https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/47800/pg47800-images.html#link006 This particular book about the border between England and Scotland, was finished by Andrew’s brother after he died, but Andrew Lang was a prolific writer and he provides tempting rabbit holes for diving. Try this URL if you are feeling the urge. https://andrewlang.org When I have the time I’m going to check on the book about Golf. Because that’s naturally a topic that I associate with a man whose interests lay in folk lore…

However my rabbit hole today is still Hugh Thomson’s illustrations. I loved the pictures of bridges in various towns. You could learn a lot of history by reading the actual text but I … didn’t.

There are castles and abbeys.

I did not know that Sir Walter Scott is buried in the ruined abbey at Dryburgh because he chose to be.

Landscape views show rolling hills that predominate in the border area. Books by Molly Clavering, D. E. Stevenson, and O. Douglas use this setting. O. Douglas wrote a lot but her claim to fame really is that she is John Buchan’s sister. His book, The Thirty-Nine Steps, is widely known. The other two, Molly Clavering and D. E. Stevenson, are much more interesting to read than O. Douglas.

And last, a picture of Gretna Green. Scotland’s marriage laws were different than those in England, allowing for almost anyone to witness marriage vows. Gretna Green was just over the border with England and the blacksmith there was willing to attest to marital promises over his anvil. Hence, the romance trope of eloping to Gretna Green. Even Lydia Bennett in Pride and Prejudice was at first believed to have fled here to get married.

There are a lot more illustrations and there’s a table of contents directing you to them if you don’t want to scroll through. Enjoy.