Stray Leaves from a Border Garden 
June 28. — I saw something small and black to-day 
moving among the grass-blades on the edge of the croquet- 
lawn, and I promptly caught it in my hand. It proved 
to be a Mole, which struggled most violently. I put it down 
on the short grass of the lawn, thinking I could easily pick 
it up again. But I was mistaken. In a second it tore up 
the grass with its tiny-clawed pink hands and disappeared 
like a flash of lightning into the earth, darting down 
like a fish in water. We could trace its progress for 
a moment by the slight upheaving of the grass, showing 
where it was burrowing underneath, and then it was gone 
entirely. I never saw such a swift disappearance and, had 
I not seen it with my own eyes, would never have credited 
that so unwieldy-looking a little beast, like a soft black 
velvet sack, could move so fast. Boy sings a funny little 
song about the Mole. I don’t know who taught it to 
him : 
The Moudie warp, the Moudie warp, 
Hackit a hole in the meenister’s park, 
And oot creepit a sma' wee Moudie warp. 
I think this word is from the Saxon moldwarp—Q arth- 
worker, and a park is a field, from the Cymric fiarwg, 
meaning an enclosed field. Moudieskin purses used to be 
thought a lucky possession by Scotch peasants. I think I 
will have one. I do like some of the local names of places 
hereabouts, they are so quaint — -Swallow Dean, Pyat Knowe, 
or Magpie Hill, Catchapenny, Crawdene, Lint (or Flax) 
Mill, Green Knowe, Orange Lane, Corbiesha’, and Hou- 
let’s ha’, meaning Crow’s hall and Owl’s hall, Earn’s heugh, 
Hartland, Laughing Law (Law being “ hill ”), Eagle’s cliff, 
and Elfhole. They are generally of old date, too, these 
names, and of local explanation, as in the case of Earnsheugh, 
Eagles having frequented the place. Orange Lane is said 
to owe its name to the Oranges in the coat-of-arms of one 
of the local families, while of Velvet Hall, at present a little 
country station, I cannot find any explanation beyond that 
Professor Veitch says “ hall ” comes from “ heal, a stone,” 
and originally meant a house or enclosure of stones. 
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