Of designs on the capitals of the pillars may be mentioned the following:-Thirteen angels playing various musical instruments, one of them (a truly national idea) being that far-from-heavenly instrument, the bagpipe! a warrior, with helmet, sword, and spear; a monk drinking (something stronger than water); a soldier; a queen; a female praying; a crouched figure of death; a female in a chair; an elephant; Samson slaying the lion; two hands grasping cockle-shells; the lamb and flag; two doves; the prodigal son feeding swine; the crucifixion, with nine figures, and the disciples regarding it from afar-i.e. the next pillar. Of designs on brackets and elsewhere may be mentioned :-The descent from the cross; the angels rolling away the stone from the sepulchre; the twelve apostles and four primitive martyrs with their respective emblems; and flowers sprouting from the empty sockets of a skull. Outside the building we see St. Sebastian bound to a tree and pierced by arrows, two soldiers holding the ropes at his feet, and crouching so as to avoid the arrows; and St. Christopher, staff in hand, carrying the infant Saviour on his shoulders across the river. Of designs on the architraves may be mentioned:-A fox carrying off a goose, which a pursuing farmer endeavours to rescue; Samson pulling down the house of the Philistines; the Dance of Death, in which are represented a king, a courtier, a cardinal, a bishop, a lady admiring her portrait' (query? looking into a mirror), an abbess, an abbot, a farmer, a husband and wife, a child, a sportsman, a gardener, a carpenter, and a ploughman; a bishop, in full pontificals, giving the blessing; the Vices, represented by the proud Pharisee, the drunkard, the careless shepherd, the rich fool, the miser, and the sinful lovers, while the devil in the dragon's mouth stretches

THE LADY CHAPEL.

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out his claws for his prey; the Virtues, represented by the clothing of the naked, the leading of the blind, the visiting of the sick, the feeding of the hungry, the comforting of the fatherless, the visiting of the prisoner, and the burial of the dead; a bishop and St. Peter with the key; the nine orders of angels; and a scroll with this inscription in Lombardic characters, Forte est vinum, fortior est rex, fortiores sunt mulieres; super omnia vincet veritas.-I. Esd. Chap. III. ver. 10-12.' This last-mentioned architrave connects the south wall with the 'Prentice Pillar.

The Chapel consists of a chancel with aisles, and an eastern (or Lady) chapel, elevated one step above the rest of the building, and separated from it by a double row of three pillars. The Lady Chapel is much lower in height than the rest of the building, its arched roof being only fifteen feet above the pavement, while the height of the chapel roof is nearly forty-one feet. The four altars that were in the Lady Chapel still remain ; and Sir William St. Clair, in his charter of 1523, mentions them as being dedicated to St. Matthew, the Virgin Mary, St. Andrew, and St. Peter. The roof of this chapel is groined, and the ornamentation is as elaborate as it is beautiful. At the keystones of the arches are pendants two feet long, enriched with sculptured foliage and figures, in which we see the Star of Bethlehem, the Virgin and her Babe, the three Magi, and the Angel of Death. This beautiful building was sadly defaced at the Revolution of 1688, and was in danger of falling into ruins, had not General St. Clair (in the middle of the last century) rescued it from destruction by putting it into complete repair. The first Earl of Rosslyn also showed his care for the building; but the present earl has carried the work of restoration

to such a commendable extent, that (if I was rightly informed) he has already laid out 3,000l., chiefly in the renewal of the delicate carvings of the Lady Chapel. All the sculpture (including that of the 'Prentice Pillar) has been gone over with the chisel, and, where it was needed, has been replaced by new stone. I was told that this work of restoration had been suggested by her Majesty, who was much impressed with the peculiar beauty of the building, and was desirous that so unique a gem should be preserved to the country. The Lady Chapel is the burial-place of the Rosslyn family; and the present earl has opened the chapel for divine service; so that no longer will Christian rites be wanting' there:

The wind is now thy organist;—a clank
(We know not whence) ministers for a bell
To mark some change of service. As the swell
Of music reached its height, and even when sank
The notes, in prelude, ROSLIN! to a blank

Of silence, how it thrilled thy sumptuous roof,
Pillars, and arches-not in vain time-proof,
Though Christian rites be wanting.

Thus, owing to the liberality of the Earl of Rosslyn, the last line of Wordsworth's sonnet is now inapplicable. It was on Easter Tuesday, April 22, 1862, that Roslin Chapel, furnished with proper fittings,* was opened for the service of the Scottish Episcopal Church, for the benefit of the Episcopalian residents of the district. The service was conducted by the Bishops of Edinburgh and Brechin, assisted by Mr. Cole, the incumbent, and other clergymen. The sermon was preached by the

* The expense of these was defrayed by a subscription raised by Lady Ellen and Miss Wedderburn.

ROSLIN CHAPEL REOPENED.

383

Bishop of Brechin, from Psalm xxvi. 8: "Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Thine honour dwelleth;' and his discourse was mainly a defence of the application of the highest art to the uses of religion.

The 'Prentice Pillar and its Legend—Other Derivations-The
Lower Building-Legend of the Supernatural Illumination—
The Uncoffined Barons The Last Laird of Roslin - The
Sinclairs and Freemasonry-The Friend of Bruce-Legend of
the White Deer-Help and Hold-The Guide's Performance-
Paul Pry Visitors-A Decanal Family-Scott-ish Sticklers for
the Gothic-Architectural Purists-Coleridge's Five Sights.

HE chief and most notable example of high art in

corner of the Lady Chapel, commonly known as 'the 'Prentice Pillar.' Mr. N. P. Willis did not very accurately describe it, when he called it a singular column of twisted marble, most curiously carved, standing under the choir;' for the column is not under the choir, neither is it marble, nor twisted. Its material, in fact, is red and white sandstone; and around its straight shaft are twisted four spiral wreaths or bands of flowers, separated eighteen inches from each other, and each wreath sculptured with its own peculiar flower. The pillar, like all the others in the chapel, is only eight feet high,* so that the sculpture on its capital can be plainly seen. It represents the angel with the bagpipe and another

* In nearly all the published views of the interior of the chapel, the human figures, therein introduced, are drawn so disproportionately small, that the pillars, &c., are made to look far loftier than they really are.