both it and its fellow being now raised again to their original
height. A comparison with the illustration given on p. 26 of the front
as it was in 1719, shows how careful and accurate the restoration has
been. The north aisle end was at the same time restored to its old form,
and the northern gable turret,--a curious specimen of fifteenth century
work, which many were sorry to see disappear,--replaced by a copy of its
fellow on the south.

After the death of Canon Burrows, in 1892, the new font, just within the
west door, was erected by subscription, as a memorial to him.

The last piece of work that we have to record is the inclosure of a
series of new vestries along the south side of the crypt. These have
been paid for "with American dollars," the proceeds of Dean Hole's
recent lecturing tour on the other side of the Atlantic.

The cathedral still has great and pressing needs. The most crying is,
perhaps, the fitting of roofs to Sir G. Scott's gables in the eastern
part, for their present isolated condition makes them unpleasantly
conspicuous. This the dean is anxious to see undertaken next. A spire
is also much wanted; the present tower, especially since it has been
dwarfed by the raising of the transept roofs, looks scarcely worthy of a
moderately important parish church, much less of a cathedral. However,
when it is found possible to undertake the change, it should be
remembered that Rochester is a small cathedral, and that the opposite
fault to the present insignificance must also be avoided. The new spire
must neither be too lofty nor too elaborate. Finally, as Sir Gilbert
Scott pointed out, the parapets of the nave and its aisles are unworthy
of the building, and a considerable amount of internal repair is
necessary. These matters will have to be seen to as soon as the
requisite funds can be found.

CHAPTER II.

THE EXTERIOR, MONASTIC BUILDINGS, ENCLOSURE, AND GATES.

Rochester lies within a bend of the Medway and is bounded by that river
on the north and west. It is girt round by chalk hills, which, on the
two sides mentioned, look down on it from across the stream. Its houses
have now begun to climb the hills in greater numbers, but the space that
used to be enclosed by the old city walls lies very low, the only piece
of rising ground within their line being the mound on which the castle
stands. The cathedral church is one of the smallest in England, and
occupies a lowly position immediately ben