i866 DURHAM 289 



certainly we did hear some sort of angelic melody. 

 But oh ! the grandeur of the Cathedral, all Norman 

 from end to end, excepting a sort of Lady Chapel of 

 very early English on the east, and, what is more, the 

 whole is almost unaltered Norman. Three towers 

 hath it, one grand central one, and two at the west 

 end, which take away your breath with a sense of 

 beauty. The great interior columns are marvellous to 

 behold, and the roof is grandly groined. The vast 

 pile overlooks the river, and the west front extends far 

 down the bank, so that a wonderful dignity of height 

 is given to the building. Then the bishop's palace 

 (now, alas ! a seedy college) a vast pile, castle and 

 palace in one, partly Norman, and the cloisters, the 

 close, and lots of other things, which I must see 

 another day when I can make the acquaintance of 

 some local antiquary, if such there be in Durham. 



DUNFORD BRIDGE, SHEFFIELD, 

 2>jth November 1866. 



MY DEAREST WIFE This is a bad place to write 

 from. The reason is, that the post comes in at break- 

 fast-time, and in these short days we are in a great 

 hurry to get out, and when we come home again 

 across the moors the post has gone. After dinner no 

 human being writes letters if he can help it. The 

 above gives the reason why I did not write yesterday, 

 and may be the reason why I will not write to- 

 morrow. But to-day I have received several letters 

 so important that I must stay in a couple of hours to 

 answer them. . . . The letters of most importance 

 were from Sir R. and Best. The Duke [of Bucking- 

 ham] and My Lords are making sweeping changes, to 

 which I must reconcile myself, and I believe I can do 



u 



