On a Mass of Meteoric Iron. 399 



hood when various relics of the Roman occupation, discovered 

 here, were presented to the Museum of the Society of Anti- 

 quaries of Scotland, I shall now simply point out the exact 

 locality where this mass of meteoric iron was discovered. 

 Like other Scottish villages which have not been interfered 

 with in their formation by the over-ruling taste of some ad- 

 joining great landowner, the dwellings of the little proprietors 

 or feuars have been scattered over the ground as their own 

 fancy or convenience dictated, — keeping, however, in a general 

 way by the lines of the roads which intersect the village, and 

 clustering especially along the principal highway which 

 passes through, running east and west, from Drygrange Bridge 

 towards Melrose. On the south side of this last mentioned 

 road, and near the eastern termination of the village, there is 

 a group of three cottages, beyond which a narrow cross road 

 turns southwards into the valley behind, past one of the vil- 

 lage wells, and crosses the little streamlet which runs at the 

 bottom of the cottage gardens. 



In the year 1827, Mrs Kate Williamson or Davidson, 

 the proprietor of the third cottage from the cross road just 

 referred to, commenced to build another small cottage along 

 the western border of her garden, to which there was access 

 past the open end of her house, forming as it did the farthest 

 west of the little group of cottages. The house was to be 

 erected behind the other cottages and at right angles to 

 them, and, to save the garden ground as much as possible, 

 it was to be placed along its boundary. The garden was 

 enclosed by a broad mound of earth or old turf wall with 

 some stones intermixed ; this, of course, had to be removed, 

 and the ground brought somewhat to a level surface before 

 the foundations of the house could be dug ; these were then 

 cut out of the firm undisturbed clay below, and the build- 

 ing operations commenced. Mrs Davidson had her own 

 peculiar ideas of what were to be the special conveniences of 

 her new cottage, and. accordingly, she caused two small pits or 

 cellars to be dug in the floor of the kitchen, at no great dis- 

 tance from the back wall and fireplace, which were to be 

 covered over with wooden lids or doors, and in them coals or 

 other necessary articles were intended to be kept. Curious 



vol. it. 3 F 



