The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-09-09
THE cAsrLE oF MAcnErH.
where Legend Places the Murder Of
Duncan.
From the Springfield Republican.


Duncan.
From the Springfield Republican.
1t was on one of those showery days
which incite rebellion in the heart Of even
a pious scotchman that Mr.. Ford. the Lon
don correspondent Of the New York Tri-
bune. journeyed. into Forfarshire to visit
CLAIMS castle. There were broad pros
poets Of valley. moor and woodland, and
enhancing vistas OF the Grampians was
reached and the battlemented gateway
with its lions and curious images was
passed. within opened a splendid park
with level meadows and stately avenues.
and in the distance was one OF the oldest
castles in Scotland, the residence Of Lord
Strathmore. famous In the history of the
Highlands. and the apocryphal scene of
the tragedy Of Macbeth The central
tower has stood since the tenth century,
and two wings were built about IL in
the seventeenth century by the first Earl
of Strathmore The name Of the first
builder is unknown. and his work has oeen
subjected to structural changes by the
architects Of the reconstruction period who
transformed the grim battlemented castle
in the north into a French baronial resi-
dence in the style Of the sixteenth century.
Inferior TO Warwick castle in picturesque
ness and scenic surroundings, IL appeals
more strongly TO the Imagination as a relic
of feudalism, haunted with ghostly pres
ences and with tragic memories, with it's
richly furnished drawing rooms and costly
works OF art the interior of Warwick cas-
tie. in spite of its antiquity. impresses
the visitor as magnificent modern resi-
dence, and this effect is increased when
the lveried guides conduct large parties
through the apartments, catalog the paint
ings by old masters and estimate the value
of buhl cabinets, tapestries and MOSAIC
tables. At CLAIMS there are no profess
sional 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 ii is a mysterious old castle with Sc
cret stairways and blood stains on the
floor, and wonder 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 a bedstead is pointed
out as the one on which the king died In
another bedroom is shown underneath the
floor the entrance to a staircase with hid
den passages connecting with other apart
ments. A secret well in one of the great
walls leads to an upper room where pris-
oners We're once confined. Every time re-
pairs are ordered some discovery is made
an unsupported staircase or fireplace, or
some popularity of the original design
or of the work of the reconstruction arch
fleets which had previously escaped OBJ
servation. After cropping through dimly
lighted corridors the visitor is readily
convinced that there is a secret apart
ment known only to the lord of the castle
and half expects to hear Lady Macbeth
Intirm OF purpose. give me the daggers"
or The sleeping and the dead are but as
pictures" Even when he is shown into
the room where Earl Beardie started a
game of dice with Satan which was to
last until the day of Judgment, he listens
ntently and almost fancies that ne can
hear a strange clicking noise like the
shaking of a dice-box. A rare old place
is CLAIMS castlel 1t does not matter
whether the wight king was murdered in
| Macbeth or whether any. sovereign, a
| Duncan or Malcolm, was ever assassi-
| mated within the castle walls. Mystery
broods over the ancient feudai pile. 1t has
the scenic setting for bygone tragedy and
ghostly visitauOns.
There are many handsome rooms in the
castle. The dining-room is a splendid ban
quet han, with floor and wainscot of oak,
piece, and with the arms and notices of
the Strathmores and connected families
emblazoned on the side wall. The great
hail is vaulted' room WITH massive stone
walls, and ii is adorned with coats Of
chain hunting trophies. The drawing room
has antique furniture, an immense fire.
place of carved stone, a French ceiling
elegantly designed, and portraits by Sir
Peter Lely and other famous painters. In
the billiard-room there are additional
family portraits and four panels In tap
estry representing scenes in the life of
ACKNOWLEDGMENT. The chapel Is larger
and handsomer than the one in Warwick
castle. and it has fine stained glass win
dows, and Biblical scenes painted in pan
els upon the ceiling and side walls. Richly
furnished as the great rooms are, It is the
central tower, with it's spiral staircase and
dark vaulted corridors, that gives charac-
ter to the castle as a medieval baronial
stronghold.