Page:A tour through the northern counties of England, and the borders of Scotland - Volume II.djvu/33

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[ 21 ]

Ralph Frisburn, is seen in the bottom, watered by the little river Aln, that flows through the park; and a grand modern Gothic tower, called Briesley's tower, of a circular form, one hundred feet high, crowns the summit of a hill, and affords a view of wonderful extent, including many august objects in a clear day—Edinburgh-Castle to the northwartd; Tyneworth-Castle, in an opposite direction; Bamborough and Warkworth Castles to the eastward; and the long line of the Grampian and Cheviot hills, and their circumjacent wastes: the scene of that great hunting of old, whose bloody termination has been recorded in the well-known popular ballad of "Chevy-Chace;" a tract formerly famous for game and timber, but now equally bare of wood, and despoiled of stairs and roes.

On our return to Alnwick from the park, we passed a little free-stone monument, with an inscription upon it that commemorates the spot and the nature of William the King of Scotland's disaster and shame:

"William the Lion, King of Scotland, besieging Alnwick-
Castle, was here taken prisoner 1174."

Another monument of former warfare occurs near the town on the road to Belford—a beautiful cross, with the following inscription, which points out the occasion of its erection: