portions of the existing edifice. The work in these is, for the most part, of the Scottish decorated period. The nave piers, with their beautifully-carved caps, and the mouldings of the arches are distinctly decorated work; and the flying buttresses and pinnacles on the south side of the nave are, without doubt, of the same period (see Figs. 766 and 773). So also is the south wall of the transept, with its magnificent window and tracery and its buttresses, enriched with fine canopies and quaint figures carved as corbels (see Fig. 772). [Illustration: FIG. 777.--Melrose Abbey. Niche.] All these features bear a close affinity to the decorated work of the nave of York Minster, erected about 1400. The flying buttresses, with pinnacles enriched with crockets and foliaged finials (see Fig. 766); the niches (Fig. 777), with their elaborate canopies and corbels composed of figures of monks and angels (see Figs. 769 and 778); the statues which formerly filled the niches, of which very few now remain; the decorated tracery of the south transept window (see Fig. 772); and the whole character of the work, both in its general scope and in its details, is of fine decorated design, and vividly recalls that of York, Beverley, and other English examples. It is not improbable that some parts of the nave and transept were erected during the period between the death of King Robert Bruce and the invasion of Richard II. It should be mentioned that Bruce’s bequest was not all received till 1399, and the operations also, probably, proceeded slowly. The doorway in the south wall of the south transept (Fig. 779) is apparently an insertion in older work. It is of a later style than the window above; and the irregular setting of the masonry on each side indicates that there has been some patching and restoration in this part of the building. Fig. 780 shows the jamb mouldings of this doorway. A passage or gallery passed along the interior at the base of the large south window. It had a parapet of pierced work, now destroyed, supported on a carved cornice (Fig. 781), having angels playing on instruments introduced at intervals. It is sometimes said that the north wall of the transept (Fig. 782) is of earlier date than the rest; and, at first sight, the three simple lights and the semicircular doors might give ground for that view. But, on closer inspection, it is seen that the windows correspond with those of the clerestory of the nave, and the round arches are simply one of the peculiarities of Scottish Gothic in which that form is preserved, especially in doorways, throughout all the periods of the style. The long lying panel about the middle of the north wall further indicates a late date. [Illustration: FIG. 778.--Melrose Abbey. Pinnacle on South Side of Nave, with Statue of Virgin.]