tions allow; but this builder seems to have paid little or no attention to that particular. To save himself the trouble of such calculations, or the danger of calculating wrong, he has given a superfluous solidity to his walls and piers. great difficulty in boring through a rock of a kind like this: but the cumbrous apparatus, and the great labour necessary to draw up this water to the brink of the well, and from thence convey it, as might occasionally be required, to the highest apartments, may be easily imagined. The Italians, even in the fifteenth century, were well acquainted with the great variety of uses to which water was subservient. Besides its universal use to quench thirst and support life, to fertilize the soil, to supply the place of animal force, in impelling all kinds of machinery, to carry away every kind of personal or domestic impurity, are services all effectually performed by water, when properly managed and conducted; and one of the earliest objects of the architect's attention was to supply his projected castle with water, for all these purposes, in some way more convenient and more plentiful than by the common method of wells. The more this vast building is examined, the symmetry and uniformity of its exterior structure, and the artful and commodious distribution of its rooms, passages, and staircases within, the more is our admiration excited. The genius that planned is not more wonderful than the labour and perseverance that accomplished it. Great works of this kind, if not dictated by necessity, are extremely liable to fall through and be abandoned, before they are finished, either by the change of views in their author, or what is still more unavoidable, by his death. He cannot entail his taste, as well as his property, on his children, and the chances are by far greater that the son will take down the stone set up by the father, than put another on the top of it. Alexander not only enjoyed a long life, but his enthusiasm and ambition luckily continued to keep the same channel to the end of it.-ing out one which nature had thus There was a good deal of patriarchal simplicity in his own manners, and in those of his people, of whom he was the father, as well as the lord. They were numerous, and but little occupied. War, the principal business in that age, he carefully avoided, and this circumstance enabled him to carry on his work with less interruption. There was nothing to divert his inclination and attention from the task, or to call away the hands it required. There is one remarkable convenience, for which the castle is indebted more to the accident of situation, than to the wisdom of the contriver. The only supply of water, in such cases, is usually drawn from wells, which are sunk in different parts of the fortress, to the depth, in some cases, of two or three hundred feet. There was no There were two obvious means of doing this: by artificially raising some fountain head above the level of these walls and towers, or search raised already. This being effected, he had only to provide a passage, and the water would spontaneously diffuse itself to every corner, and rise to every height not above its original source. To raise, by an engine, the water of a well to the desired height, was a task too awkward and laborious to be adopted, except when every other expedient should fail. In the present case, the nearest spring, whose situation was higher than the foot of the walls, was more than three miles distant. This, indeed, was a powerful torrent, bursting from a fissure in a rock, which poured out a stream, at all times equally abundant, and which produced not less than a cubic foot of water in a second. This spring was about a hundred feet above the base of the castle; it would therefore by no means supply its highest apartments; but as it was the only one so far useful to his purpose, the builder resolved to conduct this stream to a reservoir within the inclosure. These particulars are taken from a manuscript of Sarchi, preserved among the records of the lordship; but this account does not tell us whether he designed to conduct this water to the destined spot by pipes under ground, or by an aqueduct above it. In either case, it is easy to perceive that this supply would be made exceedingly precarious, by the accidents of time and of war. The enemy would not fail to break up the work, and compel the besieged to rely upon wells. It is not improbable, that Sarchi might have relinquished this project, long before its completion, even had he not been justified in doing so by a discovery made in sinking a well in an angle of the great court. It appears that the workman had not descended forty feet below the surface, hewing out a cylindrical cavity, about four feet in diameter, when he came to water, which rushed in upon him, rose almost instantly to the mouth of the well, and spouted from it with the greatest velocity. It immediately formed a copious and incessant stream, which, winding down the neighbouring precipices, soon lost itself in the sea. It was quickly discovered, that, at the time this torrent burst out, the spring before-mentioned became entirely dry. The volume of water issuing from the well appeared quite equal to that of the spring; the inference therefore was obvious, that there was a communication, by some secret passage, between them, and that, if proper means were provided, the water from the well would spontaneously rise to a level with the spring head. It would not be raised higher, because, if the communication were still open, the water would naturally betake itself to to the lowest outlet. By fixing a temporary vertical pipe to the mouth of this well, the truth of this conjecture was fully ascertained. This fortunate circumstance seems to have opened new views to the mind of the architect. To lay pipes of wood or metal along the walls of the building would conduct the water wherever he thought proper: but this method was no less expensive than precarious. Wood and metal were liable to injury and decay; they would demand incessant care and reparation; and the exposure of this apparatus to view had an artificial and bungling appearance. What canal, thought he, can be more lasting and firm than than the substance of the wall itself? If the water flows through the centre of a cube of marble, one foot or five feet square, it is perfectly secure from any external injury or meddling, short of that which will destroy the wall, and overturn the fabric itself. This stone may be bored, like wood, with an augur, and by the exercise of sufficient forethought and judgment, in modelling and perforating the stones, before they are arranged, and sufficient exactness in adjusting them, a cylindrical canal or duct, an inch in diameter, may be carved rectilineally and continuously through a dozen contiguous blocks, with as much ease as through a single block. To give due compactness and solidity to a wall, by means only of the junction and weight of its parts, required mathematical skill and laborious exactness, quite as great as to carry a stream of water through the length of such a wall, so that it should meet with no interruption or diversion, and that no moisture should escape or exhale, but at the mouths provided for it, in the quantity and at the time required. As the builder thought himself equal to the first exploit, he conceived himself, of course, not unequal to the second. The stretch and application of mind required in the perfect execution of such a plan may be easily imagined. To convey and distri bute these canals, in such a manner that they should not interfere with or obstruct each other; to blend independence of the parts on one another, with the unity and simplicity of the whole; and so to manage, as to afford an inexhaustible supply of this fluid to every habitable apartment in this vast assemblage of walls and towers: flowing, as it were, from the heart of the stone, on the slight pressure of a spring, or opening of a valve, was a task requiring the most unwearied vigilance and consummate skill. What augmented the difficulty, in the present case, was the connection of all these ducts with one source, and the situation of the canal, by which the smallest error was rendered at once fatal and irreparable. The wall must be finished before the accuracy of the distribution could be tried; and then, though an error might be sensibly felt, its exact situation in the wall could never be discovered, or when discovered be repaired, without the destruction of the wall itself. Not satisfied with carrying this supply a hundred feet above the foundations, that is, to a level with the ancient spring head, the architect conceived, from the velocity of the torrent, and from the existence of spgs considerably higher than this, in other parts of the lordship, that the law of equilibrium would raise the water much higher, if means could be used to seal up the original outlet. Accordingly, a sort of column, twenty feet in diameter, and sixty feet high, was raised over it. To this height it formed a solid mass, except a circular perforation in the centre, fourteen inches wide, in which the water rose perpendicularly. When it reached this height, it found its way to the outer sides, through eight holes. This tower is strongly characteristic of the genius of the architect, who built not for the passing day, but for centuries. In a diameter of twenty feet, the only opening or cavity is in the centre, and that is little more than a superficial foot. No other purpose is joined with that of raising a column of water to a certain height, for there is no staircase in the tower, and the outside is quite plain. It is close and solid at the top, and the water escapes only at openings in the side which slant downwards. This structure remains in its pristine state. It is a sort of air-built well. The water rushing violently through the lateral openings, in an oblique direction, forming a considerable stream as it collects at the foot of the tower, and proceeding from thence towards the sea, constitutes a singular spectacle. this erection, the design of the architect is fully answered, and the highest apartment in the keep is supplied with a perennial fountain. By The canals, by which the water passes from the well into the walls and towers, are formed beneath the pavement at a considerable depth. The original mouth of the well is blocked up, and the spot would be distinguished with difficulty from any other part of the solid pavement. The ducts within the walls are wholly inaccessible to injury, and were in their primitive state at sir A's accession. But as every habitable apartment, and every considerable passage, had an aperture in the wall, communicating with the unseen canal within it, the original contrivances, by which the stream would be drawn forth or shut up at pleasure, were exposed to a thousand accidents, and every vestige had long since disappeared. In most cases, the orifice had been blocked up by small pieces of brick or stone. In many cases, all obstruction, if any had ever been employed, was removed, and the water spouted out incessantly, overflowing floors and rooms, and finding its way gradually to the bottom. In this respect, this building afforded the extraordinary spectacle of walls, whose veins and pores were apparently filled with water, and which poured forth an inexhaustible foun tain at every crack or cranny which chanced to offer it a passage. The prison tower was the only one inhabited. Every apartment in this, as in the rest, was supplied with water. but the only canal in use was that which supplied the lowermost room. The rest were shut up by stoppers of wood, stone, or metal. We may easily conceive that this edifice was uninhabitable, as long as the water in its walls was not imprisoned. The earliest attention, therefore, was paid, by sir A, to this circumstance, and suitable valves and stoppers were adapted to these apertures, by which the stream was brought under absolute command. The obvious purpose to be served by this water was that of quenching thirst. In order to obtain it, it was only necessary to stretch out the hand, or to walk across the room. But this water served innumerable other purposes, and passages were made through the solid of the wall, for water to run off, after being previously employed to purify the person, closets, and apartments. Sir A extended to its utmost limits all the uses of these canals, and produced an infinite variety of surprising, as well as beneficial effects, by means of them. Many mechanical contrivances were set in motion, and put under the command, if I may so speak, of this power, which, such was the profusion and velocity of the stream, might even be applied to the impelling of heavy machinery. The extent of this force may easily be calculated, when you recollect that the produce of this well was one cubic foot of water in a second. It would consequently fill a tube, one inch square, and one hundred and forty-four feet in length, in one second, and this was the rate of its produce and motion at the height of one hundred feet above the pavement of the court. It exercised, indeed, a vast force, and the architect, perhaps, was influenced as much by the consideration of this force, as by any other cir VOL. III. NO. XVIII. cumstance, in enclosing it within such solid boundaries. Some observers would be apt to exclaim, on beholding this structure, to what purpose is this immense heap of stones, and this wonderful variety and composition of apartments? The avowed and most obvious end is to afford a place of refuge and safety to the neighbouring inhabitants. But how precarious and imperfect is such security? The people can have occasion to retire to this fortress only when the enemy has over-run the open country; but the cowardice and weakness that has resigned the field to the invader will always find the entrenchment untenable. Besides, we must not only provide a steep wall to resist the foe, but ammunition and provision to maintain its defenders. How difficult to collect such a store of either of these, as would last a few hundred persons a few months. The district, in former times, scarcely produced sufficient for the passing day. The most propitious season rarely afforded a surplus to lay up, and bad seasons, which were by no means unfrequent, left them too little for their daily sustenance. To keep the place constantly supplied was unnecessary and impossible, and how many difficulties must there always have been in the way of supplying it at any temporary exigence. The same impediments which checked the approach of an enemy obstructed the easy and prompt conveyance of provisions: and when all these requisites were obtained, the fear or treachery of a single man might render them altogether unavailing. What salutary wonders might have been wrought, by the same ingenuity and labour, differently applied! If these stones had been so disposed, along the surface of the earth, as to form a compact mass, twenty feet wide, and five feet high, they would have extended near ten miles, and formed a road which no time, no intemperature of the ele ments, neither winds nor floods, and 8 neither, human use nor human negligence would have destroyed, or even impaired, for ages to come. The real opulence and population of the district, and consequently its real strength, would have been greatly and permanently promoted. Had the same number, so long busied upon this gigantic though useless edifice, been employed in constructing humbler dwellings, of the same materials, the whole population might have been comfortably and conveniently lodged. Had they been employed in draining, inclosing, and manuring the ground, the soil would have produced fifty times more food than it used to do, and would, of consequence, have maintained fifty times more people. These objections are undoubtedly just; but, when we fully consider the matter, we shall, perhaps, be inclined to acquit the lord of Cof much blame. The employment of power and riches, in the manner they were employed by the present possessor, was morally impossible in a Scottish chieftain of the fifteenth century. Neither education nor example had opened his eyes to his true interest, and that of his people; and however eager he might be to attain that object, he was totally ignorant of the way that led to it. On the contrary, he seems to have displayed a genius far superior to that of his contemporaries. Besides the merit of a wise and impartial judge in all the litigations that occurred among his people, he was exempt from the spirit of revenge, and the rage for war, then so generally prevalent among the nobility of all Europe. He erected this castle for the defence of his people from invasion and foreign oppression, and he pursued this end by means which formerly, as well as at present, have been thought the best, and on which the governments of the most enlightened nations, of the present age, have expended immense labour and treasure, with far less judgment and efficacy. Reflect a moment on the money and lives which have been thrown way upon the construction and defence of Louisburg by the French, of Havannah by the Spaniards, and of Gibraltar by the English, within the last hundred years. These walls answer the end designed by them, in an eminent degree. The art of man could not devise any thing more capable of resisting external force. The heaviest battery might play for weeks, without effect, on their sides.Bombs could not lodge a moment on the slanting or convex roofs, and the pavement is the solid rock. The hardening influence of the air extends gradually deeper and deeper into this species of stone, and miners would find it a most arduous task to penetrate beyond the surface. This stone itself does not extend a hundred feet beyond the foot of the wall, and all the works of an assailant, at a much greater distance, are overlooked and entirely commanded by those stationed on the top of it. It is certain, that almost any other chief would not have employed his people better; he would have spent his revenue at a distance, and reduced them every day to greater poverty, or involved them in destructive conflicts with their neighbours, or, at best, have left them in the idle, unprofitable state in which he found them. As it is, a durable monument has been produced, which may occasionally be found extremely serviceable to the end intended by it, while, at the same time, and in the intervals of peace and tranquility, some advantages of a different kind may be derived from it. More than two hundred and fifty years had elapsed between the completion of this building and the succession of sir A. During that period, this lordship had many successive masters, whose characters and habits were extremely various. Some of them were active in the affairs and revolutions of the nation in general, and the fortunes of the clan were, of course, affected by those of their lords. This impregnable fortress sometimes lessened |