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mob from Edinburgh, but it was repaired in the following century by General St. Clair. The Earl of Rosslyn, some years ago, completed the restoration of its more dilapidated parts, with scrupulous attention to preserve the original character of the "This building," says Mr. Britton, "may

structure.

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they were erected; and these styles display a gradual advancement in lightness and profusion of ornament; but the Chapel of Roslyn combines the solidity of the Norman with the minute decorations of the latest species of the Tudor age. It is impossible to designate the architecture of this building by any given or familiar term; for the variety and eccentricity of its parts are not to be defined by any words of common acceptation." The nave is bold and lofty, enclosed, as usual, by side aisles, the

pillars and arches of which display a profusion of ornament, executed in the most beautiful manner, and much of it in a state of perfect preservation.

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The "Prentice's Pillar" in particular, with its finely sculptured foliage, is a piece of exquisite workmanship. It is said that the master-builder of the Chapel, being unable to execute the design of this pillar from the plans in his possession, proceeded to Rome, that he might see a column of a similar description in that city. During his absence, his apprentice proceeded with the execution

of the design, and, upon the master's return, he found this finely ornamented column completed. Stung with envy at this proof of the superior ability of his apprentice, he struck him a blow with his mallet, and killed him on the spot. Upon the architrave uniting the Prentice's Pillar to a smaller one, is the following sententious inscription from the book of Apocryphal Scripture, called Esdras:"Forte est vinum, fortior est rex, fortiores sunt mulieres; super omnia vincit veritas." Beneath the Chapel lie the Barons of Roslin, all of whom, till the time of James VII., were buried in complete armour.*

* This circumstance, as well as the superstitious belief that, on the night before the death of any of these barons, the chapel appeared in flames, is beautifully described by Sir Walter Scott, in his exquisite ballad of Rosabelle:

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O listen, listen, ladies gay!

No haughty feats of arms I tell ;

Soft is the note, and sad the lay,

That mourns the lovely Rosabelle.

Moor, moor the barge, ye gallant crew!
And, gentle ladye, deign to stay!

Rest thee in Castle Ravensheuch,

Nor tempt the stormy firth to-day.

"The blackening wave is edged with white:
To inch and rock the sea-mews fly:
The fishers have heard the Water-Sprite,
Whose screams forbode that wreck is nigh.

"Last night the gifted Seer did view

A wet shroud swathed round ladye gay!
Then stay thee, Fair, in Ravensheuch;
Why cross the gloomy firth to-day?"-
""Tis not because Lord Lindesay's heir
To-night at Roslin leads the ball:
But that my ladye-mother there
Sits lonely in her castle-hall.

There is no stated fee for admission to the Chapel, but the exhibiter expects a small gratuity.*

""Tis not because the ring they ride

And Lindesay at the ring rides well
But that my sire the wine will chide
If 't is not filled by Rosabelle."

O'er Roslin, all that dreary night,

A wondrous blaze was seen to gleam;
"T was broader than the watch-fire's light,
And redder than the bright moon-beam.
It glared on Roslin's castled rock,

It ruddied all the copsewood glen;
"T was seen from Dryden's groves of oak,
And seen from cavern'd Hawthornden,

Seem'd all on fire that chapel proud,

Where Roslin's chiefs uncoffin'd lie,

Each baron, for a sable shroud,

Sheathed in his iron panoply.

Seem'd all on fire, within, around,
Deep sacristy, and altar's pale;
Shone every pillar foliage bound,

And glimmer'd all the dead men's mail.
Blazed battlement and pinnet high-
Blazed every rose-carved buttress fair;
So still they blaze, when fate is nigh
The lordly line of high St. Clair.
There are twenty of Roslin's barons bold
Lie buried within that proud chapelle
Each one the holy vault doth hold-

But the sea holds lovely Rosabelle !

And each St. Clair was buried there,

With candle, with book, and with knell;

But the sea caves rung, and the wild winds sung,
The dirge of lovely Rosabelle !

* Hawthornden being open to strangers only on Wednesdays, (as directed on page 120,) and Dalkeith Palace only on Wednesdays and Saturdays, Wednesday is the only day upon which all the three places can be seen, and tourists will, therefore, endeavour to devote this day to the purpose.

In

The mouldering ruin of ROSLIN CASTLE, with its tremendous triple tier of vaults, stands upon a peninsular rock, overhanging the picturesque glen of the Esk, and is accessible only by a bridge of great height, thrown over a deep cut in the solid rock, which separates it from the adjacent ground. This Castle, the origin of which is involved in obscurity, was long the abode of the proud family of the St. Clairs, Earls of Caithness and Orkney. 1544, it was burned down by the Earl of Hertford; and, in 1650, it surrendered to General Monck. About sixty or seventy years ago, the comparatively modern mansion, which has been erected amidst the ruins of the old castle, was inhabited by a genuine Scottish laird of the old stamp, the lineal descendant of the high race who first founded the pile, and the last male of their long line. He was captain of the Royal Company of Archers, and Hereditary Grand Master of the Scottish Masons. At his death, the estate descended to Sir James Erskine St. Clair, father of the present Earl of Rosslyn, who now represents the family.

The neighbouring moor of Roslin was the scene of a celebrated battle,* fought 24th February 1302,

"Three triumphs in a day!

Three hosts subdued by one!
Three armies scattered like the spray
Beneath one summer sun.—
Who, pausing 'mid this solitude

Of rocky streams and leafy trees-
Who, gazing o'er this quiet wood,
Would ever dream of these?
Or have a thought that ought intrude,
Save birds and humming bees."

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