Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1885-08-20
Mutes on foreign gauds.
SKETCHES OF TRAVEL IN SCOTLAND.
Written for the Yorkville Enquirer.l
BY REV. r. LATHAM.

| Clyde IS not more, perhaps, than twenty.
five miles. In the intervening territory
there tMhrer are several old towns, whose very
namesare tSiiismanic. Among these Stirling
holds prominent place., 1t is situated
about thirty-six miles north=West from Ed.
inburgh, near thirty miles in & northeast
direction from Glasgow, about tile same
distance or little more southwest IRON
Perth, and about ten miles northwest OF
Falkirk. All of these are places OF note
Edinburgh and Glasgow for what they have
been and are, Stirling, Perth and Falkirk
principally for what they have been.
"Tis distance lends enchantment to the view,
| And clothes the mountain in its azure hue.'
The name Stirling has given etymologists
trouble, and they have failed to satisfy, per-
fectly, either themselves or the public. The
photography of the name was at one time
,Sryreling, at another time it was Srigh-ldng
and again it was iSna1Ctl,ua or SnoaUdo'a
Which of these names is the most ancient
do not know. .Sryrling is said to signify
"strife," Srigh-lang means, l was told
"strife of archery" What Snawdun,, OF
SnoWdon means I do not know. In the
Lady Of the Lake, the following language is
used
'For Strings tower
Of yore the name of Showdown claims.'
From this it would appear that the name
,SnOlCCloaC1a or S1d,Cd,al, or S'aOaCCton was ap.
piled only to the tower, but Sir David Lind.
say certainly calls the town SnaWdoWn, as
is manifest from the following couplet:
"Adiew, fair Snawdown, with thy touris HE,
Thy Chapel Royal, Park, and Tabhill Round
David Lindsay wrote the "Complaint Of
Papingo," in which this couplet is found, in
1926, hence we may infer that the name OF
Stirling does not date back further than the
middle of the sixteenth century,
The population of Stirling is, according
to the census of 1881, 12,2O2 This is the
population of Royal Burgh which includes
the population Of the town proper, and a
considerable portion of the surrounding
country. Being Royal Burgh, Stirling is
entitled to send member to Parliament.
Stirling was granted charter as Royal
Burgh, by Malcolm H., more than eight
hundred years ago. The charter granted
by Malcolm II. was confirmed by Alexan-
Edinburgh, Stirling, Berwick and Rox-
burgh. They were called Ctrea Quator Bur-
go,1tna, the four principal burghs, from
which sprung the Convention of Royal
Burghs, which, at present, meets every
year in Edinburgh. Among the royal
burghs of Scotland, Stirling ranks fifth.
1t would not be strictly correct to describe,
as is sometimes done, the town of Stirling as
beautiful. The streets, especially in the
old part of the town, are not laid out in reg
ular order. In fact, as is the case with
many of the old towns, both in Europe and
America, they were not laid out at all.
Houses were built at convenient distance
from winding path or zigzag cow track
The result is that the streets often make CIR
cles and acute angles. The site on which
the town stands is an irregular rocky knoll
eighty feet above the level of the Firth ol
Forth. Stirling is place of considerable
business. This isinferred from the fact that
branches of seven banks are established in
the town. i confess that did not see any
striking signs of prosperity, and feel safe
in saying that Stirling is more remarkable
for its past history than fer its present i'm.
portance. The town enjoys very great ad.
vantages. BY the Culedonian Rdil,0oy it is
connected with all the important towns and
cities in England and Scotland. Still Stir.
ling is an inland town of minor importance
when compared with either Glasgow OF
Edinburgh, although as old, perhaps, as
they are.
TO the visitor, there are number of places
of thrilling interest in the old town of Stir.
ling. Around it and in its near vicinity
many q hard battle was fought and one Of
the grandest victories was achieved. On
the top of a greensboro trap rock three hun.
dred and forty feet above the level of the
plain and four hundred and twenty feet
above the level of the sea, stands the Cas-
tie. When the constructing of the castle
was begun, no antiquarian has been able to
discover. Its existence is scOextensive with
the history of Scotland itself. No historian
has yet been able to mention period when
there was no castle at Stirling. 1t was the
rendezvous of Kenneth McAlpine in 943,
and how long before that it had been a
stronghold for the alternate victorious clans
no one can tell. At different times and by
various persons it was added to, strengthen,
ed and beautified. The buildings connected
with the castle, together with the castle it
self, are surrounded by strong stone wall
on all sides except on the northwest. AT
that point the rock on which the castle is
built is perpendicular tor over three hun
dred feet and consequently the castle, from
that quarter, was inaccessible. For many
years the castle has been used only as bar
racks for soldiers. The buildings principal.
ly used for this purpose are the Parliament
House, the palace and the Royal Chapel.
Stirling Castle was one of the favorlte
abodes of the kings of Scotland. In it Al
exander the First and William the Lion
died the former in 1124, the latter in l224.
After the return of James the First from
captivity in England his principal residence
was Stirling Castle and his son, James the
second was born. The room in which
James the second killed Douglas, and the
window out of which the body of Douglas
was thrown, are still to be seen. James the
Third was delighted with Stirling Castle
as residence. That he might add to its
convenience and comfort he erected pal
ace and royal chapel. The chapel he dedi-
Gated to st. Michael and provided for it two
provosts, two deans, two sub-deans, two
treasurers, a number of chanters and six
singing boys. David Lindsay says, and
probably with great propriety, that one half
of this religious gang were employed to
keep the king merry while the other half
were engaged in the performance of relig-
ious duties.
James the Third also added to the impor-
tance of Stirling Castle by erecting Parlia-
ment House. This was a grand structure
in the Saxon style. The hall was one hun
dred and twenty feet long. The roof was of
oak carved in the most exquisite style
by the most skilled artifcers of the period.
1t is now used as barrack-room for soldiers.
James the Fourth who together with the
flower of Scotch chivalry fell on Flodden-
field in l474, was born in Stirling Castle.
James the Fifth was born at LinlithgoW
Palace, but was crowned in Stirling Cas-
tie. Here the daughter of James the Fifth,
the celebrated Mary, Queen of Scots, was
born. And here she was WO0ed by her
cousin Lord Darnley, and to him secretly
married. The public marriage took place
in Edinburgh.
James the Sixth of Scotland and First of
England was born in Edinburgh Castle, but
removed when he was but few days old
to Stirling Castle, when, on the 18th Of De-
cember, 1866, when he wanted but two days
of being six months old, he was baptized by,