Historic%20Yorkshire

Chapter IX.
THE SHEPHERD LORD.
But not in wars didhe delight,
This Clifford wished for worthier might ;
Nor in broad pomp, or courtly state,
Him his own thoughts did elevate —
Mosthappy in the shy recess
Of Barden's lowly quietness.
And choice of studious friends had he
In Bolton's dear fraternity;
Who standing on the old church tower.
Inmany a calm propitioushour,
Perused with him the starry sky;
Or in their cells withhim didpry
For other lore — by keen desire
Urged to close toil with chemic fire. Wordsworth.
TRANGE are the accounts we read of those
high and nobly born, who, through political
causes, have been forced to abandon their
lofty positions, and to avoid imprisonment
or assassination, been compelled to pass a
secludedlife engagedin some humbleoccupation.
One of the most remarkableexamples is thecase of
Henry Clifford, whose name will be familiar to all readers
of English history. The Cliffords were a family of very
noble standing, being descended from Richard, fourth
Duke of Normandy. Through union with the heiress oi
the De Viponts, the seat of the Cliffords became established
at Skipton, in the charminglypicturesque district
of Craven,in the West Ridingof Yorkshire. The subject
of our sketch,Henry,tenth Baron, the "ShepherdLord,"