Ward & Lock's descriptive and pictorial guide to the Isle of Man ...

From Douglas to Feel. 123mark or lighthouse for the benefit of mariners. ( Within afew yards of this tower is the cloak-room for ladies.)There is a small modern building, erected early in 1815 asa guard-room, but now disused, between the cathedral andthe Round Tower. At that time, as we all know, greatexertions were made to defend all exposed portions of theBritish coast against a possible invasion by the soldiers ofthe terrible Napoleon ;and the construction or enlargementof batteries at Peel, Dougla"?, Castle Rushen, and Ramsey,was one of the reasons why Peel Castle, the old church, andthe walls are in so dilapidated a condition. An energeticand extremely practical officer of the Royal Engineers,Captain HoUoway, vras entrusted with the superintendenceof the necessary works, and, to obtain material, " he not onlylevelled to the ground many of the buildings which stood t"the north of tlie cathedral, including portions of the episcopalpalace, and of the Governor's residence, but without compunctiontore out of almost every building within the castlewalls, the greater part of the red sandstone, groins, facings,door and window jambs, and, in fact, every stone capable ofbeing dressed, or that could be made available in the buildingof the battery, guard-room, and magazine." Soldiers areapt to be unsentimental. Captain Holloway erected excellentbatteries, but achieved the distinction of being the mostunpopular man in the island.Obviously, for the sake of romantic consistency, theaudacious captain should have been prevented from accomplishinghis work of destruction by some of the ghostsor demons which we have been assured haunt the place. Theapparition of Duchess Eleanor, the ghost of the unhappywoman whose moans are heard in the night wind, shouldhave apjialled the audacious captain by their appearance;and what was the terrible "dog-fiend,'' the Moddey Dhoo,about, not to chase away, and bite, if he could, the rashintruder ? Perhaps the Duchess's ghost was pleased to seeher old prison knocked about ; and as for Bishop Wymund,the action was too much in accordance with his own piraticalpractices to disturb his slumbers.One of the old defences of the castle was a battery erectednear the sally-port and defending the entrance to the harbour.Over the covered way which led to it Avere a chamber andplatform, the object of which was, if we may accept tradition,to enable the garrison to pour boiling oil or some other hotpreparation on the heads of besiegers who might have contrivedto get within reach.