By this is made evident the lack of unity and support against the common foe, the foreign invader. Each kingdom of necessity issued its own currency, besides framing its own laws to suit the character of the subjects and the nature of the surroundings. Though each king attempted to restore this chaos to order by the simple process of grabbing his neighbours' land during the intermission of hostilities against foreign invaders, it was only Alfred the Great who really attempted some scheme of unity--and then failed to accomplish what seemed an impossibility. But this impossibility was entirely overcome by William the Conqueror, who straightway grasped the situation. He erected castles everywhere, with the twofold purpose of curbing the Saxons and keeping out their former foes. Under his rule internal dissensions were quelled, effete customs were abolished, new and necessary laws were introduced, architecture was encouraged, trade was fostered, and a recognised currency was adopted. All this can be readily gathered at a glance into that marvellous book he caused to be drawn up, called "Doomsday Book." In it a correct valuation of all property, from the noble lord's down to the agricultural implements of the peasant, is entered, with the position of every church and castle extant conspicuously marked on the chart in Latin. He wished to thoroughly gauge the resources of his recent conquest. With this information he gained an index to the complete establishment of his sovereignty over England. This may be considered a digression, but we submit that a brief sketch of the wonderful change that took place under this monarch is essential to the right understanding of the history alike of cathedral and city. No other reigning prince of England, before or since William's reign, has left such lasting evidences of his personality except it be Henry VIII., who is inseparable with the dissolution of the monasteries. The drawing of Mr. Collins gives an excellent idea of the character of Worcester Cathedral. Its site is on the eastern bank of the river Severn, and is the most important building of the city. Yet it cannot be compared to the massive grandeur of Ripon. Though its beauty could not entirely be marred by restoration, yet, having been allowed to get out of repair, the task was entrusted in 1857 to Mr. Perkins, the cathedral architect. He has managed to sweep away a great part of the old work, and in some instances has replaced the original by conjectural work of Early English style. [Illustration: WORCESTER THE CATHEDRAL] But to revert to the early stages of the Cathedral, Bishop Oswald appears to have absorbed the secular monks of St. Peter's, the Bishop's church, into a monastery of St. Mary, thereby changing the secular state of the canons to that of the monastic. This bishop, in 983, finished the building of a new monastic cathedral.