ountry. It is, of course, a very conspicuous object
from all the region around.

The hill is long and narrow. The length of it extends from north to
south. The northern end is the high end. The land slopes gently towards
the south, but the other sides are steep, and in many places they form
perpendicular precipices of rock, with the castle walls built on the
very brink of them.

The town lies chiefly at the foot of the hill, towards the south, though
there are one or two streets, bordered by quaint and queer old
buildings, that lead all the way up to the castle.

In front of the castle, at the place where these streets terminate, is a
broad space, smoothly gravelled, called the esplanade. This is used as a
parade ground, for drilling and training the new soldiers, and teaching
them the manoeuvres and exercises necessary to be practised in the
war.

On Sunday morning, after breakfast, Mr. George and the boys went out, to
go to church. Bells were ringing in various parts of the town. They were
drawn, by some invisible attraction, up the hill, in the direction of
the castle. They soon found other people going the same way; and
following them, they came, at length, to a very ancient-looking mass of
buildings, which, Mr. George said, he should have thought was an old
abbey, gone to ruin, if it were not that the people were all going into
it, under a great arched doorway. So he supposed it was a church, and he
and the boys went in with the rest.

There was a man at the door holding a large silver plate, to receive the
contributions of the people that came in. Mr. George stopped to get some
money out of his pocket. The man then seemed to perceive that he was a
stranger; so he said to him, speaking with a broad Scotch accent and
intonation,--

"Ye wull gae into the magistrates' seat. Or stay--I wull send a mon wi'
ye, to show ye the wa'."

So he called a door keeper, and the door keeper led the way up stairs,
into a gallery. The gallery was very wide, and was supported by
enormous pillars. The whole interior of the church had a very quaint and
antique air. The magistrate's seat was the front seat of the gallery. It
was a very nice seat, and was well cushioned. Before it, all around, was
a sort of desk, for the Bibles and Hymn Books to rest upon.

There were three pulpits--or what seemed to the boys to be pulpits--one
behind and above the other. The highest was for the minister; the next
below was for what in America w