PROGRESS OF AGRICULTURE-THE MERSE. 17 which a few years have introduced-the heaths that have disappeared-the harvest-fields that succeed-the plantations that have sprung up-the old things that have every where passed away, and the new that fill their place they tacitly feel the force of the Swiss metaphor which says "I would rather look on the snows of my native St. Gothard, than the fairest garden on the Seine!" THE MERSE.-Observing the same natural divisions as already laid down, and describing each object as it successively presents itself in our progress westward, we shall diverge, as occasion requires, into the lateral valleys of the Tweed, and select such specimens of local scenery, and such particulars of history and statistics, as possess prominent interest, and seem most in unison with our subject as a work of illustration. In a field so fertile and diversified, and offering so many rival attractions to the poet, the painter, the historian, and antiquary-the very abundance of materials renders selection difficult; we trust, nevertheless, that, so far as our circumscribed limits permit, the tour will embrace every predominant feature as it now appears, and include an impartial summary of such reminiscences, hints, and reflections, as the prolific track on which we have entered, may suggest. The town of BERWICK-ON-TWEED, although no longer connected with the county to which it gives name, was a station of great strength and importance in early times, and is still a place of general-and in many respects peculiar-interest. In a political sense it was the chief bulwark on that great line of demarcation-the Border frontier, and, like the continental pass on the Rhone, long "Held the key that could unlock a kingdom." The first impression which it makes upon the traveller from the south, is the striking resemblance which it bears to the smaller fortified towns of the Netherlands; and although dismantled, and in several respects modernized and embellished, still its original character of sullen strength and defence appears through every disguise-like the mail of an ancient warrior glittering through the flimsy materials of a modern uniform. F In all its buildings, piers, bridges, public edifices, and private residences, the same pervading aspect of massy structure and prison-like security predominates, and furnishes a still vivid notion of those times when, in situations like this, no town could be considered beautiful that was not impregnable. The castle of Berwick, the theatre of so many stormy assaults and secret stratagems, is now a mass of unheeded ruins, with a windmill rising from its centre, as if to proclaim the triumph of more peaceful times, and serve as a fitting comment on the perishable nature of human strength and grandeur. Nothing could be more appropriate; and it were well for the inhabitants of other countries if the pomp and circumstance of war were replaced by the same unequivocal emblem of peace. It was in the hall of this castle that Edward I. determined the competition for the crown of Scotland, which afterwards led to those projects of conquest on his part, by which so many lives were sacrificed, and so many calamities entailed upon the country. All his ambitious schemes, however, though prosecuted at an enormous cost in blood and treasure, and during a period of thirteen years' intrigue or war, only held Scotland in subjection for four months. In the Freirs of Berwick, a tale supposed to be written by the early Scottish poet Dunbar in 1539, the opening lines give so correct, brief, and graphic a sketch of the town, its monastic institutions, and its ladies fair of face,' that we subjoin the whole passage.* The scenery of the Tweed, which opens on the view as we quit Berwick and continue our progress through the Merse, is only equalled by the high state of cultivation and productive qualities of the soil, which so eminently distinguish this garden of the Border, which is rendered doubly interesting by contrast with its early history, when "he who sowed knew not who should reap." "As it befell, and hapint upon deid, Upon ane rever, the quhilk is callit Tweid; Church of the Great Cross That, when they list to draw it upon hicht, Unto my sicht, quhairever I have been, Maison-Dieu, or Hospital PAXTON-TWEEDHILL SUSPENSION-BRIDGE. 19 The village of Paxton, and the elegant mansion-house of the same name, are the first objects that arrest attention. The first, as the locale of the popular song of "Robin Adair,"† and the second as possessing a gallery of choice paintings by Italian and Flemish masters, will form an agreeable incident to the lover of Scottish song, and offer attractions to every admirer of the fine arts. The trees in this quarter of our route present a scene of great luxuriance. Broadmeadows, Spittal-house, and Tweed-hill, are severally fine objects in the landscape: the first, by its light Grecian style of architecture, and the fine white freestone of which it is built, is particularly attractive; while another and important feature has just sprung up in the form of a handsome parish church. The Old Hall, crowning a precipice over the Whittadder, in the opposite side of the parish, is a rare specimen of Border fastness, and probably the most perfect relique of the order to which it belonged. The new iron suspension-bridge over the Tweed at this point, is one of the greatest acquisitions the country possesses, and at the same time one of the finest specimens in existence of modern invention employed as a medium of social and commercial intercourse. The daily inconvenience-besides serious accidents and loss of life-to which the inhabitants were so long subjected, has thus been completely remedied; it admits two carriages abreast, affords the usual accommodation for foot passengers, and has proved of incalculable benefit to the public. The whole of this light and elegant structure is composed of malleable iron, measures 360 feet in length, weighs only a hundred tons, and was erected in 1820, under the skilful and scientific directions of Captain S. Brown, of the royal navy. To the readers of the Border History, it is proper to mention, that the learned editor of that work, of which his brother, the minister of Stitchell, is understood to have written the greater portion, was a late incumbent of Hutton parish-and it would have been difficult to have selected a better station for the arrangement of the vast fund of materials which it must have taken so many years of laborious research to accumulate. Hutton is also to be noticed as the birth-place of Andrew Foreman, who became conspicuous in the early part of the sixteenth century as bishop of Moray, archbishop of Bourges in France, and at a later period archbishop of St. Andrews-dignities which were showered upon him as the reward of his great political talents, and the judicious employment of them. He • It was here that the late Mr. G. Home, of Wedderburn, the friend of Mr. Henry Mackenzie, Lord Craig, and other celebrated contemporaries, spent many years of his life, and divided his time between the society of eminent men and the active duties of public life. + Vide Chambers. enjoyed the favour and confidence of two Scottish monarchs, two popes, and a king of France-from each of whom, as it appears, he obtained many benefices, and served the high office of Scottish ambassador at the French court. Of this prelate, however, or his family-noticed in Dr. Henry's history as the Foremans of the Merse-no memorial is left, except a small field, which, as if in mockery of mortal ambition, says Mr. Edgar, still retains the name of " Foreman's Land." About six miles farther is the royal ford, where James IV. crossing the Tweed at the head of his army, and finding himself in great danger of being swept down by the current, made a pious compact with "Our Lady," that if she would deliver him safe on the opposite side, a handsome altar should perpetuate his gratitude. The vow was accepted, and the royal suppliant, having again set foot on land, erected the church of Ladykirk as a monument of his adventure. This ford, in days of mutual aggression, when bridges would have been a fatal accommodation, was the only point at which the armies of the two countries could effect an invasion, and in several instances was more destructive than the sword of the enemy. An adjoining field is still shewn as that in which the interview between Edward I. and the Scottish nobility took place relative to the disputed succession between Bruce and Baliol. Swinton, on which antiquity has set her seal, and with which are connected many warlike traditions, is the next object. The lands, it appears, were bestowed by royal grant upon the founder of the family, as an acknowledgment of his services in clearing the district of the herds of wild swine with which in those primitive times it was overrun. At a later period, one of the same family exhibited a striking instance of hereditary spirit in the disastrous battle of Homildon, in 1402, where, having attempted to rally the broken ranks of his countrymen, and lead them back to the charge, he was struck down by an English shaft, and expired on the field. Coldstream, which gives name to one of the bravest regiments in the servicethe Coldstream Guards, is a pleasant little town, and wears a look of much local prosperity. The great thoroughfare introduced by the modern bridge of five arches, has proved an excellent substitute for the ancient ford, whose capricious channel, it is said, has often detained the kings and queens of Scotland in their progress southward for days together, waiting the fordable moment. The small antique inn, where these and other illustrious personages are said to have been lodged under such circumstances, affords a striking picture of the times; but it seems not unlikely that the rich priory of Cistercian nuns, which then existed, had accommodation better suited for the reception of the royal cortège. But of this priory, except a vault, no vestige remains; even the ruins have |