and went and hanged himself. And the chief priests took the silver pieces and bought with them the potter's field to bury strangers in.

I find in the 1st Chapter of Acts, 16th to the 19th verses, that Judas purchased a field with the reward of iniquity, and falling headlong he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. Your opinion, through the medium of your JUVENILE, as to whether Judas hanged himself, as recorded by Matthew, or fell, and his bowels gushed out, as recorded in Acts; and as to whether the chief priests bought the field, as in Matthew, or Judas, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, will greatly oblige yours truly, W. B.

ANSWER:-Two questions are raised here. 1. What kind of death did Judas die? 2. Who bought the field with the thirty pieces of silver? In answer to the former question, we can only say, the learned differ considerably as to the matter, but the most probable conjecture is, that Judas hanged or strangled himself, and the rope breaking, he fell down, and his bowels burst. And as to the latter, we understand the meaning of Scripture to be, that the priests completed a bargain, which probably Judas had begun; or, that as Judas supplied the money, and the priests accomplished the purchase, it may be said either Judas bought the field or the priests bought it.

ON THE TEMPTATIONS OF CHRIST.

DEAR SIR,-In respect to the temptations of our Lord in the wilderness, I have heard discussions as to whether He was tempted personally or spiritually. Your opinion on this, through the JUVENILE, will greatly oblige yours, &c., R. P.

ANSWER:-We understand that our Lord, as a human being, was tempted personally. And that the tempter was a real and not merely an imaginary one. We suppose this to be an answer to the query.

ON PETER'S CONVERSION.

DEAR SIR,-Will you be so kind as to tell me if Simon Peter was converted before his denial of the Saviour?Yours, &c., J. W.

ANSWER:-Yes: but by yielding to temptation he fell from grace, and then was led to deny his Lord. "Let him that standeth take heed lest he fall." "Be not high-minded

but fear."

Youths' Department.

ROSLIN CASTLE.

(With Engraving.)

ROSLIN CASTLE, near Edinburgh, was anciently the property of the St. Clairs, Earls of Caithness and Orkney; the first of whom-William de St. Clair-came to England at the time of the Norman conquest in 1066. About the year 1100, Malcom Canmore granted to him the lands of Roslin, formerly spelt Rosslyn, which signifies a rocky eminence and a waterfall. That portion of the Esk which runs over a rocky and broken channel in the immediate neighbourhood is still designated "The Lynn." The date when the castle was first built is unknown, and the earliest mention made of it is in the middle of the fifteenth century. It is said to have been built by the same nobleman who founded the chapel. During the latter part of the fifteenth century the castle was a place of considerable importance, not only on account of its strength, but also from the wealth of the Barons St. Clair, who resided in it in princely state. The kitchen, with its ample fireplaces, testifies to the enlarged ideas, in regard to good cheer, of those who founded the building.

Like most structures of strength or importance, Roslin Castle suffered much and frequently during the wars of our pugnacious forefathers. We learn from the manuscript volumes of Father Hay, which are preserved in the Edinburgh Advocates' Library, that it was accidentally set on fire in the year 1447, and much injured. In 1544 it was levelled with the ground, along with several of its contemporaries, by the Earl of Hertford; which nobleman had been sent to Scotland with a fleet and army by Henry VIII. of England, in order to bring about by compulsion a marriage between the son of that monarch and the youthful Princess Mary of Scotland. Again, in 1650, during Oliver Cromwell's campaign in Scotland, it was laid in ruins by a division of the English army under Monk; but, like the fabled hydra of old, Roslin Castle raised its embattled head once more, and braved the storms of time and fortune valiantly until 1688, in the December of which year it suffered much at the hands of a riotous mob, who at the same time did great injury to the adjoining chapel.

At the present day, the more ancient parts of the castle

are indicated by masses of ruined walls and fragments, which sufficiently attest what the strength of the fortress must have been in former days. This is also farther made apparent from the commanding position it occupies, and its solitary point of access, which is by a narrow bridge over a ravine of great depth. The length of the building is about 200 feet, and its breadth about 90 feet. In the lower apartments, facing the river, the walls are 9 feet These apartments, or triple tier of vaults, are the only parts of the edifice now remaining entire, and are exceedingly gloomy in appearance, owing to the small size of the windows-a peculiarity common to the strongholds of our country during the early period of its history.

thick.

The modern part of the castle was rebuilt in 1653, upon the ruins of the ancient structure. Above the door are carved the letters "S. W. S." (which are said to signify Sir William Sinclair), with the date 1622; but doubts are entertained as to the present building being entitled to claim so early a date. About seventy years ago, this comparatively modern mansion was inhabited by a Scotch laird, the lineal descendant and the last male of the high race who founded the pile. He was a captain of the Royal Company of Archers, and Hereditary GrandMaster of the Scottish Masons. At his death the estate descended to Sir James Erskine St. Clair, father of the present Earl of Rosslyn, who now represents the family. The situation of this venerable ruin is exceedingly romantic, being on a steep point of rock overhanging the picturesque bed of the river, which sweeps round two of its sides.

The following lines give a correct and graphic portraiture of the castle :

"High o'er the pines, that with their darkening shades Surround yon craggy bank, the castle rears

Its crumbling turrets; still its towering head A warlike mien, a sullen grandeur wears. So, 'midst the snow of age, a boastful air Still on the war-born veteran's brow attendsStill his big brows his youthful prime declare, Though trembling o'er the feeble crutch he bends." At the point of the peninsula on which the castle stands, the bed of the river is narrowed by a large mass of reddish sandstone, over which it falls. When the stream is flooded this becomes a beautiful cascade. Immediately below the castle the banks are very precipitous, and covered with luxuriant natural wood. For more than

a mile below, the stream is confined between high rocky walls of sandstone, which have been worn in many places into curious shapes and curvatures by the action of the water. It is from this part of the vale of the Esk that the finest view of the castle may be obtained; and when, turning from the dusty high road, one descends abruptly into this romantic valley, and wanders by the murmuring stream amongst the tangled foliage of bushes and trees, through the openings in which he discerns the old castle of Roslin rearing its head sharply against the sky, it seems as though he had been suddenly transported from the neighbourhood of an ancient city to an enchanted solitude far removed from the ordinary haunts of men.

The castle and scenery as viewed from the bed of the stream form a most picturesque subject for the pencil of the artist, and cannot fail to fill with glowing thoughts the imagination of the poet.

After leaving the castle, on his way to the chapel, the tourist gains the summit of a somewhat steep ascent, on the left of which is seen the ancient burial-place of the inhabitants of Roslin village. Beyond this, on the low ground, is Roslin Bleachfield, and in the distance lies the scene of an event which is one of the most remarkable in Scottish history. John de Segrave, who had been left as guardian of Scotland by Edward I., lay encamped in the neighbourhood on the 24th of February, 1303. He had divided his army into three divisions, for the convenience of pro curing subsistence. While engaged in foraging, one party was suddenly attacked by the Scots under the Regent, John Cummin, and Sir Simon Fraser, who defeated them with great slaughter. A second division of the English advanced to avenge their comrades, and shared a similar fate; while the remaining division, hurrying forward to join in the battle, was routed and driven off the field with immense loss, after a most valorous but ineffectual struggle. Thus three important victories were gained in one day. Upon this occasion the Scots had ten thousand men, the English thirty thousand.

In writing of the varied and beautiful scenery around Roslin, one finds difficulty in dwelling upon any particular point without doing injustice to many of the fine views that must necessarily, in a sketch so limited as the present, be passed over. The entire vale of the Esk at this romantic spot is crowded with every happy combination of cliff and copsewood, waterfall and dell; and the longer one rambles among the shady groves, the more numerous