Dunse,
29th. May 18⟨52⟩
Mr. Wm. Kemp | Galashiels
My Dear Sir,
I was much gratifie⟨d⟩ by the receipt of your kind letter of the 19th. curt., the more especially as from your long silence I was afraid that you might not be enjoying such good health a I would wish.— I am happy how⟨ever⟩ to learn that you continue wel⟨l⟩ in other respects, but for the shak⟨ing⟩ of which you complain.— I belie⟨ve⟩ a change for a week or two w⟨ill⟩ do you much good.— Some rambl⟨e⟩ among the mountains, hammer i⟨n⟩ hand, would tend more to stea⟨dy⟩ your nervous system than any thing else that I know of.—
I am getting on very wel⟨l [one line excised] b⟩usiness matters.— I have however ⟨h⟩ad two or three good field days ⟨(2⟩ of them Sundays, but tell it not in Gath).— ⟨O⟩n one of these occasions I spent ⟨the⟩ day in examining the coast from ⟨E⟩yemouth to Burnmouth.— The phenomena presented there are most ⟨in⟩teresting and shew the immense ⟨p⟩ower of the forces by which the ⟨g⟩reywacke strata there have been ⟨th⟩rown into their present positions.— ⟨Th⟩ere the complicated foldings of ⟨th⟩e strata are beautifully exposed.— Not only do we find the ordinary ⟨s⟩uccession of parallel or nearly parallel ⟨An⟩ti- & Syn-clinal axes,—the result ⟨of⟩ lateral pressure,—but we ⟨h⟩ave instances of another phenomenon ⟨w⟩hich I have not elsewhere observed, ⟨v⟩izt., a turning up of the axes them⟨s⟩elves (here very close set) into ⟨a⟩ vertical, instead of a horizontal ⟨[one line excised]⟩ has evidently been produced by great pressure in the direction of the axes, or from NE to SW.— Thi⟨s⟩ I would call terminal pressur⟨e.⟩ The greywacke system is at this place brought to a sudden terminus, being cut off and thrown down by a great cross fracture⟨.⟩ Disturbing movements have taken place along this line at more than one epoch,—for it is eviden⟨t⟩ from the manner in which the strata of graywacke slate are bent over the sharpest axes without having been broken, that they mu⟨st⟩ have been in a soft & high⟨ly⟩ plastic condition, at the early period when this was effected,—and t⟨he⟩ newer strata of O.R.S. & lower carboniferous have also been di⟨s⟩located in nearly the same direction.— The greywacke here is different from that of any oth⟨er⟩ part of the Lammermuirs, aboun⟨ding [one line excised]⟩ this respect it resembles that of ⟨H⟩assendeanburn, of which it is ⟨m⟩ost likely the true equivalent, the ⟨b⟩earing of the two localities from each ⟨o⟩ther corresponding with the direction ⟨of⟩ the line of strike. I found ⟨n⟩o decided organic remains, but markings were frequently seen most provokingly like some strange organic forms.
On Sunday last I had an ⟨e⟩xcursion up the Watch Water ⟨to⟩ near its source. I found in ⟨t⟩heir proper position the slates ⟨w⟩hich are the equivalents of those ⟨o⟩n the Dye from which I last year procured a piece of a graptolite. On this occasion I was unsuccessful in my search for graptol⟨ites⟩ but found plenty very curious markings. Some interesting sect⟨ions⟩ are seen in the course of the Watch, shewing very beautiful ⟨[one line excised]⟩ near the West Side of Derrington Law (the larger of the two). I had the good fort⟨une⟩ to fall in with the junction of the porphyry with the O.R.S.,—wh⟨ich⟩ I have in vain sought for for some years past,—there being n⟨o⟩ deep sections exposed and the alluvial cover near the junction being thick.— The junction referred to is seen in a section m⟨ade⟩ by a small burn, and though the rocks are only exposed to a depth of 3 or 4 feet at most, ye⟨t⟩ some highly interesting metamorp⟨hic⟩ phenomena are exhibited.— It i⟨s⟩ therefore now demonstrated tha⟨t⟩ the Derrington porphyry is mor⟨e⟩ recent than the Old red Sands⟨tone,⟩ thus confirming the opinion I hav⟨e⟩ long held regarding it.— The clayst⟨one⟩ dykes of the conglomerate as well as those seen intersecting the re⟨d⟩ sandstones on the Blackadde⟨r⟩ above Greenlaw are also referr⟨ed [one line excised]⟩
A few weeks ago I had an ⟨e⟩xcursion with Mr. Turnbull ⟨of⟩ Abbey St. Bathans & Mr. Rose ⟨t⟩he Mineralogist.— We inspected ⟨t⟩he old copper workings near Elmford & having set some men to work, discovered a ⟨c⟩onsiderable quantity of sulphurat⟨ed⟩ carbonate of copper in a sort ⟨o⟩f string vein running nearly East & West.— The copper occurs ⟨i⟩n a breccia formed of angular ⟨f⟩ragments of greywacke which ⟨h⟩ad accumulated (under water) ⟨i⟩n a fissure opened in connection with the ⟨g⟩reat dislocation which crosses ⟨t⟩he Lammermuirs at this place. It is questionable if the ore ⟨w⟩ill be found in sufficient ⟨q⟩uantity to pay, but upon the ⟨w⟩hole the appearances are ⟨[whole line excised]⟩
Now, my dear sir, sin⟨ce⟩ I have got a house of my ow⟨n⟩ I should like extremely if you would honor me wit⟨h⟩ a visit for a few days in th⟨e⟩ course of the Summer.— Try what you can do this Sea⟨son⟩
Hoping to hear from you soon, and with kindest rega⟨rds⟩ and best wishes for the welfa⟨re⟩ of yourself & Family, | I remain | My Dear Sir | Yours Ever Truly | Wm. Stevenso⟨n⟩
P.S. Please remember me to Dr. Boy⟨ ⟩ I thought much of him for the shor⟨t⟩ time that I had the pleasure of his ⟨[one line excised]⟩ ⟨I⟩f I had an opportunity I should be ⟨h⟩appy to send the M.S. of my lecture ⟨f⟩or your perusal.
Please cite as “KEMP98,” in Ɛpsilon: The William Kemp Collection accessed on 30 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/epsilon-testbed/kemp/letters/KEMP98