tlEPOR'T OF MEETINGS FOR 1906 43 



gate-house had a drawbridge and outer gate, as well as a 

 portcullis in the inner archway. A staircase leads to the 

 parapet of the outer wall, from which the keep was entered 

 by a bridge on the level of the first floor, which has been 

 destroyed, though the stones wrought for the springing of 

 the arch are still visible in the wall of the Castle. The 

 main portion of the basement is divided into three apartments, 

 each with a single light. In the South wing there is a 

 draw-well, and in the North a dungeon, apparently divided 

 at one time into two floors, the upper one being ventilated 

 by a small aperture set high in the wall. These apartments 

 are all vaulted, and enclosed with walls of from 12 to 14 feet 

 in thickness. On the first floor the whole of the main building 

 is occupied with the great hall, remarkable for its handsome 

 proportions, which admit, according to the proverb, of a 

 knight's brandishing his sword on horseback without coming 

 in contact with the ceiling or walls. Very noteworthy also 

 are the sculptured fireplace, enriched with mouldings and 

 ornaments of the period and a lofty pointed hood, and a 

 side-board or seat with a canopy of 15th century workman- 

 ship. On the same floor are the kitchen and a private 

 parlour, the former occupying the North wing, and furnished 

 with a huge fireplace, a stone sink and drain, and a 

 handsome washhand basin with carved and ornamental 

 canopy ; the latter situated in the South wing, and supplied 

 with an unusual type of closet abutting. Three stories 

 complete the superstructure, the uppermost only being vaulted 

 to carry the stone roof, whose gutters are specially wide 

 to admit of the operations of a numerous garrison. The 

 first of these contains a drawing-room, and a Chapel, the 

 oratory of which is confined to the East window, in which 

 are fixed the piscina and locker. Apartments are still 

 pointed out as those occupied by Queen Mary on the 

 occasion of her flight to Dunbar in the guise of a page,- 

 under the escort of the Earl of Bothwell. For a considerable 

 period the family of Borthwick espoused the Stuart cause ; 

 and the 9th Earl of that name for a time defied the efforts 

 of Cromwell to reduce his stronghold, the impressions of 

 the bombardment remaining on the upper portions of the 

 East wall of the Castle. 



