the ditches which are still quite perfect. The one surrounding the keep is covered with dense underwood, a few large trees here and there showing themselves; the outer fosse remains as it was when first excavated, -a precipitous trench about a hundred feet deep, and the main entrance to the camp is yet protected by the half-moon constructed there by Alfred the Great. A clump of trees, and two or three fields now cover the site of that ancient city; and under these trees the election of its two members of parliament used to take place in the good old boroughmongering days. The view from the breezy summit of the hill is vast and beautiful. The green valley, watered by the Avon, is visible for a great distance, marking with a line of fertility its passage through the bare and open Downs which undulate in vast waves as far as the eye can see, in almost every direction. Looking towards Salisbury, or New Sarum, the tall spire of the Cathedral pierces the misty air, and the city encircled and bound in elm-trees gleams in the sunshine.

NEW SARUM, OR SALISBURY; THE CATHEDRAL. To know the exact date of a city saves the historian a vast deal of trouble, precluding any necessity to search back, and, in all probability, to lead himself, as well as his subject, into the mists of obscurity. At the beginning of the thirteenth century Salisbury was not, but smiling meadows and swift streams existed where now run its old-fashioned streets.

The history of the city dates from the erection of its Cathedral, the first service in which was held in 1225. It was not finished as we now see it until 1258, when it was finally consecrated by Bishop Egidius, or Giles of Bridport. The distinguishing feature of the Cathedral is the uniformity of style which pervades the whole building, and the beautiful composition of its outline. Erected in the brightest and purest period of the early English, it offers a charming example of solemn majesty and dignity, uncontaminated by the admixture of any other period of the gothic. Its composition is, perhaps, the most purely pyramidal of any cathedral in the island, every portion of the building leading up to the magnificent tower and spire, 400 feet in height. As a minute view of the edifice, from an architectural pen, might be interesting to the more critical of our readers, we subjoin the following account of it:

"The Cathedral consists of a nave and side aisles, with transepts forming a double cross. On the east of each transept is a side aisle. The nave, choir, and transepts rise into an elevation of three tiers; the lower arches are of the lancet kind, supported by clustered columns, each comprised of four pillars, with as many slender shafts. In the second tier or gallery, running to the roof of the aisles, the double arch of the Norman style is replaced by a flat-pointed arch, subdivided into four smaller ones, which are round, with different sweeps or divisions, and ornamented alternately with quarterfoils and rosettes of eight leaves. The upper or clerestorey consists of triple windows of the lancet shape.

*

Between the middle arches are central heads, supporting clustered shafts with a capital of foliage. From these rises the vaulting, which is plain, and turned with arches and cross springers only. The columns dividing the principal transept from its aisle consists of clusters of four, without shafts; those of the smaller transept, of two columns, with as many shafts. The upper storeys of both transepts are similar to those of the nave. The lower arches of the choir, as well as those of the transepts, are enriched with an open zig-zag moulding; and the space above the small lights of the upper windows is relieved with an ornament resembling an expanded flower. * The windows of the side aisles are double lights of the lancet kind, unornamented without, but with slender shafts within. Those of the upper storey, both internally and externally, are relieved with shafts. The mouldings are plain curves, and the bases and columns of all the shafts are exactly similar. On examining the exterior, we observe that the walls are strengthened with buttresses of considerable projection introduced in the intervals between the windows, as well as the principal angles. Flying or arched buttresses are also concealed within the roofing of the aisles, to support the walls of the nave. The projecting parts are marked with additional ornaments. The arches of the east end, the terminations of the transepts, and the front of the north porch, are embellished with shafts and mouldings, simple, yet tasteful. The whole building,

and likewise the cloister, are surmounted with a parapet wall, the style of which has been much admired. The Lady Chapel consists of a body and two side aisles, of the same breadth as the choir, divided from each other by alternate single and clustered columns of peculiar lightness. These are scarcely nine inches in diameter, yet almost thirty feet in height, and are rendered stable only by the vast weight of the vaulted ceiling."

The most beautiful part of the Cathedral is undoubtedly the exterior, all the different portions of which lead to the central point-the lofty spire. There is a something in this style of composition which seems particularly adapted to a house of prayer,-the very stones appear lifted up by some divine aspiration. The different heights to which the nave, transepts, and choir rise, together with the spire, produce this pyramidal effect. There is a want of light and shade, perhaps, in the walls, owing to the absence of niches or deeplywrought ornaments, all the enrichments consisting of a delicate kind of interlaced arch-work which does not cast much shadow. The spire (which is, we believe, the tallest in England) is of more modern date than the other parts of the building, having been erected in the fourteenth century. Originally a lantern finished the building, such as at present exists in the church of St. Cross, Winchester. The walls were only two feet thick at the time, yet the builder of the spire had the daring to erect a structure of such gigantic proportions as now rests upon it. To enable him to support its vast weight, flying arches were introduced

A feature which at once attracts the notice of the visitor to this venerable cathedral-town is the abundance of water which flows through its streets. Beside every pavement is a channel, varying from a foot to four or five in breadth, through which courses a crystal-looking stream. This water is let in by floodgates from the river Avon, upon which Salisbury is situated, and, after threading the streets in every direction, it again returns to it. The citizens dub their city, for this reason, The English Venice;' but ducks, instea of gondolas, move upon its waters. The most astounding fact connected with these water-courses, is that in many of the streets they form the only outlet for the house-drains; so that the sewerage of the town, diluted, it is true, is left open and exposed in every street. No wonder that the cholera made such a fearful onslaught on the inhabitants in its last visitation. It must also be evident that the whole city is only just on a level with the river, and is, consequently, damp and comparatively unhealthy. Singular that the hillcity should come to sit down among the waters. Old Sarum certainly, in point of health, had the best of it. In old times fearful floods used to occur here. "This new city," says one of the historians, "is not altogether void of some great hindrances now and then by water; for in the second of King Edward (who held a parliament here) there was a sudden thaw after a great frost, which caused the waters so fast to rise at even, at high mass time, that the water came into the minster, and not only overflowed the nether part of the same, but came up all to the king's pavase, where he sate, whereby he became wetshod, and in the end inforced to leave the church, as the executor did his mass, lest they should all have been drowned; and this rage indured there for the space of two days, whereupon no service could be said in the said minster."

These floods now no longer affect the city in this manner; and the people attribute the exemption to the forming of those very channels, supposed to have been cut in 1338; and by the sluices, constructed to irrigate the meadows on the banks of the Avon.

The city of Salisbury sprung up immediately upon the erection of its Cathedral. Henry III. granted a charter to it, we find, in 1227, or before the completion of the Minster; and in all probability the city was originally laid out pretty much in the manner we find it now. We are informed that reference is made in ancient deeds to several of the streets now existing; for instance, Butcher-row is spoken of in 1287; Castlestreet in 1326; Gigone, or Gigant-street, and Wynemand-street in 1334; and the Poultry-cross, and New-street in 1335; together with many others in

later yet still ancient deeds. But Salisbury has that ancient aspect which cannot be mistaken. The streets are collections of gable ends; the houses possess a feature, however, which is only common to Marlborough, Devizes, and other towns of the same county. The walls are ornamented with red tiles, some arranged in patterns, which gives a very Dutch appearance to the streets.

It is built in squares, or chequers; and between the different blocks of houses, the courts and open spaces (which one sees through the different passages as one does in Paris), must tend to render it as healthy as its situation will allow it to be. The city is divided into three parishes, named after their churches,— St. Martin's, St. Thomas's, and St. Edmund's. Neither of these edifices possess any architectural beauty. Among the more interesting relics of antiquity possessed by the city, is the Halle of John Halle, a relic not only interesting in an architectural point of view, but because it testifies to the importance of Salisbury, in a commercial point of view, at an early date.

The "Halle" is situated in the street called the Canal, and is a large apartment, enclosed in a modern fronted house. The Hall'once formed the refectory to a mansion belonging to a merchant of the city, and it is supposed to have been erected at the latter end of the seventeenth century. The dimensions are very noble, and down one side of it runs a range of windows of the Tudor style, enriched with stained glass, and devices having reference to the builder. In one of these windows there is a most singular effigy of the merchant himself, habited in a rich dress, and holding in one hand the banner of Edward V. (heirapparent to the throne), and with the other grasping his dagger as though swearing fealty to the dynasty. The dress of the figures shows that the merchants of that period were "brave," indeed, in their attire. The shoes are of the reign of Richard II., the long toes being fastened to the knees by chains. This John Halle appears to have been a merchant of the Staple in the time of Edward IV.; and it is said, that in conjunction with another merchant he bought all the wool of Salisbury plains. Be that as it may, it is certain that this banqueting-room, with its noble timber roof, must have formed part of a princely establishment; and the wool trade must have been in a very flourishing condition to allow the merchants of old in Salisbury to live so magnificently.

Another interesting building is the Poultry Cross, erected in the early part of the fourteenth century. It is much mutilated, only the lower portion now remaining, which is of hexagonal form, and sufficiently spacious to allow of the Poultry Market being held under it. Anciently it rose in three tiers, a canopy, and cross; but a sundial now take the place of the Catholic emblem. It must, judging from what remains, have been a very handsome erection. Of old, there were two other crosses in the city, at which time this one was called the chief cross. Salisbury is full of examples of domestic architecture, but we would par

ticularly draw attention to a house in the High-street, that is supposed to have served the purpose of a hostelry for pilgrims visiting the Cathedral in the Roman Catholic times. The outside is adorned with two windows of remarkable shape, and a large doorway (much carving upon the lintels of which is still observable) gives access to the court surrounded by galleries, and "ins-and-outs," having the most picturesque appearance. At a still later date it was used as a resort for gallants; and in the reign of Charles II. Mr. Pepy's slept in it one night in 1668, and records in his Diary "a silken bed and very good diet," for which he had to pay an exorbitant price however, which, as was usually the case under such circumstances, made the worthy gentleman "mad."

The charitable institutions of Salisbury, like those of most other cities, are numerous. It has no less than seven hospitals for the maintenance of old men and women. The city workhouse is the remains of an ancient monastic establishment, and has many points about it of interest to the antiquary. Portions of the ancient refectory are yet distinctly to be traced. In the immediate neighbourhood of Salisbury there is more, perhaps, to attract the attention of the stranger than in the city itself-if we except its Cathedral. At a distance of three miles only stands Wilton House, the seat of the Earl of Pembroke. This noble mansion, which is placed in the midst of a magnificiently wooded park, was built by Inigo Jones, after the design of Holbein, and is classical in its style. The interior is as richly furnished with all the gems of art as the exterior is princely and commanding. The gallery of pictures is an admirable one; and the hall is filled with

suits of armour and curious weapons, not the manufacture of yesterday, nor bought in Wardour-street, but the veritable trophies of war worn by the owner's warlike ancestor, the first Earl of Pembroke, and founder of the family. These coats of mail were won, moreover, from no ignoble foes, and in no doubtful skirmish; they were the trophies of the hard-fought fight of St. Quentin, and those wearing them were the Constable de Bourbon, the Duc de Montpensier, the Duke de Longueville, and it is supposed the Admiral Colignythe noble earl, as he paces his hall, might view with a pardonable pride these old pieces of rusty iron ennobled by such associations. Besides the treasures of art and the trophies of war which adorn this princely residence, the place possesses one charm which the scholar and the poet can only fully appreciate. In the mansion which preceded it the 'Arcadia' was written-in these broad-walks, walked and mused the spirit of chivalry, the gentle poet and the heroic soldier, Sir Philip Sidney.

Close at hand is the new church of Wilton, lately erected by Mr. Sidney Herbert, which has become so celebrated throughout the island. This splendid edi fice is in the Lombardian style, having its tower standing distinct from the building-or, at least, only connected by an open corridor. Whatever munificence could command, or genius and taste execute, has been accomplished in this beautiful building, whose interior is without doubt the most gorgeous of any similar building in the country. The profusion of the variegated marbles with which it is adorned, the beautiful execution of its twisted pillars and mosaics, and the charming effects of light, and shade, and colour, pro

duce an effect which dazzles and enchants the eye of the spectator, who has been accustomed all his life to the whitewash that disfigures our parish churches and cathedrals.

About fourteen miles from Salisbury might be seen all that is left of Fonthill Abbey, the gorgeous palace erected by the daring and extraordinary Beckford. It remained in ruins a long time after the fall of its tower in 1825, but the park has lately been purchased by the Marquis of Westminster, who is building a family seat for himself where there once stood this plaything of genius.

Stourhead, the seat of Sir H. Hoare, with its magnificent collection of pictures, is not very far from Salisbury; and Longleat, the seat of the Marquis of Bath, is in the county. Wardour Castle, the residence of the Earl of Arundel, is only sixteen miles from Salisbury, and is well worthy of a visit for the treasures of art it contains. Neither should Longford Castle be forgotten, the seat of the Earl of Radnor, a triangular stronghold built in the year 1591.

There is one small portion of wall, overgrown with ivy, within two miles of the city, which is a remnant of a building more interesting than any we have mentioned, and with which our early history is much associated. This wall is all that remains of the Royal Palace of Clarendon, so famous as the place where the Constitutions of Clarendon were devised, which served as the first barrier against the claims of secular jurisdiction in the island by the see of Rome. The Palace, which extended 700 feet from east to west, was built

soon after the Conquest, and was much resorted to by the English kings from the twelfth to the middle of the fifteenth century. Edward the First, with his whole court, visited this palace, and remained in it during the course of a pestilence which raged in the metropolis in in 1357. On this occasion he was accompanied by two other kings-the royal prisoners John of France and David of Scotland. The foundations of the building were traced in 1821, and the floors of several of the apartments, paved with Anglo-Norman tiles, were discovered in an excellent state of preservation.

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The most extraordinary spot of the Hill country of the Giants,' as the neighbourhood of Salisbury is not inaptly called, is the world-famous Stonehenge -that gigantic puzzle wrought in stone, which a remote age has left upon the fair plain for us moderns to wonder and guess at. This Druidical Temple, as it is commonly called, is situated about two miles from Amesbury, and about ten from Salisbury, upon the Downs. It consists of two circles, which include in their wide necklaces two ovals forming the sanctum, in the centre of which is an altar-stone, supposed to have borne the sacred fire. The great circle consisted originally of thirty stones, of which seventeen only now remain. The upright stones are about twenty feet in height, seven feet in breadth, and three feet in thickness; these bear others placed at right angles over them and secured by tenons and mortices. This circle, measures 300 feet in diameter; about eight feet within this one runs the second circle, composed of more regular-shaped stones, and much smaller in size.