The daily gazette., 1880-07-21
SECOND EDITION
Our London Letter.

ERS AND BLOODY RECORD-THE
CHAPEL OF ST. PETER - THE
QUEENS CROWN AND JEWELS.
Special correspondence of the Gazette.
LONDON, July 9th, 1880.
One cannot but be impressed by
the number and the beauty of the
churches in England. The first OBJ
.ject In landscape is the church
spire. From every elevation you
can see the spires pointing heaven
ward from amongst the greenery.-
The interest of nearly every town
and village centres in its church and
In almost every grave yard you find
the ashes of some departed hero or
saint.
We have made fair round of the
churches in London and have heard
the best preaching in Rev. Newman
Halls Church. In Westminster
Abbey and in St. Paul's we heard
the higher dignatories.
In Spurgeon'sTabernacle we were
disappointed in the preacher. Truly
he strikes the key note of his con-
gregation, for his church is always
full and they seem to be in accord
with the preacher, but both the dis
courses we heard were loose and
rambling, full of second-rate illus
trations and appeals TO the fears
and prejudices of his hearers. He
is, doubtless, the man for the place,
for he has gathered together the
great membership of his church in
the worst part of London and from
its worst inhabitants.
"Uneasy lies the head that wears a
CROWN" has been running through my
brains all this blessed day. We have
spent the day chiefly in the Tower of
London, which, as you know, is Eng
lands historical building more inter
esting perhaps, than any other build
Ing in Great Britain-or out of it.
The 'Tower" is properly cluster of
twelve or fourteen towers, covering a
space of thirteen acres and was, for
many years, the residence of England's
Sovereigns. 1t was also royal prison
and place of execution of kings,
queens and people in high positions, as
well as the scene of murders.
The foundations and first stories of
all the walls are fourteen and fifteen
feet thick, of solid stone masonry, ta-
pering as they ascend to the top to six
and eight feet, and are from forty-five
to sixty feet in height. Most of the
towers are so old that the date of their
erection, as well as the names of their
builders, are left in some doubt. A
portion, the "White tower" particu-
larly is accredited to julius Caesar.
William the Conqueror and James
Ill built a portion, and other parts
have been added from time to time.
Each tower has its separate history.
In the "Well Tower" Queen Elizabeth
was imprisoned. In the "Deveraux
Tower" the Earl of Essex was con-
fined. In the "White Tower" Sir
Walter Raleigh wrote his "History of
the World" In the "Bloody Tower"
the innocents-sons of Edward "
were murdered by their uncle Richard
I'LL We saw where they were buried
in the thick wall. In'' ''Boyers Tower"
Clarence was drowned in a butt of
wine. On a green, enclosed by the
towers, a small stone marks the spot
where the head of Anne Boleyn was
cut off, and Lady Jane Grey was exc
cuted.
Only fancy Three ye us previous
ly Lady Anne Boleyn arrived at this
place from her home attended by all
the pomp and grandeur of England S
greatest mobiles, and was received by
Henry VIII as his bride and queen.
Arrayed in silver tissue and mantle
of silver lined with ermine, she was
escorted to Westminster Abbey amid
the ''melody of trumpets and divers
instruments and firing of guns where
with "her dark tresses flowing over
her shoulders and head encircled with
rubies" she was married to the muir
derous king. In three years after, she
was led here to have her head cut off.
We saw the block and the axe that did
the bloody deed.
The blood is washed away, but the
cut of the axe on the block is plainly
visible. Seventeen years afterward,
Lady Jane Grey was executed in the
same place and and upon the same
bloody block whilst her husband,
Lord Guilford Dudley was executed
the same day ON Tower Hill. Here
also, Catharine of Arragon, another of
che many wives of the murderous Hen
ry VIII, was executed.
1t makes one shudder to pass through
these blood stained towers, for at best
they are cold, dark and gloomy, with
their rough, thick walls and narrow
Sits for windows.
In the "Beauchamp" tower, which
served at different times as prison for
kings and queens and Lords and ladies
we saw the names of many ofthe priso-
ners cut in the stones. We saw the
name of IANE cut by the young lover
and husband of Lady Jane Grey
whilst both were awaiting execution.
Entering the Chapel of st. Peter
the guide told us to take off our hats
for we were treading holy ground. In
| the floor lies all that is left of Lady
Jane Grey and several of England's
kings and queens, lords and ladies'.
This chapel is sixty feet to the ceiling
walls rough and upholstered, but it is
said to be The most perfect work of Nor
man architecture in the Kingdom. 1t was
built A. D. HOO, rebuilt A. d. 1872.
In entering the tower we passed un-
der a "port cullis." This is heavy iron
gate weighing about half ton, and is
drawn up into a chamber in the arch and
held by weights something like our wln
dow sashes are hung and drawn up. There
are also other portculluses which have
not been used defensively in eight hun
dreG years.
But we are spending too much tim,
with the tower, and must leave much un
des,,rl he'd The Banuuetinp and ,Justic,