For after all, she said, it
would be cruel to dismiss an old Highland Soldier
for a peccadillo so appropriate to his country and
profession.
The stately gate for carriages, or the humble
accommodation for foot-passengers, admitted into
a narrow and short passage, running between two
rows of lime-trees, whose green foliage, during the
spring, contrasted strangely with the swart complexion
of the two walls by the side of which they
grew. This access led to the front of the house,
which was formed by two gable ends, notched, and
having their windows adorned with heavy architectural
ornaments; they joined each other at right
angles; and a half circular tower, which contained
the entrance and the staircase, occupied the point
of junction, and rounded the acute angle. One of
other two sides of the little court, in which there
was just sufficient room to turn a carriage, was
occupied by some low buildings answering the purpose
of offices; the other, by a parapet surrounded
by a highly-ornamented iron railing, twined round
with honeysuckle and other parasitical shrubs,
which permitted the eye to peep into a pretty suburban
garden, extending down to the road called
the South Back of the Canongate, and boasting a
number of old trees, many flowers, and even some
fruit.
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