[Illustration: SALISBURY MARKET PLACE.]
From whichever side Salisbury has been entered; by either of the great
roads; or by the railway that, from the east, makes a long tour of the
north side of the town in kindly purpose, it would seem, to give the
passer-by a good view--there rises before him the glorious spire that,
whatever the boast of uniformity of style or perfection of design,
really gives the exterior of the building its unique beauty and
without which it would be cold and dull. To the Cathedral then, as its
spire is calling so insistently, the stranger must inevitably make his
way before troubling about anything else in the town. Our approach
happens to coincide with that of the traveller who arrives by rail,
and down Fisherton Street, an unusually winding thoroughfare for
Salisbury, over the Avon bridge and through the High Street Gate we
enter the most beautiful of those abodes of beauty--the English
cathedral closes. The guide books advise the tourist to make the first
approach by way of St. Anne's Gate, when the gradual unfolding of the
north front of the building makes a perfect introduction to the
Cathedral, but so does that of the sudden view of the whole, with the
tower and spire as an exquisite centre, as we leave the row of
well-ordered houses, mixed with a few quiet shops, that line the
approach from High Street to the north-west angle of the Close.
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