Omaha daily bee., 1889-06-09
IN THE TOWE r OF LONDON.
A Ceremony That Has Been Enacted
.tgaT5 Every Night for 500 Years

nha Every Night for 500 Years.
Your hanson is allowed to drive in
after hailing the gate, but you..will notice
that soldier marches in front, partly
as guide and party Because 1t Is fort
ress into which You sshave penetrated,
and past o'clock says London letter
in the New York Tribune. You go at
then to the left along the inner road
parellel with the Thames, between
grim granite wallis, where the gloom
grows darker, through grim gates, be.
meath grim archways, the burden of
this mass of masohary lying heavier on
your soul at every step, the shadows
weighing on you, and the sky on this
clear night-for tits clear on the out
side-seen by gltinpses, looking, inf
don heavens, which are for the most
part a canopy of smoke, as 1T were, just
over YOUR head.is Presently out you
come into the barrack yard and a
blessed eXpanse of air and evening
light.
Three hours later, as I said good
| night, my host stopped me. There is
something you would like to see, and it
| is just time. Come along" AS we
went out'an officer of the guards rushed
| by in full uniform, sword ringing
| against the stone steps, huge bear skin
helmet and all the rest and cried out to
us: "You will be late if you don't hur-
ry," and away we went at the double
| quick across the moonlit parade. 1t
| was rather soon after dinner for a con-
stitutional, but we followed and found
! the guard already turned out under the
| gallery by the Bloody Tower. A mo-
menI later appeared little squad OF
men, one of them in flowing scarlet
} robe with IA lighted lantern, coming up
the steep slope that leads from Traitors
Gate. The sentry challenged sharply
Halt! Who goes there?"
.'The keys" " (
"Whose keys?" tgL :
"Queen Victoria's keys"
Pass, Queen Victoria's keys" The
warden in the flowing scarlet rob, with
the lighted lantern, followed by his
little squad, starts off again, but halts
i again and cries aloud:
"God save Queen Victoria"
The guard comes to the present, the
officer brings his sword to the salute,
officer and men respond in chorus three
times with kind of cheer:
"Amen, Amen, Amen"
Again the warder sets out, passes,
turns square to the left, and vanishes,
he and his flowing scarlet, and his Ian
tern, and his little squad. He is carry,
/ Ing buc hcyo vi UhS UOWCE w UhCr Bof-
ernor of the tower. 1t was but min
ute. The squad are dismissed, the Off
Ger marches leisurely off. My friend
and are left there. Only Il minute; yet
that selfsame ceremony has been trans
acted on that same spot at that same
hour every night for something like
eight hundred years. Back through
all those crowding centuries OF English
story you hear nightly that challenge
ring out; nightly that blessing invoked
on king and queen, with, | suppose, an
interval when Oliver Protector got the
benefit of it; nightly the clash of steel
which tells the constable OF the tower
that all is we'll. and nightly those keys
have made their singular journey into
the hands of the kings lieutenant.
Brooklyn's REPORTERS swear by Rev.
7. Dewitt Talmagea because he is al
ways ready to smooth their ways for
them, says the New York Sun. The rev.
erend gentleman has a telephone in his
house, and when athe reporters, who
know of this, ring him up and ask him
questions they inyaniably get courteous
and satisfactory replies. So it isn't safe
to malign Brooklyn s sdemonstrative pull
pit orator to Brooklyn newspaper man.
Not long since one OF the craft called on
the doctor on a matter OF news, and was
informed by the servant who answered
the door that her master was busy and
would see no one. ''h"But / must see
him." insisted THE reporter, and so earn
est was his manner that finally the re-
luctant girl consented to invade the doc
tors sanctum with the visitors message.
AS the reporter waited in the hall the
dulcet twang OF 4 distant banjo smote
upon his ear. He listened well pleased
Tor the instrument was apparently
handled by one TO the manner born. A
moment, later, however, door to the
right opened, and Talmage himself ap-
| peared on the threshold with banjo
under his arm.
Come in, come in, cried the preach.
er heartily. ''Of course I'll see you.
was Just playing my banjo. Sit down
and let me play you something" And
he took the profane instrument over his
knee and played show piece for the
reporters benefit in n way tiot would
have made Ruby Brooks himself look
TO his laurels. .rr .yfst