who erected batteries in the building ground of the borough, from which, by a well-directed fire, he reduced this fortress. The more ornamental parts of the palace, and the Franciscan tower, display the marks of the mutual discharge of artillery on that occasion. The national registers, which had been recently lodged in the Castle, were seized by orders of Cromwell, and were sent to London by the General, where they lay in the Tower till after the restoration; on their return to Scotland by sea, (an absurd piece of econo That these records were my,) they were almost all lost. multifarious, is proved by an Act of Parliament in 1661, which states that 85 hogsheads had during the storm been shifted from the Eagle frigate to another vessel, and shortly after both ships sunk. In the beginning of 1746, the Highland insurgents raised a battery of 16 pounders, 8 pounders, and 3 pounders, between the church and Mar's building, but they were destroyed by the artillery of the garrison, then under the command of General Blackney. On the 27th January they erected a battery, consisting of three pieces, on Gowling hill, and another of similar power on Lady's hill; and opened them both on the 29th. Many of the besiegers were killed by the fire from the Castle. But such was their determination and intrepidity, that it must have eventually surrendered for want of provisions, had not the Duke of Cumberland, by his approach towards Stirling, induced the Highland army to retreat from the siege. The Highlanders on this occasion had to pass along St Mary's Wynd in going to and from Gowling Hill, and while passing an opening in their route, were exposed to the cannon of the Castle, purposely pointed in that direction. The more cowardly crept hurriedly on all fours, while the braver part of the army marched deliberately and erect. The town people remarked, “that among the latter was the young Prince Charles Edward."* * Hist. of Stirling, p. 153. 1794. The Palace, built by James V. as we have already mentioned, forms the most prominent and ornamental part of the Castle. Opposite the Palace, on the north, stands the chapel of hewn stone, built by James VI. for the baptism of his eldest son prince Henry, which we have recently noticed. In the Chapel, now employed as a storehouse and armoury, was till of late preserved the hull of the boat which that whimsical monarch caused to be built, and placed upon carriages, to convey into the great hall, the provisions for a grand repast to the foreign ambassadors, and other company on that occasion. From the roof of this building hangs a square piece of wood, on which are carved models of the Castles of Edinburgh, Stirling, Dumbarton and Blackness. The house of the deputy governor is in the north-west angle of the square, formed by the Palace, Parliament House, and Chapel Royal or Armoury. It has double sashes in the outside windows; the atmosphere thus confined between the sashes, is known to be the best possible nonconductor of cold or heat. Here is the apartment in which James II. slew the Earl of Douglas, as already noted. The window looks into the ground on the north, called the Nether Bailliery, into which the dead body of Douglas was thrown. In the ceiling of the dining room are some curious and antique ornaments. A strong battery with a tier of guns, pointing to the bridge over the Forth, was erected during the regency of Mary of Lorraine, mother of Queen Mary. It is called the French battery, and has been in all probability constructed by French engineers. The last addition was made to the fortifications under Queen Anne. Prior to this, the battlements had reached no farther than the old gate, where the flag-staff now stands. In the reign of that queen, the fortifications were considerably enlarged towards the town, and bomb-proof barracks, with other essential requisites for a siege, were erected. From the apparently unfinished state in which some parts are left, it would appear that the whole plan of this additional fortification has never been completed. Immediately adjoining to this building on the north, is an eminence, comprehending a few acres, and which being inclosed by a strong wall, planted with guns, forms part of the fortifications. This enclosure is called the Nether Bailliery, and contains the well that supplies the garrison with water. Two store-houses and a large magazine, have been recently added. South-west of the Castle lies a large park, which is surrounded with a stone wall, called the King's Park, where the court hunted the deer; it extends to the south side of the northern race ground, and the wall is still to be seen running along the base of the basaltic columns, which in this place front the south and west. This field, together with Gowling Hill, and other parcels of ground around the garrison, formed a small jurisdiction, called the Constabulary of the Castle, but are now the property of the borough. At the east end of the park were the Royal Gardens; vestiges of the walks and parterres, with a few stumps of fruit trees, are all that remain to mark their site. In the Gardens is a mound of earth, in form of a table, called "the knot," with benches of earth reared around it, where, according to tradition, the court were wont to enjoy, "fêtes champêtres;" and it is highly probable that this is the place where our ancient monarchs exercised the pastime called the Knights of the Round Table, of which James IV. was so much enamoured.* Around the Gardens are the vestiges of a canal, in which the Royal Family and Court amused themselves in barges; a public road from north to south now traverses this part of the park. In the Castle-hill is a hollow called the valley, comprehending about an acre, and * Barbour maintains, in his account of Bannockburn, that Edward of England was told by Moubray the governor, that he could not expect safety by being admitted into the castle, and " he took the way beneath the castle by the round table.” having the appearance of an artificial work, for justings and tournaments, with other feats of chivalry. Closely adjoining to this valley on the south, is a small rocky pyramidical mount, called "the Ladies Hill," where the fair ones of the Court took their station to behold the feats of their champions. Opposite to the Castle, on the north, lies Gowling Hill, on the northern extremity of which, near the bridge, is a small mount, well known in the neighbourhood by the uncouth name of "Hurly Hakky;"* surrounded at the top with a parapet of earth, and having on it visible remains of artificial works. It was on this mount that Duncan, the aged Earl of Levenax, and his son-in-law Murdoc Duke of Albany, lately Regent, were, with Alexander, a younger son of the Regent's, beheaded, on the 25th May 1425; Walter, the eldest son, having met the same fate on the same spot, on the preceding day. The Lordship and Castle of Stirling were latterly part of the dowry of the Queens of Scotland. A small peninsula betwixt the Bridge of Stirling and the Abbey of Cambuskenneth still retains the name of the "Queen's Haugh," having been the place where, according to tradition, the Queen's cows usually grazed. North-west of the Castle, and leading up to the town, is a steep path called Ballochgeich,† which also leads to the old postern gate of the Castle. James V., who often travelled through the country incognito, used, when asked who he was, to call himself the "Gudeman of Ballengeich." On the eastern side of this old approach by the postern gate, was the Roman inscription already noticed. The prospect from the Castle of Stirling is of a most interesting character. It is at once delightful and exten * So called from a childish amusement, where the skeleton of a cow's head is converted into a sort of sliding car on a declivity. + A hidden hollow. Anciently written Ballochgeich. Nimmo's Hist. of Stirlingshire. sive; the sieges and revolutions it has undergone, the many battles that have been fought near its walls, all conspire to give a deep and impressive interest to the scene, which calls to mind the beautiful lines of Byron : "A thousand battles have assailed thy banks, But o'er thy blacken'd memory's blighting dream Thy waves could vainly roll, all sweeping as they seem.' On the 24th June 1314, was fought the glorious battle of Bannockburn, in which the Scots obtained a victory the most celebrated of any in the annals of that kingdom. Although the union of the kingdoms has now rendered their mutual contests more matters of curiosity than serious concern, still the smallest particular of so great an action, which took place almost under the walls of Stirling, cannot but be entertaining. The English, having marched from Edinburgh to Falkirk in one day, set out next morning for Stirling, and encamped on the north of Torwood, in the vicinity of the Roman causeway. The Scottish army had some days before drawn nearer Stirling, and posted themselves on ground previously chosen behind the small stream of the Bannock, remarkable in this place for its steep and rugged banks, They occupied several eminences upon the south and west of the present village of St Ninians. Upon the summit of these eminences, now called " Brock's Brae,"* is a stone sunk in the earth, with a round hole about four inches in diameter, and the same in depth, where it is said that Bruce's standard was fixed, and near it the royal camp. This stone, which is pointed out to the inquisitive stranger, *Badger's acclivity. |