Henry VIII. was aware of the advantage of a western gate into Scotland. When Queen Mary was scarcely one year old, he audaciously proposed, in his scheme for uniting her with Edward, his heir, that she should be sent to England for her education, and that English garrisons should hold the castles of Edinburgh, Stirling and Dumbarton. The King therefore looked upon the fortress on the Clyde as one of Scotland’s three most important strongholds, thus differing from an earlier Henry, who did not demand Dumbarton in the Treaty of Falaise, but stipulated for three Border castles along with Stirling and Edinburgh. All three rocky strengths have been used as prisons for disobedient subjects of the Crown, but the stories of captives’ romantic escapes almost all belong to Edinburgh. Although MacDonald of Gigha, in the reign of James VI., burst out of the castle on the Clyde, Dumbarton’s as well as Stirling’s walls seem to have been more formidable obstacles than the barriers of the capital fortress; or else it is a coincidence that Edinburgh’s prisoners have been gifted with more guile than the others. Certainly the Duke of Albany and the ninth Earl of Argyll escaped by relying upon cunning. Albany, brother of James III., was ordered into ward by his sovereign on a charge of plotting against the Throne. He was able, however, to make good use of the help which his friends afforded. Wine was sent to him, along with which a rope was secretly conveyed. Albany invited the captain of the castle and one or two men to supper. The royal prisoner and his attendant refrained from drinking, while the guests consumed the liquor. At length the Duke and his varlet overpowered their helpless guardians, and having slain them, threw their bodies on the fire. Without delay the master and servant made their way to the edge of the rock. The wall was apparently easily climbed, and the rope was securely fastened. It was found, however, to be too short until Albany had added the sheets from his bed. Next morning this dangling line amazed both garrison and townsfolk, while the Duke was enjoying the fresh air of the Firth as he sailed for safety to France. Two centuries later the Earl of Argyll, who suffered imprisonment for his Protestant principles, made good his escape by walking through the gateway disguised as a lady’s page. Mackenzie of Kintail, Lord Maxwell and others found opportunity at different times to break from Edinburgh Castle and gain their liberty by scrambling down the rock.