them thus pointed out to the company, may be seen in the engraving on the opposite page.

The bedstead is seen on the right. It is surmounted by a heavy cornice, richly carved and [Pg 196]gilded. This cornice, and the embroidered curtains that hang from it, must have been very magnificent in their day, though now they are faded and tattered by age. The coverings of the bed are also greatly decayed. Only a little shred of the blanket now remains, and that is laid upon the bolster. The rest of it has been gradually carried away by visitors, who for a long time were accustomed to pull off little shreds of it to take with them, as souvenirs of their visit. These depredations are, however, now no longer allowed. That part of the room is now enclosed by a cord, fastened to iron rods fixed in the floor, so that visitors cannot approach the bed. They are watched, too, very closely, wherever they go, to prevent their taking any thing away. They are not allowed to sit down in any of the chairs.

The door in the corner of the room to the left leads into the little boudoir, or cabinet, where Rizzio was murdered. You can see a little way into this room, in the picture. Mr. George and the boys went into it. There was a table on the back side of it, with the armor, and also the gloves, and one of the boots which Darnley wore, lying upon it. The attendant took up a breast-plate, which formed a part of the armor, and let the boys lift it. It was very heavy. There was an indentation in the front of it, where it had [Pg 197]been struck by a bullet. The boot, too, was prodigiously thick and heavy. The heel was not less than three inches high.

There was a fireplace in this room, and over it was an altar-piece; a sort of picture in stone, which Mary used in her oratory, according to the custom of the Catholics. It had been broken to pieces and put together again. It was said that John Knox broke it, to show his abhorrence of Popery, but that the pieces were saved, and it was afterwards mended.

There was also in this room a square stone, shaped like a block, about two feet long, sawed off from the end of a beam of timber. This was the stone that Mary knelt upon when she was crowned Queen of Scotland.

To the right of the door which leads to the boudoir, under the tapestry, we see in the engraving the opening in the wall which leads to the staircase where the conspirators came up. The boys went in here and looked down. The stairs were very narrow, and very dark. The passage was closed below, so that they could not go down. In Mary's time these stairs not only led down to Darnley's rooms, but there was a continuation of them down the lower story, and thence along by a private way to Mary's place in the chapel of the monastery, where she used to go [Pg 198]to attend divine service. She always went by this private way, so that nobody ever saw her go or come. They only knew that she was there by seeing the curtains drawn before the little compartment in the walls of the chapel where she was accustomed to sit.

In the deep recess of the window, seen at the left in the engraving, you will see a tall stand, with a sort of basket on the top of it. This basket contained baby linen, and was sent to Mary as a present by Queen Elizabeth of England, at the time when Mary's child was born. This was the child that afterwards became King James. He was not born here, however. He was born in the castle. His birth took place only about three months after the murder of Rizzio. The basket was a very pretty one, and it was lined with the most costly lace, only a few remnants of which are, however, remaining.

The attendant showed all these things to the visitors, and many more, which I have not time now to describe. Among the rest was a piece of embroidery set in the top of a workbox, which Mary herself worked. The top of the box was formed of a plate of glass; the embroidery was placed underneath it, so that it could be seen through the glass. It was old and faded, and the [Pg 199]boys did not think that it was very pretty. It was, however, curious to see it, since Mary had worked it with her own hands; especially as she did it when she was a child; for the guide said she embroidered it when she was only about twelve years old.

"She was very skilful with her needle," said the attendant. "She learned the art in France, at the convent where she was educated. This tapestry which hangs upon the wall was worked by the nuns at that convent, and it is said that Mary assisted them."

The tapestry to which the guide referred is the same that you see in the engraving on the wall of the room, opposite to the observer. It hung down over the door leading to the private staircase.

Besides the bedroom and the boudoir, there was the oratory, too; that is, the small room corresponding to the boudoir, in the other round tower. This room is not shown in the engraving, as the opening leading into it is on the side of the bed chamber where the spectator is supposed to stand. It was a very small room, like a round closet, with a window in it. It contained very little furniture. There were two tall, carved stands, to hold the candlesticks, on each side of the altar, and several very ancient-looking chairs. [Pg 200]There was also a small and very peculiar-shaped old mirror hanging upon the wall. It had no frame, but the glass itself was cut into an ornamental form. This mirror was a great curiosity, it must be confessed; but it was past performing any useful function, for the silver was worn off to such an extent that it was very difficult to see one's face in it.

After looking some time longer at Queen Mary's rooms, Mr. George and the boys went back again to Lord Darnley's apartments below. There they saw a picture of Queen Mary which they had not observed before. It represented her, the man said, in the dress she wore the day that she was beheaded. The dress was of dark silk or velvet, plain, but very rich. It fitted close to the form, and came up high in the neck. The countenance evinced the changes produced by time and grief, but it wore the same sweet expression that was seen in the portrait painted in her earlier years.

"What was she beheaded for?" asked Rollo, while they were looking at this portrait.

"She was beheaded by the government of Queen Elizabeth of England," replied Mr. George. "They charged her with forming plots to dethrone Elizabeth, and make herself Queen of England in her place."

[Pg 201]"And did she really form the plots?" asked Waldron.

"Why—yes," said Mr. George, speaking, however, in a somewhat doubtful tone, "yes—I suppose she did; or, at least, her friends and party did; she herself consenting. You see she was herself descended from an English king, just as Elizabeth was, and it was extremely doubtful which was the rightful heir. Mary, and all her friends and party, claimed that she was; and Elizabeth, on the other hand, insisted that her claim was clear and unquestionable."

"Which was right?" asked Waldron.

"It is impossible to say," replied Mr. George. "It was such a complicated case that you could not decide it either way. The question was like a piece of changeable silk. You could make it look green or brown, just according to the way you looked at it. When you come to read the history you will see just how it was."

"Yes," said Waldron, "I mean to read all about it."

"After the difficulties in Scotland," continued Mr. George, "Mary's armies were driven across the line into England, and there Mary was seized and made prisoner. Elizabeth would have given her her liberty if she would have renounced her [Pg 202]claims to the English crown—but this Mary would not do. She was kept in prison a number of years. At last some of her friends began to form plots to get her out, and make her Queen of England. She was accused of joining in these plots, and so she was tried, convicted, and beheaded."

"And did she really join in the plots?" asked Waldron.

"I presume so," said Mr. George. "I would have joined in them if I had been in her place."

"So would I," said Waldron.

"Did Queen Elizabeth order her to be beheaded?" asked Rollo.

"No," said Mr. George, "not directly—or, at least, she pretended that she did not. She appointed some judges to go and try her, on the charge of treason, and the judges condemned her to death. Elizabeth might have saved her if she chose, but she did not; though afterwards, when she heard that Mary had been executed, she pretended to be in a great rage with those who had carried the sentence into effect, and to be deeply grieved at her cousin's death."

"The old hag!" said Waldron.

[Pg 203-4]

QUEEN ELIZABETH ON PARADE.

"Why, no," said Mr. George, "I don't know that we ought to consider her an old hag for this. It was human nature, that is all. She may have [Pg 205]been sincere in her grief at Mary's death, while yet she consented to it, and even desired it, beforehand. We often wish to have a thing done, and yet are very sorry for it after it is done.

"You see," continued Mr. George, "Queen Elizabeth was a very proud and ambitious woman. She was very fond of the power, and also of the pomp and parade of royalty; and she could not endure that any one should ever question her claim to the crown."

"Well," said Waldron, "at any rate I am sorry for poor Mary."

After this, Mr. George and the boys went down the staircase where they had come up, to the court, and then proceeding along the piazza to the back corner of it, they passed through an open door that led them to the ruins of the old abbey, which stood on this spot some centuries before the palace was built. There was nothing left of this ancient edifice but the walls, and some of the pillars of the chapel. The roof was gone, and every thing was in a state of dilapidation and ruin.

There was a guide there who pointed out the place where Mary stood at the time of her marriage with Lord Darnley. The grass was growing on [Pg 206]the spot, and above, all was open to the sky. Multitudes of birds were flying about, and chirping mournfully around the naked and crumbling walls.

[Pg 207]

Chapter XV.

Edinburgh Castle.

The day after the visit which the party made to the palace, they set out from their hotel to go to the castle. As they were walking along together on the sidewalk of Prince's Street, on a sudden Waldron darted off from Rollo's side, and ran into the street, in pursuit of a cab which had just gone by. He soon overtook the cab and climbed up behind it; and then, to Mr. George's utter amazement, he reached forward along the side of the vehicle, so as to look into the window of it, and knocked on the glass. In a moment the cab stopped, the door opened, and the mystery of the case was explained to Mr. George and Rollo by seeing Waldron's father looking out of it.

"It is his father!" said Rollo.

"Yes," said Mr. George. "But that is not the proper way for a boy to stop his father, riding by in a cab, in the streets of Edinburgh."

The cab drove up to the sidewalk, and then [Pg 208]Mr. Kennedy got out to speak to Mr. George. He said that he had received letters from America, making it necessary for him to set sail immediately for home. He had intended, he added, to have remained two or three weeks longer in Scotland; and in that case he should have liked very much to have continued Waldron under Mr. George's care.

"And now," he added, turning to Waldron, "which would you rather do—go home to America with me, or stay here, and travel with Mr. George?"

Waldron looked quite perplexed at this proposal. He said that he liked very much to travel with Mr. George and Rollo, and yet he wanted very much indeed to go home.

In the course of the day various debates and consultations were held, and it was finally decided that Waldron should go home. So the accounts were settled with Mr. George, and Waldron was transferred to the hotel where his father and mother were lodging. They were to set out the next morning, in the express train for Liverpool. The preparations for the journey and the voyage kept Waldron busy all that day, so that Mr. George and Rollo went to the castle alone. But Waldron made Rollo promise that in the evening [Pg 209]he would come to the hotel and see him, and tell him what he saw there.

In the evening, accordingly, Rollo went to the hotel where Mr. Kennedy was staying. Mr. George went with him. They went first into Mr. Kennedy's parlor. A door was open between the parlor and one of the bedrooms, and both rooms were full of trunks and parcels. Every body was busy packing and arranging. The ladies were showing each other their different purchases, as they came in from the shops; and as soon as Mr. George entered, they began to ask him whether he thought they would be obliged to pay duty on this, or on that, when they arrived in America.

Rollo asked where Waldron was, and they said he was in his room, packing his trunk. So Rollo went to find him.

"Ah, Rollo," said Waldron, "I am glad you have come. I want you to sit on the top of my trunk with me, and make it shut down."

Rollo gave Waldron the assistance he required, and by the conjoined gravity of both the boys the trunk was made to shut. Waldron turned the key in an instant, and then said,—

"There! Get open again if you can. And now, Rollo," he continued, "tell me about the castle."

[Pg 210]"Well, we had a very good time visiting it," said Rollo. "We went over the bridge where you and I stopped to look down to the market, and came to High Street. But instead of turning down, as we did when we were going to Holyrood, we turned up; because, you know, the castle is on the top of the hill."

"Yes," said Waldron, "I knew that was the way."

"Well, we went up High Street," continued Rollo. "The upper part of it is quite a handsome street. There were a great many large public buildings. We passed by a great cathedral, where, they said, a woman threw a stool at the minister, while he was preaching."

"What did she do that for?" asked Waldron.

"I don't know," said Rollo. "I suppose she did not like his preaching. It was in the reformation times. I believe he was preaching Popery, and she was a Protestant. Her name was Jenny Geddes. They have got the stool now."

"They have?" exclaimed Waldron.

"Yes," said Rollo, "so uncle George said. They keep it in the Antiquarian Museum, for a curiosity."

"When we got to the upper end of the High Street," continued Rollo, "there was the castle all before us. Only first there was a parade [Pg 211]ground for the troops; it was all gravelled over."

"Were there any soldiers there?" asked Waldron.

"Yes," said Rollo, "there were two or three companies drilling and parading."

"I should like to have seen them," said Waldron.

"Yes," said Rollo, "and besides, the parade ground was a splendid place. The lower end of it was towards the street; the upper end was towards the gates and walls of the castle, and the two sides of it were shut in by a low wall, built on the very brink of the precipice. You could look down over this wall into the streets of the lower part of the town; and then we could see off a great way, over all the country.

"We stopped a little while to look at the view, and then we turned round and looked at the soldiers a little while longer, and then we went on. Presently we came to the castle gates. There was a sentinel on guard, and some soldiers walking to and fro on the ramparts above; but they did not say any thing to us, and so we went in. There were other parties of ladies and gentlemen going in too."

"Well," said Waldron, "what did you see when you got in?"

[Pg 212]"Why, we were yet only inside the walls," said Rollo, "and so we kept going on up a steep road paved with stones. There were walls, and towers, and battlements, and bastions, and soldiers walking sentry, and cannons pointed at us, all around. Presently we came to a sort of bridge. Here we heard some music. It seemed down below; so we went to the side of the bridge and looked over. There was a little square field below, and three men, with Scotch bagpipes, playing together. The men were dressed in uniform, and the bagpipes were splendid-looking instruments."

"Yes," said Waldron. "They were the musicians of some Highland regiment, practising."

"Well; we went on, higher and higher," said Rollo, "and continued going round and round, till, at last, we came to the upper part of the castle, where there were platforms, and cannons upon them, pointing out over all the country round about."

"Did you see Mons Meg?" asked Waldron.

"Yes," said Rollo, "and we went up close to it. But we did not touch it, for there was a notice put up that visitors must not touch the guns.

"By and by we came into a large square court, with buildings, that looked like barracks, [Pg 213]all about it. There was a sign up, with a hand on it pointing, and the words, 'To the crown room.' So we knew that that was the place where we were to go. Besides, all the other ladies and gentlemen were going there, too.

"We gave up our tickets at the door, and went up a short flight of steps, into a little sort of cellar."

"A little sort of cellar!" exclaimed Waldron. He was surprised at the idea of going up stairs into a cellar.

"Yes," said Rollo. "It was just like a cellar. It had stone walls all around it, and was arched overhead."

"Was it dark?" asked Waldron.

"O, no," said Rollo; "it was lighted up splendidly with gas. The gas shone very bright in between the bars of the cage, and brightened up the crown and the jewels wonderfully."

"In the cage?" repeated Waldron; "was there a cage?"

"Yes," replied Rollo. "In the middle of the room there was a great iron cage, as high as my head, and big in proportion. The crown and the jewels were in the cage, on cushions. They were so far in that people could not reach them by putting their hands through the bars. There were a great many persons standing all around [Pg 214]the cage, and looking in to see the crown and the jewels."

"Were they pretty?" asked Waldron.

"Not very," said Rollo. "I suppose the things were made of gold; but I could not tell, from the looks of them, whether they were made of gold or brass."

"Was there any thing else?" asked Waldron.

"Yes," said Rollo, "there was a monstrous oak chest,—iron bound, or brass bound,—where the crown and jewels were hid away for a great many years. At the time when Scotland was united to England, they put these things in this chest; and they were left there so long that at last there was nobody that knew where they were. Finally the government began to look for them, and they looked in this old chest, and there they found them.

"While we were looking at the chest," continued Rollo, "I heard some music out in the court, and I asked uncle George to let me go out; and he did. I was very glad I did, for the Highland regiment was paraded in the court. I stood there some time to see them exercised."

"Did they look well?" asked Waldron.

"Beautifully," said Rollo.

After this, Rollo gave Waldron some further accounts of what he saw at the castle; but before [Pg 215]he got quite through with his descriptions Mr. George came, and said it was time for them to go home. So they both bade Waldron good by. Rollo said, however, that it was not his final good by.

"I shall come down to the station to-morrow morning," said he, "and see you go."

Waldron was very much pleased to hear this, and then Mr. George and Rollo went away.

[Pg 216]

Chapter XVI.

Conclusion.

Mr. George and Rollo made some excursions together after this, but I have not time to give a full account of them. Among others, they went to see Linlithgow, where stands the ruin of an ancient palace, which was the one in which Queen Mary was born. Linlithgow itself is a town. Near it is a pretty little loch. The ruins stand on a smooth and beautiful lawn, between the town and the shore of the loch. The people who lived in the palace had delightful views from their windows, both of the water of the loch itself and of the opposite shores.

At this ruin people can go up by the old staircases to various rooms in the upper stories, and even to the top of the walls. The floors, wherever the floors remain, are covered with grass and weeds.

There was a very curious story about the castle. It was taken at one time by means of a load of hay. The enemy engaged a farmer who lived [Pg 217]near, and who was accustomed to supply the people of the castle with hay, to join them in their plot. So they put some armed men on his cart, and covered them all over with hay. They also concealed some more armed men near the gateway. The gateway had what is called a portcullis; that is, a heavy iron gate suspended by chains, so as to rise and fall. Of course, when the portcullis was down, nobody could get in or out.

The people of the castle hoisted the portcullis, to let the load of hay come in, and the farmer, as soon as he had got the wagon in the middle of the gateway, stopped it there, and cut the traces, so that it could not be drawn any farther. At the same instant the men who were hid under the hay jumped out, killed the guard at the gates, called out to the other men who were in ambush, and they all poured into the castle together, crowding by at the sides of the wagon. The wagon, being directly in the way, prevented the portcullis from being shut down. Thus the castle was taken.

Mr. George and Rollo also went to visit Melrose Abbey, which is a very beautiful ruin in the south part of Scotland. While they were there they visited Abbotsford, too, which is the house that Walter Scott lived in. Walter Scott amused [Pg 218]himself, during his lifetime, in collecting a great many objects of interest connected with Scottish history, and putting them up in his house; and now the place is a perfect museum of Scottish antiquities and curiosities.

Melrose and Abbotsford are in the southern part of Scotland, not very far from the English frontier. After visiting them, Mr. George and Rollo proceeded by the railway to Berwick, which stands on the boundary line; and there they bade Scotland farewell.

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FOOTNOTES