Antiquities him as a dwelling-house when he visits this part of his

Great cairns.

Dryburgh abbey.

estate.

On a hill, on the west side of the same parish, are two heaps of stones of an immense size, each containing, as is supposed, many thousand cart-loads. A tradition has long prevailed that they had been collected to commemorate the death of twin-brothers who fell in battle while they were commanding two opposite armies; and from thence the hill on which these piles are erected obtained the name of Twinlaw. But upon tradition of this kind, unsupported by accounts from history, it is almost unnecessary to remark, that little dependence can be pla- · ced; especially as, in this case, the tradition is entirely silent with regard to the quality of the persons, and the time when the transaction happened. There is little doubt, however, that something remarkable occurred at the place now mentioned, as it was customary for our ancestors to adopt this mode of transmitting to posterity the remembrance of those events which they considered important or remarkable.

The ruins of Dryburgh Abbey form one of the most interesting remains of antiquity to be found in this county. They are beautifully situated on a peninsula formed by the Tweed, about ten miles above Kelso, and three below Melrose, on the south-western quarter of the county of Berwick.

Saint Modan, who was one of the first Christian missionaries in Britain, was abbot of Dryburgh about the year 552, and made apostolic excursions into the northwestern parts of Scotland, particularly in the districts of Stirling and Dumbarton, where his memory is still to be traced in popular tradition.

There is some reason to conjecture, that in this spot there had been more anciently a Druidical establishment, be