banks of the Tweed. This event was celebrated in the following monkish rhymes.

Anno milleno centeno ter quoque deno,

Et sexti Christi, Melrose fundata fuisti.

It was peopled with Cistercian monks, from the celebrated abbey of Prevals, in Yorkshire. The remains of this monastery consist of some fragments of the cloisters, richly ornamented, and the ruins of the church, part of which still serves for parochial uses. The east window is of unparalleled beauty and elegance. The stone tracery is at once light and strong. Sir Walter Scott, in his Lay of the Last Minstrel, gives a most perfect idea of it.

The moon in the east oriel shone,
Through slender shafts of stately stone,
By foliaged tracery combined;

Thou would'st have thought, some fairy's hand
"Twixt poplars straight the osier wand,

In many a freakish knot, had twined;
Then framed a spell, when the work was done,
And changed the willow wreaths to stone.

Of the whole scene he thus writes:

If thou would'st view fair Melrose aright,
Go visit it by the pale moonlight;
For the gay beams of lightsome day
Gild, but to flout, the ruins grey.
When the broken arches are black in night,
And each shafted oriel glimmers white;
When the cold light's uncertain shower
Streams on the ruined central tower ;
When buttress and buttress, alternately,
Seemed framed of ebon and ivory;
When silver edges the imagery,

And the scrolls that teach thee to live and die;

When distant Tweed is heard to rave,

And the owlet to hoot o'er the dead man's grave,

Then go-but go alone the while-
Then view St. David's ruined pile;
And, home returning, soothly swear,
Was never scene so sad and fair!

The roof of the chancel, of which a part is still remaining, was supported by clustered pillars, the pedestals and capitals being elegantly ornamented with foliage and clusters of grapes. It was adorned with statues, of which St. Peter with his keys, and St. Paul holding his sword, are yet entire. The niches in which the statues were placed, are ornamented with the richest and most delicate Gothic carving.

The stone of which it is built, though it has resisted the weather for so many ages, retains perfect sharpness, so that even the most minute ornaments seem as entire as when newly wrought. In some of the cloisters are representations of flowers, and vegetables, and fruits, carved in stone, with accuracy and precision so delicate, that we almost distrust our senses, when we consider the difficulty of subjecting so hard a substance to such intricate and exquisite modulation.

The south window has majesty, but wants the lightness and elegance of the eastern. It is surrounded by rich sculptured niches now stript of their figures. Many of the family of Douglas lie buried in this church. Their tombs occupying two crypts, are near the grand altar. These were defaced by the English in 1545, a dishonour for which their descendant, the Earl of Angus, vowed a bloody revenge, and took upon the invaders at the battle of Ancram Moor.

it

The Duke of Buccleugh, who is now proprietor of this abbey, and of the lands connected with it; has shewn a laudible zeal in having a considerable part of the church cleaned of the rubbish which encumbered it.

KELSO ABBEY.

This abbey was founded in 1128, by King David I., being then Earl of Cumberland, and it became one of the most opulent in the kingdom. At its demolition, in 1569, its revenues were 2,5017. 16s. 5d., nine chaldrons of wheat, fifty-two chaldrons, six bolls, and two fulets of beer; ninty-two chaldrons, twelve bols, three fulets of meal; one chaldron and three bolls of oats; one udder of hay; and one pound of pepper. The monastery and its possessions were then granted to the Duke of Roxburgh.

The abbey was built in the form of a great cross. The nave and choir are totally demolished. The north and south aisles remain standing, being each about twenty paces in length. The walls are ornamented with false round arches, intersecting each other; the remains of the eastern end shew a part of a fine open gallery. Two sides of the centre tower are standing now, nearly 70 feet high, but have been much loftier. It is galleried within: the pillars are clustered; the arches circular, with few members, and without any great ornament. The north and south ends have an uniformity, bearing each two round towers, the centres rising sharp to the roof. The north door-way is formed by a circular arch, with various members falling behind each other, supported on

pilasters; the windows and work above are very plain. The windows have circular arches, and are very small. It is, in all its parts, of that plain and undecorated style, called Saxon and early Norman, which was in general use in this island at the time this monastery was founded. There is, however, a gothic gloominess about the whole, which carries the appearance of a prison rather than of a house of prayer. This monastery frequently suffered from the devastating wars of the Border.

JEDBURGH ABBEY.

This abbey is situated in Teviotdale, on the west of the river Jed, near where it empties itself into the Teviot. It was founded by David I. for canons regular brought from the abbey of St. Quintin's, at Bevais, in France. It is partly in ruins, while that which remains. entire serves as the parish church. The architecture and the workmanship are very superior. Many of the arches are circular, and seem of great antiquity. This abbacy was erected into a temporal lordship in behalf of Sir Andrew Ker, of Fernehurst, ancestor of the Marquis of Lothian.

ABBEY OF ABERBROTHOCK. This abbey was founded by William the Lion, in 1178, and dedicated to St. Thomas à Becket. It was a most splendid monastery, and enjoyed great privileges, as well as an immense revenue. Its ruins give an idea of its former magnificence. It lies on a rising ground, above the town, and presents an extensive and venerable front. It