The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and
Instruction, by Various

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Title: The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction
Volume 19, No. 543, Saturday, April 21, 1832.

Author: Various

Release Date: March 14, 2004 [EBook #11567]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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THE MIRROR OF LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION.

VOL. XIX. NO. 543.] SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 1832. [PRICE 2d.

* * * * *

MELROSE ABBEY.

[Illustration: Melrose Abbey.]

(_From a finished sketch, by a Correspondent_.)

These venerable ruins stand upon the southern bank of the Tweed, in
Roxburghshire. The domestic buildings of the monastery are entirely
gone; but the remains of the church connected with, as seen in the above
Engraving, are described by Mr. Chambers[1] as "the finest specimen of
Gothic architecture and Gothic sculpture of which this country
(Scotland) can boast. By singular good fortune, Melrose is also one of
the most entire, as it is the most beautiful, of all the ecclesiastical
ruins scattered throughout this reformed land. To say that it is
beautiful, is to say nothing. It is exquisitely--splendidly lovely. It
is an object of infinite grace and immeasurable charm; it is fine in its
general aspect and in its minutest details; it is a study--a glory." We
confess ourselves delighted with Mr. Chambers's well-directed
enthusiasm.

[1] Picture of Scotland, vol. i.

A page of interesting facts towards the history of the Abbey will be
found appended to the "Recollections" of a recent visit by one of our
esteemed Correspondents, in _The Mirror_, vol. x., p. 445. In the
present view, the ornate Gothic style of the building is seen to
advantage, but more especially the richness of the windows, and the
niches above them: the latter, from drawings made "early in the reign of
King William," were originally filled with statues; and, connected with
the destruction of some of them, Mr. Chambers relates t