40 
We are now brought into touch with Wordsworth, who also 
wrote a famous piece of poetry on the same subject. What has 
been said respecting the specimen of Rogers’ poetry may also 
be said of Wordsworth’s lines on the death of the Boy of 
Eeremond. It is not a fair specimen of his great poetic genius. 
The lines are uneven, the diction is flat and altogether it is 
decidedly prosy, in more senses than one. The title of the piece 
is— 
Tur Force or Prayer. 
“‘ What is good for a bootless bene?” 
With these dark words begins my tale; 
And their meaning is, whence can comfort spring 
When prayer is of no avail? 
To proceed now with the description of the Abbey :—the best 
way to enter the grounds is through what is called ‘‘ The Hole 
in the Wall.” This wall is a huge massive erection for defensive 
purposes. It was intended to be a protection from the troops 
of the kings of Scotland who several times came on plundering 
expeditions down the valley of the Wharfe, and laid their sac- 
rilegious hands upon all the property of the Abbey that was 
capable of removal. This is evidently a very old wall and 
must have been built long before the Tithe Barn, because 
the latter is not under its protection, and was built in more 
peaceable times. A hole has been made in this wall, and 
passing through it we come upon what is called the Holme 
Terrace. This is a continuation of the Town Field, as its name 
indicates. Standing on this sloping terrace a scene of most 
startling beauty is before us. We have a view of the ruins of 
the Abbey and its more immediate surroundings. The Abbey 
Church, the Parsonage, and Bolton Hall, are spread out before 
us like a grand picture lovely to behold. 
The Abbey Church stands solitary and boldly on a rising 
ground with the river Wharfe sweeping round its eastern end. 
On the opposite side of the river is the same graceful curve con- 
sisting of lofty banks, covered by trees, interspersed with masses 
of rock and scar, and a tiny waterfall to complete the variety. 
These add to the charms of the scene, and form a fine contrast 
to the Abbey which is thus set in a lovely framework of wood 
and water. It is so completely surrounded, and yet has such 
space, that it seems to stand in a world of its own. ‘The complete 
stillness of the scene also adds a charm to its other beauties. 
The only sound is the murmuring of the river as it flows over 
its pebbly bed. Looked at from a picturesque point of view, the 
ruined condition of the end of the Abbey nearest the river gives 
the exact contrast required. We have ruin on one side, and the 
eyer-living woodlands on the other. 
