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Article MASONIC EXeUESIOET TO BOSLIN GASTLE. ← Page 6 of 14 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Exeuesioet To Boslin Gastle.
the water heaving and surging at a considerable distance below . Another tier of caves is said to be situated below those that we are now examining , but the access is s \> difficult that it is now never attempted . After satisfying ourselves with a full exploration of these singular excavations , and recalling the conjectures regarding their antiquity , and the purposes which they served in other days , in sheltering the patriots who fought for the independence of their country , we
take leave ol ' cayerned Hawthornden , " and proceed up " Boslin ' s rocky gleny " descending precipices , crossing rivulets , and traversing narrow paths amid lofty trees , bramble-bushes , and wild flowers . We occasionally halt and take admiring looks from the " Cat ' s Loup , " the " Cubic Rock , " the "' " Warlock Craig , " and the wooden bridge that spans the river ; or gaze on the terrible precipices over which it is said a portion of the English cavalry , who fled from the battle of Iloslin in 1303 , rushed , and were dashed to pieces on the rocks which compose the bed of the river . A little further up from the bridge we descry Wallace ' s Cave , a deep recess in the rock cut in form of a cross . Here it is said Wallace and his
compatriots were wont occasionally to conceal themselves from the fury of their enemies . 1 JW things are more noticeable in Scotland than the number of places identified with the name of Wallace . To whatever district we go we find woods , glens , rocks , mountains , caves , or castles which are pointed out as the scene of some transaction of this great patriot . Joanna Bailiie , in her poem of " Wallace , " thus alludes to this circumstance : —
" In many a castle , town , and plain , Mountain , and forest , still remain Fondly cherished spots , which claim The proud distinction of his honoured name Swells the huge ruin ' s massy heap In castled court—' tis Wallace' Keep . What stateliest o ' er the rest may lower ,
Of time-worn wall , where rook and daw , With wheeling flight and ceaseless caw , Keep busy stir—' tis Wallace' Tower . If through the greenwood ' s hanging screen , High o ' er the deeply-bedded wave , The mouth of arching cleft is seen Yawning dark— - 'tis Wallace' Cave .
If o er its jutting barrier grey , Tinted by time , with furious din , The rude crags silvered with its spray , Shoot the wild flood— 'tis Wallace' Linn ; And many a wood remains , and hill , and glen , Haunted 'tis said of yore by Wallace and his men . "
We emerge at length , from the woods and crags , and march along by the more open banks of the river . Before us now arise the gigantic ruins of Boslin Castle , situated on an isolated knoll round the base of which the Esk rolls its perturbed waters . The deep ravine on the east of the castle is spanned by a narrow stone bridge , which occupies the place of the drawbridge demolished in the time of Queen Mary . The vaults , with their loopholes and narrow apertures to admit light—rising tier above tier—have a gloomy and awe-inspiring aspect . But the solemnizing effect which they produce is instantly dispelled , when , on looking
upwards , we behold the windows and ruined battlements of the castle filled by fair ladies , who wave their handkerchiefs , and rain down approving smiles , as the Brethren wind round the castle rock , and enter the spacious gardens on the south . Here , beside an ancient and gigantic yew tree , is the entrance to the vaults . Many of the Brethren go in , and , as they hurry through the numerous gloomy apartments , are struck with the wretched accommodation which the immediate retainers of a great baron possessed in former days . Immediately ahove the vaults a house has been erected ; which , over the doorway , beara the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Exeuesioet To Boslin Gastle.
the water heaving and surging at a considerable distance below . Another tier of caves is said to be situated below those that we are now examining , but the access is s \> difficult that it is now never attempted . After satisfying ourselves with a full exploration of these singular excavations , and recalling the conjectures regarding their antiquity , and the purposes which they served in other days , in sheltering the patriots who fought for the independence of their country , we
take leave ol ' cayerned Hawthornden , " and proceed up " Boslin ' s rocky gleny " descending precipices , crossing rivulets , and traversing narrow paths amid lofty trees , bramble-bushes , and wild flowers . We occasionally halt and take admiring looks from the " Cat ' s Loup , " the " Cubic Rock , " the "' " Warlock Craig , " and the wooden bridge that spans the river ; or gaze on the terrible precipices over which it is said a portion of the English cavalry , who fled from the battle of Iloslin in 1303 , rushed , and were dashed to pieces on the rocks which compose the bed of the river . A little further up from the bridge we descry Wallace ' s Cave , a deep recess in the rock cut in form of a cross . Here it is said Wallace and his
compatriots were wont occasionally to conceal themselves from the fury of their enemies . 1 JW things are more noticeable in Scotland than the number of places identified with the name of Wallace . To whatever district we go we find woods , glens , rocks , mountains , caves , or castles which are pointed out as the scene of some transaction of this great patriot . Joanna Bailiie , in her poem of " Wallace , " thus alludes to this circumstance : —
" In many a castle , town , and plain , Mountain , and forest , still remain Fondly cherished spots , which claim The proud distinction of his honoured name Swells the huge ruin ' s massy heap In castled court—' tis Wallace' Keep . What stateliest o ' er the rest may lower ,
Of time-worn wall , where rook and daw , With wheeling flight and ceaseless caw , Keep busy stir—' tis Wallace' Tower . If through the greenwood ' s hanging screen , High o ' er the deeply-bedded wave , The mouth of arching cleft is seen Yawning dark— - 'tis Wallace' Cave .
If o er its jutting barrier grey , Tinted by time , with furious din , The rude crags silvered with its spray , Shoot the wild flood— 'tis Wallace' Linn ; And many a wood remains , and hill , and glen , Haunted 'tis said of yore by Wallace and his men . "
We emerge at length , from the woods and crags , and march along by the more open banks of the river . Before us now arise the gigantic ruins of Boslin Castle , situated on an isolated knoll round the base of which the Esk rolls its perturbed waters . The deep ravine on the east of the castle is spanned by a narrow stone bridge , which occupies the place of the drawbridge demolished in the time of Queen Mary . The vaults , with their loopholes and narrow apertures to admit light—rising tier above tier—have a gloomy and awe-inspiring aspect . But the solemnizing effect which they produce is instantly dispelled , when , on looking
upwards , we behold the windows and ruined battlements of the castle filled by fair ladies , who wave their handkerchiefs , and rain down approving smiles , as the Brethren wind round the castle rock , and enter the spacious gardens on the south . Here , beside an ancient and gigantic yew tree , is the entrance to the vaults . Many of the Brethren go in , and , as they hurry through the numerous gloomy apartments , are struck with the wretched accommodation which the immediate retainers of a great baron possessed in former days . Immediately ahove the vaults a house has been erected ; which , over the doorway , beara the