XVIII 

 THE SUPREMACY OF THE LOTHIANS 



EVEN the most agriculturally minded of travellers must 

 find his soul touched to other issues as he nears the 

 Border. As one travels by the North Road, away on 

 the left the Cheviot lifts it shapely height ; nearer still 

 lies Flodden Field ; on the right the foam -encircled 

 Faroes, with their memories of Grace Darling, break 

 the loneliness of the summer sea ; and then the road 

 dips down to run for several miles close to the expanse 

 of sand or shallow bay, according to the tide, beyond 

 which lies the Holy Isle. Soon afterwards one passes 

 over the long bridge of Berwick, and still remains out- 

 side Scotland for a mile or two, although the Tweed has 

 been crossed. But, once embarked in Berwickshire, 

 some subtle change begins to creep over the look of 

 the cottages, until by the time the Lothians are reached 

 the Englishman can conclude from sight alone that he 

 has left behind his own country. 



The farming that we saw by the wayside was good, 

 and it steadily improved with the character of the land 

 as we got farther north, until a few miles short of 

 Dunbar we reached what is without doubt the most 

 highly-farmed district in Britain indeed, in the whole 

 world. This favoured district occupies a comparatively 

 small area on either side of Dunbar ; and the finest 

 land of all is a thin strip to the east, not a mile wide, 



