earl, was the first of the race who died in bed. The
next of the line was executed for rebellion, and the next was beheaded
at York for conspiring against Queen Elizabeth. The eighth earl,
favoring Mary Queen of Scots, was imprisoned in the Tower, and was one
day found in his chamber shot through the heart. Henry, the ninth earl,
was implicated in the Gunpowder Plot, imprisoned in the Tower, and fined
$250,000. After his release he spent the remainder of his life at
Petworth; Alnwick was neglected; and the direct line of descent
ultimately ended with Elizabeth, daughter of the eleventh earl, who
married the Duke of Somerset in 1682. Her grandson, Algernon, became
Earl of Northumberland, and his daughter, Elizabeth Seymour, was the
ancestress of the present family, her husband being created the first
Duke of Northumberland. Alnwick was then a ruin, but he restored it, and
subsequently, under the direction of the architect Salvin, it was
completely rebuilt, everything worthy of preservation being kept, and
the new work being adapted to the days of the earlier Percies, whose
achievements gave the stronghold such world-wide renown.

[Illustration: CONSTABLE'S TOWER.]

[Illustration: EARL HUGH'S TOWER.]

This famous castle is full of recollections of the great men who
formerly inhabited it. The Constable's Tower, remaining mostly in its
ancient condition, has in an upper apartment arms for fifteen hundred
men, the Percy tenantry, while in the rooms beneath is deposited the
ancient armor. "Hotspur's Chair" is the name given to a seated recess of
the Ravine Tower which was Hotspur's favorite resort, where he sat while
his troops exercised in the castle-yard beneath, and where he had an
admirable lookout to discover an approaching enemy. Through the
loopholes on either side of the seat in this commanding tower there is
an extensive prospect over the valley of the Alne and to the distant
seacoast. The "Bloody Gap," another noted site in the castle, is between
the Ravine and Round Towers. It was the name given to a breach in the
wall made by the Scots during the Border wars, although the exact time
is unknown. According to tradition, three hundred Scots fell within the
breach, and they were ultimately beaten off. Many arrows have been found
in the adjacent walls, so located as to indicate they were shot from the
battlements and windows of the keep when the assailants were making this
breach. Alnwick Castle was restored by Salv