26 Anniversary Address. 



some of their quarrels by an appeal to arms within the 

 sacred precincts. Near the church a dilapidated inn, " The 

 Three Half Moons," once the principal hostelry, with black 

 thatched roof, " looking far older than the surrounding hills," 

 remains in a tumble-down state, to evidence the difference 

 between ancient and modern ideas of comfort. In it the 

 Club were entertained on a former visit. 



The principal object of the day's expedition was Cragside, 

 the residence of Sir William Armstrong, C.B., the grounds 

 of which had been kindly thrown open for the inspection of 

 the Club. On their way there, along the banks of the 

 Coquet, the party turned aside to view the " Thrum," so 

 called form its being a mere thread of water compared with 

 the general breadth of the river. At the foot of a high bank 

 of sandstone rock — its rugged face sprinkled with wild 

 flowers, and trees springing from its ledges — the upper seams 

 have been swept away by the current, so that there remains 

 only a broad pavement of slippery rock, down a gorge of 

 which the water rushes into a long narrow green pool in 

 which there is a constant whirl. The sporting traditions of 

 the neighbourhood tell of a Northumbrian Nimrod, who 

 fearlessly leaped his horse over the chasm, regardless of there 

 being no secure foothold on either side. Previous to this ex- 

 ploit, a boy, making a similar attempt on foot, was drowned, 

 which led to the passage being widened to prevent future 

 accidents. 



The house of Cragside, of spacious dimensions and quaint 

 outline, following no particular order of architecture, has been 

 erected on the side of a rocky hill, which its eminent owner 

 has converted at enormous expense into a gigantic Pinetum. 

 With the native heather now in full bloom, are intermingled 

 foreign heaths of every variety of shape and colour, while 

 innumerable conifers, of every available species, have been 

 provided with beds of imported soil, on which they grow 

 most luxuriantly. The steep on the west front of the house 

 constitutes one immense rockery, composed of innumerable 

 blocks of stone, with alpines introduced between the inter- 



