The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1852-11-11

Our guide pointed out to us the remains OF
the terraced garden, the round table, and the
reyal canal, constructed under the direction OF
Mary of Guise, the sally-port whence issued
the Gudeman of Ballcngeich," the king of
the Commons" on his incOg. expeditions among
the people, the window out of which James II
hurled the Earl of Douglas after having slain
him with his own royal hand, and the tower
in which Roderck Dhu is said to have died.
Mary Stuart was crowned at Stirling, and
James vi was here educated under Buchanan.
We reached Edinburgh in rain, which
proved to be the beginning of the equinoxial
storm, so that though we spent three days in
the grand old town, we had but one day of toll
erable weather for sightseeing. On that
friend, who kindly undertook the Office OF cice-
rome, conducted us first to the Castle, through
| pleasant planted grounds, where not many
years ago WIS a small loch. We found the
view from the ramparts truly magnificent
though obscured somewhat by an envious mist
Looking down, the contrast between the dark,
quaint, mourniul, Wondering " Old Town" and
the elegant, cheerful, prosperous New Town, is
the most curious and striking of conceivable
| sights.
OF all foreign places which had ever seen,
| Edinburgh wore to me the most familiar as
street after street, as though ito the manor
born" and only returned after a few years of
wandering or weary exile ! needed no guide
to point out Arthurs Seat Salisbury Crags, St
Le0nards, the Grass Market, and the Canon
| gate.
In the most ancient part of the Castle we
were shown some rude, sombre apartments,
once appropriated to Mary Stuart-the one of
most historical interest being n small dressing
room in which James vi was born.
On descending from the Castle, we visited
some interesting old places, among them the
house in which Boswell lived when Johnson
visited Edinburgh, the house of John Knox,
and the CanOngate church yard in which re-
poses the poet Ferguson beneath Il tombstone
erected by Burns and where are also the graves
of Adam Smith, Dugald Stewart and DR..
Gregory
We went through the Parliament House, q
building Of no great outward elegance bat
containing some magnificent halls. We uni0r-
tunately had not time to enter the fine old Ca
thedral of ST. Giles venerable as the scene of
a tumultuous struggle for the establishment of
Prelacy in the time OF the First Charles, and
within whose walls the Regent Murray and
the Marquis Of Montrose were buried By the
way, no sight which | beheld that day more
startled my heart than that of the stone baco-
ny of an old house in the Canongate, from
which the brutal Argyle and the shameless
| Gordon bent, exulting over and knocking at the
| great Montrose on his way to receive his SEN
tence.
The Tolbooth seemed no stranger to my eyes
| and HolyrOod Palace was as near as possible
what looked to sea building neither grand
nor beautiful in itself and interesting alone for
its tragic and romantic memories. After visit
ing the picture gallery which we soon did"
few or none of the portraits being accounted
genuine, we were shown through the apart
| ments of Mary and the ruins Of the ancient
Abbey. The presence chamber of the unfortu-
| nate Queen, though far from being of royal
| dimensions, richness, and splendor according
to modern ideas, must have been handsome
apartment in Marys time. The roof is of oak
| beautifully carved, and the walls are hung
with quaint pictures and rare old prints. 1t is
Il silent bare, and desoate room now yet, as
stood there, vision after vision of royal mag
| nlfcence and courtly beauty, and splendid fes-
tiWty, passed before me--the shadows of ages
fled before the CLEAN of jewels, and the festal
lights of gay masks, and nuptial rej0icings !;
while the drear silence of long sadness and fear
was broken by rich music, the regal rustic Of
brocade, the soft voices and pleasant laughter
of fair ladies, and the gallant words and light
swOrd-clang of noble knights, as they went
down the dance. Standing in Mary's own
private apartment, looking at the bed on which
her lovely limbs had once rep0sed, and on the
| mirror which had so often given back the fair
reflection of her face, affected most powerfully
| my Imagination and my sympathies. The
miniature which is here shown was nothing to
mo-l scarcely gave it glance, but stood
gazing at that faithless glass, as though hoping,
by the mere force Of my passionate desire, to
evoke again to its cold surface one warm vision
of that rare royal beauty and stately grace it
had so often imaged forth in times of gladness
and grief The little room in which the
Queen sat at supper, with David Rizzio, on
the night of his MURDER and the private
staircase up which the assassns came, from
the chapel below, were next shown us. Here
| felt little wonder at Mary's oath of VEN
geance, or at her relentless redemption of
that oath If she were innocent in the favor
shown the Italian the woman was yilely in
suited by the black suspicion of the chief muir
derer her husband--if guilty, the sovereign
was outraged and dcfed by the feroc;ous deed
and, proud and passionate as she was, it is
surely no marvel that she swore to avenge the
murder of her favorite, by the wild death
shreks which rang through heart which his
sweet music had 80 often soothed and by his
ffty.six wounds, whose blood stained forever
the floor of her chamber. Standing on the very
spot brought the scene of this frightful tragedy
and brutal outrage awtuliy near TO the mind
| and the passions Of the time more awfully
! home to the heart
The old Abbey Church is accounted fine
Gothic ruin, but is of most lonely and dreary
aspect; the atmosphere seemed to me heavy
and noisome and all the shadowy places
haunted.
Our friend next conducted us to Gallon Hill,
from which we had II wide and beautiful view
of the entire town and the surrounding coun-
try. The clouds having obligingly dispersed
for a little while, the sight was most imposing
and enchanting. On this hill there are several
fine monuments--the first, and by far the
finest, is that to Dugald Stewart There il
one to Burns, not very tasteful or well-propOr.
toned, and another 10 Professor Piayfair then
there is the Nelson Tower, and the beautiful
beginning Of the National Monument on the
model Of the Parthenon.
had inexpressiblc pleasure in contemplating
the Scott Monument in Princes street, which
We next visited. This il n fair, complete noble,
and most fitting erection The style is a gor-
geous Gothic, and all the elaborate detail is
most cxqulsitely wrought out. IL seems to me
| admirably in keeping with the character and
genius of Scott-a pure poetic creation in the
grace of its form and the delicate beauty of its
| adornments yet magnificent and stately in its
proportons--a proud and princey structure.
THIS monument enshrines Chantrys noble and
touching statue of the poet-sitting gracefully
drapcd IN a plaid, and with his faithful dog at
his feet. On oar walk home, we were shown
h., -. Ill A..
before he built Abbotsford
Our stey in Ednburgh being An limited and