Page:The Lay of the Last Minstrel - Scott (1805).djvu/236



The buttresses ranged along the sides of the ruins of Melrose, are, according to the Gothic stile, richly carved and fretted, containing niches for the statues of saints, and labelled with scrolls, bearing appropriate texts of Scripture. Most of these statues have been demolished.

David the first of Scotland purchased the reputation of sanctity, by founding, and liberally endowing, not only the monastery of Melrose, but those of Kelso, Jedburgh, and many others, which led to the well-known observation of his successor, that he was a sore saint for the crown.