When day breaks, however, Nell,
this palace will not look so very gloomy. Holyrood, with its four
embattled towers, is not unlike some handsome country house.
But let us pursue our way. There, just above the ancient Abbey
of Holyrood, are the superb cliffs called Salisbury Crags.
Arthur's Seat rises above them, and that is where we are going.
From the summit of Arthur's Seat, Nell, your eyes shall behold
the sun appear above the horizon seaward."
They entered the King's Park, then, gradually ascending they passed
across the Queen's Drive, a splendid carriageway encircling the hill,
which we owe to a few lines in one of Sir Walter Scott's romances.
Arthur's Seat is in truth only a hill, seven hundred and fifty
feet high, which stands alone amid surrounding heights.
In less than half an hour, by an easy winding path, James Starr
and his party reached the crest of the
crouching lion, which, seen from the west, Arthur's Seat so
much resembles. There, all four seated themselves; and James Starr,
ever ready with quotations from the great Scottish novelist,
simply said, "Listen to what is written by Sir Walter Scott
in the eighth chapter of the Heart of Mid-Lothian. 'If I were
to choose a spot from which the rising or setting sun could be seen
to the greatest possible advantage, it would be from this neighborhood.'
Now watch, Nell! the sun will soon appear, and for the first time
you will contemplate its splendor.
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