pluscardine abbey. 
it, and the ample endowments 
• priory, and the prior a lord of' 
of Scotland, and long flour dried 
1) a ^ celebrated abbey, the lands devoted to 
^Ralir w . re with it was inverted, were conftituted ; 
file feat of i hm hlS d T e i' 1 ? ej r^ Y Alexander II. king or Scotland, and long flouri fried 
Cou ra ".j 1 Jc i arn ' n S and of hofpitahty ; where fciences and arts were cultivated and en- 
tlley^ . t,ie ^chided fane where the facred oracles were kept, and from whence 
its hiftn- aW U , riCes commun icated — Its geperal conflitution, and fome traits of. 
t° ac ‘ }) - iave ah-eady come under our notice * ; the additional particulars, felected 
iiaritjpo tie . ! lcw , , of . lt:s ruins now prefented, are chiefly taken from the pecu- 
Mlifrim ,. n^crvablein the remains of frefco paintings, once the venerable em- 
it i s enL of tiat ^ 3Cr ed pile, now fait mouldering away into irrecoverable oblivion. 
^ablifrinT U P wa , r - , two hundred years fin ce this abbey, along with many fimilar 
c °^Dell ,a entS Y hlCl ' adorned che country, went to ruin. Soon as the clergy were 
f o ; r 1 ° r ? mc j ui . (dl t!ie emoluments which fupported their Hate, thefe facred edi- 
C * e Hrium a fu - t ieir P rotcdtorS) were rifled by the populace; who, in the prevailing 
°f all H_Y- e r ime A WCre t:lu ^ u diat 11 was 3 pious labour to haften the deftructioa 
^hiclj -h" . lcir forefathers held mold venerable and divine. Confidering the devaftation 
rither 1 Wc!e r , US / atec t0 undergo, and fo long a period of time fince elapfed, it is 
.. P In ^ C . i 
the 
er n A 1 . 1 , • ; aLl - L * pcuuuui ume unce etapiea, it ts 
«k'ch 0 r ‘^rpable circumftance that, on the roofs and walls of titefe buildings, fo 
oi tne frefco paintings fhould remain undefaced, as to preferv 
«.■ , r 1U1WU ' uiiuciaccu, as to preierve memorials of 
t, 3 n d complicated defigns which had been fo elaborately executed on 
■*- nc molt Plain anr! nlwmnc nf to r\n — . l „r.t i 
r -mi. ttl- n. i • T ; ; IVU & UJ iiciu ului ciaouraceiy exccutea on 
i P , and obvious of *efc is on the lofty arch of the entrance to the 
fatten dle ,S re f. aba r : Thefte St.John, about to write, in an attitude expreffive 
his Well ? the f >je ,^ S bcfore h,m > is foated under a canopy, and accompanied by 
iri § colo„"?°Tcc Cr ! g e V^ Irits his eyes to the concave of the arch above, where the glow- 
tr act s °‘ . that Splendid bow, which is feen in the cloud in the day of rain f,” at- 
v enerah'n r n ° tlCe ' Itwas a primeval fign, a fymbol of the fanduary held in higheft 
l^ rtnv :V- aS , a ™ emonal of the fidelity and gracious care of Providence, it was 
Pa(r ed • c ln r “ e Oracle; it was that Heavenly Arch which none but the Chosen 
an ntni ri’ - when admitc . ed . to the Holy Vision. Therefore, when deferring 
ioJe:v» n ^^ -T ■ f m * i • i » tD 
r f v «alih 0 .'“V l/ n 1 UJUUJ T'T me great icene witmn me. vail, the Evangelical 
the v .& Cne otyftenes, fays, “ 1 law a rainbow round about the throne t.” It is 
lfl g; J'j us telations that fitch imagery bears to ancient truth, that renders it intereft- 
renrpf m tht e ! ? ht ' s whcn we tlace them ll P t0 their origin, the commonnefs of 
r loftv Cntatl0I f 1 s r no reafon for their being overlooked or undervalued. Within 
Ple ndid rI arC ‘\ t ie lun . and moon ’ an arrangement of conflellations, and fome other 
r%r e ihkr ai ri rS are P? inCed - , In a11 3 S CS the heavens have been confidered as the 
l rihoi.,pj ri! ! ^ e thr0ne 0I< th e Deity. The above were ever held the fymbols of His 
£?yin& V , yooumon and timverfal fway. Thofe mighty worlds that firine with unde- 
revolvjfi g in the firmament, are indeed the gems of a magnificent 
ri'ght a ’i J J tha p r as, who with fuch amazing perfeverance and enlightened zeal 
o gamed accefs to all the oracles of early wifdorri, gloried 
had 
die 
- l'-it uLiuiuniy UlC 
mmty of unfolding the great feene within the vail, the Evangelical Divine, 
lie mnfiTpi-ijtkc -foxT-o <c T i i i . ° . .. _ . 
k accels t0 a! | the oracles of early wifdom, gloried in having feen the 
'/Ti Co f r the p. EIT Vj raifed in the hallowed cave, which, from time immemorial, ... 
rify e a y.p Crated in the grove of Molint Ida. By the fatal iyftem that then prevailed, 
9 hire of hr ed > , b 7 folemn vows of fecrecy, every declaration concerning the 
^ieh f 'hole m am f ejiati ons of divine truths ; yet it is evident, from the lofty terms in 
_ r 
Hole , drawn t,ie dominion of One Sovereign Ruler and Guardian of the’ 
> anri «-k,« - i i* i , , , _ . 
115 °bta 
* No 
.>• t Z&ekiel, 1.2 8. I Revelation, iv. 3. § Behold the Sun ! 
On 
fed of ’ U£tvc convey cu ujcji aumiration or tnat a krone, mat it 
ri^iorw ^ t le f?' eat: rudiments of a primaeval Orrery, from which infallible demon- 
- 151 were drawn of the V ’ ‘ " • - ■ ■ - - 
nd f-riis gave real dignity to the fo celebrated oracles and facred communica- 
• aif ied in ' 1 v '’ " - 
the Mahon \ groves 
f Ezekiel, i. 
S>‘ 
28. 
J Revelation, iv. 3. 
u 
