BORTHWICK CASTLE 345 THIRD PERIOD There is also a tower, or outhouse, at the south side of the courtyard, built so as to strengthen that flank, which was probably occupied by part of the garrison, or by the followers of visitors. These towers, and some of the walls, contain large horizontal port-holes for guns, which may in some instances have been insertions, but it is more likely that the portions containing these embrasures are of later date. One of the port-holes in the basement of the gate-tower is remarkable; it com- mands the slope of the hill approaching the castle, and the port-hole, instead of being built horizontally in the wall, as usual, is set at the same angle as the side of the hill, so as to sweep the whole hillside (Fig. 296). FIG. 296. Borthwick Castle. View from the South- West. The north end of the courtyard has been cut off from the main court by a wall, and probably contained the stables and other outbuildings. To reach the entrance door of the keep from the gateway the visitor had to pass round two sides of the keep and then to ascend a staircase
