St. Mary's beacon., 1862-08-21

Here lies Nelson. in a superb sarcopha-
gus made at the expense Of Cardinal
Wolscy. for the burial of Henry VIII in
the. tomb Lous. at Windsor. The cuffin
which contains his body (made of the
n,ainmast Of the ship l. Orient. was pre-
sensed to Nelson after the battle of the
Nile, By his friend Ben. Hallowell. II
send it," says Hallowcll. THAT when you
are tired Of life yen may be buried iu one
of your own tr"phies." Nelson. it i. said, =,
highly appreciated the present. and for
some time kept it in his cabin, behind the
chair he occupied at table. In the adj
joining vault, in magnificent piece Of
Cornish Porphyry. around which the fra
graut censcrs CONSTANTLY burn, reposes the
hero Of Oporto. st. Sebastian and Watcl
loo. after the great laLors which marked
his long and honorcd life. The public
funeral which was given him. was one of
the grandcst and profounlcst exhibitions
Of IA natiou's grief aud homage the wort
ever saw. The Queen auj all the noblcst
Of the land We're present. 4 million Of
persons, it is said, witnessed the process
si"n which went from the Horse GUARDS
by Ap>lcy House to- Saint Paul's, aud
not head was covered, aud but few eyes
were dry. when the stately and sorrowing
c"rtcgc appeared in the streets.
The weather had now become so iu :
tensely disagrceablc in London, that |
determined to get .il Of its f,gs aud mud
as soon as possible All the proprictes Of
the barometer had ceased to be observed
aud there hung over the cn,ir. city wha,
the SpauiarIs call una micbh dd Drmn-
""! Added to this. every correspondent
from Paris was giving the most giuriou>
description Of the festivities vt that mag
ni6ccnt Capital; and it was hard to b..
Within few hours Of such u fairy land,
aud not step within the pale of it's cnchan,-
mcnt. | therefore resolved to bid an car
ly adicu to the uugcnial and inh,>I.i,abl.
shore. where stranger is not apt to for.
get the dreariucss and isolation so fire.
quently strangers lot. But could not
think Of leaving before visiting the old
Tower Of London. which stands just with
out the the walls of the city. on Tower
Hill. Immediately ON the North bank of
the Thames. 1t is ALI old. irregular and
mighty pile Of buildings. which for tiy.
hundred years and until the reign of Eliz-
abcth. was u palace for the s"vsrci.ns or
England Mere of the romantic un,
thrilling. the exciting aud tragic in hi.to.
ry. cluster. about this. than any nhr,
spot on the Island In childhood We have
all read stories of the rugged times, when
the fierce struggles resulting from Hide
fncd rights. and uncontrolled passions.
.n>hroudcd this gloomy fabric with their
dark shadows. and we all desire to see the
spot, where those d. eds were done, which
have SO moved our hearts away in this far
off land
The antiquity Of the place. if we may
trust tradition, extends far beyond the
earliest records Of England. In Shak-
spcarc, Richard liz, the following Gia-
logue would seem t. determine the origin:
"Prinre.-Wh"rc shall We sojourn till
our coronation
"GLnsfer. it seems best unto
your royal self.
If I may counsel you some day or two
Your Highnc>s will rcposc you at the
Tower.
"I'rince do not like the Tower of
any place.
Did Julius Cesar build that place my
Lord?
"B"rk.-He did my gracious Lord
begin that place
Which since succeeding ages have re-
edited.
"Erinre.-Is it upoE record. or else
reported
Successfully from age to age. he built it?
"B"ck.-Cpon record my gracious
Lord
Let us pause for an instant before tha;
gloomy archway, the Traitors Gate. How
often have grandeur and even royalty
passed beneath its o,~inous portals. to ex-
change the dreams of honor and Of glo,y,
and the festive brilliancy of Courts, for the
realities Of the prison lodging. the torture
room, and the fatal block aud axe. The
frowniug gateway of the Bloody Tower ad.
tnits us to the inner ward. We glance
around at the towers, those chill and lone
lodgings, where illustrious captives have
sighed out a life time. Here in the Court
ward i. the block. which under the reign
nf the Tudors was so often re,ldencd with
the blood Of brave men aud fair womcn--
aud when laid my hand upon it and
thoughr of that mournful procession which
on tho 10th day of May. 1856. passed
over the Tower Green towards the scene
Of the execution, and remcmbcrcd the bril-
liant beauty of poor Anne Bolcyn. whose
warm and innocent blood on that morning
eushed over this very stone, I could hu,
shudder. as the cruel scene lived again
before me. Of mans brutal "inhumanity"
not alone ''to man." but to a woman OF
peerless beauty aud immaculate purity.
whose only sin had heen. 10 hang like a
jewel. around her husbands neck, which
never lost its lustre.
We were conducted through the Horse
Armory, where are collected some spien-
did specimens Of old arnor. represented
Upon equestrian statues OF the Kings Of