; the cannon-balls resting alongside it were made of
wood. It was constructed in 1455 by native artisans at the instance of
James II, and was used in the siege of Dumbarton in 1489 and in the
Civil Wars. In Cromwell's list of captured guns in 1650 it was described
as "the great iron murderer Meg." When fired on the occasion of the
Duke of York's visit to Edinburgh in 1682 the gun burst. After this bad
behaviour "Meg" was sent to the Tower of London, not, however, to be
executed, but to remain there until the year 1829, when, owing to the
intercession of Sir Walter Scott with King George IV, the great gun was
returned to Edinburgh, and was received with great rejoicings and drawn
up with great ceremony to the castle, where it still remains as a relic
of the past.
On our way we had observed a placard announcing a soiree in connection
with the I.O.G.T. (the Independent Order of Good Templars), and this
being somewhat of a novelty to us we decided to patronise it.
Accordingly at 7 p.m. we found ourselves paying the sum of ninepence
each at the entrance to the Calton Rooms. As we filed through along with
others, a cup and saucer and a paper bag containing a variety of cakes
were handed to us, and the positions assigned to us were on either side
of an elderly gentleman whom we afterwards found to be a schoolmaster.
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