192 JULY 



now in this soft July weather; such, and many 

 more of a like stirring kind, filled the thoughts of 

 Sir Walter Scott when, broken in fortune and in 

 health, he travelled hither to study the scenery of 

 his last romance, Castle Dangerous. It is said that 

 as he gazed in silence on the landscape, his aged 

 eyes filled with tears, till he turned away, repeating 

 the words of the dying Douglas to his nephew at 

 Otterburn : 



' My wound is deep, I fain would sleep ; 

 Take thou the vanguard of the three, 

 And hide me by the bracken bush 

 That grows on yonder lilye lea. 



Oh, bury me by the bracken bush, 



Beside the blooming brier, 

 And never let living mortal ken 

 That e'er a kindly Scot lies here.' 



Wholly altered as Douglas Castle and its environ- 

 ment have been into the commonplace residence of 

 a county magnate, its interest for the casual visitor 

 depends entirely on his knowledge of local lore. 

 But the village of Douglas still betrays its mediaeval 

 origin by its narrow, tortuous streets and closes. 

 Still there stands part of the ancient chapel of St. 

 Bride of Douglas, in reproachful contrast to the 



