In 1651, when employed by the Scottish Estates, in the honourable service of keeping the national registers, it was besieged and taken by General Monk. In 1681, James, Duke of York, afterwards James II., visited Stirling, with his family, including the Princess, afterwards Queen Anne. A scheme was formed, in 1689, by Lord Dundee, and other friends of this monarch, for rescuing the Castle for his service from the revolutionists, but in vain. In the reign of Queen Anne, its fortifications were considerably extended, and it was declared to be one of the four fortresses in Scotland, which were to be ever after kept in repair, in terms of the Treaty of Union with England. Since then, it has experienced little change in external aspect, except its being gradually rendered more and more a barrack for the accommodation of modern soldiers. It formed a capital _point d’appui_, as already mentioned, for the Duke of Argyll in 1715, when he encamped his little army in the park, and resolutely defended the passage of the Forth against the insurgent forces under the Earl of Mar. In 1745, Prince Charles led his Highland army across the Forth by the fords of Frew, about six miles above Stirling; but he made no attempt upon the castle till the succeeding year, when, in returning from England, he laid siege to it in proper form, but was obliged to retire to the Highlands, without being able to make any impression upon it. Such being the chief general _memorabilia_ connected with Stirling Castle, I shall proceed to point out the various particular objects which successively occur to a stranger in visiting it, together with the various historical facts connected with them individually. The visiter first passes under two archways, which give access through two several walls of defence, the external fortifications of the castle. These were erected at the expence of Queen Anne, who at the same time caused a deep fosse to be dug in front of each. The outer fosse is passed by a draw bridge. We learn from Slezer’s view of the castle, taken in the reign of King William, that the external fortifications of the castle formerly consisted of two large block-houses, or double towers, like the north-west angle of Holyroodhouse, or the western part of Falkland Palace. These are taken away, except the lower part of one, through which a double-doored gate-way yet gives access to the interior court-yard. That the strength of the castle was improved by the demolition of these block-houses, and the erection of the two exterior walls, cannot reasonably be doubted; but the writer of the additions to Slezer’s descriptions in the second edition of the _Theatrum Scotiæ_, 1718, informs us that the Jacobites believed Queen Anne to have secretly entertained a design of weakening the castle by these operations, in order that it might the more easily become a prey to her brother when he should make his expedition into Britain for the recovery of his crown.