Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1878-10-17

council; the setting sun sends long lines
of slanting shadows athwart the green
sward and lights up the old headstones
with purer radiance. From the hotel
roof idly floats the American flag in the
evening breeze, its shadow rising and
falling on the ancient Abbey walls, which
are capped with glory of wild weeds,
grasses, ferns and flowers in luxurious
profusion. 1t was founded in 1136 by
King David the first, who also founded
Dryburgh Abbey and Holyrood. 1t was
destroyed by Richard II, rebuilt and again
destroyed by Henry VIII, and the inhab-
itants have used the place as common
quarry for so long time, that it is said
there is scarcely an old building in the
town of Melrose but is built partly Of ma
terial obtained from the ruins Of the Abb
bey and Monastery, whose walls enclose
an area of over a mile. Within the chan
eel lies the heart of Bruce of Scotland;
Michael Scott, the Wizard of the North
Black Douglass, "The Flower of Chival-
ry": Ivan, Alexander II and his queen,
Johanna. In the church-yard there is
quaint old tablet of red granite, on which
is an inscription, older, it is said, than the
building itself:
Sc The earth goeth on the earth,
Clustering like gold;
The earth goeth to the earth,
Sooner than it would; -- -.-
The earth buildeth on the earth
Castles and towers; '
The earth sayeth to the earth: -..
All shall be ours. "
A little further is the headstone erected
by Sir Walter Scott to the memory of his
faithful servitor and friend, Thos. Purdy
1t was here Sir Walter drew the inspira-
ton which electrified the world, in his
incomplete Waverly Novels; and here,
later in the evening, L sat on messy
headstone till the air was chill and the
dew damp on the grass about me, and too.
dark to carry on conversation with the
Ioquacious red coat who had joined me.
The next morning was chilly and.
murky, when we took carriages and drove
along the Tweed, through winding lanes
shaded by grand old trees, some four
miles, to Dryburg Abbey, which was built
on the site of Caledonian heather tenn
pie. Leaving the carriages at a frail wire
bridge which swayed and shook beneath
cur steps, we walked along the bank of
the Tweed for some distance, with ivy
grown walks on one side and the pebbIy
bank on the other, till we entered the
lodge gate, and then through an avenue
of grand old trees, with lovely vistas of
meadows, till we came to the portal; it
being unlocked for us. Only portions of
the walls are now standing, and they are
completely OVergrown with ivy; the
chancel floors are grass-grOwn, with flow
ers and shrubbery running riot where
once knelt cowled monks in their devO-
tions. In the transept, the only portion
which is still rooted, Tepose the ashes of
Sir Walter Scott, his wife, son and SON
in-law. Of all spots on the green earth,
it was fitting that he, who loved nature
so well, should be laid to rest in this ex-
quisite nook, secluded from the busy life
ebbing and flowing around them; sought
only by those who loved him, his name
and adoPed his genius, for no idle curios-
ity could come unabashed under the shad-
ow of the messy green trunks of these
venerable elms and beeches, their branch
es overarching from ivy-grown wall to
dense green hedge. The oldest inscrip-
| ton or tablet on the north wall of this
Abbey is in commemoration of Lord
Launderdale, who died in 1852, and be-
longed to the court of King David L. We
retraced our steps along. the babbling
Tweed, re-entering our carriages, drove
up and down among the Eildon hills, past
vestiges of ancient Roman camps and
tumuli; through the vale of Melrose,
screened everywhere by alterations OF
gloomy dells and woody, verdant emf
nences, to Abbottsford, ::the former resi-
dence of Sir Walter Scott. 1t is situated
in hollow, reached by winding lane
guarded on each side by high stone walls
once ivy-grown, but now stripped nearly
bare by the numherless pilgrims to thi
Romance of Stone and Lime" which
exhibits combinations, and features of az
chitecture after Sir Walters antiquarian
tastes; and copies portions of Melros'
Abbey, RosIin Chapel, HOlyrood Palace
Linlithgow Palace, "Edingburg Old Tol
booth, - and several other much admire,
edifices.
After inscribing our names in the visi
tors record, we were shown through tn
building, with its quaint fitting and fur
| LII GuO Will It's OdhS
ceiling from MeIrose Abbey, is colleC
: ton of 10000 volumes, protected from
profane touch by wire grating. In
: glass, case, in another room, were variou
antiquities and curfosities, including tn
tumbler of Burns, the purse of Rob Roy
, portfolio taken from Napoleon after tn
, battle of Waterloo, and a small locket i
which were the painted miniatures of 81
Walter and Lady Scott, in their weddin
apparel. In yet another room, were til
portraits of his mother and grandmother
, and the head of Mary Stewart, Queen {
SCOTS, after she was beheaded; and Ne
Gwynne. Each room had an individua
: ity about it, and you felt as if some III
;. seen influence still pervaded the yer
:. atmosphere.
After securing sprays of ivy and tai
. ing last lingering look at the well-kel
lawn, with its beds of purple pansies an
:, walls overrun with crimson fuchsias, W
retraced our steps to our carriages an
were driven back to Melrose, passing
= fine, large Lunatic Asylum on the wa,
and, an hour later, started for EdinboT
o town, accompanied the whole distance b
a furious rain-stOrm.
u
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