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A short distance from the chapel stand the ruins of Roslin Castle, the ancient seat of the Saint Clares, in a situation of singularly romantic beauty, upon a mount above the North Esk, the approach to which is by a bridge thrown over a deep ravine, and resting on a rock on either side. Vast compact masses of the castle (supposed to have been built in the twelfth century) have fallen down, and lie on the declivity near the bridge. The scenery around is enchanting; but I saw, with regret, that the merciless hand of the woodman had sadly denuded the surrounding grounds which slope to the Esk. The walks about the chapel and castle are much frequented by the citizens of Edinburgh, and their families, in the summer. It is their Richmond-hill, where they enjoy the fruits of the beauties of nature. Strawberries grow in great abundance there.

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CHAP. VI.

HAWTHORNDEN-ANECDOTE OF DRUMMOND-DALKEITH HOTCHPOTCH-ANECDOTE OF DR. JOHNSON-DALKEITH-HOUSE-THE

ROYAL INFIRMARY-THE PARISH SCHOOL THE NEW COLLEGE THE SENATUS ACADEMICUS REMARKS UPON THE DISCIPLINE OF THE COLLEGE-THE MEDICAL SCHOOL-REMARKS UPON THE PROFESSORS MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE-ITS OBJECTS ITS IMPORTANCE-THE COLLEGE LIBRARY.

THE walk from the castle along the river to Hawthornden is exquisite beyond imagination. It much resembles, only that it is more expanded, the celebrated Dargle, in the county of Wicklow, in Ireland. At every meander of the river new beauties banquet the eye. The general appearance of the scenery is more graceful than grand. Rich, red, and grey rocks, just rising above a succession of trees and shrubs, profusely and elegantly arranged by the hand of Nature, who seems proud to contemplate her work in the dark mirror of the winding stream that flows below, characterise this delicious spot. At length we saw the classic walls of Hawthornden, crowning the summit of lofty rugged rocks, from which the venerable structure finely harmonises with the luxuriant vale below, and the "ver

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drous wall" of trees that rises on the opposite bank of the river.

This ancient residence of the amiable and harmonious Drummond was worthy of the Poet. His song and his sufferings spread an air of tenderness over the beautiful scene, which affects the mind as it engages the eye. It is a scene in which the vivacity of the gay would be tempered, and in which the unhappy might find consolation. The Poet was of high descent. His family became first distinguished by the marriage of Robert III. whose Queen was sister to William Drummond, of Carnock, one of his ancestors. After being educated at Edinburgh, in 1606 he studied civil law at Bourges, in France; but the spirit of poetry soon seduced him from that barren study, and conducted him to Hawthornden, to copy and commemorate the beauties of Nature, which she had so profusely scattered round his retirement. It was here that Ben Jonson came from London, on foot, on purpose to see him. Here he wrote his Cypress Grove and his Flowers of Sion; and here he would have continued to pour his harmonious verse, had not the death of a lady, to whom he was devoted and about to be married, forced him to fly from his own affecting reflections to Paris, and thence to Rome, where he resided eight years. How forcibly and poetically he felt the loss that drove him from his romantic shades will appear in the few follow

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ing lines, in which the tender spirit of Petrarch seems to

breathe.

"Lo! in a flash, that light is gone away,

Which dazzle did each eye, delight each mind;
And with that sun from whence it came, combin'd,
Now makes more radiant Heaven's eternal day.
Let Beauty now bedew her cheek with tears;

Let widow'd Music only sigh and moan;
Poor Virtue, get thee wings and mount the spheres,
For dwelling-place on earth for thee is none:
Death hath thy temple raz'd, Love's empire soil'd,
The world of honour, worth, and sweetness, spoil'd."

After several years had passed over his grief, it gradually yielded to the attractions of another fair one, whom he married. During the unhappy wars between Charles I. and his parliament, he suffered much in his mind, and strongly advocated the royal cause in several able writings, and at length died, overwhelmed with grief, upon hearing that the King had suffered upon the scaffold. His prose compositions are well known; and when the language of the country to which he belonged, and the age in which he wrote, are considered, the melodious sweetness of his numbers cannot fail to excite equal surprise and admiration.

As I stood gazing at Hawthornden, one of the windows opened, and a female appeared, who, my companions informed me, was the fair descendant of my favourite Bard:

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my curiosity soon baffled itself; the young lady, with characteristic diffidence, withdrew as soon as she saw she had awakened it. In Miss Drummond, I am told by those who have the pleasure of knowing her, the cultivated taste and amiable disposition of her illustrious ancestor survives.

Below the precipice upon which the house stands are several deep caverns, hewn out of the freestone rock: one cave is called the King's Gallery, another the King's Bedchamber, and a third the Guard-room; and removed to a little distance is a small one, called the Cypress Grove, the subject of one of his poems, and in which, it is said, Drummond composed several others. These excavations are supposed to have been retreats, during the terrible wars which so long subsisted between the Scots and Picts, or English and Scots. They were also resorted to for concealment by the celebrated Sir Alexander Ramsay, an ancestor of the Dalhousie family, who distinguished himself for his prowess in the Succession wars between Bruce and Baliol; and by young warriors of his time, who felt a romantic pride and honour in being permitted to join his standard.

the

Soon after quitting Hawthornden the country became more level, and presented a highly-cultivated and beautiful appearance. The friends who accompanied me in this excursion and I passed by many elegant country houses,

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