a';
Whose winding streams sae sweetly glide
By Brinkburn's bonny Ha'!"

_Written in 1821_

"The Coquet for ever, the Coquet for aye!
The _Woodhall_ and _Weldon_ and _Felton_ so gay,
And _Brinkburn_ and _Linden_, wi' a' their sweet pride,
For they add to the beauty of dear Coquetside."

_Written in 1826_

Felton, a charmingly placed little village, on the banks of the river
where they are overhung by graceful woods, and diversified by cliff and
grassy slope, stands just where the great North Road crosses the Coquet.
By reason of this position it has been the scene of one or two events of
historical interest, notably those connected with the "Fifteen" and the
"Forty-five." On the former occasion, the gallant young Earl of
Derwentwater, with his followers, was joined here by a band of seventy
gentlemen from the Borders, and they rode on to Morpeth to proclaim
James III. And thirty years later, the soldiers of George II. passed
over the bridge from the southward, led by the Duke of Cumberland, and
pressed on towards the Scottish moor where they dealt the final blow to
the Stuart cause at Culloden. The interesting old church at Felton,
dating from the thirteenth century, is well worth a visit. After leaving
Felton behind, the Coquet enters on the most marked windings of all its
winding course, until, when it enters the sea at Warkworth Harbour, just
opposite Coquet Island, it has contrived to lengthen out its journey to
a distance of forty miles.

The bright clear stream of the Aln also begins its short journey across
Northumberland from the heights of Cheviot, but in the narrower
northern portion of the county. Alnham, with its pele-tower Vicarage,
ancient church, and memories of a castle, stands just at the foot of the
hills, near the source of the river. Some three or four miles eastward
along its banks, a walk through leafy woods brings us to
Whittingham--the final syllable of which, by the way, one pronounces as
"jam," as one does that of nearly all the other place-names ending in
"ing-ham" in Northumberland, contrary though it be to etymological
considerations--excepting, curiously enough, Chillingham, situated in
the very midst of all the others. The "ing" and "ham" are in themselves
a historical guide to the days in which the various villages received
their names, these two syllables being a certain indication of a Saxon
settlement, the "home of the sons, or descendants of" whatever person
the