I might be well compared with
the last abbot but one, William Thirsk, who resigned his post,
forseeing the coming Dissolution, and was therefore called 'a varra
fole and a misereble ideote,' if I attempted in the short space
available to give any detailed account of the abbey or its wonderful
past. I have perhaps said enough to insist on its charms, and I know
that all who endorse my statements will, after seeing Fountains, read
with delight the books that are devoted to its story.
CHAPTER XV
KNARESBOROUGH AND HARROGATE
It is sometimes said that Knaresborough is an overrated town from the
point of view of its attractiveness to visitors, but this depends very
much upon what we hope to find there. If we expect to find lasting
pleasure in contemplating the Dropping Well, or the pathetic little
exhibition of petrified objects in the Mother Shipton Inn, we may be
prepared for disappointment. It seems strange that the real and lasting
charms of the town should be overshadowed by such popular and
much-advertised 'sights.' The first view of the town from the 'high'
bridge is so full of romance that if there were nothing else to
interest us in the place we would scarcely be disappointed.
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