G. F. Maine
Published: 2015-08-04
Total Pages: 62
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Excerpt from The Castle of Edinburgh High upon her wind-swept rock, majestic and beautiful in the rose pink of the dawn and the soft colours of the twilight; sparkling like a jewel in the beauty of the sun; grim and sinister in the grey light so characteristic of our northern clime; poignant with the mystery and tragedy of the ages, the Castle of Edinburgh broods over the city. Sorrow and pain have left their scars upon her features; anxiety and care have mellowed her beauty, age has greyed her locks; but her proud imperious eye is as bright as when the invader spilt his blood upon her battlements, and her bearing is that of the Warrior Queen, valiant in battle, patient in reverse, temperate in victory, ever in sympathy with the sufferings of her children, who has come at last to the peace of a new world. What of war has not been her portion through the long ages of strife and turmoil? What tales could she tell of mighty prowess, of glorious defence, of wonderful escape and, alas, of despicable treachery. What famous heads has she sheltered only to fall to the axe of the executioner or the dagger of the assassin. Her halls have echoed to the music of revelry, to laughter and song; but they have resounded also to shouts of murder and cries of treason. Her courtyards and battlements have run red with the blood of Scottish sons who gave their lives for the grey mother. The groans of prisoners and the agonies of the dying have steeled her to bear her cross. Sorrow has been her portion, and only through long ages of trial and tribulation has she come at last to a fuller knowledge of the message of the motto of the capital of Scotland, Nisi Dominus Frustra - Without God, all is in vain. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.