ently attached to the
Catholic Religion.--W. W. 1815.

THE FORCE OF PRAYER;[A] OR, THE FOUNDING OF BOLTON PRIORY

A TRADITION

Composed 1807.--Published 1815

[An appendage to _The White Doe_. My friend, Mr. Rogers, has also
written on the subject.[B] The story is preserved in Dr. Whitaker's
_History of Craven_--a topographical writer of first-rate merit in all
that concerns the past; but such was his aversion from the modern
spirit, as shown in the spread of manufactories in those districts of
which he treats, that his readers are left entirely ignorant both of the
progress of these arts and their real bearing upon the comfort, virtues,
and happiness of the inhabitants. While wandering on foot through the
fertile valleys and over the moorlands of the Apennine that divide
Yorkshire from Lancashire, I used to be delighted with observing the
number of substantial cottages that had sprung up on every side, each
having its little plot of fertile ground won from the surrounding waste.
A bright and warm fire, if needed, was always to be found in these
dwellings. The father was at his loom; the children looked healthy and
happy. Is it not to be feared that the increase of mechanic power had
done away with many of these blessings, and substituted many ills? Alas!
if these evils grow, how are they to be checked, and where is the remedy
to be found? Political economy will not supply it; that is certain; we
must look to something deeper, purer, and higher.--I. F.]

Included among the "Poems of Sentiment and Reflection."--ED.

"=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?

"=What is good for a bootless bene?=" 5
The Falconer to the Lady said;
And she made answer "ENDLESS SORROW!"
For she knew that her Son was dead.

She knew it by[1] the Falconer's words,
And from the look of the Falconer's eye; 10
And from the love which was in her soul
For her youthful Romilly.

--Young Romilly through Barden woods
Is ranging high and low;
And holds a greyhound in a leash, 15
To let slip upon buck or doe.

The pair[2] have reached that fearful chasm,
How tempting to bestride!
For lordly Wharf is there pent in
With rocks on either side. 20