overhung with wood, and further up rises the mountain in purple majesty the dark rich hue contrasting beautifully with the thickets of oak and birch, the mountain ashes and thorns, the alders and quivering aspens which chequered and varied the descent, and not less with the dark green velvet turf which composed the level part of the narrow glen."

2. MELROSE TO DRYBURGH ABBEY.

The most direct way to Dryburgh Abbey is either by road or railway to Newtown St. Boswells, from which the road turns directly to the left. At a short distance from the station is a toll-bar, where the road, overhung with trees, turns again to the left, and conducts to the banks of the Tweed. The tourist is here ferried across for a penny to the other side, which is within ten minutes' walk of the Abbey. The distance this way is four miles.

The more picturesque road, though longer, is by the village of Newstead, across the Tweed by the Fly Bridge, two miles below Melrose, near the junction of the Leader with the Tweed. On crossing the bridge, take the bye-road to the right by the village of Leaderfoot, Gladswood Gate, (Spottiswood, Esq.), and Leader Bridge. From this a long ascent conducts to the top of Bemerside Hill, from which there is one of the most interesting views in the south of Scotland. From no other point can the eye command with equal advantage the whole vale of Melrose; and if the tourist should have time to proceed by this route, he should by no means neglect to take this view on his way to Dryburgh. This view (of which the accompanying woodcut is a copy) is represented by Turner in one of his illustrations to the Poetical Works of Sir Walter Scott. In the immediate vicinity is Drygrange House (John Tod, Esq.), beautifully situated. About a mile and a half from Drygrange is the house of Cowdenknowes (Dr. Home), standing on the east bank of the Leader, at the foot of the hill of Cowdenknowes, celebrated in song for its "bonny, bonny broom." A mile further up the Leader is the village of Earlstoun, anciently Erceldoune, the dwelling of Thomas Learmont, commonly called Thomas the Rhymer, in whom, as in the mighty men of old,

the honour'd name

Of prophet and of poet was the same.

The remains of the Rhymer's Tower are still pointed out, in the midst of a haugh, on the east side of the Leader. A little further on, in the vicinity of Dryburgh, are the modern mansion and old tower of Bemerside, the lands and barony of which have been in the possession of the Haigs since the time of Malcolm IV. The following rhyme respecting this family is ascribed to Thomas the Rhymer, whose patrimonial territory was not far from Bemerside,

"Tide, tide, whate'er betide,

There'll ay be Haigs in Bemerside."

testifying to the confident belief of the country people in the perpetual lineal succession of the Haigs. Opposite the house there is a Spanish chestnut tree of extraordinary age and size.

Dryburgh Abbey stands on a richly wooded haugh, round which the River Tweed makes a circuitous sweep. The guide lives in a cottage near the entrance. The usual gratuity is ls. for parties not exceeding six. The situation is eminently beautiful, and both the Abbey and the modern mansion-house are embosomed in wood. A good view of the ruins may be got from the "Braeheads,” behind the village of Lessuden. Dryburgh Abbey was founded in 1150, during the reign of David I., by Hugh de Moreville, Lord of Lauderdale, Constable of Scotland, upon a site which is supposed to have been originally a place of Druidical worship. The monks were of the Premonstratensian order, and were brought from the Abbey founded at Alnwick a short time before. Edward II., in his retreat from the unsuccessful invasion of Scotland in 1322, encamped in the grounds of Dryburgh, and, setting fire to the monastery, burnt it to the ground. Robert I. contributed liberally towards its repair, but it has been doubted whether it was ever fully restored to its original magnificence. In 1544, the Abbey was again destroyed by a hostile incursion of the English, under Sir George Bowes and Sir Brian Latoun. In 1604, James VI. granted Dryburgh Abbey to John, Earl of Mar, and he afterwards erected it into a temporal lordship and peerage, with the title

ord Cardross, conferring it upon the same Earl, who e it over to his third son, Henry, ancestor of the Earl uchan. The Abbey was subsequently sold to the Halions of Mertoun, from whom it was purchased by Colonel whose heirs sold it to the Earl of Buchan in 1786. Earl at his death, bequeathed it to his son, Sir David ine, at whose death, in 1837, it reverted to the Buchan ly. The principal remains of the building are, the ern gable of the nave of the church, the ends of the ept, part of the choir, and a portion of the domestic lings. Opposite the door by which tourists are intro1 to the ruins is a yew tree as old as the Abbey. The ving are the places generally pointed out to visitors. he chapter-house, in which a double circle on the floor s the burial place of the founder. 2. The kitchen and itories. 3. The library. 4. St. Catherine's circular w, beautifully radiated, 12 feet in diameter, much rown with ivy. 5. The refectory or great diningof the monks, which occupied the whole front of the y, facing the south, and which was 100 feet long by 30 road, and 60 feet high. 6. Wine cellars and almonary s below the refectory. 7. Porter's lodge. 8. Cloisters old font. 9. Main door to the cloisters. 10. Cells or eons, places of confinement. In one of these there is trivance for punishment in the shape of a hole cut in olid stone, into which the prisoner's hand was thrust, hen wedged in with a wooden mallet, which again was ed to the wall. The hole is placed so low that the er could kneel, but neither lie down nor stand. 11. door to the church, in the shape of a Roman arch, ented with roses. 12. Nave of the church, with ns of the pillars on each side. The nave is 190 feet long broad. Under the high altar, James Stuart (of the ey family), the last abbot, was buried. 13. St. Mary's which is by far the most beautiful part of the ruin, Sir Walter Scott was buried, 26th September 1832, burying-ground of his ancestors, the Haliburtons of ains, the ancient proprietors of the Abbey. On each re the tombs of his wife and only son, the late Colonel (PTS)

2 L

Scott. 14. The second aisle, the place of interment of the Erskines of Shieldfield, and the third that of the Haigs of Bemerside. 15. St. Woden's Chapel, with altar, font, &c., the burial place of the Earls of Buchan.

In the immediate vicinity of the Abbey is the mansionhouse of Dryburgh, surrounded by stately trees. At a short distance from it, near the Tweed, is the house where the Rev. Ralph and Ebenezer Erskine, two eminent Scottish divines, were brought up, and with whom originated the first secession from the Established Church of Scotland. On a rising-ground at the end of the bridge, is a circular temple dedicated to the Muses, surmounted by a bust of Thomson, the author of the "Seasons." Further up, on a rocky eminence overlooking the river, is a colossal statue of the Scottish patriot Wallace.

3. MELROSE-Jedburgh-HAWICK.

Returning to Melrose by Railway.

From Melrose tourists may reach Jedburgh by coach from New Belses Station, on the line of Railway from Melrose to Hawick. Leaving Belses on the left are the Eildons and the valley of the Ale Water, which falls into the Tweed below Ancrum. Lake Alemoor, from which it issues, was regarded with superstitious horror by the common people as the residence of the water cow, an imaginary amphibious monster. Ancrum Moor, afterwards described, is over the hill to the left. (3) On the left is Kirkland's House (Richardson, Esq.), beautifully situated. Close to it is the manse where Thomson the poet spent much of his time with Mr. Cranstoun, the minister of the parish. (3) Ancrum (Alexander Watt, innkeeper), an antiquated village with an old cross. The domain of Ancrum belonged to the order of Knights Templars before the abolition of that order. (4) Ancrum Bridge. (4) Cross Teviot Bridge. (54) Bonjedward village. (7) Jedburgh.

The best road, however, is by Newtown St. Boswells, Ancrum Moor, and Mount Teviot, so that, if the tourist should either drive or walk, he should give it the preference. (1) Village of Newstead on the left, and the Eildons on the