REPORT OF THE MEETINGS FOR 1896 53 



The chapel of Penshiel, with that of Whittingharae, was 

 united to Dunbar when that church was made collegiate in 

 1342. About 150 yards to the north-west of the ruins is a 

 large upright stone of grey Granite, evidently the last survivor 

 of a group which had stood there, as is shown by the inequalities 

 of the ground. 



The Geology of the Fasney and the whole neighbourhood, as 

 may be seen from the late Mr William Stevenson's Notes, 

 [Appendix II.] is interesting, but there was not time to make 

 any investigations. Copper is understood to have been worked 

 near Priestlaw in the beginning of the century, but the difficulty 

 of transport, and the distance from smelting facilities, rendered 

 the operations unprofitable, and they were discontinued. 



An interesting tradition connected with Cromwell's campaign 

 in Scotland, which terminated in the battle of Dunbar, is 

 associated with Priestlaw. The following version of it is taken 

 from an article entitled " The Making of England," in 

 Macmillan' s Magazine, by Sir Archibald Geikie : — " Many years 

 ago, among the uplands of the Lammermuirs. I made the 

 acquaintance of an old maiden lady, Miss Darling of Priestlaw, 

 who with her bachelor brothers tenanted a farm which their 

 family had held for many generations. In the course of her 

 observant and reflective life, she had gathered up and treasured 

 in her recollection legends of these pastoral solitudes. I well 

 remember among the tales she delighted to pour into the ear of 

 a sympathetic listener, one that went back to the time of the 

 battle of Dunbar. We know from his own letters in what 

 straits Cromwell felt himself to be when he found his only 

 practicable line of retreat through the hills barred by the 

 Covenanting army, and how he wrote urgently to the English 

 Commander at Newcastle for help in the enemy's rear. It has 

 usually been supposed that his communications with England 

 were kept up only by sea. But the weather was boisterous at 

 the time, and a vessel bound for Berwick or Newcastle might 

 have been driven far away from land. There is, therefore, 

 every probability that Cromwell would try to send a communi- 

 cation by land also. Now the tradition of Lammermuir main- 

 tains that he did so. The story is told that he sent two soldiers, 

 disguised as natives of the district, to push their way through 

 the hills and over the Border. The men had got as far as the 

 valley of the Whitadder, and were riding past the mouth of 



