The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1873-11-28

| great deal OF character. Inat cnarac-
ter, as shown in history, is certainly n
most perfect combination of opposites-
of greatness and decision with frivolity
and ficklensss ; generosity and benevo-
lence, with parsimony and meanness.
But taking her reign altogether, proba-
bly, there never was one so beneficial to
the interests and general prosperity of
the British nation as that of "good
Queen Bess," perhaps that of Queen
Victoria only excepted.
A relic of the past that attracts as
much attention as almost anything at
the Abbey is the old Coronation Chair.
This was made about 600 years ago by
Edward l., and enclose dunder the seat is
the coronation stone of Scotland previ-
ously used at the coronation of the
sovereigns of that country" 1t is n
large, high-backed chair made of wood
upon which various designs are carved !;
for the most part, however, the work is
rather rudely done. This chair has
been used Mt the coronation of all the
sovereigns of England since the time it
was made, this ceremony being always
performed at Westminster Abbey. We
will now proceed to
THE TOWER,
| and will not detain your readers with
its history except by saying that it was
built about 700 years since by William
the Conqueror, with the intention that
il should be used as q means of defense
against foreign invasion by way of the
river Thames, and at the sane
time serve as royal residence that
| Chnt1l1 no otrnnr, nnnt1ub 70 otfAr1 him
protection from the assaults of his
Saxon subjects whom he had subjugated
but n short time before. The main
tower now known as the L" White
Tower" is about all that remains of
that early day. This was built i'll such
manner that it seems impossible that it
ever could go to decay, the walls being
As feet thick. At the same time it is
perhaps the finest specimen of Norman
architecture in existence. The other
smaller towers known as the Bloody
Tower, the Traitors Tower, the Jewel
Tower, ETC., were built at various later
dates. The passage way and canal
landing to the Thames by which passen-
gers were brought into the tower as
well as the massive gate in the tower
known as TRAITORS Gate, that was
raised to let them pass in, is still to be
seen, and the water can still be let into
the canal from the river. The visitor
is first shown the "Horse Armory," a
large building that is devoted to the
exhibition of armor and warlike nipple
ments of the olden time. To do this, a
great number of equestrian statues are
used and specimens of armor of the
kind worn at different times, commence
ing with that of the reign of William
the Conqueror, and until it ceased to be
worn in the reign of William and Mary,
are exhibited. Several of the figures
are clad in armor that was actually worn
by the sovereigns of those days, and of
course some of them are very curious as
well as expensive, particularly some
suits worn by Henry VIII. 1t
is very interesting, too, to notice
the different kinds worn at different
periods rs well as the improvement
made in its manufacture from time to
time. For instance, William the Nor
man, as well as the body of his horse,
is represented clad in an armor made
of small pieces of thick leather i'll the
shape of fish scales, which are sewed
upon buckskin, while another suit of
that period is made of small steel rings
also sewed upon the same material. A
shield, long sword and a lance were
carried at that period in battle. Chain
armor, made of small steel rings inter
laced or woven together, began to be
worn about a hundred years later, and
Henry III. appears clad in armor made
in this manner. Complete suits of plate
armor were first worn in the time OF
Henry v, and that sovereign is the
first who is represented clad in that
kind of armor. Some knights of the
time of Richard III. are clad in steel
armor made with joints, when this the
last improvement was made. At one
time the body of the horse was also
clad in armor The use of this was first
discontinued, and after that the armor
was not worn below the mans knee In
the reign of Charles |. only half armor,
or that which protected the body in
front, was worn in that of Charles II.
only the helmet and cuirass were worn
and finally, in the time of William and
Mary, the use of armor of all kinds was
discontinued, firearms having been
generally introduced in warfare, render
ing armorial protection unavailable.
We next visited the rooms in the
towers where the State prisoners were
confined, including the room where
Queen Elizabeth was kept prisoner
for time during the reign of Queen
Mary, as well as the small dark room
where Sir Walter Raleigh was confined
twelve years. / saw the room in which
Lady Jane Gray was kept as prisoner
and from which she was led TO execu-
ton, and as / walked along the same
path that she walked, the buildings
standing about me nearly as they stood
that day, and the same bright sun
shining over my head, it appeared al.
most as if 1 could see the poor helpless
girl, innocent of any crime, going up &c
the scaffold to be offered sacrifice tc
the ambition Of her would-be friends.
But in those days the quality of mercy
, was not well understood. / saw also
the rooms where Bishops Latimer
, Cranmer, and Ridley were confined be-
fore they were taken to Oxford to exc
, cution also where many others were
kept as religious prisoners during the
reign of Henry VIII. and Queen Mary
Many of these cut their pames upon tn,
stone walls, which are still legible
Lastly, we visited the Jewel tower where