94 RIVERS. 



traces of ancient population and worship : the hills on the south 

 are not much inferior in height. The same general characters 

 belong to this river as it sweeps by Bingley and Shipley, under 

 the remarkable elevation called Baildon Hill*, and the valley 

 becomes narrower and more woody as we approach to Bramley 

 Fall, whence so much gritstone has been taken for building 

 purposes. 



Kirkstall Abbey, placed below the rocky gorge of Bramley, 

 stood amid pleasant meadows by the Aire, backed by rising 

 grounds and ancient woods. It is still a splendid monument, 

 mostly of the 12th century ; the upper part of the tower is of 

 later style. 



Since the day when Henry de Lacy brought the Cistercians 

 to this sweet retreat (1152), how changed are the scenes which 

 the river looks upon ! Then, from the high rocks of Malham 

 and the pastures of Craven to Loidis in Elmete, the deer, wild 

 boar and white bull were wandering in unfrequented woods, or 

 wading in untainted waters, or roaming over boundless heaths. 

 Now, hundreds of thousands of men of many races have extir- 

 pated the wood, dyed the waters with tints derived from other 

 lands, turned the heaths into fertile fields, and filled the valley 

 with mills and looms, water-wheels and engine-chimneys. Yet 

 is not all the beauty of Airedale lost ; nor should the thoughtful 

 mind which now regards the busy stream of the Aire, lament 

 the change. The quiet spinner is happier than the rude and 

 violent hunter; the spirit of true religion fills these populous 

 villages as well as once it filled those cloistered walls ; the woods 

 are gone, and in their place the iron road ; but that road con- 

 ducts the intelligent lover of beauty to other hills and dales 

 where art has had no contest with nature, and by enabling him 

 to compare one region with another, corrects his judgement, 

 heightens his enjoyment, and deepens his sympathy with man. 



Leeds was anciently ' Loidis in Elmete/ a small British terri- 

 tory, of which Barwick may have been the principal military 

 * Here tumuli and entrenchments are seen. 



