108 FIRST JOURNEY IN EUROPE. (1839, 
pass by had I not seen Melrose; thence we ascended 
the Jed for many a weary mile, until we reached its 
source high among the Cheviot Hills. Our course 
was Literally “over the mountain and over the moor,” 
or after a tedious ascent we crossed the boundary 
line at an elevation of fifteen hundred feet above the 
level of the sea. We were by this time thoroughly 
drenched with mist and rain; the wind forbidding the 
use of our umbrellas. We immediately commenced 
our descent, and just at dusk stopped for a hasty din- 
ner at Otterbourne, so famous in the history of the bor- 
der warfare as the place of the memorable Chevy Chase. 
It was too dark to see the cross erected to mark the 
spot where Percy fell. Pass we over the ride from 
this to Newcastle, as we saw nothing, though we passed 
near some places of interest, —Chillingham, the resi- 
dence of the Earl of Tankerville, for example, — and 
arrived at Newcastle about nine o’clock in the even- 
ing. In the morning I delivered notes of introduc- 
tion from Hooker and Greville to George Wailes, Esq., 
one of the active members of the Newcastle Natural 
History Society ; visited their fine building and really 
splendid museum, especially rich in fossil remains 
and also in the British birds; made arrangements 
for correspondence and exchange with the Michi- 
gan State Survey; was introduced to a botanist 
or two; visited the castle built by Robert, brother of 
William the Conqueror, if I recollect aright, which 
has stood firmly for many a year, and may stand for 
centuries more, or as long as the world standeth. . . . 
Arrived at Durham at eight in the evening. I called 
almost immediately upon Professor Johnston! and 
1 James T. W. Johnston, 1796-1865; agricultural chemist; pro- 
fessor at Durham. Lectured in the United States. 
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