And many a low breathed pray'r;
And many a pilgrim bends the knee,
At the shrine of the sisters of Beverley.
MOTHER SHIPTON.
Tradition tells us that near the Dropping Well, at Knaresborough, this famous Yorkshire Sybil was born, about the year 1487; she married Tobias Shipton, a carpenter of Shipton, near York; and from this match derived the name of Mother Shipton. Many tales of her skill in futurity are still related in the county; the whole of which, including a series of succeeding events, are stated to have been delivered to the abbot of Beverley, as in the following:—
"A maiden queen full many a year,
Shall England's warlike sceptre bear."
Spoken of queen Elizabeth, that was beloved by her subjects, and dreaded by her enemies, above forty years.