gb0551ms-33-69

Transcription

[Page] 69
[continued from page 68]

had over 770 ozs. [ounces] An analysis showed
94-95% pure silver, 4% copper and 1% gold
There is now no doubt that is has been loot from
the continent, christian, & pagan, ecclesiastical
& secular, and that the date of deposit was
close on the year 400 A.D. Four coins were
found, two of them in washing the soil that came
off on the night of its arrival, are those of Valens
& Honorius help to fix the date.
A few weeks ago I was honoured at the
Museum with a visit from Sir Douglas Haig.
The circumstances are amusing. A sister
of his wrote to me some time ago about a
sword which had belonged to some of her
forbears and which she desired to acquire
for her brother. Happening to meet Skeoch
Cumming one day I broached the subject
to him, he being interested in weapons.
Strangely he seemed to know the sword in:
:timately and electrified me by subsequently
writing to me that it had been sold by its late
owner “to a sister of Sir Douglas Haig.” Now
My Mrs Haig had apparently been hunting
for its whereabouts for a long time. She was
delighted by my news and effusively grateful
to an extent quite unwarranted by any

trouble I had taken. So pleased was she that she
had asked Sir Douglas Haig to come & thank
me when he was in Edinburgh. I never dreamed
of his doing so, and was greatly flattered when
he & his staff arrived at the Museum in
Chambers St & he came & called on me. Since
then I have felt a fraud for the sword I
had found was not the right one after all!
Yesterday the Germans signed the peace
treaty, so the long war is over at last. I don’t
think people in Edinburgh were much excited
over it. They had let themselves go to an unwonted
extent when the armistice was signed, and
the signing of the peace treaty was too much
of a foregone conclusion. Sandy is on
the Rhine & with his regiment was ready
to leap across the neutral zone & carry war
into Germany had the Germans refused to sign.
This has been a very dry summer and June
an abnormally windy month. We sorely need
a good nights rain. I was at Traprain
all day yesterday. My procedure is now to
rise at 5.45 – have a cup of tea & slice of bread
& butter then catch the 7. o’clock train for East
Linton. Arrived there, I have a good breakfast
at the inn & drive out to the hill in a car.
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