Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1895-10-02
THE CLAIMS CASTLE.
TI4E APOCRYPHAL SCENE OF The
TRAGEDY OF "MACBsTH."

a Visit to the Old Tower Where Duncan
Was Murtiere(l-Eiystcry BrooGs Over
the Ancient Feudal Pile-The Many
Handsome Rooms IN the Old Building.
1t was on one of those shOwery days
which incite rebellion in the heart OF
even pious Scotchman that I journeyed
into Forfarshire to visit the Glamis cas-
tie. There were broad prospects OF val
ley, moor and woodland and entrancing
yistas of the Grampians before the an
cient village of Glamis was reached and
the battlemented gateway with its lions
and curious images was passed. Within
opened splendid park with level mead
ows and stately avenues, and in the dis
tance was one of the Oldest castles in
Scotland The residence Of Lord Strath-
more, famous in the history of the
Highlands and the apocryphal scene Of
tho tragedy of Macbeth. The central
tower has stood since the tenth century,
and two wings were built about it in
the seventeenth century by the first Earl
Of Strathmore. The name of the first
builder is unknown, and his work has
been subjected to structural changes by
the architects of the reconstruction Pc
riod, who transformed the grim, battle
mented castle in the north into French
baronial residence in the style of the
sixteenth century.
Inferior to Warwick castle in pictur-
esqueness and scenic surroundings, it
appeals more strongly to the imagina-
tion as relic of feudalism, haunted with
ghostly presences and with tragic men,
ories With its richly furnished draw
ling rooms and costly works of art, the
interior of Warwick castle, in spite of
its antiquity, impresses the visitor as
magnificent modern residence, and this
effect is increased when the Gveried
guides conduct large parties through the
apartments, catalogue the paintings by
old masters and estimate the value of
buhl cabinets, tapestries and mosaic ta-
bles.
At Glamis there are 10 professional
guides with stale jokes and auction
room rhapsodies. The visitor, from the
moment he enters the great door at the
base of the ancient tower, is convinced
that it is a mysterious old castle with
secret stairways and blood stains on the
floors and wonders whether, like Sir
Walter Scott, he would like to sleep in
the haunted rooms.
One of the three staircases seen IN the
basement of the tower leads to the room
where Malcolm II is reputed to have
been assassinated, and in one of the up
permost chambers bedstead is pointed
out as the one on which the king died.
In another bedroom is shown underneath
the floor the entrance to staircase with
hidden passages connecting with other
apartments A secret we'll in one of the
great walls leads to an upper room
where prisoners were once confined.
Every time repairs arc ordered some
discovery is mads--an unsupported stair
case OF fireplace, or some popularity Of
the original design or Of the work of
the reconstruction architects which had
previously escaped observation. After
groping through the dimly lighted cor
rid0rs the visitor is readily convinced
that there is secret apartment known
only to the lord of the castle, and half
expects to hear Lady Macbeth ''Infrm
of purpose, give me the daggers," or
"The sleeping and the dead are but as
pictures :" Even when he is shown into
tho roc.H where Earl Beardie started a
game of dice with satan, which was to
last until the day of Judgment, he lis
tens intently and almost fancies that he
can hear a strange clicking noise like
the shaking Of a dicebox. A rare old
place is Glamis castle! 1t does not mat
ter whether the right king was murdered
In Macbeth" Or whether any sovereign,
a Duncan or a Malcolm, was ever assas-
sinated within the castle walls. Mys
terry broods over the ancient feudal pile.
1t has the scenic setting for bygone trag-
edy and ghostly visitations.
There are many handsome rooms in
the castle. The dining room is splen-
did banquet hall, with floor and VAIN
scot of oak, richly carved sideboard
and chimney piece, and with the arms
and notices of the Strathmores and con-
nected families emblazoned on the side
wall The great hall is vaulted room
with massive stone walls, and it is
adorned with coats Of chain mail, old
time weapons and firearms and hunting
trophies. The drawing room has antique
furniture, an immense fireplace of carved
stone, French ceiling elegantly de-
signed, and portraits by Sir Peter Lely
and other famous painters. In the bill
lizard room there are additional family
portraits and four panels in tapestry rep
resenting scenes in the life of Nebuchad-
nezzar. The chapel is larger and hand
somer than the one in Warwick castle,
and it has fine stained glass windows
and Biblical scenes painted in panels
upon the ceiling and side walls. Richly
furnished as the great rooms are, it is
the central tower, with it's spiral stair
cases and dark vaulted corridors, that
gives character to the castle as medic
val baronial stronghold. London Cor
New York Tribune.