It follows, therefore, that without describing the various college buildings, which are rather outside our province, we can say little about the exterior, except in matters of detail; for there is no close, and the cathedral is thus far from being common property that it is hidden in a rather intricate environment of college buildings and private gardens. But the one feature which in part rises above its misfortunes is the spire. =The Spire.=--Among all the strange domes and steeples which give to the city of Oxford such a unique appearance, this spire of the cathedral is to the architectural eye not the least striking. Very humble in its bearing, it seems to put forward no claim to our attention, and may escape the notice of a hurried traveller; but it has more character and interest than the elaborate spire of the University Church itself. Its very modesty gives it a distinction; were it taller it would be but one among a hundred, but as it is there is no other in England at all like it in the quiet dignity of its low proportions. The first time one sees it one is most struck by its squat appearance; it seems almost to have been built as little more than a convenient stone capping for the tower; and, indeed, each time one returns to Oxford one is impressed afresh by this lowliness; so that one fancies for a moment that it may have subsided a little during one's absence. But it quickly resumes its old dignity--the kind of dignity that one sometimes notices in short people--and every day it seems to grow a little higher. Homely and simple, as befits the crown of a foundation which is called "The House," it wins an almost human place in the affections of those who live near it; and never was a spell so honestly cast, never a friend that bore so well the test of familiarity. And its low proportions are soon accounted for. It is one of the earliest spires (perhaps the very first) ever built in England. Thus it was an experiment in what must have appeared at the time a very hazardous style of building; and that which to us is low, to the men of the thirteenth century must have seemed dangerously lofty. It was a pioneer, and as such needed to be sturdy. We need not then regret that it is not like that of Salisbury; it gives the whole cluster of buildings a look of security, and it causes no anxiety to its guardians.