KENILWORTH CASTLE. In my youthful days, with my memory and imagination well stored with tales of chivalry, of barons bold, of armed knights, and tilts and tournaments, I visited this place; and now again am I standing at the base of Cesar's tower. I can remember entering the great gatehouse by moonlight, and exploring the court, and the roofless halls, and the underground dungeonlike chambers. The dark buttresses and gloomy towers were at one moment lit up by the fitful moonbeams, while at the next they were wrapped around with gloomy shadows. Then came upon my youthful fancy the spirit of other days, when these substantial walls were tenanted; a blending of different eras and customs, wherein pageants and processions, and armed men and monks, were mingled. The baron and his bold retainers came before me; the white-headed seneschal and the grey-haired harper. The cries of the herald, the clangour of the trumpet, the clashing of the arms, the rush of the combatants, and the loud shout of the admiring spectators, rung in my ears. The scene changed, and the tourney gave place to the feast; the board was heaped with goodly viands, and knights and peerless dames sat side by side; and the minstrel's lay prevailed, together with the peal of mirth and revelry. How lonely is the place! The solitude is almost sadness; for I hear no sound, and I see no moving thing. The clouds are motionless in the sky; and not a leaf, among the verdant mass of ivy that adorns the towers, is stirring. I remember a frowning pile of stones at yonder angle, that used to threaten the spectator as he stood beneath it, for its summit largely overhung its base; but it is gone now: no doubt, it toppled over years ago. It strikes me, too, that the ruin is somewhat lower, or the ground it stands on somewhat higher than it was, but this may be my fancy. The whole pile to me appears more aged than formerly. If Kenilworth looks older than it did, then how must it be with me? If these massy stones have felt the touch of time since I beheld them, no marvel that the same finger should have left its impress on my feebler frame; but we are slow to perceive our own infirmities. There is an impressive solemnity about the scene. That these huge blocks of stone, this massy fabric, that one might have thought to be almost as durable as the "everlasting hills," should crumble in desolation, is an arresting thought this, whether I will or not, presses on my reflections the mutability of man; pronouncing audibly, as it were, the words, "Pass the time of your sojourning here in fear," 1 Pet. i. 17. Yes, I am indeed the creature of a day; and that day is the gift of Him "in whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind," Job xii. 10. May its moments show forth his praise! I feel a stronger disposition to stand still and reflect, than to walk about and admire; and yet I cannot gaze on the ruin without indulging my fancy. Hoary ruin, Thou hast outlived the customs of thy day, And 'mid the ravage of revolving years Art now the spectacle of modern times. Yet, though thy halls are silent; though thy bowers Again imagination bids thee rise In all thy dread magnificence and strength; Thy drawbridge, fosse, and frowning battlements; When brought into contact with these strongholds of feudal ages, we draw on the resources of memory, and get together all we can remember to have read of castles, that our associations may give an interest to the scene. Much have I read of castles, that is mingled, in most admirable confusion, in my recollection; out of which I can collect very little that will serve my present purpose. During the times of the Britons, castles were not of a durable kind, so that they fell into ruin; but after the Norman conquest, castles abundantly increased; so much so, that towards the end of Stephen's reign, there were, it is said, upwards of 1100. Castles were dwelling-places as well as fortresses. As the feudal system gained ground, they became manors, and the governor was lord of the manor. Castles were built of stone, surrounded by thick, high walls, by way of defence, with works of different kinds. First came the barbican, or watch tower. This was an outwork, and constituted the entrance of the castle, having a drawbridge over the ditch. Next was the ditch, or moat; and then the wall of the outer ballium, with a parapet. The wall was high, and flanked with towers. The outer ballium followed in order. This was the space within the outer wall. Here were lodgings and S wells of water, and sometimes a monastery. An artificial mount, in many castles, rose from the ballium, and commanded a view of the surrounding country. The wall of the inner ballium Idivided the two balliums. All castles had not an inner ballium; but when there were two balliums, the lodgings and wells of water were in the inner one. The keep, or dungeon, was the citadel or stronghold of the place; it was built with massive stones, much thicker than the other parts, and occupied an eminence in the centre. It was usually a high, square tower, running up four or five stories, with a turret at each corner, and a winding staircase in each turret. Here the governor of the castle had his gloomy state rooms, with embrasures, or chinks in the wall, growing less as they receded inwards, through which arrows from the long or the cross bow might be discharged. Castles have been,. too often, strongholds of oppression, injustice, cruelty, and licentiousness. I have loitered through the ruins, ascended the towers, descended the under-ground chambers, mused in the courts, and have just plucked a flower that was growing at my feet. In the reign of Edward the First, that wealthy nobleman, Roger de Mortimer, established a "round table" at Kenilworth; and here, in this solitary, |