Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1859-03-24
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alisfellaun.
Letters from England.
TOWER OF LONDON.
MANCHESTER, England. Aug. r.. l85

TOWER OF LONDON
MANCHESTER, England, Aug, II, 1858.
In this beautiful, balmy, warm day, when
all England is cxclaiming horribly warm, and
s1me, ysry hot,-but still you can step to the
groccrsand get a good nice roll Of butter, open
y exposed to heat with no coolers, as lair and
fine as if In an ice-house,--I am disposed to
trouble you with another letter.
Of all places in England, | know Of none so
intimately connected with its history. none
where % many high hopes haze been forever
blasteds where 50 many have been made to
answer the doing Of their duty, by the sacrifice
of ttpr lives where slunber .he lost lemairls'
Of 50 many possessing the lofsiest. talents, and
the most exalted virtues, and abous which hang
50 many "reminiscences to awaken thoughts Of
deep and solemn interest, as the Tower Of Lon
don. 10 give yoa some account Of this re-
nowned fortress, and trace it by some Of the
more marked occurrence, will be my present
endeavor, and, if possible, convey to you some
Of tho interest which felt in visiting it.
The place is located on the banks Of the
Thames, and 50 closely connected that there are
private ways by water by which the Tower
may be reached Also, there is q moat sur
rounding the whole fortress, which, when wish
ed, is filled from the river. The White Tower
Tower of London, or principal Tower, occupies
the central portion of strong citadel Of for
tifcations. The outer wall of this fortress
encloses over twelve acres, and then out side
this is the deep moat which surrounds The
whole, but has not been filled since 1913, and
they are now using it for a campground and
drill for the troops stationed there
The first wall is mounted with cannon, and
before you come to this, you pass over the moat
by bridge, protected by two towers armed to
the teeth. But passing these, and the first or
outer wall, we come in few steps to another
called the inner wall, nearly as strong as the
first, ahd very closely defended, having in It's
circumference of less than one mile, no less than
twelve strong towers, standing at unequal dis
tances, and varying in form; most of which
remain boldly conspicuous, and although not
of so much moment, still from their being used
as prison lodgings, and from the many devices
carved by condemned prisoners, they are of in
terest to the visitor. The inner wall is twelve
feet thick, and about forty high, and is ascend
ed by stone steps. In the central portion of
these Notifications stands the Tower, and q
large building to the north, called the new
barracks, which, with the Chapel of ST. Peter,
erected in the reign of Edward I, about the
year 1900, are all the buildings in this strongest
OF strong Notifications. This building is one
hundred and sixteen feet in length, ninety-six
in breadth, and ninety-two in hight; is emhat-
tied, and has watch-towers or turrets at right
angles. The external walls are fifteen feet in
thickness, and it is divided into three lofty
stories besides the spacious vaults.
Shere are six towers that guard the entrance
to the outer wall, and as they may be referred
to- we will name them lst, the Middle Tower
formerly called the Ulbertin Tower; this protects
the principal bridge End, Byword Tower
principal entrance to the outer wall. Sd
Traitors Gate, or the st. Thomas Tower anC
by passage underneath, state-prisoners entered
the Tower. This tower is now used for al
= engine-houso for the raising of water. 4th
the Cradle Tower. 5th, Well Tower, tn
lower part of which is all that exists. 1t con
sists OF q vaulted chamber about fifteen by te
feet. 9th, Delvin, or lron-gate Tower. Th
space between the outer and inner walls, it
said, used to be occupied with brick building
in which were the works of the Royal mint fi
about five centuries.
The above towers with lofty ramparts con
towers we will just name, and then refer
them as we shall have OCCASION lst, Blood
Tower. End, Bell Tower so called from bein
surlnounted by the alarm bell of the garrison
a Sd, Beauchamp Tower. 4th, Devereaux Towe
9th, Flint Tower. 9th. Bowyer Tower. I'll
Brick Tower. 9Th, Jewel Tower 9th, Co
n stable Tower 10th, Broad Arrow Tower. LIE
Salt Tower. 10Th, Record Tower.
The annals Of the Tower, as prison, are Y
plete with gloomy and fearful events. Rumo
tell us Of secret passages IF torture, variol
and dangerous, and Of the dark, dread seen
Y VI which they have been tim arena But hi
tory, unaIdod by tradition, is sad enough Al
with facts let us for d moment pause befo
that gloomy archway--the Traitors Gate
How often have grandeur, and even royalt
passed beneath its ominous portals to exehanI
high hopes Of honor and glory, and the fessi
brilliancy OF courts, for the realities Of 4
prison lodging, and the fatal rack or the blo
and axe. The frowning gateway admits us
the inner ward, and we glance about those ch
and lonely lodgings where illustrious captiy
have sighed out lifetime.
The eye at last rests on the simple Chap,
within which remain the last of those WI
have here plid the last debt to nature by SOL
one Of these horrible means. In front is t
spot whore WAS erected the scafjld, viii
marks with 50 ind,lible IL ssain the Tador rAc
and that it may ever b, kept fully in view, t
stones of the pavement are Of dark oDlor,
it stained by tho oblood Of c)ns1eratod victims
sad but true monument of those darker az
In this place, which has bosn known for neal
eight centuries, rest many revered and believe
and with them, many less exalted, but perha
not less worthy martyrs. Here the dust
many noble man teaches us that . lofty a
btion often raises itself on the highest pinr
Gle only to experience the greater fall II
also we learn that solemn, yet, as ever, fa
ful truth. that the best talents, the strong