d--in
the days of Stephen, Henry VII., and Henry VIII., the last siege during
the quarrels preceding the Reformation lasting thirty four days, the
defenders being reduced to eating horse-flesh. In the Civil War the
Royalists captured it from the Parliamentarians, who held it, and it
remained in the king's possession until after the defeat at Naseby, when
Cromwell recaptured it. Charles II. was proclaimed at Exeter with
special rejoicings. When William, Prince of Orange, first landed in
England, he came to the valley of the Teign, near Newton Abbot, where
the block of granite is still preserved from which his proclamation was
read to the people. Three days later he entered Exeter, escorted by a
great crowd of the townspeople. He went in military state to the
cathedral and mounted the bishop's throne, with its lofty spire-like
canopy, rich with the carving of the fifteenth century, while the choir
sang the Te Deum, after which Bishop Burnet read his proclamation. He
remained several days in Exeter, while events ripened elsewhere for his
reception. Here many Englishmen of rank and influence joined him, and
his quarters began to display the appearance of a court. The daily show
of rich liveries and of coaches drawn by six horses among the old houses
in the cathedral close, with their protruding bow-windows and balconies,
gave the usually quiet place a palatial appearance, the king's
audience-chamber being in the deanery. He remained here two weeks, and
then left for London, the entire kingdom having risen in his favor and
James having deserted the capital for Salisbury. This ended Exeter's
stirring history. It afterwards grew in fame as a manufactory of
woollens, but this has declined, and the chief industries now consist in
the making of gloves and agricultural implements.

[Illustration: EXETER CATHEDRAL, FROM THE NORTH-WEST.]

Exeter Cathedral is the most conspicuous feature in the view upon
approaching the city, rising well above the surrounding houses, its two
massive gray towers giving it something of the appearance of a fortress.
This feature makes it unique among English cathedrals, especially as the
towers form its transepts. The close is contracted, and around it are
business edifices instead of ecclesiastical buildings. The exterior is
plain and simple in outline, excepting the western front, which is a
very rich example of fourteenth-century Gothic. A church is said to have
been standing on its site and dedicat