At the door of the great Hall, she was received by the Earls of Shrewsbury and Kent, who to use their own words, "marvelled at the perfect tranquility, and unaffected grace with which she met them." As she was about to enter the Hall, one more touching appeal was made by her, that "the poor servants might be permitted to see her die." At last even the flinty hearts of Shrewsbury and Kent, were moved, and faithful Jane Kennedy, and Elizabeth Curl, together with her much attached physician, were sent for. She then entered the great Hall, with the dignity of a Queen; Melville, who had joined her at the entrance bearing her train, the weeping servants following in the rear, and accompanying her up. to the very scaffold, which had been erected at the upper part of the room. It was a raised platform about two feet in height, and twelve broad surrounded by a rail, and covered with black cloth. Upon it were placed a low chair, two other seats, and the dreadful block: By its side, stood the two executioners masked, while the gleaming axe flashed from between them. Mary gazed on all this dread array, without the least change of countenance, and smilingly mounted the steps, with the grace and dignity she ever manifested in ascending the steps of her throne. Just before she knelt down to receive the fatal blow, Kent in the excess of his bigotted zeal, and with that malicious cruelty, only to be found in the hearts of religious persecutors, observing her intently regarding the crucifix, said in a harsh tone: "Woman! renounce such antiquated superstitions, that image of Christ serves to little purpose, if you have him not engraved upon your heart." And oh! what a scathing rebuke, was that meek and christian-like reply of the gentle spirit who stood there face to face with death-"Ah! my Lord, there is

nothing more becoming a dying christian, than to carry in her hands the remembrance of her redemption: How impossible my Lord is it, to have such an object in the hands, and keep the heart unmoved." Then bowing her head she remained some time in prayer: and there upon her knees, with hands clasped together, and raised towards heaven, while divine serenity lighted up her beautiful features, did Mary Stuart invoke forgiveness upon her persecutors. Then kissing the crucifix, and making the sign of the cross, she exclaimed, "as thine arms, O my God, were spread out upon the cross, so receive me within the arms of thy mercy." She then repeated that beautiful Latin prayer composed by herself.

"O Domine Deus! speravi in te;

O care mi Jesu! nunc libera me,

In dura catena, in misera paena desidero te,
Languendo gemendo, et genu flectendo,
Adoro! imploro! ut liberes me;

Which might be paraphrased thus;

"In this last solemn and tremendous hour,
My Lord and Saviour, I invoke thy power;
In this sad pang of anguish and of death,
Receive, O, Lord! thy suppliant's parting breath,
Before thy hallowed cross, she prostrate lies,
O, hear her prayers, commiserate her sighs.
Extend the arms of mercy, and of love,

And bear her to thy peaceful realm above."

Scarcely had the last sad tones of this beautiful prayer, died upon her lips, when the signal was given, that all was ready. Quickly blindfolding her eyes, she knelt down, and groping with both hands, seemed to feel eagerly for the block; which when reached, she laid her slender neck upon it, without a sign of trembling, or hesitationHer last words, just before the dread moment, when

"The gleaming axe did part

The burning brain, from that true heart,"

were, "Into thy hands, I commend my spirit, for thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of Truth." Surely, such a death, even in the estimation of her bitterest enemies, must have atoned for all the errors of her life-Surely, these Stuarts, if they knew not how to live, had strangely learned, what knowing how to live, always teaches, namely, how to die.

In going to the Castle, from Holyrood, you pass through the Canongate Street, so full of interesting localities. Near the head of the Canongate stands the old house, once occupied by John Knox. A small effigy in stone of the reformer rests upon the projecting angle of the building. Over the door is the following admonitory inscription;

"Lufe God, above al, and your nichbour as, your self."

An admonition little heeded by the stern reformer, if his biography is not a fable. This old thoroughfare, was once the court end of the Town, and occupied by persons of distinction. It is now abandoned to the vilest of the vile; many of the houses are dilapidated, and the street flutters in rags and wretchedness.

From the lofty ramparts of the Castle of Edinburgh, you look down upon the most beautiful city in the world, surrounded by scenery that cannot be surpassed. The rock on which this fortress Castle is built, rises 383 feet above the level of the sea, and its battlements towering over the city, may be seen forty or fifty miles. The principal buildings now used as barracks are at the South East corner, and among these is an old Palace, built by Queen Mary in 1568. Most of the interest, always excepting the glorious view from its summit,

attaches to this part of the edifice. Entering by a doorway in a projecting staircase, fronting a quadrangle, you are conducted into a small vaulted apartment containing the Regalia-these objects being placed on an oval table, securely enclosed within a cage of upright bars. There with the light of eight gas burners flashing upon them, repose in silent majesty, the ancient Regalia of Scotland -a crown-a sceptre-a sword of state, and the Order of the Garter given to James VI., by Queen Elizabeth. The crown is very elegantly formed, the under part being a gold diadem, consisting of two circles, chased and adorned with precious stones, and pearls. This was the old crown, and once encircled the brows of Robert Bruce. James V., added two concentric, arches of gold, crossing and intersecting each other above the circles. Upon a ball of gold on the summit, he placed a cross adorned with large diamonds. The cap or tiara of the crown is of crimson velvet, turned up with ermine, and adorned with pearls. The sceptre is a slender rod of silver, chased and varied in its form. The sword of state is magnificent, both in form and proportion. It was a present from Pope Julius the II., to James IV., who was slain at Flodden. Being wrought in Italy, shortly after the revival of art there, it is an exquisite specimen of skill. The handle is of silver gilt, and the cross or guard, wreathed in imitation of two dolphins, the scabbard being adorned with filagree work of silver, representing boughs and leaves of oak, interspersed with acorns. You cannot fail to look with deep interest, upon those emblems, of what is now,

"The buried majesty of Scotland."

That crown had once pressed the fair brow of Mary— that sceptre had often felt the grasp of her beautiful hand. It was only a few years since, these regalia, were discovered

walled up in this very room. Saved by friends of royalty during the civil war, they were afterwards deposited in a chest in this chamber, and on their discovery, some thirty years ago, Sir Walter Scott made a very interesting report of the circumstances, accompanied by a minute description of them. From the Regalia chamber, you descend to a small room below, where Mary gave birth to James VI., afterwards James I., of England, a most gloomy looking apartment, about eight feet square. You are at once attracted by a portrait of Mary on the wall, taken when in France, "in her sweet prime," just before her marriage with the Dauphin. The face is perfectly bewitching in its beauty-shaded by the richest nut brown hair, and lighted by a pair of the softest hazel eyes, that sorrow and suffering had not dimmed. once seen, like Mariana's,

"Encircles all the heart, and feedeth

All the senses, with a still delight."

A face, which

An original portrait of her son, hangs near it, a long thin faced man, with a brow, upon which time and sorrow, seem to have driven their ploughshares deeply.

On the Bomb Battery of the Castle, stands the national palladium of Scotland, "Mons Meg." This gun is composed of long bars of beaten iron, hooped together by a series of rings, measuring twenty inches in the bore. It was first used in 1498, by James IV., in the siege of Norham Castle on the borders, and was rent in 1682, while firing a salute; since which period it has been useless. Edinburgh Castle is one of the Forts, enjoined by the Treaty of Union, to be kept up in Scotland,