from the south-east transept, contains a contemporary copy of
Magna Carta, besides many other interesting manuscripts and treasures.
The Cathedral Library is above the cloisters. Its collection of
manuscripts is magnificent, some dating as far back as the ninth
century. The windows in the cloisters are of very fine design, and
some fragments of old glass in the upper portions show that they were
once glazed. The original shafts of Purbeck marble had so decayed by
the middle of the last century that it was decided to replace them
with a more durable stone. Very beautiful is the octagonal chapter
house, entered from the east walk. The bas-reliefs below the windows
and above the seats for the clergy are of great interest. The
sculptures in the arch of the doorway should also be particularly
noticed. From a door in the cloisters there is a charming view of the
Bishop's Palace and the beautiful gardens that surround it.

An enjoyable stroll can be taken southwards to the Harnham Gate and
the banks of the Avon, and a return made by the old Hospital of St.
Nicholas, founded in 1227 by a Countess of Salisbury, and then by
Exeter Street to St. Ann's Gate at the east side of the close.
Fielding, whose grandfather was a canon of the Cathedral, is said to
have lived in a house on the south side of the gate. Dickens was
acquainted with Salisbury, but not until after he had made it the
scene of Tom Pinch's remarkable characterization--"a very desperate
sort of place; an exceedingly wild and dissipated city." It must not
be forgotten that Salisbury is the "Melchester" of the Wessex Novels
and that Trollope made the city the original of "Barchester."

[Illustration: THE POULTRY CROSS, SALISBURY.]

Continuing northwards, a wide turning on the left is termed The
"Canal." This takes us back to that time when the citizens' chief
concern was probably that of drainage, not of the domestic sort--that
did not worry them--but the draining of the water-meadows upon which
they had built their homes. About thirty years ago an elaborate scheme
for the relief of the city from this natural dampness was successfully
carried out. In this wide and usually bustling street the first house
on the right is the Council Chamber, and on the other side of the way
is the fine hall of John Halle, now a business house. The interior
should be seen for the sake of the carved oak screen at the farther
end of the banqueting room and the great stone fireplace. The
b