St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-07-17
TONER OF LONDON.

The Worlds Oldest Building,
Whose Existence Began Before
History Itself Took Definite
Shape.
Zitella Cooke in IIarper's Young People.
The most ancient. the most pictur-
esQue and the most Interesting pile in
the world stands half mile below Lon
don bridge, commanding the Thames
from st. Saviour's creek to st. Olave's
wharf, and is known as the Tower of
London.
The very name of this wonderful
building suggests thousand dramas 1t
is a palace, court, hall OF council or a
state prison, as the fancy chooses to
make it. Its very walls speak with
human interest, and every inch OF the
massive structure is identified with hu-
man lite. Its existence began before
history itself took definite shape.
A part of ii was Saxon stronghold,
as is mentioned in Saxon chronicles.
The remains of Roman wall may stiff
be traced near its foundations, which
many writer's insist have existed Siuce
the days of Caesar. The plan of the
building, in its present form, was COM
menced by William the Conqueror.
~ As it surpasses all other editices in
Interest. SO its antiquity dwarfS them
into comparative lnsigni6cance. With
its 500 years Of historic life and its years
of traditional fame, it may be said to be
q part of all we know, and a part of
what we are. The. historic pride of
sother famous buildings paies before
this grim old battlement. -
The oldest place in Europe-the west
front of the burg i'll Intermediates from
the time of Henry Will. The Louvre
was commenced in the reign OF Henry
WILL, and the Tuileries III Che time of
Elizabeth.
r Versailles had no existence before the
time of the civil war in England, and
its site. was a swamp and wilderness.
The wonderful Escurial belongs to the
Seventh century, and the beautiful Sans
SOuci, the pride of German emperors,
was erected as late as the eighteenth
century.
The Krmlin of. Moscow, and the
Doge's Palace III Venice can date only
to the fourteenth century. and the old
est part Of the Vatican was commenced
by the man whose name it bearS-Bor-
gia. The Seraglio' i'll Stamboul was
built by Mahumer H.. and the Serai of
Jerusalem was erected under the do
minion of the Turks.
The palaces Of such ancient names as
Athens, Cairo and Teheren are but
modern inventions.
Within the vaults of this ancient pile
many book was written. There the ac-
complished Duke of Orleans wrote his
charming .Poesies." There Sir Walter
Raleigh wrote his Historic of the
World" There Eliot produced hisssMon-
archy of Man," and Penn his mo
Cross, no Crown
go Upon its stones men and women have
engraved the thoughts which burned
their souls, and every chamber tells a
story OF human experience. The mighty
structure seems to echo with human am
bition and glory. love and hate, hope
and despair.
Tragedy and comedy walk hand in
hand through its corridors. EnglanPs
history is there, and with it much of the
history of the world. Cranmer and Lat
inner and Ridley speak to US from its
walls; Lady Jane Grey, Anne Boleyn
and Elizabeth haunt us at every turn;
and Raleigh and Wyatt and Sir Thomas
More have stamped the very stones with
the impress OF their own lofty dignity.
Great i'll history, the Tower is also
great in literature. 1t colorS the thoughts
of Bacon and the Inspiration of Shake
speare, and the one structure in the
world which seems to have gathered
into itself the great stream of events
and the great stream of human eXpe-
rience is the Tower of London.