The wonderful charm of Melrose Abbey as a building is not its only feature. The remains lie here of King Alexander II. and his spouse; Douglases without number; and many other men and women who have loomed largely in the history of our island. A few of the numerous statues that adorned the walls still remain, although many were destroyed by the Presbyterians. A certain zealot climbed in 1649 to the buttress pinnacle to shatter the statue of our Lady with the Holy Child, upon which the first fragment split off, struck, and broke his arm. Since then the image has been left in peace. Strangely prophetic words are uttered in the inscriptions written in abbreviated Latin words on scrolls borne by monks in the south transept, “He suffered because He Himself willed it” and “When comes Jesus the Mediator, darkness will cease.” KELSO (_Benedictine_) 1126, Founded by David I., and colonised by Benedictine monks from Selkirk (a Tironensian abbey founded by David I. seven years previously)--The church suffers by fire during the wars between Bruce and Baliol--1523, The Lady chapel, the abbot’s house, and the dormitory demolished by Lord Dacre--1545, Stormed by the English under Lord Hertford, Sir G. Bowes, etc.--1547, Attacked by Protector Somerset--1560, Monks expelled by a body of fanatical Presbyterians--1649, The transept roofed in--1771, No longer used as place of worship. “Bosomed in woods where mighty rivers run, Kelso’s fair vale expands before the sun; Its rising downs in vernal beauty swell And fringed with hazel woods, with flowery dell, Green spangled plains to dimpling lawns succeed, And Tempe rises on the banks of Tweed: Blue o’er the river Kelso’s shadow lies And copse-clad aisles amid the waters rise.” Standing on the bridge of five arches which spans the Tweed at Kelso, a magnificent view can be gained of this picturesque town on the northern bank, with [Illustration: KELSO.] the ruins of its abbey beautifully situated in a well-wooded valley; also of the fast decaying walls of Roxburgh castle on the south bank, once the stronghold of that old town and demolished in 1460; of Fleurs Palace; the heights of Eildon and Mellerstain, and the confluence of the Tweed and Teviot. Kelso has risen in importance since the destruction of its neighbouring town, and has frequently suffered from pillage and fire during the English invasions. In 1715, the Pretender was proclaimed as King James VIII. by the forces assembled here.