His portmanteau was placed on another
pony, Duncan mounted a third, and they set forward at a round pace,
accompanied by their escort. No other incident marked the course of that
night's journey, and at the dawn of morning they attained the banks of a
rapid river. The country around was at once fertile and romantic. Steep
banks of wood were broken by cornfields, which this year presented an
abundant harvest, already in a great measure cut down.
On the opposite bank of the river, and partly surrounded by a winding of
its stream, stood a large and massive castle, the half-ruined turrets
of which were already glittering in the first rays of the sun. [See Note
22.] It was in form an oblong square, of size sufficient to contain a
large court in the centre. The towers at each angle of the square rose
higher than the walls of the building, and were in their turn surmounted
by turrets, differing in height, and irregular in shape. Upon one of
these a sentinel watched, whose bonnet and plaid, streaming in the wind,
declared him to be a Highlander, as a broad white ensign, which
floated from another tower, announced that the garrison was held by the
insurgent adherents of the House of Stuart.
Pages:
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424