The sacrament house at Deskford (Fig. 1340) is very large, being 8 feet in height by 3 feet 6 inches wide. The design is somewhat similar in all the above sacrament houses, consisting of two angels above the ambry supporting a monstrance, with a quasi-buttress on each side, and several inscriptions and enrichments. At Deskford the side buttresses are a good deal broken and their pinnacles removed. The whole design is surrounded with a scroll ornament of grapes, and there are several inscriptions on various parts of the design. The first is on two scrolls immediately over the ambry, “Os meum es et cara mea”--“Thou art my bone and my flesh;” and another occurs on the broad sill of the ambry, “Ego sum panis vivus qui de celo descendi quis manducaverit ex hoc pane vivet in æternum”--from sixth chapter of John’s Gospel. Beneath the latter are two shields, the first containing the arms of Ogilvie of Deskford and Findlater, viz., 1st and 4th a lion passant gardant gules for Ogilvie, 2nd and 3rd argent a cross engrailed sable for Sinclair of Deskford, with motto Tout jour. The initials A. O. occur at the sides of this shield. The second shield contains, impaled with the above, the arms of Gordon, for Alexander Ogilvie’s second wife, Elizabeth Gordon, and the motto Laus Deo. Under the coats of arms there is a long inscription, which is remarkable as being the only one in English on any of the above sacrament houses. It also authorises the name of sacrament house for these ornamental ambries. It is as follows:-- THIS · PN̄T (present) LOVEBLE · VARK · OF · SACRAMĒT · HOVS · MAID · TO YE · HONOR [M] LOVĪG · OF · GOD · BE · ANE · NOBLE · MAN · ALEXANDER OGILVY · OF · YAT · ILK [M] ELEZABET · GORDON · HIS · SPOVS · THE · ZEIR OF · GOD · 1551.[154] The date would lead one to expect the very debased Gothic work which is found here, the influence of the approaching Renaissance being very apparent in the style of the ornamentation. [Illustration: FIG. 1340.--Deskford Church. Sacrament House.] ST. MOLOC’S OR ST. MOLUOG’S CHURCH, MORTLACH, BANFFSHIRE. It was formerly believed, on the evidence of Boece, that Malcolm ii. in a battle with the Danes, looking up to the Chapel of St. Moloc at Mortlach, vowed that, if successful, he would there erect a cathedral and found a bishop’s see. The record of the See of Aberdeen appeared to support this statement, and mentioned further that the see was afterwards transferred by David i. to Aberdeen. But Professor Cosmo Innes has [Illustration: FIG. 1341.--St. Moloc’s or St. Moluog’s Church. Plan.] proved that these stories are forgeries, and must be entirely rejected. It is, however, probable that there was an early religious settlement at Mortlach, which may have given some foundation for the above fables. At all events, in 1157, a Bull of Pope Adrian IV. mentions the monastery of Mortlach and the five churches belonging to it.