We reach here a quiet loch, of no great extent, but presenting a
beauty of its own, and famous from its association with the ancient
palace that crowns the peninsula in its centre. The tale of Flodden
Field is closely associated with this palace, for in the small turret
at the right hand corner furthest in our view there sat Queen Margaret
in her bower, watching the turn of the road by which the king ought to
be seen on his return, and weeping in secret misgiving as to the
result of an enterprise which had been preceded by such a singular
warning. The scene described by Lindsay of Pitscottie, and better
known through 'Sir David Lindsay's Tale' in _Marmion_, took place in
the old parish church, closely adjoining the palace, the square tower
of which is seen over the trees. The king was in the practise, on each
anniversary of his father's death, to proceed to St. Katherine's
aisle,--still shown--and there to manifest his contrition for the
share he had had in that sad act. When
'In Katherine's aisle the monarch knelt
With sackcloth shirt and iron belt
And eyes with sorrow streaming'
there stepped out from the crowd a mysterious stranger, 'in azure gown
with cincture white,' who warned the king not to go to the intended
war, more especially warning him, if he went, to guard himself against
'Woman fair
Her witching wiles and wanton snare.'
Every one knows that as regards both branches of the warning, the
king proved regardless, and much of the disastrous result of Flodden
arose from the king's fatal dalliance with a renowned Border lady.
Of the loch itself there is not much to say, after it has been told
that it is dominated on the north by the gentle and verdant declivity
of _Glower-o'er-em_ or Bonnytoun Hill, on the summit of which is an
elegant open gothic cross to the memory of Adrian Hope, a soldier of
note who fell in the Indian mutiny. An exceedingly pleasant hour or
two may be spent boating on the loch. On the level sward to the left
of our view, the Linlithgow youth may be seen practising the game of
cricket, for which use of the palace precincts leave is given. The
palace grounds are open to the public, the building being in
government hands, and, it is believed, swallowing up the whole rent of
the small farm adjoining in the plasterers account for maintenance of
the extensive ruins.
Within those walls the beautiful Mary Queen of Scots was born in 1542,
and the room is shown, roofless and bare, as are other apartments of
more or less interest. The newest part of the structure is on the
north side, which is also the most ruinous, for when Hawley's
dragoons, in 1746, set fire to the palace, the wooden floors here
proved of course more easily destroyed than the vaulted and tiled
floors in the older parts.
The porch, it may be mentioned, is copied at Abbotsford, and the fine
fountain which stands in ruins in the courtyard has been reproduced in
fac-simile at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh. Leading to the palace from
the town, the church door being also within it, is a fine gateway,
with sculptured panels shewing the four knightly 'Orders' held by
James V., namely, the Thistle, the Garter, the Golden Fleece, and St.
Michael. The town of Linlithgow is a quiet, decayed county town,
famous in history for the assassination of Regent Murray by Hamilton
of Bothwellhaugh, in the High Street, and once distinguished by its
singularly copious water supply from wells or springs, some of which
still run on the streets, though most are now led into pipes for a
general supply.