On the ramparts beneath us the soldier pointed out
the spot where Wallace scaled the wall, climbing an apparently
inaccessible precipice, and taking the castle. The principal parts of
the ancient castle appear to have been on the other and lower summit of
the hill, and thither we now went, and traced the outline of its wall,
although none of it is now remaining. Here is the magazine, still
containing some powder, and here is a battery of eighteen-pound guns,
with pyramids of balls, all in readiness against an assault; which,
however, hardly any turn of human affairs can hereafter bring about. The
appearance of a fortress is kept up merely for ceremony's sake; and these
cannon have grown antiquated. Moreover, as the soldier told us, they are
seldom or never fired, even for purposes of rejoicing or salute, because
their thunder produces the singular effect of depriving the garrison of
water. There is a large tank, and the concussion causes the rifts of the
stone to open, and thus lets the water out. Above this battery, and
elsewhere about the fortress, there are warders' turrets of stone,
resembling great pepper-boxes. When Dr. Johnson visited the castle, he
introduced his bulky person into one of these narrow receptacles, and
found it difficult to get out again.
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