Wonders Of Operative Masonry.

Longs word , Earl of Salisbury , and son of Fair Rosamond , in chain mail ; another of a Crusader , indicated by an effigy with legs crossed ; and on one tomb there is a recumbent skeleton . The noses of several of the statues , strange to say , are

unbroken . The Chapter House is remarkable . Its roof is sustained by a single great central pillar , which at the ceiling gushes out Avith a beauty that overflows all the walls—as if the pillar had been a petrified fountain .

LICHFIELD CATHEDBAL is in Staffordshire , 119 miles north-west from London , and was founded b y Oswy , King of Mercia , in A . D . 656 . The present edifice was erected A . D . 1128 , and exhibits a combination of Norman and Pointed

architecture . The west front is eminently beautiful , rich in tabernacled statues , and having three tall , shapely and highly ornamented spires . Twenty-four kings are represented on the front , in effigy , wearing regal crowns . The central spire

is after a design by Bro . Sir Christopher Wren , intended originally for Westminster Abbey . In the interior the clustered columns of the naves have foliated capitals , each differing . from the others , supporting the pointed arches and a vaulted roof , which is curiously and elegantly embossed .

" Like a cluster of rods , Bound with leaf-garlands tender , The great massive pillars Rise stately-and slender ; Rise and bend and embrace Until each ownB a brother , As down the long aisles They stand linked to each other . !

UnityMystery ! Majesty ! Grace ! Stone upon 6 tone ; And each stone in its place . "

BOLTON PRIORY is in Yorkshire , on the river Wharfe , 46 miles west of York , and 222 miles north from London . This Priory was founded A . D . 1121 , at Emhassay , two miles from Bolton , but in 1154 was removed to Bolton , as a memorial

from a mother , —the wife of Wm . * itz Duncan , of a son , who was drowned . It was a magnificent monastic establishment , of which there are now picturesque remains . It Avas dissolved in A . D . 1540 , yhen its revenues were £ 444 . Its transepts and choir are in ruins , but part

of the nave is used as a parish Church . One of the gate houses has been converted into a dAvelling house , and is the occasional residence of the Duke of Devonshire . Opposite to the east AvindoAv , the river on which it is situated strikes a hig h rock ,

from the top of Avhich there descends a fine water-fall . It Avas long a tradition , that after the dissolution of Bolton Priory a Avhite doe at divine service made a pilgrimage to the adjacent churchyard . Upon this story Wordsworth founded his

romantic poem of " The White Doe of Eylstone . " Wordsworth thus refers to the present Chapel in his " White Doe : "

" In the shattered fabric ' s heart Remaineth one protected part—A rural chapel neatly dressed , In covert like a little nest ; And thither young and old repair On Sabbath-day for praise and-prayer . "

One of the most marked features of this structure is the Avestern tower , begun by the last Prior before the Dissolution , but never completed . It contains a fine receding arch , and is embellished with shields , statues , and a window of exquisite tracery . WELLS CATHEDRAL is 121 miles

southwest from London , at Wells , an ancient city , that owes its name to three springs or wells that are near the east end of the Cathedral . The west front is 235 feet in length , and one of the grandest in England , being of the purest Early English architecture . It is full of nicheswhich

, contain over 300 statues , 150 of which are of life size , or colossal , being effigies of kings , queens , bishops , knights , and princessess . The effect of these is remarkable . Some of the statues are quite quaint . For exampleNoah is represented

, in a working dress , with a cap on his head , and the flaps tied under his chin . This west front , however , is a sculptured page of biblical , ecclesiastical and political history , and a masterpiece of art , without a parallel in England , and only equalled at

Eheims and Chartres , in France . The central tower is 160 feet high ( completed in A . D . 1321 ) , and the Cathedral is 371 feet in length , with transepts of 135 feet . As compared with other buildings of a like character , the interior of Wells Cathedral is not especially remarkable for B 2