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Page 43
We paid a short visit to the monuments of Burns and Allan Ramsay, and
the renowned old Edinburgh Castle. The Castle is now used as a barrack
for Infantry. It is accessible only from the High Street, and must have
been impregnable before the discovery of gunpowder. In the wars with the
English, it was twice taken by stratagem; once in a very daring manner,
by climbing up the most inaccessible part of the rock upon which it
stands, and where a foe was least expected, and putting the guard to
death; and another time, by a party of soldiers disguising themselves as
merchants, and obtaining admission inside the Castle gates. They
succeeded in preventing the gates from being closed, until reinforced by
a party of men under Sir Wm. Douglas, who soon overpowered the occupants
of the Castle.
We could not resist the temptation held out to see the Palace of
Holyrood. It was in this place that the beautiful, but unfortunate Mary,
Queen of Scots, resided for a number of years. On reaching the palace,
we were met at the door by an elderly looking woman, with a red face,
garnished with a pair of second-hand curls, the whole covered with a cap
having the widest border that I had seen for years. She was very kind in
showing us about the premises, especially as we were foreigners, no
doubt expecting an extra fee for politeness. The most interesting of the
many rooms in this ancient castle, is the one which was occupied by the
Queen, and where her Italian favourite, Rizzio, was murdered.
But by far the most interesting object which we visited while in
Edinburgh, was the house where the celebrated Reformer, John Knox,
re-resided. It is a queer-looking old building, with a pulpit on the
outside, and above the door are the nearly obliterated remains of the
following inscription:--"Lufe. God. Above. Al. And. your. Nichbour. As
you. Self." This was probably traced under the immediate direction of
the great Reformer. Such an inscription put upon a house of worship at
the present day, would be laughed at. I have given it to you,
punctuation and all, just as it stands.
The general architecture of Edinburgh is very imposing, whether we
regard the picturesque disorder of the buildings, in the Old Town, or
the symmetrical proportions of the streets and squares in the New. But
on viewing this city which has the reputation of being the finest in
Europe, I was surprised to find that it had none of those sumptuous
structures, which like St. Paul's, or Westminster Abbey, York Minster,
and some other of the English provincial Cathedrals, astonish the
beholder alike by their magnitude and their architectural splendour. But
in no city which I have visited in the kingdom, is the general standard
of excellence better maintained than in Edinburgh.
I am not sure, my dear friend, whether or not I mentioned in my last
letter the attendance of Wm. Craft and myself at a splendid Soiree of
the Edinburgh Temperance Society, and our being voted in life members,
in the most enthusiastic manner, by the whole audience. I will here give
you a part of the speech of the President, as reported in the _Christian
News_. This should cause the pro-slavery whites, and especially
negro-hating Sons of Temperance, who refuse the coloured man a place in
their midst, to feel ashamed of their unchristian conduct. Here it is,
let them judge for themselves:--
"A great feature in our meeting to-night, is that we have beside us two
individuals, who, according to the immaculate laws of immaculate
Yankeedom, have been guilty of the tremendous crime of stealing
themselves. (Applause.) Mr. Craft, who sits beside me, has stolen his
good wife, and Mrs. Craft has stolen her worthy husband; and our
respected friend, Mr. Brown, has cast a covetous eye on his own person.
In the name of the Temperance reformers of Edinburgh--in the name of
universal Scotland, I would welcome these two victims of the white man's
pride, ambition, selfishness, and cupidity. I welcome them as our equals
in every respect. (Great applause.) What a humiliating thought it will
be, surely, for our American friends on the other side of the water,
when they hear (and we shall endeavour to let them hear) that the very
man whom they consider not worthy to sit in a third class carriage along
with a white man, and that too in a district of country where the very
aristocracy deal in cheap cheese--(great applause) traffic in tallow
candles, and spend their nights and days among raw hides and train
oil--(applause)--what a humbling thought it will be for them to know
that these very men in the centre of educated Scotland, in the midst of
educated Edinburgh, are thought fit to hold even the first rank upon our
aristocratic platform. Let us, then, my friends, lift our voices this
evening in one swelling chorus for the down-trodden slave. Let us
publish abroad the fact to the world, that the sympathies of Scotland
are with the bondsman everywhere. Let us unite our voices to cry, Down
with the iniquitous Slave Bill!--Down with the aristocracy of the
skin!--Perish forever the deepest-dyed, the hardest-hearted system of
abomination under heaven!--Perish the sum of all villanies! Perish
American slavery. (Great applause.)"
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