"Yes," said Rollo, "so uncle George said. They keep it in the Antiquarian Museum, for a curiosity."
"When we got to the upper end of the High Street," continued Rollo, "there was the castle all before us. Only first there was a parade ground for the troops; it was all gravelled over."
"Were there any soldiers there?" asked Waldron.
"Yes," said Rollo, "there were two or three companies drilling and parading."
"I should like to have seen them," said Waldron.
"Yes," said Rollo, "and besides, the parade ground was a splendid place. The lower end of it was towards the street; the upper end was towards the gates and walls 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."