Richland beacon. [volume] (Rayville, La.) 1869-1890, 1873-10-04
In the Tower Of Londo-

Prentice IIIifords letters 10 the San Franc ~'H
i al, NJ
made M first visit to the tower Ol
London few davs since. Its fear
full risk I've run, that of remaining in
London over year and never seeing the
inside of the tower. The staircases
are very narrow. In ascending them !
had my eye nearly pokei ont bv an old
Am rican gentleman who would persist
in carving his umbrella on his shonl-
der. The warlers who show the place
are arrayed somewhat in the costume oi
Metamora." They take visitors about
in squads of twelve to warder. Adj
mittance one shilling. From eight
hundred to thousand visit the tower
daily. A. this rate the establishment
ought nearly to run prince. OF course,
vou have read all about the knights III
armor, the guns and swords. Tie in
struments of torture, the headman >
block and AK, the spears and shields,
and dungeons and names carved on the
wall, which are shown and explained to
you. I saw the crown jewels. Two
rusty, faded, sour looking women have
them in charge. One delivers the ex-
planatorv lecture and the other takes
the tickets and watches to see that no
one runs off with the spoons. There are
spoons in the lot, gold salt spoons. The
crowns and other royal gimcrackS are
kept under a great glass case. 1t Is
merely a royal jewel show. When the
faded LADY who looks as If she had been
diving by inches of envy and covetness,
| lzr 70 N
the vast wealth, besides which her daily
life is passed. and which Tantalus-iike.
daily mocks her eyes when she says, as
she always does, at the close of her ora
! ton: "And that's the crown OF Queen
Victoria and is worth million OF
pounds sterling" everybody is expected
TO 90 down on their knees. Remember
this when YOU visit the tower.
"No gratuities allowed to atten-
dants" is conspicuously posted up In
the waiting room. This means simply
that they do expect fee. Sixty-fiye
thousand stand of arms are stored in
the tower-Snvder rifles. which in few
years more will probably be changed
into some more improved arm. They
arrange on the armOry walls beautiful
designs in swords, ramrods, muskets,
bayonets and pistols. For instance,
there is a beautiful flower, all of trig-
gers. The trigger flower, Order Bellln-
gerentia; two stsmins, SIX pistlls.
There is also a blossom of bayonets,
Order Langingenterio Apex Musketivus
up Guards and at Them.
The ak which cut off Lord Lovat
head, in 1745, looked to me unsafe to
RELY upon for chopping pumpkin IL
halves at single blow. There are
some interesting dents on the head
block wheroon three English lords saw
the last of their own cranial term'na-
tions. would like to have stolen the
dents, but could not do so without
bringing away the block.
Henry the Eigth's armor Is enor.
nous. l think that Michael Reese and
Mr.. Friedlander might both get inside
of it, and there still be room left for
some "live paper" reporter to smuggle
away in the helmet and watch whatever
they might be upto.
They showed us one queer weapon oi
warfare-a sort of rake, eighteen feet
long, with curved claws, with which
footmen were in the habit of dartlne
ont at horsemen and "raking them In q
or "raking them down"