Here it was the wont of robber barons to retire with
their prisoners and loot; and later, on account of the inaccessibility,
state and political prisoners were confined here from time to time.
In the frightful "Whig's Vault," a semi-subterranean dungeon, one
hundred and sixty covenanters--men and women--were for several months
confined by orders of the infamous Claverhouse. A single tiny window
looking out on the desolate ocean furnished the sole light and air for
the great cavern, and the story of the suffering of the captives is too
dreadful to tell here. The vault was ankle deep in mire and so crowded
were the prisoners that no one could sit without leaning upon another.
In desperation and at great risk, a few attempted to escape from the
window, whence they clambered down the precipitous rock; but most of
them were re-taken, and after frightful tortures were thrown into a
second dungeon underneath the first, where light and air were almost
wholly excluded. Such was Scotland in the reign of Charles Stuart II,
and such a story seemed in keeping with the vast, dismal old fortress.

[Illustration: DUNNOTTAR CASTLE, STONEHAVEN, NEAR ABERDEEN.]

But Dunnottar, secluded and lonely as it was, did not escape the
far-reaching arm of the Lord Protector, and in 1562 his cannon, planted
on the height opposite the headland, soon brought the garrison to terms.
It was known that the Scottish regalia--the crown believed to be the
identical one worn by Bruce at his coronation, the jewelled scepter and
the sword of state presented to James IV by the pope--had been taken for
safety to Dunnottar, held in repute as the most impregnable stronghold
in the North. The English maintained a close blockade by sea and land
and were in strong hopes of securing the coveted relics. The story is
that Mrs. Granger, the wife of a minister of a nearby village, who had
been allowed by the English to visit the castle, on her departure
carried the relics with her, concealed about her clothing. She passed
through the English lines without interference, and the precious
articles were safely disposed of by her husband, who buried them under
the flagstones in his church at Kinneff, where they remained until the
restoration of 1660. The English were intensely disappointed at the
loss. The minister and his wife did not escape suspicion and were even
subjected to torture, but they bravely refused to give information as to
the whereabouts of the regalia.

We w