24 CHRONICLE OF DALE ABBEY. 
judgments and unsearchable His ways! For who hath known 
the disposition of the Lord or who hath been His Counsellor? 
But the place that the Lord had chosen He did not so leave 
desolate, for “the Divine power mocks at adverse things.” 
for by degrees his clemency began to stretch forth the hand of 
his pity to greater and more wonderful things, that having rooted 
out the sycamores, he might put in cedars; instead of the black 
going away, bringing hither the white and setting up the Premon- 
stratensians as the following chapter will declare. 
Verily there came from Tupholme, which is a house of our 
Order,” six Canons to tarry at Depedale, having been invited by 
the advocate of the place. In truth there was given to them the 
Park of Stanley in augmentation of their possession, but how or by 
whom I only know in part, but altogether I am uncertain ; and to ° 
write uncertain things for certain where the truth of each circum- 
stance is discussed I deem to be absurd. Nevertheless this I 
most assuredly know, that a certain lay-brother who came with 
them from Tupholme first constructed the water mill in the Park 
and finished it with immense labour and difficulty. Their Prior was 
called Henry, and it behoved them to be, as also they were, great 
at labour, because they were much burdened by the frequent 
arrival of foresters and others; nor had they much tilled land 
except that which had formerly belonged to the abovesaid Gome 
of the Dale, and Chacemore, in fact, one small carucate. For 
the Lord of Ockbrook kept for himself in his lordship the serfs 
and mansion of Boyhag which was situate in the place that is 
now called Boyhag Meadow. When therefore they had sojourned 
seven years there in great poverty, they sold the tops of the oaks 
of the Park, cutting them off at the middle, and having received 
the money returned to Tupholme, their Abbot recalling them ; but 
the aforesaid Henry their Prior who was very cunning in the 
fabrication of false money withdrew to Toftweth and there co- 
habited with a certain harlot of Morley whom he had before 
foolishly known with the affection of filthy lust. Which his Abbot 
hearing, and enduring with reluctance that he disdained to return 
home with the brethren at his command, sent and caused him to 
