,' 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. The Nidd,
flowing smoothly at the foot of the precipitous heights upon which the
church and the old roofs appear, is spanned by a great stone viaduct.
This might have been so great a blot upon the scene that Knaresborough
would have lost half its charm. Strangely enough, we find just the
reverse is the case, for this railway bridge, with its battlemented
parapets and massive piers, is now so weathered that it has melted into
its surroundings as though it had come into existence as long ago as
the oldest building visible. The old Knaresborough kept well to the
heights adjoining the castle, and even to-day there are only a handful
of later buildings down by the river margin.

When we have crossed the bridge, and have passed along a narrow roadway
perched well above the river, we come to one of the many interesting
houses that help to keep alive the old-world flavour of the town. Only
a few years ago the old manor-house had a most picturesque and rather
remarkable exterior, for its plaster walls were covered with a large
black and white chequer-work and its overhanging eaves and tailing
creepers gave it a charm that has since then been quite lost. The
restoration which recently took place has entirely altered the
character of the exterior, but inside everything has been preserved
with just the care that should have been expended outside as well.
There are oak-wainscoted parlours, oak dressers, and richly-carved
firep