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flowing by, - the sides of the glen being clothed with wood.
A beacon once belonged to it; a watch tower on an eminence
accessible from the abbey, whose signal-fire was visible all
over Low Furness, when assistance was required, or foes were
expected. The building is of the pale red stone of the
district. It must formerly have almost filled the glen: and
the ruins give an impression, to this day, of the
establishment having been worthy of the zeal of its founder,
King Stephen, and the extent of its endowments, which were
princely. The boundary-wall of the precincts inclosed a
space of sixty-five acres, over which are scattered remains
that have, within our own time, been interpreted to be those
of the mill, the granary, the fish-ponds, the ovens and
kilns, and other offices. As for the architecture, the heavy
shaft is found alternating with the clustered pillar, and
the round Norman with the pointed Gothic arch. The masonry
is so good that the remains are, even now, firm and massive;
and the winding staircases within the walls are still in
good condition in many places. The nobleness of the edifice
consisted in its extent and proportions; for the stone would
not bear the execution of any very elaborate ornament. The
crowned heads of Stephen and his Queen Maude are seen
outside the window of the Abbey, and are among the most
interesting of the remains. It is all triste and
silent now. The chapter-house, where so many grave councils
were held, is open to the babbling winds. Where the abbot
and his train swept past in religious procession, over
inscribed pavements, echoing to the tread, the stranger now
wades among tall ferns
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