are traversed
in places with small veins of whin-stone, as well as greater masses
forming rocks and hills of that material; but, except it be these, (of
which there are some curious examples), I thought there could be nothing
more of an interesting nature to observe. Chance, however, discovered to
me what I could not have expected or foreseen.

The river Tweed, below Melrose, discovers in its bed the vertical strata
of the schistus mountains, and though here these indurated bodies are
not veined with quartz as in many places of the mountains, I did not
hesitate to consider them as the same species, that is to say, the marly
materials indurated and consolidated in those operations by which they
had been so much changed in their place and natural position. Afterwards
in travelling south, and seeing the horizontal softer strata, I concluded
that I had got out of the alpine country, and supposed that no more of
the vertical strata were to be observed.

The river Tiviot has made a wide valley as might have been expected, in
running over thole horizontal strata of marly or decaying substances;
and the banks of this river declining gradually are covered with gravel
and soil, and show little of the solid strata of the country. This,
however, is not the case with the Jed, which is to the southward of the
Tiviot; that river, in many places, runs upon the horizontal strata, and
undermines steep banks, which falling shows high and beautiful sections
of the regular horizontal strata. The little rivulets also which fall
into the Jed have hollowed out deep gullies in the land, and show the
uniformity of the horizontal strata.

In this manner I was disposed to look for nothing more than what I had
seen among those mineral bodies, when one day, walking in the beautiful
valley above the town of Jedburgh, I was surprised with the appearance
of vertical strata in the bed of the river, where I was certain that
the banks were composed of horizontal strata. I was soon satisfied with
regard to this phenomenon, and rejoiced at my good fortune in stumbling
upon an object so interesting to the natural history of the earth, and
which I had been long looking for in vain.

Here the vertical strata, similar to those that are in the bed of
the Tweed, appear; and above those vertical strata, are placed the
horizontal beds, which extend along the whole country.

The question which we would wish to have solved is this; if the vertical
strata had be