1147, Founded by David I.--1326, The meeting-place of the first Scots Parliament to which representatives from burghs were summoned--Pillaged during the wars of the Succession--_c._ 1559, Sacked and destroyed at the Reformation--The land given to the Earl of Mar by James VI.--1709, Purchased by the town council of Stirling. About two and a half miles from Stirling, and on the north side of the river Forth, lying in one of the many creeks formed by that winding river, is the abbey of Cambuskenneth. All that can be seen now in the green fields, with cows quietly grazing by the river sides, is a sheltered tower of grey stone, the sole remains of what was once a large ecclesiastical house. In 1864, great and important excavations were made, disclosing the foundations of the chancel, nave, transept and chapter-house, showing them to have been of a very considerable size. A few feet from the only remaining part of the abbey is the tomb of James III. and his queen, the Princess Margaret of Denmark. The tomb is railed in and bears this inscription:-- “The restoration of the tomb of her ancestors was erected by Her Majesty Queen Victoria A.D. 1865. “In this place near the high altar of the abbey of Cambuskenneth were the remains of James III., King of the Scots, who died on June 11th, 1488, and of his Queen (the Princess Margaret of Denmark).” Cambuskenneth at its zenith was an abbey of some importance in Scotland--a great many events of interest and national significance taking place there. As far as politics were concerned, the abbey was by far the most important in Scotland; indeed, so much was it used as a house of government that a new apartment had to be built called “Parliament Hall.” It was here that the first Scottish representative Parliament ever called together met by the order of Robert Bruce in 1324. The abbey was of the order of St Augustine, dedicated to the Virgin, and was founded by David I. in 1147 as St Mary’s of Stirling. This same king, the founder of Melrose Abbey, endowed the abbey with land and extensive property. In 1201 its name was changed to St Mary’s of Cambuskenneth, a battle having been fought on its site by King Kenneth against the Picts. In 1304, at the Feast of St Barnabas, the secret agreement took place between Robert Bruce and William Lamberton, Bishop of St Andrews, which decided the former to rise in rebellion against English power in Scotland. When the abbey was pillaged and set fire to by Richard II. in 1385, the revenues of the church would not admit of the extensive repairs necessary to restore it to its former state. About the year 1559, at the Reformation, the abbey was demolished and plundered again. The land and See of Cambuskenneth were handed over by Queen Mary to the Erskine family in the year 1562. One of the family of the Earl of Mar took stone from the abbey with which to build his