376 Obituary Notice of William Dickson, Esq., F.S.A. 



extending to 170 pages, quarto. There is a corrected pedi- 

 gree of Muschamp, Lord of Wooler, at p. 155. Another of 

 his useful local memorials, displaying his wonted research, 

 joined to a pleasant vein of writing, is his "History of 

 Alnmouth," in five chapters. A sixth Chapter, though 

 intended, was never accomplished. His papers in the Club's 

 " Proceedings," are far too few in number ; and it is to be 

 regretted that his pen had not had more frequent practice 

 on subjects with which he was intimately acquainted ; 

 towards which also his inclination led him ; while, moreover, 

 he had the advantage of ready access to valuable materials 

 for those inquiries in which he was so competent. Mr. 

 Dickson's zest for poetry is apparent from his writings, but 

 it will be new to many, that he also occasionally composed 

 in verse. Some lines on Bamburgh, in his " Address," (vol. 

 iv. p. 14) are introduced in such a way, that no one would 

 infer his being their writer. He took a great interest ^ in 

 the well-being of the Club, and was repeatedly making 

 inquiries about its prosperity and stability. " I am now," 

 he writes, " an old member of the Club, but rather too old 

 for long walks. I am not the active man I was — 73 tells a 

 tale. I like to meet the Club when I am able. It must be 

 kept up, it is the father of all Field Clubs." Among other 

 suggestions for the improvement of the " Proceedings," he 

 proposed that members who did not write papers, might still 

 aid the Club's endeavours by being at the expense of illus- 

 trative plates. It was with this view that he contributed 

 the engraving of Wooler to our last volume ; and he offered 

 again to reproduce his pretty vignette of Alnwick Castle, 

 which appeared in Vol. IV., should the Club at any time 

 have occasion for its use. Although located most of his 

 life-time in Northumberland, Mr. Dickson had a borderer's 

 fondness for his native district. In 1872 he writes : " I have 

 been long connected with Berwickshire. I am now one of 

 the oldest Justices of the County — and I like to hear of its 

 manors, and inhabitants, and everything connected with the 

 Merse;" and there are other affectionate references to Hume — 

 Coldingham — and Greenlaw — the domiciles of his ancestry. 

 In another communication he gives the following hints on 

 Indexing, which may be useful for the saving of time of hard 

 workers. " I have a curious method of Indexing. I go 

 straight ahead — on slips of paper — putting the subject and 

 page on — and when all is done, I cut them all to pieces — 



