square. As it is the centre of a rich and fertile agricultural district, it has a weekly market on Friday, two fairs yearly, and many other markets for the sale of stock, horses and cattle. It is not however a place of manufacture of any kind.

Kelso has a Dispensary, many public and Private Schools, three Libraries, and many Liteary Associations. Besides the parish Church, it has an English Chapel, and many Dissenting Meeting-houses. It has also four branch Banks, a Distillery, Brewery, a Gas-work, and many other large buildings.

Kelso lies in latitude 55, 38 North, and in longitude 1, 20 West, and is blessed with a fine climate and beautiful scenery. Its inhabitants are healthy and vigorous. They amounted in 1821 to 4,000, and in 1831 to 4,700. It is about twenty-three miles from Berwick, and forty from Edinburgh.

The beauty of this country town and neighbourhood, has been universally celebrated. The confluence of the two noble rivers, the Tweed and the Teviot, the finely wooded dales, the venerable ruins of abbeys and castles, the fine seats and houses of the nobility, and the distant hills and mountains,

varied scenery of wood and water, and displays the traces of the most skilful agriculture and husbandry. But the most admired scene by travellers is that from Fleurs Castle, the manorial seat of the duke of Roxburgh, situated in the immediate neighbourhood of Kelso, beside two beautiful streams. The lawns, plantations, and rich fields which surround it, make it one of the most delightful residences in the whole island.

Kelso is the provincial capital of the border counties. Its inhabitants are a polished class of people, and live in great elegance. The shopkeepers, deal to a great extent in all kinds of woollen drapery, haberdashery, hosiery goods, groceries, and hardware, and have likewise a great demand for various kinds of grass seeds. The bakers use at least about 2000 English quarters of wheat annually. The Tanners dress from 70,000, to 80,000 sheep and lamb skins. The Shoemakers, who are very numerous, make annually 30,000 pairs of shoes, which are sold at Kelso market, or at the fairs in Northumberland. The Weavers make 20,000 yards of flan

nel annually, and about 10,000 yards of linen of different degrees of fineness. There is also a large market for butchers meat, which is well supplied.

There are twelve high markets or fairs held here in the year, two before and one after the terms of Whitsunday and Martinmas. The two first are for hiring male and female servants, the last is generally employed by the servants in mirth, and in spending their wages before they enter on new service. On these occasions the concourse of people is very great, and the business and profit made by the shopkeepers and milliners is very lucrative and extensive. The other six market days are held in March, and at the end of Autumn, the former are used for buying horses for the summer work, which is carrying lime, coal, &c., which being over, they sell the horses again on account of the dearness of fodder during winter. Two annual fairs are held on the 10th July, and on the 2d of November. St. James's fair, the greatest in this quarter is held in the vicinity on the 5th of August.

KELSO ABBEY.

THIS abbey is older than the abbey of Melrose, though not so magnificent. It was however founded by the same pious prince king David in 1128, A. D., and he dedicated it to the honour of the Virgin Mary, and St. John the Evangelist. The monks whom he placed in it, had been previously settled at Selkirk and Roxburgh, and were brought over from Tyrone, in France. One singular circumstance recorded of these Tyronesian monks is, that the founder of them Bernard D' Abbeville directed them to be employed in the handicraft arts and trades, and not to waste their time in dangerous idleness. King David had this probably in view, as much as the progress of religion, in bringing over these French monks to the south of Scotland, and to this we may ascribe the celebrity of the border towns in the useful