Page:Scotish Descriptive Poems - Leyden (1803).djvu/183



Ver. 8. By this expression, the author means the rock upon which stands the Castle of Edinburgh, reckoned one of the strongest in Europe. It was here that Keith, Earl Marshal of Scotland, hereditary keeper of the regalia, in the year 1706, deposited the regalia, viz. the crown, sword, and sceptre: The first is of a peculiar form, richly adorned with precious stones, and of great antiquity; the other two more modern. A formal instrument was taken by the earl's deputy, when they were deposited, in which there is a very minute description of them all, and a copy of it lodged in the Lawyers Library at Edinburgh, and other places.

Ver. 12. The first king of Scotland of this name mentioned by Scots historians, was cotemporary with Alexander the Great; the second, whom some moderns contend was the founder of that monarchy, lived anno 406.

Ver. 14. The borders of Scotland were the scenes of many bloody skirmishes betwixt the English and Scots. The other places here mentioned are remarkable in the Scotish history. The northern counties of England were in possession of the kings of Scotland, who did homage for them to the crown of England.

Ver. 40. The hills in the northern parts of Scotland are gilded all night, about the summer solstice, with the sun beams.