The Meridional. (Abbeville, La.) 1856-1906, 1878-06-08

ability Of her officers We succeeded
in safely arriving at Liverpool 90
the evening of the 22d, making
the trip in nine days. The sight
Of land was indeed refreshing to
our wearied passengers and hailed
with delight by all on board. On
the morning of the next day ] pro.
ceeded to London by the midland
route, and after an agreeable jour
ney Of six hours, during which
time we traversed the heart OF
England we reached the great
metropolis of the British Isles.
Eager for sight seeing, every
thing in the Old World appearing
new to me, | started out early the
next morning after our arrival, in
company with three fellow passen-
gers on the Richmond to visit the
sights Of the most populous city in
Europe. We first drove to The
London Towers.
l could readily dwell at length
in describing this castle Of modern
times and the history which en-
shrowds the gloomy fabric. No one
the least Interested in the history
of England can look upon it with
Indifference, but as | must be brief
1 shall give you but an outline
A chain of six small towers situa-
ted on that side of the fortress
next to the Thames constitute the
principal Notifications Of the outer
ward, these are called the Middle.
Byward, Traitors Gate, Cradle
Well and Delvin or Iron Gate
Towers. Next to these comes the
Moat which surrounds the whole
Tower, where formerly in case of
an attack by the enemy water was
let in to surround the castles but
it is at present used as a drilling
ground for the soldiers. The
White Tower is situated in the
centre of the inner ward, erected
by William the Conqueror in
1880, A. D., this structure is 116 #
north to south, SO # east to west,
90 it high and walls Is # thick.
In it can be found the prison of
Sir Walter Raleigh which is 10
# long, 8 it wide and 8 # high
where he wrote the history of the
world. Here is situated St-John's
chapel, one of the finest and most
perfect specimens of Norman ar
chitecture in England. The lar
gest room in the upper floor was
used as a council room, the latter
together with the banquet room
are now used as a depository Of
arms artistically arranged. When
we passed through these apart
ments soldiers were busily engaged
in removing the arms and placing
them in boxes in order to be ready
for shipment in case Of a rupture
with Russia, which Judging by the
observations | have made, is very
popular in England. There are
also twelve smaller towers in the
inner ward, the principal one;
being the Bloody Tower, noted fo1
being the scene of the murder o
the two sons of Edward w; the
Bell Tower, Queen Elizabeth
prison lodging and the B%eauchaml
Tower noted for its prison cells
The tower of London has a depos
|i.ory of national arms and accou
tremehts dating as far back as thu
time of its erection, the armorie'
are indeed interesting, the displa,
comprising principally those worl
by the kings themselves. Instru
ments Of tortue such as the thumb
: screw, scavenger's daughter, tn
identical axe which decapitated tn
} unfortunate Mary Queen of Scot
and the hideous mask worn by tn
! executor can be seen. Before ter
: minating my sketch of the Londo1
: Tower | cannot refrain from men
: tioning the Royal Regalia ant
! crown jewels which capped tn
climax, they are simply beautiful
and il the words of my friend MI
Vanslyke, grand and sublime.
After quitting the tower some
what with reluctance our part
proceeded to visit the Bank {
England, which is certainly wort
= the attention of a stranger, to
: brief | must simply state it is
Z regular labyrinth Of Offices.
We then drove down to tn
+ mint but not being provided wit
- passes could not gain admission.
. After refreshing ourselves whic
y | assure you was not ruled out {
, order. we visited first the St-Par