castles,--thanks to the old builders who made the keep strong and high
to withstand time, and so difficult to tear down that it escaped the
looters of the ages.

A day might well be given to the vicinity of Winchester, which teems
with points of literary and historic interest. In any event, one should
visit Twyford, only three miles away, often known as the "queen of the
Hampshire villages" and famous for the finest yew tree in England. It is
of especial interest to Americans, since Benjamin Franklin wrote his
autobiography here while a guest of Dr. Shipley, Vicar of St. Asaph,
whose house, a fine Elizabethan mansion, still stands.

To Salisbury by way of Romsey is a fine drive of about thirty miles over
good roads and through a very pleasing country. Long before we reached
the town there rose into view its great cathedral spire, the loftiest
and most graceful in Britain, a striking landmark from the country for
miles around. Following the winding road and passing through the narrow
gateway entering High Street, we came directly upon this magnificent
church, certainly the most harmonious in design of any in the Kingdom.
The situation, too, is unique, the cathedral standing entirely separate
from any other building, its gray walls and buttresses rising sheer up
from velvety turf such as is seen in England alone. It was planned and
completed within the space of fifty years, which accounts for its
uniformity of style; while the construction of most of the cathedrals
ran through the centuries with various architecture in vogue at
different periods. The interior, however, lacks interest, and the
absence of stained glass gives an air of coldness. It seems almost
unbelievable that the original stained windows were deliberately
destroyed at the end of the Eighteenth Century by a so-called architect,
James Wyatt, who had the restoration of the cathedral in charge. To his