EEESIDEXT^S ADDEESS. 5 



Thied Field Meeting. — Featherstone Castle was the ren- 

 dezvous for the Third Field Meeting, and the programme was 

 sufficiently tempting to secure a good attendance. Leaving New- 

 castle betimes the members arrived at Greenhead after a couple 

 of hours travelling, hungry enough to have appreciated a much 

 less bountiful breakfast than that which had been provided by 

 the host of the Coulson Arms. Mr. Clark, the agent of Hope 

 "Wallace, Esq., of Featherstone Castle, was on the platform when 

 the train arrived, and most kindly took the guidance of the day's 

 proceedings : to his foresight and excellent planning much of the 

 enjoyment of the excursion was due. Breakfast over*(it seemed 

 interminable) the route lay westward to Thirlwall Castle, the 

 gloomy ruin of what was once a strong border tower, standing 

 close to the little river Tippald, and in the line of the Roman 

 wall. The party then retraced its steps, turning southward to 

 Elenkinsopp Castle, another ruined border fortress, to which a 

 farm house has in modern times been added, with little of interest 

 left save its legendary association with the family whose name it 

 bears, and its traditional notoriety in border feuds. The vaulted 

 basement still tells of the provision necessary for the protection 

 of the cattle in times when fear and unsettlement were the normal 

 condition of this part of the country. Thence following the road 

 for a mile or two, the entrance to Pinkynscleugh was reached, 

 a delightful woody glen, every turn of which became enchanted 

 ground, with our worthy guide's recital of the legends of knight 

 and fair lady, of witch and fairy, proper to the spot — tales too 

 wondrous not to be true, and whilst under the influence of the 

 scene itself, admitting no shade of doubt. Emerging from the 

 wood close to Greensilhaugh, the site of the ancient burial ground 

 was visited, and the oak coffins and other prehistoric remains 

 which had been exhumed, were examined with extreme interest. 

 Mr. Clark narrated the circumstances which had led to their dis- 

 covery, and described the investigations which had taken place 

 in 1859 and 1869, with a view of obtaining more accurate know- 

 ledge of the area and extent of the burial ground, the nature of 

 the interments, and any possible clue as to their historic age. 

 I am constrained to add a few particulars, culled from a paper 





