The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1885-10-23
A. STATELY CEREMONY.
How the Doors of the Famous London
! t.TOwaro Are Locked.

How the Doors of the Famous London
Flower" Are Locked.
Excess of ceremony was the old ex-
pedient for making power venerable.
In these more practical days it oftener
makes power ridiculous, A good deal
of form and etiquette, however, are
doubtless necessary in official places;
at all events there is likely to be good
deal, especially under Imperial govern
ments-and the poor fellows who hold
the places, and whose duties are chiefly
traditional must do something to earn
their salary. 1t is no very great affair
for a smart man or boy to lock- the
doors of building, but the Government
of England makes very solemn and
deliberate job of it. Large bodies move
slowly.
Few persons are aware of the strict
ness with which the Tower of London is
guarded from foes without and from
treachery within. fhe ceremony of
shutting it up every night continues to
be as solemn and as rigidly precaution-
airy as if the French invasion were ac-
tually afoot. Immediately after "tat-
too" all strangers are expelled, and the
gates once closed, nothing short of
such imperative necessity as fire or sud-
den illness can procure their being re-
opened till the appointed hour the next
morning. The ceremony of locking up
is very ancient, curious and stately. A
few minutes before the clock strikes the
hour of eleven-on Tuesdays and Fri
days twelve-the head warden yeoman
porter), clothed in long red cloak,
bearing in his hand huge bunch of
keys, and attended by brother-warden
carrying a gigantic lantern, appears in
front of the main guard-house and calls
out, in a loud voice:
Escort keysm
At these words the Sergeant of the
Guard, with five or six men, turns out,
and follows him to the "Spur," an outer
gate, each, sentry challenging, as they
pass the post:
WHO goes thereP"
The gates being carefully locked and
barred-the warden wearing as solemn
an aspect and making as much noise as
| possible = the procession returns, the
sentries exacting the same explanation
and receiving the same answer as be-
| FORE
Arrived once more in front OF the
main guard-house, the sentry there gives
loud stamp with his foot, and the fol-
lowing conversation takes place be-
tween him and the approaching party:
''Who goes THEREOF
"Keys."
'sWhoSe keys?'
"Queen Victoria's keys"
advance, Queen Victoria's keys,
and all's WELL"
The yeoman porter then exclaims:
.'God bless Queen Victoria!''
The main guard devoutly respond:
.'Amen!''
The officer on duty gives the word:
| present armsnn
The firelocks rattle; the officer kisses
the hilt OF his sword; the escort fall in
among their companions, and the yeo-
man porter marches maiestically across
the parade alone, to deposit the keys i'll
the Lieutenant'S lodgings. The cere-
mony over, not only is all egress and
ingress totally precluded, but even
within the walls no one can stir without
being furnished with the countersign;
and any one who, unhappily forgetful,
ventures from his quarters .unprovided
with his talisman, is sure to be made
the prey of the first sentinel whose post
he crosses. All of which is pleasantly
absurd. and reminds us of the stately
manner in which the crown was car
ried about when the White Tower was
on fire. Youths Companion.