The Republican journal., 1901-12-19
IN KING EDWARDS DOMAIN.
Notes of q Six Weeks Trip to England and
Scotland.

|
| Scotland.
If thou wouldst view fair Melr0se Alright
Go visit it by the pale moonlight;
For the gay beams of lightsome day
Gid, but to fout, the ruins gray,
When the broken arches are black in night,
And each shafted Oriel glimmers white;
Where the cold lights uncertain shower
Streams on the ruined central tower:
When buttress and buttress, alternately,
Seemed framed of ebony and ivory;
| When silver edges the imagery,
And scrolls that teach thee to live and die;
Where distant Tweed is heard to rave,
And the owlet to hoot o'er the dead mans
| grave,
Then go-but go alone the while
Then view Saint Davids ruined pile;
And, home returning, sOOthly swear,
Was never scene so sad and fair.
| After lunch the party divided, each
going his or her own way, to explore
the village or surrounding country.
| Two of us started out to 'kill two birds
with one stone"-to inspect the village
and also to buy roll of films for my
camera. Leaving the hotel we passed
along a narrow street, bounded on one
side by high stone wall inscribed
'1660' and on the other by small cot
tages. Soon little shops in the front
rooms of the cottages, with enhancing
window displays of red and white pep
permint candy or glass jars of ''com-
fets' attracted our attention. They
were very quaint and entirely unlike
anything at home. Seeing the familiar
sign "Kodaks' in the window of drug
store, (or rather an apothecary's shop
at the head of the street, we at once
headed in that direction, only to find, to
our deep disgust, that we had collided
with another holiday, and that the shops
would be open only between the
hours of seven and eight-the exact
time set for our dinner. just then we
saw some of the gentlemen approach
ing, and the two parties joined forces
for further explorations. Walking
down the village street, lined with clos
ed shops, we came at last to a cricket
field, and just ahead of US saw two
boys, with rods and creels, crossing the
green and evidently bound for the
river. 1t was the unanimous opinion
of the party that a fishing expedition
would be a delightful way of passing
the afternoon, and we followed the
young fishermen down narrow, shrub
bordered path to the river Tweed. Here
we ensconced ourselves comfortably on
the stone wall on the rivers bank and
fished-by proxy. Perhaps the pres
ence of strangers affected the fish, or
perhaps they were not hungry, but they
evidently were not anxious to be caught;
and to the young ladies, at least, stand
ing in water up to the waist, and holding
a fishing rod, seemed farfrom enticing
sport. A cluster of picturesque little
houses ON the opposite bank was i'm
mediately christened ''Robbinstown"
by one of the gentlemen, who crossed
the nearby suspension bridge for a
nearer view. After watching the UNI
successful efforts of the two young
fishermen for some time, we found
ga path by the river, o'er shadowed by
trees,
Where. people may walk, and may talk if
they please"
which led us back to our hotel by very
picturesque route. After resting few
moments, we reused the custodian
from his lair, paid our admission fee
and entered the grounds of Melrose
Abbey. cit was built by David l. of
Scotland, and rebuilt by Robert Bruce,
whose heart is buried beneath the high
altar, after death had overtaken the
Black Douglass, while bearing it to the
| Holy Land. Not much remains but
the slender shafts of the choir, with
| their elaborate capitOls and vaulting,
, and the delicate traceries of the win
dows. The legendary wizard, Michael
Scott, is buried near the choir, and Sir
David Brewster in the churchyard.
But the stone before the east window
on which the great Wizard of the
North, who weaved the spells of our
childhood, used to love to sit, is the
head-stone among its ruins" says Ed
ward Lowe Temple, in his delightful
volume entitled "Old World Mem
ories."
We wandered about the churchyard
at random, viewing the ruins from diff
ferent points of vantage and inspect
ing the tomb-stones, the majority of
which, contrary to their appearance.
were not ancient, to say the least. One
of the party accidentally found the grave
of ''Thomas Purdie, wood forester, at
Abbotsford, who died the 10Th of Octo-
ber 1929, aged sixty-two years" Inside
the walls were some interesting tombs
The following inscription is cut on one
of the largest:
'Here Lyeth the Dust of James
Bunyie Portioner of and Mason in
Newstead who Died May 18th, 1854
aged 80 years. Also Jean Wilson his
Spouse who died August 10th. 1756
aged 80 years. Also nine children"
In some parts of the ruins whole
families had been buried, and the in
scriptions were so time worn and old
that deciphering them was next to an