The notable objects were a castle and a cathedral; and we first found our way to the castle, which stands on elevated ground, on the side of the city towards Scotland. A broad, well-constructed path winds round the castle at the base of the wall, on the verge of a steep descent to the plain beneath, through which winds the river Eden. Along this path we walked quite round the castle, a circuit of perhaps half a mile,— pleasant, being shaded by the castle's height and by the foliage7 of trees. The walls have been so much rebuilt and restored that it is only here and there that we see an old buttress8, or a few time-worn stones intermixed with the new facing with which the aged9 substance is overlaid. The material is red freestone, which seems to be very abundant in this part of the country. We found no entrance to the castle till the path had led us from the free and airy country into a very mean part of the town, where the wretched old houses thrust themselves between us and the castle wall, and then, passing through a narrow street, we walked up what appeared like a by-lane, and the portal of the castle was before us. There was a sentry-box just within the gate, and a sentinel was on guard, for Carlisle Castle is a national fortress10, and has usually been a depot11 for arms and ammunition12. The sergeant13, or corporal of the guard, sat reading within the gateway14, and, on my request for admittance, he civilly appointed one of the soldiers to conduct us to the castle. As I recollect16, the chief gateway of the castle, with the guard-room in the thickness of the wall, is situated17 some twenty yards behind the first entrance where we met the sentinel.
It was an intelligent young soldier who showed as round the castle, and very civil, as I always find soldiers to be. He had not anything particularly interesting to show, nor very much to say about it; and what he did say, so far as it referred to the history of the castle, was probably apocryphal18.
The castle has an inner and outer ward6 on the descent of the hill; and included within the circuit of the exterior19 wall. Having been always occupied by soldiers, it has not been permitted to assume the picturesque aspect of a ruin, but the buildings of the interior have either been constantly repaired, as they required it, or have been taken down when past repair. We saw a small part of the tower where Mary, Queen of Scots, was confined on her first coming to England; these remains20 consist only of a portion of a winding21 stone staircase, at which we glanced through a window. The keep is very large and massive, and, no doubt, old in its inner substance. We ascended22 to the castle walls, and looked out over the river towards the Scottish hills, which are visible in the distance,—the Scottish border being not more than eight or nine miles off. Carlisle Castle has stood many sieges, and witnessed many battles under its walls. There are now, on its ramparts, only some half a dozen old-fashioned guns, which our soldier told us had gone quite out of use in these days. They were long iron twelve-pounders, with one or two carronades. The soldier was of an artillery23 regiment24, and wore the Crimean medal. He said the garrison25 now here consists only of about twenty men, all of whom had served in the Crimea, like himself. They seem to lead a very dull and monotonous26 life, as indeed it must be, without object or much hope, or any great employment of the present, like prisoners, as indeed they are. Our guide showed us on the rampart a place where the soldiers had been accustomed to drop themselves down at night, hanging by their hands from the top of the wall, and alighting on their feet close beside the path on the outside. The height seemed at least that of an ordinary house, but the soldier said that nine times out of ten the fall might be ventured without harm; and he spoke27 from experience, having himself got out of the castle in this manner. The place is now boarded up, so as to make egress28 difficult or impossible.
The castle, after all, was not particularly worth seeing. The soldier's most romantic story was of a daughter of Lord Scroope, a former governor of the castle, when Mary of Scotland was confined here. She attempted to assist the Queen in escaping, but was shot dead in the gateway by the warder; and the soldier pointed15 out the very spot where the poor young lady fell and died;—all which would be very interesting were there a word of truth in the story. But we liked our guide for his intelligence, simplicity29, and for the pleasure which he seemed to take, as an episode of his dull daily life, in talking to strangers. He observed that the castle walls were solid, and, indeed, there was breadth enough to drive a coach and four along the top; but the artillery of the Crimea would have shelled them into ruins in a very few hours. When we got back to the guard-house, he took us inside, and showed the dismal30 and comfortless rooms where soldiers are confined for drunkenness, and other offences against military laws, telling us that he himself had been confined there, and almost perished with cold. I should not much wonder if he were to get into durance again, through misuse31 of the fee which I put into his hand at parting.
The cathedral is at no great distance from the castle; and though the streets are mean and sordid32 in the vicinity, the close has the antique repose33 and shadowy peace, at once domestic and religious, which seem peculiar34 and universal in cathedral closes. The foundation of this cathedral church is very ancient, it having been the church portion of an old abbey, the refectory and other remains of which are still seen around the close. But the whole exterior of the building, except here and there a buttress, and one old patch of gray stones, seems to have been renewed within a very few years with red freestone; and, really, I think it is all the more beautiful for being new,—the ornamental35 parts being so sharply cut, and the stone, moreover, showing various shadings, which will disappear when it gets weatherworn. There is a very large and fine east window, of recent construction, wrought36 with delicate stone tracery. The door of the south transept stood open, though barred by an iron grate. We looked in, and saw a few monuments on the wall, but found nobody to give us admittance. The portal of this entrance is very lovely with wreaths of stone foliage and flowers round the arch, recently carved; yet not so recently but that the swallows have given their sanction to it, as if it were a thousand years old, and have built their nests in the deeply carved recesses37. While we were looking, a little bird flew into the small opening between two of these petrified38 flowers, behind which was his nest, quite out of sight. After some attempts to find the verger, we went back to the hotel. . . .
In the morning my wife and J——- went back to see the interior of the cathedral, while I strayed at large about the town, again passing round the castle site, and thence round the city, where I found some inconsiderable portions of the wall which once girt it about. It was market-day in Carlisle, and the principal streets were much thronged39 with human life and business on that account; and in as busy a street as any stands a marble statue, in robes of antique state, fitter for a niche40 in Westminster Abbey than for the thronged street of a town. It is a statue of the Earl of Lonsdale, Lord Lieutenant41 of Cumberland, who died about twenty years ago.
[Here follows the record of the visits to the "Haunts of Burns," already published in Our Old Home.—ED.]
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bustling
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| adj.喧闹的 | |
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picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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refreshing
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| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
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verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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buttress
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| n.支撑物；v.支持 | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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fortress
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| n.堡垒，防御工事 | |
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depot
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| n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站 | |
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ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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sergeant
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| n.警官，中士 | |
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gateway
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| n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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apocryphal
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| adj.假冒的，虚假的 | |
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exterior
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| adj.外部的，外在的；表面的 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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garrison
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| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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egress
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| n.出去；出口 | |
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simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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misuse
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| n.误用，滥用；vt.误用，滥用 | |
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sordid
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| adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的 | |
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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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ornamental
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| adj.装饰的；作装饰用的；n.装饰品；观赏植物 | |
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wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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recesses
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| n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭 | |
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petrified
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| adj.惊呆的；目瞪口呆的v.使吓呆，使惊呆；变僵硬；使石化(petrify的过去式和过去分词) | |
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thronged
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| v.成群，挤满( throng的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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niche
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| n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等) | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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