The grassy hillside is almost as precipitous as
the dark gray rock that rises out of it, to form the foundations of the
castle; but wild rose-bushes, both of a white and red variety, are
abundant here, and all in bloom; nor are these the only flowers. There
is also shrubbery in some spots, tossing up green waves against the
precipice; and broad sheets of ivy here and there mantle the headlong
rock, which also has a growth of weeds in its crevices. The castle walls
above, however, are quite bare of any such growth. Thus, looking up at
the old storied fortress, and looking down over the wide, historic plain,
we wandered half-way round the castle, and then, retracing our steps,
entered the town close by an old hospital.
A hospital it was, or had been intended for; but the authorities of the
town had made some convenient arrangement with those entitled to its
charity, and had appropriated the ancient edifice to themselves. So said
a boy who showed us into the Guildhall,--an apartment with a vaulted
oaken roof, and otherwise of antique aspect and furniture; all of which,
however, were modern restorations. We then went into an old church or
cathedral, which was divided into two parts; one of them, in which I saw
the royal arms, being probably for the Church-of-England service, and the
other for the Kirk of Scotland. I remember little or nothing of this
edifice, except that the Covenanters had uplifted it with pews and a
gallery, and whitewash; though I doubt not it was a stately Gothic
church, with innumerable enrichments and incrustations of beauty, when it
passed from popish hands into theirs.
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