Page:Old Castles.djvu/35

Rh we have seen, are in the inner ward, which is of a triangular form. Formerly this ward was enclosed by a wide and deep ditch, with a drawbridge; but there is scarcely a trace now of such having been. The tower gate is apparently of very ancient date, being all black and grim underneath, and bearing on its sides many quaint initials. On the left side of the entrance by this, there are still a great many ancient rooms and other buildings, some parts of which were taken down in 1820, and it was here that at that time the skeleton of a lady was found walled up. Looking up, on passing under the gate on that side, the place is still visible where this singular discovery was made, though the walls which enclosed it are gone. This lady, it is authentically stated, wore a Scotch tartan silk dress, and had on her fingers two gold rings, while her feet were placed on several silk handkerchiefs—facts which the curious may like to know, but which, nevertheless, avail little. There have been many conjectures respecting this mysterious person; and it has been made the subject of more than one tale; but there is no authentic idea, either traditional or otherwise, relating to it. The tales which have been written on it refer the atrocity of the deed to Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who was Governor of the Castle and Sheriff of Cumberland during his brother Edward the Fourth's reign; but this is entirely supposititious and quite questionable, as a wall built in the thorough fashion of those times at that date would scarcely have become insecure so soon as 1820. Nothing certain is, or can be known about this mystery. In the far past such dreadful deeds were not uncommon in many countries of Europe,