Page:A tour through the northern counties of England, and the borders of Scotland - Volume II.djvu/55

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waters, no occasional interrupted views were cauglit of their course through " shady walks or allies green;" all was thrown upon the eye at once in its original nakedness. Our road, however, af- forded us other entertainment, though thus defi- cient in picturesque beauty. Seven miles from Berwick the ruins of Norham-Castle attracted our attention to the right, a fortress built by Egfred Bishop of Durham, to defend the distant possesi- ons of the see against the Scottish incursions. The natural advantages of a lofty and commanding situ- ation were increased by the artificial ernes of strong Anglo-Norman fortifica ons, which rendered this structure one of the most important fortresses on the Borders.

Another castle, but of modern days, occurs iabout three miles further, called from the village near it, Twisol-Castle, the seat of Sir Francis Blake. Here an agreeable picture first broke the unifor- mity of unpleasing scenery which had accompanied us now for many miles. Seated near the brow of a lofty perpendicular rock, richly cloathed with trees, this huge mansion (in form a parallelogram) overlooks a little dale that winds beneath it, wa- tered by the river Till, who is here seen hastening to join the Tweed, through thickly-wooded banks, high, rocky, and winding in their course. As we

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