The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-07-29


tbo Tower belong 10 II far more rs the seat
III Government of Norman and Planta-
Genet kings than from its traditions as
Tudor nrisor-housc. From the sons OF the
Conoueror down to Elizabeth-that is'Ior
n period of nearly five centuries-it was
from time 10 time the residence OF nearly
oll 81 our kings, and consequently the scene
Of our political history. Without sayihS
that II would be possible to prove it TO have
been the permanent home OF all OF tnose
soveregns, most OF whom were IN perpe,,
tual movement, 1t was certainly the usui'
London residence OF several, ana was
occasionally used by all. The Henry,s,
and the Edwards Of Plantagenet All
inhabited II. From Henry ~. down
10 James III. the kings left 1t in
state 10 be crowned in the Abbey. Here
two OF our kings. four OF our queens ana
many princes and princesses OF the Dlooa
met their deaths. Many OF the children OF
the sovcreigns were born there. The an
dication OF Richard III. and the outburst OF
Richard OF Gloucester most certainly loon
place here, and these are but two OF inc
scenes immortalized in Shakespeare. The
Tower seems, indeed, in peculiar way 10
have touched the imagination OF our great
poet, and there Is certainly no edifce re-
manning in which so many OF his scenes
are placed. Thus the Tower has the halo
OF poetry around it as much as OF history.
For no extant building whatever is 90
much associated as this is with the thoughts
of any OF the great poets OF the world.
ITS EARLY HISTORY.
To put aside the whole OF the executions
II ,,,,tI, I1ao1 hnfh TnIyaf
Hill and the green by st. Peters, there is
i'm the traditions OF the Tower, in Norman
and Plantagenet times alone, enough TO
make il relic OF perfectly unique import
ance. As its history begins long before
that of Windsor, Whitehall, or st. JameS's,
and rs all vcstiges OF the older palaces are
gone, except, perhaps, the crypt OF st.
stephens, it is by far the most memorable
survival OF feudaism. either in this coun-
try or in any other. The long series OF
wars in which England conquered Wales,
Irellnd. Scotland, and twice crushed
France, all rested on this fortress as their
central headquarters; and from 1874 for
two centuries it was filed by n long
succession OF royal prisoners-Welsh.
Scotch, French. The Scotch princes OF
The wars Of Edward /. and Edward Ill,
ard the French princes OF the wars OF
Edward III. and Henry v, lived here for
years in captivity, the most illustrious OF
whom was the poet Duke OF Orleans, the
prisoner OF AgincoUrt. During the civil
wars OF the fife nth century it played 4
larger and more continuous part than any
remaining castle, and in Bcauchanp Tower
and Wakefield Tower it still retains names
which recall the Roses. There Is thus no
cytant building IN Europe which has so
long n roll Of memories OF the feudal
world from tie opening OF the Crusades
until the final settlement OF the modern
monarchies in the West.
ANOTHER POINT OF VIEW.
From another point Of view also, which
has nothing to do with axes or dungeons,
the Tower has value which places 1t al
most alone. 1t is, il not the grandest, at
any rate the most perfect eXtant example
of icudal castle OF the first class, with its
three complete series OF dciences, all in
working condition. Though it has not the
imposing mass OF CarcasSonne, Loches, or
Windsor; though in antiquarian details
it must yield to Pierrei0nds. LanSeais.
Avignon. Villeueuve. Raby, Berkeley, and
some others in England and France,
the Tower is neither q ruin, nor
q restored ruin, nor modernized
palace; it il not mere baron's
stronghold, but a national fortress OF the
first class. still fit, after few weeks OF la
Dor, to stand q siege against lances. iaye-
lins. and bows and arrows. 1t is said that
the portcullis in Bloody Gate is the only
example remaining OF al ancient portculliS
still i'm working order. Be this as it may,
it is certain thai the Tower is the only spe
cimen in England OF medieval fortress
Of the first rank which has never been de-
stroved and has never been restored"
It has been continuously kept as fortress
from the days OF GundUlph, the mitred en-
gineer, in 1918, until the days Of Mr.. Shaw
Lefevre, the First Commissioner, in 1883.
OF its twenty-seyen original towers and
works. some twenty at least remain;
il is the palace and residences
which have suffered most; the prin-
cipal points OF defence remain and
are structurally almost uninjured. A little
study and some assistance from old plans,
views, and surveys would enable even a
holiday sightseer to gain clear cOncep-
ton OF the way in winch Plantagenet kings
hedged themselves around from their too
loving subjects; to find the uses OF the old
Lyons Gate, the moat, the bridge with its
double tste-de-pOnf. the outer ward and its
bastiOns, the inner ward and its towers,
the belfry and the Light Tower, the Water
Gate, the Garden Tower, the Hall, the Iron
Gate, and the great Donion OF the Con-
queror, or, as poetry and tradition with
Characteristic instinct will have it, the
Tower OF Caesar OF OF Empire.
The two churches OF the Tower are each
of them worth visit to London by them
selves. st. Johns, the original work Of
The Conqucror, still remains one OF the
most complete specimens OF pure and early
Norman work. This church has perhaps
witnessed more Of English history than
any other church in England, unless per-
! chance II he the Abbey or st. Georges at
Windsor. st. Peter's-on-the-Green if less
valuable in the history OF art, rs, ii pOSsi-
! Bile, even more precious in the history Of
I England. No spot in our island, hardly
the choir Of the Abbey itself, has such
power TO touch the heat as the quiet
church under the floor OF which lie the
bones OF hundreds OF men and women
great, proud, beautiful, and daring-noble
victims OF tyranny and reckless victims OF
their own passion. during the centuries q
civil strife, conspiracy, and war that went
to the making OF our English State.
\ complete record OF the State prisoners
OF the Tower would be nearly an outline
OF the history of England. 1t is sad to
think how small apart even OF these prisons
Is yet open 70 the public. The sight-seer
Is taken to the Armory and the Jewel
House, the White Tower and the Beau
! champ Tower, the Green and st. Peters.
and then he is assured that he has seen the
Tower; and he talks for an hour OF Anne
Boleyn, Raleigh, and the Princes. But
how few OF them can see the portculIis
apparatus, and the passage and rooms over
Bloody Gate, and the prisons OF Elizabeth,
OF Raleigh, OF Arabella Stuart, OF Fisher
OF Rochester, and Of the Seven Bishops, Of