108 FIRST JOURNEY IN EUROPE. [1839, 



pass by had I not seen Melrose ; thence we ascended 

 the Jed for many a weary mile, until we reached its 

 source high among the Cheviot Hills. Our course 

 was literally " over the mountain and over the moor," 

 for after a tedious ascent we crossed the boundary 

 line at an elevation of fifteen hundred feet above the 

 level of the sea. We were by this time thoroughly 

 drenched with mist and rain ; the wind forbidding the 

 use of our umbrellas. We immediately commenced 

 our descent, and just at dusk stopped for a hasty din- 

 ner at Otterbourne, so famous in the history of the bor- 

 der warfare as the place of the memorable Chevy Chase. 

 It was too dark to see the cross erected to mark the 

 spot where Percy fell. Pass we over the ride from 

 this to Newcastle, as we saw nothing, though we passed 

 near some places of interest, — Chillingham, the resi- 

 dence of the Earl of TankerviUe, for example, — and 

 arrived at Newcastle about nine o'clock in the even- 

 ing. In the morning I delivered notes of introduc- 

 tion from Hooker and Greville to George Wailes, Esq., 

 one of the active members of the Newcastle Natural 

 History Society ; visited their fine building and really 

 splendid museimi, especially rich in fossil remains 

 and also in the British birds ; made arrangements 

 for correspondence and exchange with the Michi- 

 gan State Survey ; was introduced to a botanist 

 or two ; visited the castle built by Robert, brother of 

 William the Conqueror, if I recollect aright, which 

 has stood firmly for many a year, and may stand for 

 centuries more, or as long as the world standeth. . . . 

 Arrived at Durham at eight in the evening. I called 

 almost immediately iipon Professor Johnston^ and 



^ James T. W. Johnston, 1796-1865; agricultural chemist; pro- 

 fessor at Durham. Lectured in the United States. 



