Edinburgh picture by Vandyke. There is also a curious old clock and a wonderful inlaid cabinet, which is equally interesting for the beauty of its workmanship and for its ingenious secret drawer. A door on the left leads to another room which, though classed among Darnley's apartments, was never occupied by him, as it was not built till the time of Charles 11. There are several portraits here: Charles II., James VI., James VII., Henry vi., and several of various members of the house of Hamilton. Returning to the audience chamber we now proceed to Lord Darnley's bedroom. The tapestry here is of the same character as that in the audience chamber. It is beautifully worked, but the design is not specially interesting. This room, however, contains some very interesting portraits, viz. Cardinal Beaton, the Countess of Lennox (Darnley's mother), John Knox, Queen Mary, Darnley and his brother, Sir William Hamilton, William III. and his wife (another Queen Mary), the first Duke of Hamilton, the Countess of Cassilis and St. Francis of Assisi, a most extraordinary mixture, but none the less interesting on that account. In this room may also be seen a screen which was the property of Charles I. The door on the left leads to the tiny turret room which was Darnley's dressing-room. It contains only four pictures, viz. Lady Mary Fielding, first Duchess of Hamilton; Lady Ann Cochran, Duchess of Hamilton; St. Margaret; and St. Mark's, Venice. This cramped little room is scarcely our idea of royal spaciousness, but it is no smaller than the corresponding room which belonged to Queen Mary, and it cannot even be said that it is small in proportion to the bedroom and audience chamber. On the left-hand side of the bedroom is a door leading to another turret room. The tapestry here represents Meleager and Atalanta, and has an appropriate background of woodland scenery. But by far the most interesting feature of this room is that it contains the foot of Queen Mary's private stair.' 6 This was reached by raising the tapestry, but could be member in our childish days long- Scene of Rizzos Murder their shallowness, and so worn with In the passage at the entrance of the Queen Mary rooms may be seen the brass plate marking the spot where Rizzio died. No longer does the attendant Holyrood and Canon gate burgh Edin- tell awestruck tourists that the blood of Rizzio can never be washed out, and illustrate his remarks by pointing to a red stain more suggestive of paint than of human blood; but the simple brass plate is no less impressive than the former legend,-on the contrary the impression is deepened by the straightforward recital of facts, leaving nothing which even the most flippant can turn into ridicule. The first of the Queen Mary rooms is the audience chamber, exactly above the corresponding room in Darnley's suite of apartments. The tapestry here is so frayed and the colours are so worn that it is hard to decipher the original design, in spite of the best endeavours of the skilled embroiderers who at intervals repair the worn and faded tapestry in a way that to those less skilful with the needle seems little short of miraculous. The portraits, however, are of considerable interest. Among them we see the Regent Moray, the Duke and Duchess of Lauderdale, and the beautiful Hortense Mancini (niece of Cardinal Mazarin), whose history was no whit less romantic than that of her better known sister Maria, who was so nearly Queen of France. There are some other pictures, including one of the Battle of the Boyne, but with that exception they are of no historical interest. The curious old fireplace with its wide hearth cannot be passed unnoticed, and there are some embroidered chairs dating from the days of Charles 1. The bed has considerable memories of royal occupants of different sorts and conditions. It was used by Charles 1. when he visited Scotland in 1633; his great-grandson, Prince Charlie, slept in it during his stay at Holyrood in 1745, and the Duke of Cumberland, with his usual lack of magnanimity, insisted that it should be made ready for him when he visited Edinburgh the following year after Culloden. But perhaps the memories which most haunt this room are the interviews between Queen Mary and Knox which were held here. Even more interesting than the audience chamber is Queen Mary's bedroom. HolyThe panelled ceiling and the faded tapestry on the rood and walls-representing the story of Phaethon are poor relics Canonof the luxury which her enemies accused Mary of in- gate dulging in. She must have felt this gloomy old palace with its cramped accommodation a change indeed, after the gaiety and brightness of sunny France. It is only after visiting the magnificent salons of Fontainebleau in the midst of its forest surroundings, and the picturesque châteaux of Touraine, that one can realise something of what this change must have meant to her. Her bed may still be seen, but it is frayed and tattered to such an extent that one can hardly help wondering how much longer it will hold together. Under the tapestry may be seen the small door which conceals the top of the secret staircase. There are only four portraits in this room, but they are all of considerable interest, viz. Henry VIII., his mother Elizabeth of York, Queen Elizabeth, and Queen Mary. The little dressing-room opening on the left is no larger than that of Darnley exactly below. A door on the right, close to the private stair, leads to Queen Mary's suppingroom. This of course was not the room where Queen Mary held state banquets-its size prevented that— but was her little private room where she received only her intimate friends, her boudoir we might call it. Standing here, it is easy to realise all the revolting details of Rizzio's murder: Ruthven, Darnley, Ker of Faudonside, Queen Mary, and the wretched Italian himself, all seem to live before us. It must have been in this room also or else in the little dressing-room in the other turret-that Mary tried to call for help during her imprisonment, but her designs were stopped by Ruthven's chivalrous threat to cut her into collops' if she raised the people! The visitor doubtless feels inclined to linger, but there is still much to be seen, SO we retrace our steps through the bedroom and Edin- audience chamber, and down the worn stairs. After, burgh perhaps, a last glance at Darnley's rooms and the Picture Gallery, we proceed downstairs and once more gain the cloisters. As we walk along the north side we actually pass over the grave of Rizzio. Another version of the story says he was buried in the royal vault of the chapel, but afterwards his remains were interred in the nearest part of the chapel to the Palace; while yet another tale declares that he lies buried in the Canongate Churchyard. However that may be, the name of Rizzio will always be associated with Holyrood, and there is a fitness in the tale which says he is buried there. Passing along the cloisters we reach a door which leads us to the Chapel Royal. All that now remains is the nave of the original building, and even that is in a ruinous condition. Even in 1758 its condition was such as to cause considerable alarm, and steps were taken to preserve it, but the clumsy efforts of the builder suggest zeal not according to knowledge. Incredible as it sounds, he actually covered the roof with flagstones which weighed down the frail old walls, and the whole building collapsed ten years later. This attempted restoration really inflicted greater damage than any English invasion, or even the heavy hand of time. The style of architecture is partly Norman and partly Gothic. Probably the earliest parts were Norman ; but the whole suggests transition. In some places one is led to suppose that the Gothic work has been placed on the top of the Norman. Moreover, we find rounded windows, chevron moulding, and the flat pilaster on the outside walls, especially on the south wall, which are pure Norman, as well as the pointed doorways and arches and some more elaborate moulding which are Gothic or Early English. A good general view of the chapel is gained by first going out by the west door and surveying the outside. The west door is very beautiful, |