442 Meport of Meetings. By the President. 



■worn glacial fragments that were deposited as a detrital bed, 

 which, either then was, or at some subsequent period became, 

 the bottom of the sea. The sea afterwards retired, leaving, 

 except for a subsequent growth of vegetation, many of the 

 Kaims pretty much as we see them now, having formed them by 

 the action of its currents in heaping up its bed into ridges, 

 or in scooping out the intervening spaces. Or the latter 

 operation may have been affected by river currents alone after 

 the elevation of the old sea bottom, and clearly often has been, 

 as we may observe in many localities on the Tweed and its tri- 

 butaries. Now we know perfectly well, that sea at one time 

 covered a large area of our Border Counties ; and Mr Milne 

 Home believes that in all probabilty the central parts of the 

 Tweed valley were at one time filled with detrital matter at 

 least 300 feet in thickness. By a plan and section of sub-marine 

 banks between the English and the Belgian coast, he shows 

 very interestingly, that were the English Channel to be raised 

 out of the sea at the present time, it would most likely 

 present a series of Kaims very similar to those which we observe 

 in the north here. 



The components of the great gravel ridge at Pallinsburn 

 are chiefly rolled shingle formed from rocks of the Silurian 

 series of grey wacke, such as now strews the banks of the Tweed 

 and its tributaries in their upper courses. 



Driving to Brankston, we inspected the Church. The ancient 

 structure that was in view of the combatants of Flodden, 

 especially of that heroic band that fought round the Scottish 

 King when he fell on Piper's Hill, was taken down to its 

 foundations about 50 years ago, except the chancel arch, which 

 is Transitional Norman. The doorway is a reproduction of 

 the ancient one. Here a short rapier or single-edged dagger, 

 broken at the hilt, found near the rectory, was presented to 

 the Secretary. Passing " the little fountain well, where water 

 clear as diamond sparks in a stone basin fell" whence Marmion's 

 dying draught was brought by the Lady Clare, we ascended 

 Marmion's Hill, from which Mr Askew kindly pointed out the 

 points of interest in connexion with that oft-described and historic 

 ground. 



" Deep drank Lord Marmion of the wave." It would be 

 coldly hypercritical to pause to enquire whether the celebrated 

 " Sibyl's Well" existed in his day. What a power is fiction 



