officer, who was the second son of Gilbert, twelfth Earl of Minto, by Anna Maria, eldest daughter of Sir George Amyand, Bart., and consequently brother of the late and uncle of the present Earl of Minto, was born August 13, 1784, and married, in May 1810, Cecilia, youngest daughter of Mr James Ness of Osgodrie, Yorkshire, by whom who died in May 1848—he had a numerous family. Among his married daughters are the Countess of Northesk, Lady William Compton, and Mrs Drummond, wife of Captain the Hon. James R. Drummond, C. B., one of the Lords of the Admiralty. The lamented Admiral entered the navy in 1794, as a first-class volunteer on board the St George, 98, bearing the flag of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker, and was present in Lord Hotham's actions in March and July 1795, and was on board the Goliath when that ship led the British fleet into action on the 15th August 1798. For some time he was on board the San Joseph and St George, flagships of Lord Nelson and Sir James M. Pole, in the latter of which, under the gallant Captain Masterman Hardy, he was present at the action of Copenhagen in April 1801. After various services afloat, and after seriously chastising the pirates of Sambas, in Borneo, and assisting Colonel Macgregor in reinstalling the Sultan of Palanbang, he returned home, and was for some length of time unemployed, his next appointment being, in 1827, to the Victory, guard-ship, at Portsmouth. September 1837, the year he obtained his flag rank, he was appointed commander-in-chief at the Cape of Good Hope, and in February 1840, assumed the command of the fleet in China, where, in the additional capacity of joint-plenipotentiary with Captain Charles Elliot, R. N., he superintended the earlier operations of the war from July to November. He returned home in 1841 in ill-health, from the combined effects of the climate and over-exertion in the discharge of the onerous duties attached to his command. His commissions bore date as follows:-Lieutenant, August 12, 1800; commander, April 14, 1802; captain, January 2, 1804; rear-admiral, January 10, 1837; vice-admiral, May 13, 1847; and admiral, May 5, 1853. The remains of the late Admiral the Hon. Sir George Elliot, K. C.B., were deposited in the family vault in the cemetery at Kensal Green, London. In accordance with his desire, the funeral was a private one. The hearse and two mourning coaches, followed by the private carriages of the family and friends, constituted the funeral procession. The principal mourners were Admiral George Elliot and Colonel Elliot, (sons of the late Admiral,) Captain the Hon. James R. Drummond, C. B., Lord William Compton, the Dean of Bristol, and Sir Gregor M'Gregor. In June 29.-At the Free Church Manse, Galashiels, the Rev. ROBERT B. NICHOL. July 3.-At 10 Buccleuch Street, Hawick, Margaret Moffat, eldest daughter of the late Walter Graham, M.D. 4.-At Yetholm, the Rev. JOHN HASTIE, senior minister of the Free 5.-At Doune, Stirling, the Rev. EBENEZER E. WHYTE, of the U. P. NOTES TO CORRESPONDENTS.-In forwarding MSS. to the Editors of the "BORDER MAGAZINE," authors are requested to write on one side of the paper only, and to send real name and address, so that if necessary they can be communicated with. "A Tyneside Tale,' ""Memoir of Robert Bowman," " The Borderer's Farewell," and other poems; "Notices of Books," &c., are unavoidably postponed. Advertisements, Books for Review, and all other communications, (Post-paid,) must be addressed to WILLIAM P. NIMMO, 2 St David Street, Edinburgh. WARK CASTLE: THE CHARACTER OF THE PERIOD IN WHICH IT WAS FOUNDED; WITH NOTICES OF OTHER CASTLES OF THE BORDER, AND THE EVENTS OF BORDER HISTORY WITH WHICH WARK IS ASSOCIATED. BY THE REV. PETER MEARNS, COLDSTREAM. (Continued from p. 74.) Coldstream Ford and Abbey-Edward provoked by the Defeat at Roslin-He Dies on his way to Scotland-Edward II. musters his Army at WarkRobert Bruce captures Wark-David II. foiled at Wark-Order of the Garter-A Contrast-John de Coupland-Changes from 1383 to 1399—Sir Robert Grey, governor-Wark becomes the Possession of the Greys-Summary of Proprietors, with Dates-Notice of the Greys. COLDSTREAM FORD AND ABBEY. Instead of crossing the Tweed at Wark, on his way to Berwick, which appears to have been the more eligible, as the ford at Wark is now the best on the Tweed below Kelso, Edward crossed at Coldstream, the latter being better known, as belonging to the public road between Edinburgh and Newcastle, till the Coldstream bridge was built exactly a century ago. Perhaps the lower was the better ford in the days of Edward. Sir Walter Scott represents Lord Marmion as coming from Lennel to Coldstream on the morning of the battle of Flodden, and crossing there to take part in the fierce struggle on that well-contested field : "Then on that dangerous ford, and deep, And not a moment will he bide, And stems it gallantly. It was here, too, that General Monk crossed the Tweed, on his way from Scotland to London to restore the monarchy in the person of Charles II. The road from the town to the ford passes the nunnery, of which scarcely a fragment remains. The Coldstream Abbey was founded by Gospatrick, fourth Earl of Dunbar, and his pious Countess Derder, in the reign of David I., probably in 1150. Its founder died in 1166, and the charters containing his grants "to the holy sisters of Coldstream" are without date, as was the custom of those times; but copies of them have been preserved.1 EDWARD PROVOKED BY THE DEFEAT AT ROSLIN. Edward appears to have been again at Wark four years before his death. He was at Newcastle, May 7, 1303; Morpeth, May 9; and 1 See Historical Memorials of Coldstream Abbey, collected by a Delver in Antiquity. Lond. 1850. VOL. I.-No. 3. I Roxburgh, May 21. Roxburgh is mentioned in Prynne, while Wark is omitted, as the former, being on the Scottish border, and in the hands of the English at that time, was probably the more important. I may briefly relate the circumstances which caused this expedition. Edward imagined that he had entirely subdued the kingdom of Scotland, and he had appointed John de Segrave governor. Having heard that the Scots had recommenced the war with great vigour, Edward directed letters to twenty-six of his principal barons, ordering them to repair instantly to the governor with their whole assembled power of horse and foot. Segrave marched from Berwick with an army of 20,000 men, and, without meeting an enemy, they encamped in three divisions near Roslin. Sir John Comyn, the governor appointed and owned by the Scots, marched from Biggar with 8000 men to meet the English; and early on the morning of the 24th of February, this small but resolute band surprised Segrave and his soldiers in their tents. His division was routed, and himself taken prisoner, with many others, for whom the victors hoped to receive a high ransom. But the second division now appeared, and the Scots deemed it necessary to slay their prisoners, lest they should escape. This division was also put to flight, with much slaughter, after an obstinate defence. The three divisions were sufficiently distant to allow the first and second to be defeated ere the third appeared. Worn out by a night march and two fierce engagements, the Scots thought of flight on the appearance of a third division, but this was perilous in the presence of a fresh army; and, after again adopting the cruel but necessary policy of killing their prisoners, they rushed into battle with desperate courage, and the result was a total defeat of this division also, with the death of their leader. Some of the most warlike and influential of the Scottish nobles were at that time in France, and they wrote a letter to the nobility, in which they said, "You would greatly rejoice if you were aware what a weight of honour this last conflict with the English has conferred upon you throughout the world." But the spirit of Edward was extremely chafed by this disastrous and disgraceful defeat, and his passions were inflamed to the utmost. After collecting the whole armed force of his dominions, he marched in person against a brave but unoffending people, whose only wish was that their powerful neighbour would let them alone. "In recording the history of this miserable campaign, the historian has to tell a tale of sullen submission and pitiless ravage; he has little to do but to follow in dejection the chariot wheels of the conqueror, and to hear them crushing under their iron weight all that was free and brave in a devoted country." Edward was overjoyed at his success; but he soon found that it was far from complete. Robert Bruce claimed the Scottish crown, and after a long series of the most romantic disasters and exploits, he was completely successful in establishing his claim and securing the freedom of his oppressed country. The last moments of Edward 1 Rymer, Fœd. 2 Tytler. were embittered by reports of the repeated successes of those he had been proud to call his Scottish subjects, but who were then in open revolt. Enfeebled by disease and premature age at sixty-six, he marched against his enemies, but he could only reach the village of Burgh-upon-Sands, in sight of the country he wished again to subdue, and there he expired on the 7th of July 1307. When dying, according to Froissart, he caused his less-gifted son to swear, in the presence of his barons, that as soon as he was dead he would boil his body in a caldron till the flesh was separated from the bones, after which he should bury the flesh, but keep the bones, and carry them at the head of the army as often as the Scots attempted to recover their freedom. This horrid injunction was disregarded by the son, who committed his father's body to the royal sepulchre at Westminster. On his tomb is this appropriate inscription-"Here lies the hammer of the Scottish nation." I call the inscription appropriate, for he inflicted injuries on the Scottish nation such as a hammer does on the substances which it dashes to pieces. EDWARD II. MUSTERS AT WARK HIS VAST ARMY FOR BANNOCKBURN. Edward II., when mustering his vast army for Bannockburn in 1314, ordered the sheriffs, and others having authority in several counties of England and Wales, to urge, hasten, and compel bodies of able footmen to march towards him, so as to be at Wark on the 10th of June, "sufficiently armed and prepared to march thence against the king's enemies, and for rescue of Stirling Castle." In the end of June he set out for Berwick with an army of about 100,000 men. "The various writs and multifarious orders connected with the summoning and organisation of the army of England which fought at Bannockburn are still preserved, and may be seen in their minutest details; and they prove that it far exceeded, not only in numbers, but in equipment, any army which was ever led by any former monarch against Scotland."1 The Scotch army, led by their brave king, Robert Bruce, was only about 30,000 strong; but such was the skill of the generals, and the bravery of the troops, that they gained a complete victory; and the invaders fled and were pursued with great slaughter. The result was decisive, and all hope of conquering Scotland was for ever at an end. The strong hand of free-born men achieved the liberty of their country. Every breast responded to the call, so well expressed by the poet Burns have a mission little inferior to its legislators. There was much penetration in the remark- "Give me the making of the songs of a people, and I care not who may construct its laws." BRUCE CAPTURES WARK. The Scottish king shewed great moderation in the use he made of his victory at Bannockburn; but, in 1318, he captured the town and castle of Berwick, invaded Northumberland, and reduced the castles of Wark and Harbottle. He penetrated into Yorkshire, and returned laden with plunder, driving his prisoners before him like flocks of sheep. In September of the following year, Edward assembled his army, and made a vigorous but unsuccessful effort to recover Berwick. The besiegers constructed a huge machine, covered with strong boards and hides, and filled with armed soldiers and miners, which from its shape was called a sow. On the approach of this formidable machine to undermine the walls, a crane was placed on the wall directly opposite. The first stone discharged flew beyond the mark, and the second fell short of it; but the third, an immense mass, passing through the air with a booming noise, descended on the top of the sow with terrific force, shivering its strong timbers into a thousand pieces, and destroying many of the solders and miners within. Those who escaped unhurt scampered off in great haste and terror, amid the derisive shouts of the Scots, who cried out from the walls—" The English sow has farrowed her pigs." DAVID II. FOILED AT WARK. David II. invaded and plundered Northumberland and Durham in 1342. As his army was returning homeward laden with plunder, they passed in sight of the castle of Wark. The fortress belonged at that time to the Earl of Salisbury, whose countess resided in it, and his brother Sir William Montagu was its governor. Enraged at the thought that the Scotch army had plundered with impunity, the governor sallied forth with a small party, and, attacking the rear of the army, killed two hundred of them, and carried one hundred and sixty horses, laden with booty, into the castle. Provoked at this insult, David led his army against the castle, and attempted to force it by a general assault, in which he was repulsed with great loss. The place, however, was closely invested, and in great peril, according to Froissart, when relieved by Edward III., who was apprised of the danger by the governor, who, on a fleet horse, aided by the gloom and noise of a stormy night, had eluded the vigilance of the besiegers. ORDER OF THE GARTER. According to some authorities, Edward III. instituted the Order of the Garter at Wark, in 1349. At a court ball given in the castle, the Countess of Salisbury dropped her garter; and the king, taking it up, said, Honi soit qui mal y pense-" Evil to him that evil thinks." He instituted the Order of the Garter in memorial of this trifling occurrence, and gave these words as the motto of the order. There is much force in the remark of Hume, that "this origin, though |