THE FAIR MAID OF PERTH

or

St. Valentine's Day

by Sir Walter Scott, Bart.







INTRODUCTORY.

The ashes here of murder'd kings Beneath my footsteps sleep; And
yonder lies the scene of death, Where Mary learn'd to weep.

CAPTAIN MARJORIBANKS.


Every quarter of Edinburgh has its own peculiar boast, so that the
city together combines within its precincts, if you take the word
of the inhabitants on the subject, as much of historical interest
as of natural beauty. Our claims in behalf of the Canongate are
not the slightest. The Castle may excel us in extent of prospect
and sublimity of site; the Calton had always the superiority of
its unrivalled panorama, and has of late added that of its towers,
and triumphal arches, and the pillars of its Parthenon. The High