Rollo in Scotland

There was a man at the door holding a large silver plate, to receive the contributions of the people that came in. Mr. George stopped to get some money out of his pocket. The man then seemed to perceive that he was a stranger; so he said to him, speaking with a broad Scotch accent and intonation,—

"Ye wull gae into the magistrates' seat. Or stay—I wull send a mon wi' ye, to show ye the wa'."

So he called a door keeper, and the door keeper led the way up stairs, into a gallery. The gallery was very wide, and was supported by enormous pillars. The whole interior of the church had a very quaint and antique air. The magistrate's seat was the front seat of the gallery. It was a very nice seat, and was well cushioned. Before it, all around, was a sort of desk, for the Bibles and Hymn Books to rest upon.

There were three pulpits—or what seemed to the boys to be pulpits—one behind and above the other. The highest was for the minister; the next below was for what in America would be called the leader of the choir; though in Scotland, Mr. George said he believed he was called the precentor. There was no choir of singers, as with us, but when the minister gave out a hymn the precentor rose and commenced the singing, and when he had got near the end of the first line all the congregation joined in, and sang the hymn with him to the end. The third pulpit was only a sort of chair, enclosed at the sides and above. What the man did who sat in it the boys could not find out.

All the people in the church had Bibles on a sloping board before them, in their pews, and when the minister named the text or read a chapter, they all turned to the place, and looked over. Waldron said he thought that this was an excellent plan.

Mr. George and the boys all liked the sermon very much indeed, and when the service was ended, they walked a little way around the esplanade before the castle, and then went home to dinner.

In the course of their excursion, however, they had observed that a great many walks had been made at different elevations on the west side of the hill, and that seats were placed there at different points, for resting-places. These seats, and indeed the walks themselves, commanded charming views of all the surrounding country. The boys wanted to run up and down these paths, and explore the sides of the hill by means of them in every part; but Mr. George recommended to them to wait till the next day.

"We shall come up to-morrow," said he, "to visit the castle, and then we will come out here, and have a picnic, on one of these stone seats. After that I will find a place among the rocks to read or write, for an hour, and while I am there you may climb about among the rocks and precipices as much as you please."

The next morning the boys set out with Mr. George, soon after breakfast, to go up to the castle. When they reached the esplanade they found several small parties of soldiers there, under instruction. They all wore red coats—that being the ordinary uniform of British soldiers. Officers were marching them about, and teaching them how to handle their muskets, and to keep step, and to wheel this way and that, and to perform other such evolutions. A great many of the soldiers looked very young. They were lads that had been recently enlisted, and were now being trained to go to the war in the Crimea.

After looking at these soldiers a short time the party went on. At the upper end of the esplanade there was a gateway leading into the castle yard. There was a sentinel, in a Highland costume, keeping guard there. Mr. George asked him if the public were allowed to go into the castle. He said, "O, yes, certainly;" and so Mr. George and the boys went in.

As they went in they looked up, and saw a great many cannons pointed down at them from the embrasures in the surrounding ramparts and bastions.

"Those guns must be to keep the enemy from coming in," said Waldron.

Presently the party passed through another arched gateway, and came into a large inner court, which was surrounded with various buildings, all built of stone, and of a very massive and solid character. The palace was on one side. It was adorned with a great many quaint and curious sculptures and images. The palace itself, and all the other buildings, were used as barracks for soldiers. A great many soldiers were standing about the doors, and some were playing together about the court. Some of them were dressed in the common British uniform, and some were in the Highland costume.

While the boys were looking at the palace front, a soldier advanced towards them in a very respectful manner, and said to Mr. George,—

"If you and the young gentlemen are strangers in Stirling, I will walk about the castle with you, and point out the objects of interest to you, if you desire it."

Mr. George accepted this offer, and the young soldier accordingly walked with them all about. He pointed out all the different buildings, and mentioned the dates of the erection of them, and referred to the most important historical events that had transpired in them. Finally he led the party through a gate into a small garden, and thence out upon the rampart wall, from which there was a very extended and extraordinarily beautiful view of the surrounding country.5 To the north-west were seen the Highlands, with the peaks of Ben Lomond, Ben Venue, and Benan, rising conspicuously among them. On the east were other hills, rising abruptly out of the smooth and smiling plain, and covered with dark plantations of evergreen. All around the foot of the castle, and extending to the distance, in some directions, of many miles, the country was level and fertile, and it presented every where the most enchanting pictures of rural beauty. Some of the fields were of the richest green, others were brown from fresh tillage, with men ploughing or harrowing in them, or plants just springing up in long green rows, which, partly on account of the distance, and partly through the exquisite neatness and nicety of farmers' work, looked so smooth, and soft, and fine, that the scene appeared more like enchantment than reality.

On one side of the mountain was seen the River Forth, winding about through meadows and green fields with the most extraordinary turnings and involutions. The boys had seen winding rivers before, but never any thing like this. The whole plain was filled with the windings of the river, which looked like the links of a silver chain, lying half embedded in a carpet of the richest green. Indeed, these windings of the river, and the vast circular fields of fertile land which they enclose, are called the Links of Forth. The view was diversified by villages, hamlets, bridges, railway embankments, and other constructions, which concealed the river here and there entirely from view, and made it impossible to trace its course. The richness and beauty of these Links of Forth appeared the more surprising to the boys from the contrast which the scene presented to the dreary wastes of moss and heather which they had seen in the Highlands. There is an old Scotch proverb that refers to this contrast. It is this:—

"The lairdship of the bonnie Links of ForthIs better than an earldom in the north."

The course of the Forth could be traced for a long distance towards Edinburgh; and Arthur's Seat, a high hill near Edinburgh, could be distinctly seen in the south-eastern horizon.

At one place, in an angle in the wall of the rampart, was a stone step, so placed that a lady, by standing upon it, might get a better view. The soldier said that Queen Victoria stood upon that stone, when she visited Stirling Castle, a few years ago, on her way to Balmoral. Balmoral is a country seat she has among the Highlands, far to the north, in the midst of the wildest solitudes. The queen goes there almost every summer, in order to escape, for a time, from the thraldom of state ceremony, and the pomp and parade of royal life, and live in peace among the mountain solitudes.

The soldier pointed to the coping of the wall, where the figure of a crown was cut in the stone, and the letters "V. R." by the side of it. This inscription was a memorial of the queen's having stood at this spot to view and admire the beauty of the scenery.

After Mr. George and the boys had seen all that they wished of the castle, Mr. George gave the soldier a shilling, and they went out as they had gone in, under the great archway. They passed across the esplanade, and then came to a small, level piece of ground, with a high rock beyond it, overlooking it. The level place was an ancient tilting ground; that is, a ground where, in ancient times, they used to have tilts and tournaments, for the amusement of the people of the palace, and of the guests who came to visit them. The ladies used to stand on the top of the rock to witness the tournaments. There was a large, flat area there, with room enough upon it for twenty or thirty ladies to stand and see. The rock was called the Lady's Rock. The tournaments and tiltings have long since ceased, but it retains the name of the Lady's Rock to the present day.

"Let us go up on it," said Rollo, "and see where the ladies stood."

There were a number of children playing about these grounds, and several of them were upon the top of the Lady's Rock. They looked ragged and poor. Rollo and Waldron climbed up to the place. The path was steep and rugged. When they reached the top they looked down to the level area where the tournaments were held.

"I don't think the place is big enough for a tournament," said Rollo.

"What is a tournament?" asked Waldron.

"A sort of sham fight of horsemen," said Rollo, "that they used to have in old times, when they wore steel armor, and fought with spears and lances. They used to ride against each other with blunt spears, and see who could knock the other one off his horse. What are you laughing at, uncle George?"

Rollo perceived that Mr. George was smiling at his very unromantic mode of describing a tournament. "Is not that what they used to do at the tournaments?"

"Yes," said Mr. George, "that is a pretty fair account of it, on the whole. And now, boys," he continued, "I have got a plan of having a picnic to-day, out under the castle walls here, instead of going to the hotel for dinner; and we will go and find a good place for it."

The boys said that they would like this plan very much. "But then," said they, "we have not got any thing to eat."

Mr. George then explained to them that the plan which he had formed, was for them to go down into the town, and buy something at the shops for a picnic dinner, while he remained on the rocks, or on some seat on the side of the Castle Hill, writing in his journal.

"Well," said Waldron, "we will do that. But what shall we buy?"

"Whatever you please," said Mr. George. "Walk along through the street, and look in at the shop windows, and whenever you see any thing that you think we shall like, buy it."

"Well," said Rollo, "we will. But how much shall we spend?"

"As much as you think it best," said Mr. George. "I leave every thing to you. You see, our dinner at the hotel would not be less than seven shillings, and that we shall save; so that if you don't spend more than seven shillings you will be safe."

The boys were sure that they could procure very abundant supplies for less money than that; and they very readily undertook the commission. They accordingly left Mr. George at a seat near one of the walks on the side of Castle Hill, where, as he said, he could look right down on the famous field of Bannockburn, and they then began to run down the walk, on the way towards the hotel.

They first went to the hotel to get a knapsack. They told the waiter there that they should not be at home to dinner. They then walked along the street, looking out for eatables. They soon found various shop windows where such things were displayed, and in the course of a quarter of an hour they had laid in an abundant supply. They bought some small, flat cakes of bread at one place, and a veal and ham pie at another, and two oranges apiece at another, and a bottle of milk at another, and finally, for dessert, they got a pound of raisins and almonds mixed together, which they chanced to see in a fruiterer's window. The cost of the whole, the boys found, when they came to foot up the account, was only two shillings and fourpence.

With these supplies the boys went up the hill again; not through the street, but by the walk under the trees, outside the town wall. They found Mr. George in the seat where they had left him. He had just finished his writing. He was very much pleased with the purchases that the boys had made, and they all sat down together on the stone seat, and ate their dinner with excellent appetites.*

While they were eating the raisins and almonds Mr. George pointed down to a beautiful field, yellow with buttercups, and said,—

"There, boys, do you see that field?"

The boys said they did.

"It is the field of Bannockburn. Look at it, and remember it well. When you are five years older, and read the history of Scotland, you will take great pleasure in thinking of the day when you looked down from Stirling Castle on the field of Bannockburn."

Chapter XI.

Loch Leven

"And where are we going next, uncle George?" said Rollo, as they were all coming home to the hotel, from their last walk up to the castle.

"I am going to Kinross," said Mr. George.

"What is there at Kinross?" asked Rollo.

"There is a lake," said Mr. George, "and in the lake is an island, and on the island are the ruins of an old castle, and in the castle Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned."

"Yes," said Waldron, "I have heard of Mary, Queen of Scots, but I do not know much about her."

Waldron, it must be confessed, was not much of a scholar. He had read very little, either of history or of any thing else.

"What was she remarkable for?" he asked.

"In the first place," said Mr. George, "she was very beautiful, and she was also very lovely."

"That is the same thing; is it not?" said Rollo.

"No, not by any means," said Mr. George. "There are many beautiful girls that are not lovely, and there are many lovely girls that are not particularly beautiful."

"You mean lovely in character, I suppose," said Rollo.

"No," said Mr. George, "I mean lovely in looks. There is a great difference, I think, between loveliness and beauty, in looks."

"I think so, too," said Waldron.

"Now, Mary, Queen of Scots," continued Mr. George, "was beautiful, and she was also very lovely; and while she lived she charmed and fascinated almost every body who knew her.

"Then, besides," continued Mr. George, "her life was an exceedingly romantic one. She met with an extraordinary number of most remarkable adventures. She was sent to France, when she was a little child, to be educated. There were four little girls of her own age sent with her, to be her playmates there, and they were all named Mary. She called them her four Marys.

"She grew up to be a young lady in France, and married the king's son, and she lived there for a time in great prosperity and splendor. At last her husband died, and her enemies came into power in France, and she became unhappy. Besides, there were some difficulties and troubles in Scotland, and she was obliged to return to her native land. She was, however, very unhappy about it. She loved France very much, and the friends that she had made there, and when she came away she said that she had left half her heart behind.

"When we go to Edinburgh," continued Mr. George, "we shall go to Holyrood, and see the palace where she lived. While she was there a great many extraordinary and curious events and incidents befell her."

"Tell us about them," said Waldron.

"No," said Mr. George. "It would take me too long. You must read her history yourself. It is an exceedingly interesting story. She was accused of some great crimes, but mankind have never been able to decide whether she was guilty of them or not. Some are very sure that she was innocent, and some are equally positive that she was guilty."

"What crimes were they?" asked Waldron.

"Why, one was," said Mr. George, "that of murdering her husband. It was her second husband, one that she married after she came to Scotland. They did not live happily together. He killed one of Mary's friends, named Rizzio, and afterwards he was killed himself. The house that he was in was blown up in the night with gunpowder."

"My!" exclaimed Waldron; "I should like to read about it."

"It is a very interesting and curious story," said Mr. George.

"And could not they find out who did it?" asked Waldron.

"Yes," said Mr. George, "they found out who did it; but what they could not find out was, whether Mary herself took any part in the crime or not. There was no direct proof. They could only judge from the circumstances."

"What were the circumstances?" asked Waldron.

"O, I could not tell you very well," said Mr. George. "It would take me half a day to tell the whole story. You must get some life of Mary, Queen of Scots, and read it for yourself. You will have to begin at the beginning, and read it all carefully through, and remember all the persons that are mentioned, and consider their characters and motives, and then you will be able to judge for yourself about it. There have been a great many histories of her life written."

"And what about her being imprisoned in the castle that we are going to see?" asked Waldron.

"O, you must read and find out for yourself about that, too," said Mr. George. "The country got into great difficulty, and two parties were formed, one of which was in favor of Mary, and one was against her. Her enemies proved to be the strongest, and so they shut her up in this castle. But she got away."

"How?" asked Waldron.

"You will learn all about it," replied Mr. George, "when you come to read the history of her life. When we go to the castle you will see the window where she climbed down into the boat."

"Did she escape in a boat?" asked Waldron.

"I am positively not going to tell you any more about it," said Mr. George. "You must find out for yourself. Your father has paid ever so much money to send you to school, to have you educated, so that you could read history for yourself, and not be dependent upon any body; and now for me to tell it to you would be ridiculous. You must go to a bookstore, and buy a history of Mary, Queen of Scots, and begin at the beginning, and read the whole story."

Mr. George said this in a somewhat jocose sort of manner, and Waldron understood that his refusing to give him more full information about Mary, Queen of Scots, arose, not from any unwillingness to oblige him, but only to induce him to read the story himself, in full, which he knew very well would be far better for him than to receive a meagre statement of the principal points of the narrative from another person.

"I mean to get the book," said Waldron, "as soon as we arrive at Edinburgh. But there is one thing I can do," he added; "I can ask the guide. The guide that shows us the castle will tell me how she got away."

"Well," said Mr. George, "you can ask the guide; but I don't believe you will get much satisfaction in that way."

The next morning after this conversation took place, Mr. George and the boys bade Stirling farewell, and set off in the cars, on the way to Loch Leven. After riding about an hour they left the train at the station called Dunfermline, where there was a ruin of an abbey, and of an ancient royal palace of Scotland. They left their baggage at the station, and walked through the village till they came to the ruin. It was a very beautiful ruin, and the party spent more than an hour in rambling about it, and looking at the old monuments, and the carved and sculptured windows, and arches, and cornices, all wasted and blackened by time and decay. A part of the ruin was still in good repair, and was used as a church, though it was full of old sepulchral monuments and relics. There was a woman in attendance at the door, to show the church to those who wished to see the interior of it.

After looking at these ruins as long as they wished, Mr. George and the boys went back to the station, in order to take the next train that came by, and continue their journey. They went on about an hour longer, and then they got out again at a station called Cowdenbeath, which was the place on the road that was nearest to Loch Leven, and where they had understood that there was a coach, which went to Loch Leven twice a day. The place was very quiet and still, and was in the midst of a green and pretty country, with small groups of stone cottages here and there. There were also several pretty tall chimneys scattered about the fields, with a sort of platform, and some wheels and machinery near each of them. These were the mouths of coal pits. The wheels and machinery were for hoisting up the coal.

In the yard of the station they found the Loch Leven coach. It was in the form of a very short omnibus. The coachman said that he had just come in from Loch Leven, and that he was going to set out on his return at eight. It was now about seven, so that Mr. George and the boys had an hour to walk about, and see what was to be seen.

It was a pleasant summer evening, and they enjoyed the rambles that they took very much indeed. They walked through several of the little hamlets, and saw the women sitting at the doors of their cottages, with their young children in their arms, while the older ones were running about, here and there, at play. They went to some of the coal pits, and saw the immense iron levers, driven by steam, that were slowly moving to and fro, hard at work pumping up water from the bottom of the mine. They took quite a walk, too, along the turnpike road, and saw a post-chaise drive swiftly by, with a footman behind, and a postilion in livery on one of the horses.

At last, when the hour of eight began to draw nigh, they all went back to a little inn near the station, where the coachman had said that he would call for them. When the coach came Mr. George got in, and the two boys mounted on the top, and took their places on a high seat behind that of the driver. They had a very pleasant ride. The country was beautiful, and the horses trotted so fast over the smooth, hard road, that a continued succession of most enchanting pictures of rural scenery was presented to the eyes of the boys, as they rode along. The distance was not far from ten miles, but both the boys wished that it had been twenty.

At length they came in sight of a large village bordered by groves of trees, lying in the midst of a gentle depression of the ground, and in a few minutes more they began to get glimpses of the water. The village was Kinross, and the water was Loch Leven. Presently, in going over a gentle elevation of land, a large portion of the surface of the water came into view. Far out towards the centre of it was a small, low island, covered with trees. In the midst of the trees the boys could see the top of the ruin of a large, square tower. They asked the coachman if that was Loch Leven Castle, and he said it was.

"Uncle George," said Rollo, leaning over and calling out to his uncle inside, "there's the castle."

"Yes," said Mr. George, "I see it."

"It seems to me," said Rollo to Waldron, "that that is a very small island to build a castle upon."

"Yes," said the coachman; "but it was a great deal smaller in the days when the castle was inhabited. It was only just large enough then for the castle itself, and for the castle garden. It is a great deal larger now. The way it came to be larger was this. Some years ago the proprietor cut down the outlet of the loch four feet deeper than it was before; and that drew off four feet of water from the whole loch, and of course all the places where the water was less than four feet deep were laid bare. This enlarged the castle island a great deal, for before the water was very shallow all around it. When the land became dry they planted trees there, and now the ruins are in the midst of quite a grove."

By this time the coach began to enter the village, and very soon it stopped at the door of a very neat and tidy-looking inn. Mr. George engaged lodgings for the night, and called for supper. The supper was served in a pleasant little coffee room, which was fitted up in a very snug and comfortable manner, like a back parlor in a gentleman's house.