REPORT OP MEETINGS FOR 1906 23 



at Ordweel ; but the company, having there also found the 

 labour unremunerative, abandoned the enterprise. At Elba, 

 till about 30 years ago, two miners' cottages stood on the 

 bank of the river, and the remains of an old bridge above 

 the " Strait-Loup," by which they crossed to the borings 

 on the opposite bank, may still be seen. Whether further 

 invasion by Southerners be in contemplation cannot be 

 divined ; but certain it is from the inaccessible nature of 

 the locality, and the remoteness of a place of shipment — 

 Eyemouth, 11 miles distant as the crow flies, being alleged 

 to have been the harbour of export — that the ore must have 

 been greatly prized before such serious attempts were made 

 to dislodge it from its mountain fastness. 



From this point it was arranged that the members should 

 proceed in one column along the North bank of the river to 

 a convenient spot for crossing, whence they should diverge, 

 one section to continue the walk through the grounds of 

 Eetreat and onward to those of Abbey St. Bathans, the other 

 section to ascend the slopes of Cockburn Law, and view the 

 remains of Edin's Hall. Through the forethought of Mr 

 E. J. Wilson, Abbey St. Bathans, who acted as guide to the 

 party, and the assistance of Mr James Shiel, estate manager, 

 who supplied planks to convey them over the river, the larger 

 section reached the South bank in safety, and clambered, 

 through bracken nearly their own height, up the steep side 

 of the hill till they reached the plateau on which stands the 

 celebrated hill-fort, which formed the chief attraction of the 

 day's excursion. On gaining the terrace, which 

 Edin's is strewn with heaps of stones, as well as the 



Hall. walls enclosing the fort, a beautiful landscape 



opened out to view, revealing the Whitadder 

 winding along the valley, enriched with woodland, copse, and 

 wide-spreading moor, and girdling the lands of Eetreat, with 

 its bottle-shaped mansion, and picturesque pleasure-grounds 

 and meadows. Conspicuous amid these are twenty noble Silver 

 Firs, which have been planted near the river, and extend in 

 a single row for upwards of half-a-mile, for the most part 

 within the grounds. The dimensions of three have been 

 obtained, namely, the first two at the foot of the garden, and 

 one standing above the stables, the respective measurements, 



