lasia. The view
from St. Martin's Church is, indeed, one of the most inspiriting that can
be found in the world; there is none to which I would more willingly take
any one who doubted whether a small beginning could lead to a great and
lasting good--none which carries us more vividly back into the past, or
more hopefully forward to the future."

In the town itself, the best point of vantage from which the visitor can
get a good view of the cathedral is the summit of the Dane John, a lofty
mound crowned by an obelisk; from this height we look across at the roof
and towers of the cathedral rising above thickly clustering trees: from
here also there is a fine view over the beautiful valley of the Stour in
the direction of Thanington and Chartham.

In the immediate precincts, a delightful picture is presented from the
Green Court, which was once the main outer court of the monastery. Here
are noble trees and beautifully kept turf, at once in perfect harmony and
agreeable contrast with the rugged walls of the weather-beaten cathedral:
the quiet soft colouring of the ancient buildings and that look of
cloistered seclusion only to be found in the peaceful nooks of cathedral
cities are seen here at their very best.

[Illustration: "BELL HARRY," THE CENTRAL TOWER.]

The chief glory of the exterior of Canterbury Cathedral is the central
#Angel or Bell Tower#. This is one of the most perfect structures that
Gothic architecture, inspired by the loftiest purpose that ever stimulated
the work of any art, has produced. It was completed by Prior Selling, who
held office in 1472, and has been variously called the Bell Harry Tower
from the mighty Dunstan bell, weighing three tons and three hundredweight,
and the Angel Tower from the gilded figure of an angel poised on one of
the pinnacles, which has long ago disappeared. The tower itself is of two
stages, with two two-light windows in each stage; the windows are
transomed in each face, and the lower tier is canopied; each angle is
rounded off with an octagonal turret and the whole structure is a
marvellous example of architectural harmony, and in every way a work of
transcendent beauty. The two buttressing arches and the ornamental braces
which support it were added at the end of the fifteenth century by Prior
Goldstone, to whom the building of the whole tower is apparently
attributed in the following quaint passage from a mediaeval authority: "He
by the influence and help of those ho