New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-12-02
sHR1NES OF SCOTLAND.
.,,xrs OF MARY STUART-LINLITHGOW
CT MCHAEL'S CHURCH-STIRLING
CASTLE AND CAMBUSKEN-
METH ABBEY.
,-,oy . STAFF CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIBuNEI

METH ABBEY.
trnoM STAFF CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIpuNEl
Stirling. November g.
r.. most fascinating figure in the history of
I'D &c Mary Stuart. Her nature must have
s,nsd imagination taste, sensib.liy intellect
'0,'. so.er deep feeling and certain joyous, pas
ua' ,s abandonment akin to recklessness and
..ose attributes, manfestly. were incarnated in
wv If voluptuous and most aluring beauty.
49, a, this distance of time from her death,
..me arouses the liveliest emotions, ard for
~. s.re many a place in England and Scotland
,r shrine of sorrowful pilgrimage and
reverence All readers know her miserable
p' Same persons believe the best Of her and
s'O-. hs,eve the worst; but. irrespective of all
80 ,hs whole world Is conscious OF her strange
.-arsnt her incessant. abiding charm. 1t
az Ian nv fortune to see many places with
&C., Mary Stuart was associated among them
"" r,oms In Holyrood. where Rzzio MUIR
nv ~ her rooms in Edinburgh Castle. where her
lanes was born: the ruins Of her castle of
.-.,.r,llar. where once she was so happy: Car
- Hill where she surrendered to her insur-
~, mobiles: the remains of her Loeb Leven
IAN. the field of Langside now thickly COW
',.a with dwellings,. where she lost her crown:
.,o mount Of Ca;hcart. from which she watched
~. Iangside battle; the chapel in Notre Dame.
:. paris. where she was married to Francis of
rr.rcs. the cathedral at Peterborough. where
,a- mancled body was first buried; and the state
:, ,ouh IN Westminster. where. finally, her
-.sas were laid to rest. l was now to stand in
-. s,ona chamber in which December Z, 1542)
-. u.s horn. Il Is a rco1ess ruin.-deserted,
,.vs for the footstep Of an occasional pilgrim.
Ia Silent. save for the moaning Of the wind;
h,, No soot could be more eloquent. Lnlithgow.
u.s told is seldom visited-and that is the
n,ors remarkable. considering how easily it can
Ia reached. 1t is a gray and red town. rearing
,,so,f beside a blue lake. little southwark from
the Forth. about twenty miles west from Edn-
hureh. on the road to Falkirk. The place itself
s mostly modern and conventional. but the Pal
noe ~ Ianlithgow is one of the noblest ruins In
rurope. and even If it were devoid or historic
associations /, would richly repay study. as
conservative dwelling Of a remote and pictur-
s.oue age. II was accidentally burnt. in l146, ana
since then il has been cluster OF walls; yet.
.,.,, ca much of the original building remains,
and observation with a little help of fancy can
,,sdlv reconstruct it's sp'endors, and animate
M desolation with the teeming sumptuous HE
Of Long Ago. Standing in the courtyard OF that
rray and bleak ruin you look UP 10 the inner
window Of the room in which Mary was oorn'
and YOU may discern. above il. the royal SYMBOLS
,sll perfect that were placed there by her son,
years afterward in memory of his most unlortu-
nate mother. In the room itself the remains oi
what was once a splendid fireplace Will attract
your admiration and you Will see, In ABOUT the
csntre of the floor. a stone that Is marked Win
nine circular indentations. possibly designed LOT
Narv's Juvenile game Of nine-pins-as indeed,
tho gude does not scruple TO intimate: but In
truth the royal infant for Mary became queen
r,en she WAS only six days old, passed but
seven months at Linlthgow. before. In l547, she
was removed to Stirling Castle Next to the
o,ean's room is a chamber that was occupied,
IN succession bv three Of her ancestors. James
III LANES " and her father. James V. and In
or, corner of II is still visible the hiding place
wherein beneath a secret trapdoor, James III
.onceaIed himself from the lords who would have
slain him-while his Queen, Margaret OF Dem
mark sat by in seeming tranquility. and by her
rerfect composure averteA the suspicion OF the
ana threw them off the scent. Those
rocms in tie old Stuart days were splendid
IL
,,scsnt-so that Mary Of Guise. when James
Y brought her home. said that she had never
seen a more princely dwelling. 1t is grand
,,,uc,ure even in its decay. At the time OF the
stuarts II was so admirable that 1t was deemed
. God model for even the splendid castle OF
heidelberg. whereof, at the present day. the
ruin is one Of the most gorgeous spec'acies !"
rr,o,a Al tho northeast angle Of Linlithgow
still stand the bastions erected by Ed"aru l.
A. the northwest YOU may ascend noble tower
that still is eloquent of poor Margaret iuuo'
who there received news Of the death OF her
husband James w, at the fatal Dattie OF fiou-
aen The wind was whistling drearily around
II. as | sat in the little stone chamber al us
summit. and the gray November SKY was darhiy
broodng overhead: but far away upon the grassy
hll-sides and over the whipping waters Oh inc
sullen lake the sunbeams streamed oo"h"aiu
from behind masses Of cloud. and seemed 10 'yPi-
fy the life that still springs triumphant out u
death and the hore that ever rises from despair
Nearly four centuries have passed since the De-
reaved Naryarst sorrowed and wept in that rooIn'
Int all her sorrows and equally all her pleasures
are at rest. and around those barren and crum-
bling stones which are her cold memorial SUI
and beat the waves Of new existence Which
Is all power. and enterprise, and confidence ana
Joy They show to you. just within the gate
Of the palace. a dark. low groined. gloomy cnam-
Der. four stone walls now and floor OF bare
EARTH in which the Regent Murray died-sho'
down. like a dog. in a street OF Linhthgo" py
John Hamilton. Of Bothwellhaugh January ~
$50 The place of the murder IL marked by
medallion bust OF Murray. affixed to the County
Court building. not distant from the palace gates
More near To the palace. OF which indeed 1t was
once part. stands the Church Of ST. Michael,
now in the hands Of workmen and undergoing
such renovation as will make 1t almost new
building. but not to be overlooked by any Pill
grim; for there 1t was that James Nv. when on
his way to Flodden received the mysterious
warning Of his impending fate-a portent which.
passing into literature. through SCOTS maruai
and splendid poetic tale of "Marmion' mas oe-
come one of the most precious memories OF ro-