On a 3Iass 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, hovfever, 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 belovv^, 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 
