We saw another remarkable structure called “The Rock of Ages,” a large monument built of stone, on each of the four sides of which was a Bible sculptured in marble with texts from the Scriptures, and near the top a device like that of a crown.  It was a fine-looking and substantial building, but we could not ascertain the reason for its erection.

There were two churches quite near to each other standing at one end of the cemetery, and these, we were informed, were known as the East and West Churches, and had been formed out of the old Church of Stirling, formerly noted for its bells, which were still in existence.  One of them, a Dutch bell, was marked “Rotterdam, 1657,” and inscribed “Soli Deo Gloria”; the only pre-Reformation bell was one that was said to have come from Cambuskenneth Abbey, measuring 8 ft. 6-1/2 in. round the mouth, 4 ft. 6 in. over the neck, and 2 ft. 1-1/2 in. in depth, and bearing a Latin inscription, in Old English characters, which was said to be the angelic salutation from St. Luke i. 28:  “Hail, Mary, full of grace, God is with thee; blessed art thou among women and to be blessed.”  This bell, dating from the fourteenth century, was perfect in sound, and had been the tone bell in the old abbey.  The remainder of the bells of Cambuskenneth had been lost owing to the swamping of the boat that was bringing them across the river.

[Illustration:  THE GATEWAY TO THE CASTLE.]

We now went to view the castle, and as we approached the entrance we were accosted by a sergeant, whom we engaged to act as our guide.

The ramparts of the castle command the noblest prospect imaginable—­Grampian, Ochil and Pentland Hills, the River Forth, through all its windings, and “Auld Reekie” in the distance—­twelve foughten fields are visible—­the bridge where Archbishop Hamilton was hanged, the mound on which the Regent, Earl of Levenax, was beheaded on May 25th, 1425, along with the Duke of Albany, his son-in-law, and his grandson—­the chamber where the Scottish King James II was assassinated—­a noble valley, where tournaments were held, and the hill, whence Beauty viewed “gentle passages of arms” and rewarded knights’ valour with her smiles, lie just below the ramparts.  Here James I lived, and James II was born, and it was a favourite residence of James III.  From these walls the “Good Man of Ballangeich” made many an excursion, and here James V and James VI were indoctrinated at the feet of that stern preceptor, George Buchanan, and the seventh James and the second of England visited here in company with the future Queen Anne and the last of the Stuarts.

[Illustration:  THE PALACE, STIRLING CASTLE.]

[Illustration:  STIRLING BRIDGE.  “At Stirling Bridge Wallace defeated the army of fifty thousand soldiers sent against him by Edward I; ... it was a battle won by strategy.”]

[Illustration:  STIRLING CASTLE.  “The ramparts of the castle command the noblest prospect imaginable—­from the top of the walls the sites of seven battlefields were pointed out to us.”]