iority; whether it be for a thing of beauty, like the cloisters at
Gloucester, or the Norman tower at Norwich, or the east window of
Carlisle, or the angel-choir at Lincoln; or for size or extent, when the
question narrows itself to a mere matter of measurement.

But it is not always by any means the fact that this prominent feature,
though it is the pride of the inhabitants and a source of admiration to
visitors, is really the most noteworthy thing belonging to the church.
This seems specially the case at Peterborough. Probably nobody speaks or
thinks of Peterborough cathedral without immediately associating it with
its glorious west front. Many believe that there is little else in the
building that is worthy of any particular attention. And yet nowhere in
the kingdom is there to be found a finer and more complete Norman
church. Arches, windows, mouldings, more elaborate and more grand may no
doubt be found elsewhere; but where else can we find, as here, choir,
transepts, and nave, with all the original Norman, from ground to roof,
with two insignificant exceptions, remaining unaltered? It is natural
to compare the three great East Anglian Cathedrals, as all have superb
work of the Norman period. But at Norwich the lower arches in the choir
have been rebuilt in the Perpendicular style, while the vaulted roof of
the nave, raised in the fifteenth century, is less in keeping with the
sturdy architecture beneath it than the wooden ceiling at Peterborough.
At Ely, beautiful as is the work in the octagon and choir, there is no
Norman work east of the transepts. Of course we are referring to the
main arches and pillars of the building, and not to the tracery of the
windows, or to alterations to the walls. The two exceptions mentioned
above are the pointed arches, east and west of the central tower, and
the removal of the three lowest windows in the apse.

[Illustration: The West Front.]

The greatest attraction to the world at large is undoubtedly =the West
Front=, which is seen in its full beauty on entering the close.

The following lines, from Morris's "Earthly Paradise," may fitly
introduce the subject.

"For other tales they told, and one of these
Not all the washing of the troublous seas,
Nor all the changeful days whereof ye know,
Have swept from out my memory: even so
Small things far off will be remembered clear
When matters both more mighty and more near,
Are waxing dim to us.