LINLITHGOW PALACE

So wrote Sir Walter Scott, an opinion which can be endorsed to-day, enough of the palace remaining, ruined though it is, to show what a stately and dignified structure it was in its days of greatness. The palace, standing on some rising ground jutting into a beautiful lake, is square in construction, having towers at the corners. The original entrance was on the eastern side, through a gateway which was protected by a drawbridge. Inside this gateway is a mutilated statue, thought to represent Pope Julius II., who gave James IV. his sword, still to be seen among the regalia in Edinburgh Castle. A ruined fountain stands in the centre of the courtyard, which once resounded with all the gaiety of the Stuart Court. The western side, containing the room where Queen Mary was born, is the oldest, while the northern side is the most recent, being rebuilt by James VI.

Apparently there was a castle or royal manor-house at Linlithgow from the time of David I., who granted the skins of the rams, sheep, and lambs, who died there, to his foundation abbey of Holyrood.

When Edward I. was holding sway over Scotland, he spent a considerable time at Linlithgow, turning it into a real fortress. Builders, masons, and carpenters were ordered from England, who threw up stockades, enclosing the parish church within the walls. It remained in English hands until 1314, when it was taken by a familiar strategy. A farmer, named Binnock, who was in the custom of bringing hay to the garrison, determined to capture the castle, one of the last to submit to the conquering Scots. One morning he drove up as usual to the castle gate, stopping his cart immediately under the portcullis, which was raised to admit him. Cutting the yoke which fastened his horses, so that the cart could not be shifted nor the portcullis lowered, Binnock sprang upon the unsuspecting porter and killed him. The hay in the cart covered some armed men who leapt out, being joined by others concealed near the gateway. The garrison was completely surprised, and were all put to the sword. Binnock was rewarded by a grant of land. Bruce destroyed the castle, following his usual policy, but it must have been rebuilt some time during the reign of his son.

The palace which now remains is entirely a Stuart building, the older castle and part of the church having been burnt down the year that James I. returned to his native country after his long captivity. Great rebuilding took place in his reign, and, indeed, he is considered the main builder, the later monarchs only adding to and adorning portions of his scheme. It was in this new palace that Henry VI. of England, with Margaret of Anjou, and Edward Prince of Wales, stayed when the triumph of the Yorkists had driven them from England.

James IV., under whom Scotland enjoyed a rare interval of prosperity, delighted in his beautiful palace of Linlithgow, where he indulged in all the manly sports of the time. Like his contemporary, Henry VIII., he revelled in tournaments, to which he invited all the lords to come and tilt with him, making of Linlithgow another Hampton Court, where great merry-making took place. Under his wise rule, Scotland was at peace and prosperous, the Court maintained a higher level of refinement and luxury, and science and art were encouraged. Unfortunately, James's chivalrous and rash temperament led him into war with England and the disaster at Flodden Field. Before starting on the expedition, a council was held at Linlithgow, after which the King attended evensong in the church. According to the story described by eye-witnesses, a strange man, dressed in a blue robe belted with a linen strap, with reddish hair hanging to his shoulders, pushed his way up to where the King was kneeling. Addressing him with slight reverence, the man warned the King against proceeding to battle, saying, "Sir King, my mother has sent me to you desiring you not to pass at this time where thou art purposed," saying it would bring disaster and shame, also warning him against visiting any woman on his journey. While the lords and everyone round were astonished and amazed at this apparition, the man suddenly disappeared "like a blink of the sun." In spite of the fact that the superstition of the time credited the man with being St. John appearing upon earth, the King persisted in his undertaking to meet his death upon the battlefield, and to plunge Scotland into mourning for the flower of the land. Doubtless the man was an imposter, got up for the part, by those who wanted to dissuade the King.

A little room in the south-west corner of the palace is pointed out as Queen Margaret's Bower, being said to be the room from which the King's English bride watched for the messengers bringing her news of her husband's fate.

When James V. became of age he also loved the palace, building the stately hall known as the Parliament Hall. He brought his French wife, Mary of Guise, there, who said she had never seen a more princely residence. His only child, Mary Queen of Scots, was born in the palace, but he never saw her, for he was at Falkland Palace when the news of her birth was brought to him, dying of grief after the shameful defeat at Solway Moss.

The infant Queen was declared by some to be extremely delicate, but Sir Ralph Sadler, the English Ambassador in Scotland, gave quite a different account. The Queen-Dowager took him into the room where her baby was lying, and showed him how healthy she was. He writes to Queen Elizabeth: "I assure Your Majesty it is as goodly a child as I have seen of her age, and as like to live, with the grace of God."

After the thrones were united, the palace, like so many others in Scotland, became neglected, but it received its final ruin in 1746, when General Hawley's soldiers quartered in the palace. They had been defeated at Falkirk by the Jacobites, and were retreating. In spite of remonstrances to the General, the soldiers were allowed to make great fires in the palace, which were so carelessly watched that the building caught fire, leaving it the ruin which it is to-day.