It is two-edged, without any gaps, and is quite brown
and lustreless with old rust, from point to hilt.
These were all the memorables of our visit to Dumbarton Castle, which is
a most interesting spot, and connected with a long series of historical
events. It was first besieged by the Danes, and had a prominent share in
all the warfare of Scotland, so long as the old warlike times and manners
lasted. Our soldier was very intelligent and courteous, but, as usual
with these guides, was somewhat apocryphal in his narrative; telling us
that Mary, Queen of Scots, was confined here before being taken to
England, and that the cells in which she then lived are still extant,
under one of the ramparts. The fact is, she was brought here when a
child of six years old, before going to France, and doubtless scrambled
up and down these heights as freely and merrily as the sheep we saw.
We now returned to our hotel, a very nice one, and found the street of
Dumbarton all alive in the summer evening with the sports of children and
the gossip of grown people. There was almost no night, for at twelve
o'clock there was still a golden daylight, and Yesterday, before it died,
must have met the Morrow.
In the lower part of the fortress there is a large sun-dial of stone,
which was made by a French officer imprisoned here during the Peninsular
war. It still numbers faithfully the hours that are sunny, and it is a
lasting memorial of him, in the stronghold of his enemies.
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