DUNDAS CASTLE 333 THIRD PERIOD while against the fourth side the stair arch abuts. On the trusses, to quote the minute description by W. W. Fyfe, in his work Summer Life on Land and Water at South Queensferry, " are heads, male and female ; on the third an exquisite alto-relievo of two cherubs, bearing a delicate floral wreath, and underneath the cypher of Sir Walter Dundas in interlaced letters. The corner compartments are also ornamented with sculptures of the Dundas crest, a lion's head wreathed with oak leaves, the Dundas cognisance, a lion gules (on which the remains of the red paint are perceptible), the shield of the knight, quartered with that of his lady, Dame Ann Menteith, whose cypher is also given ; and, separately, the salamander of the house of Dundas, noticed as a FOUNTAIN AND DIAL i2l - / 1 - | STEPS WATER FK;. 2S5. Dundas Castle. Plan of Fountain. peculiarity in George Mackenzie's Heraldry, who, speaking of compart- ments in armorial bearings, says that besides the Royal Arms they were only allowed in those of Douglas and Perth, but that some families were permitted achievements, of which he adduces as an instance this 'salamander in flames, proper' in the arms of the Laird of Dundas." On each of the four faces are two panels in the frieze, with Latin inscrip- tion, thus translated by Mr. Fyfe : " See, read, think, and attend. Through rocks and crags by pipes we lead these streams That the parched garden may be moistened by the spring water. Forbear to do harm therefore to the fountain and garden which thou see'st. Nor yet should'st thou incline to injure the signs of the dial. View and with grateful eyes enjoy these hours and the garden, And to the flowers may eager thirst be allayed by the fountain. In the year of human Salvation 1623."
Page:The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland from the twelfth to the eighteenth century (1887) - Volume 1.djvu/353
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