s of the castle, and the two sides of it were shut in
by a low wall, built on the very brink of the precipice. You could look
down over this wall into the streets of the lower part of the town; and
then we could see off a great way, over all the country.

"We stopped a little while to look at the view, and then we turned round
and looked at the soldiers a little while longer, and then we went on.
Presently we came to the castle gates. There was a sentinel on guard,
and some soldiers walking to and fro on the ramparts above; but they did
not say any thing to us, and so we went in. There were other parties of
ladies and gentlemen going in too."

"Well," said Waldron, "what did you see when you got in?"

"Why, we were yet only inside the walls," said Rollo, "and so we kept
going on up a steep road paved with stones. There were walls, and
towers, and battlements, and bastions, and soldiers walking sentry, and
cannons pointed at us, all around. Presently we came to a sort of
bridge. Here we heard some music. It seemed down below; so we went to
the side of the bridge and looked over. There was a little square field
below, and three men, with Scotch bagpipes, playing together. The men
were dressed in uniform, and the bagpipes were splendid-looking
instruments."

"Yes," said Waldron. "They were the musicians of some Highland regiment,
practising."

"Well; we went on, higher and higher," said Rollo, "and continued going
round and round, till, at last, we came to the upper part of the castle,
where there were platforms, and cannons upon them, pointing out over all
the country round about."

"Did you see Mons Meg?" asked Waldron.

"Yes," said Rollo, "and we went up close to it. But we did not touch it,
for there was a notice put up that visitors must not touch the guns.

"By and by we came into a large square court, with buildings, that
looked like barracks, all about it. There was a sign up, with a hand on
it pointing, and the words, 'To the crown room.' So we knew that that
was the place where we were to go. Besides, all the other ladies and
gentlemen were going there, too.

"We gave up our tickets at the door, and went up a short flight of
steps, into a little sort of cellar."

"A little sort of cellar!" exclaimed Waldron. He was surprised at the
idea of going up stairs into a cellar.

"Yes," said Rollo. "It was just like a cellar. It had stone walls all
around it, and was arched overhead."

"Was it dark?" asked