The Washington bee., 1911-03-04
A Nision
By F. A. Mitchell


for was engaged in getting my bear
ings.
This is the TOwerY' / asked pres
emily.
Yes. sir"
was sitting on a bench in an open
court in the Tower OF London. Before
me was piece of pavement different
from the rest, some fifteen or twenty
feet square and In its center a plate
on which was an inscription. ! re-
membered being the evening before
In the quarters OF one OF the Tower
officials, and that was all. How l
came to be seated on the bench In the
early morning have never to this
day fully determined. at II l had
started for my lodgings in Oxford
street. but could not remember going
there. One OF the Tower attendants,
commonly called "beefeaters." had
reused me.
II how / came TO be there Is a mys-
terry. what saw there is a still greater
one. l had been sitting a long while.
/ OF that was fully conscious. Whether
it was night or day l have no recOllec-
| ton. but the scene | witnessed seems
| to me to have been enacted in the day.
My first remembrance is hearing
shouts Of Long live Queen Nary but
they seemed to come from without the
inclOsure. Within q few persons hur-
ried by silently, as If in preparation
| for some momentous event. They were
| all serious. and one or two Of them
| were in tears.
Then l was conscious Of number
of persons sitting with me about the
square bit of pavement. though the
seats on which they sat were Of rough
| hewn wood. The men wore trunks.
| hose, doubletS and hats decorated with
| feathers. the women stomachers and
large rufled collars. Covering the
square place on the pavement l have
mentioned was a platform on which
| rested a rectangular block Of wood
about two feet high and followed at
| the top on both sides. Beside it, lean
| ing on a huge Ak, was a tall figure In
4
| platform. which was plainly scaffold.
] wore serious countenances. WithSut
| the Tower inclosure | heard sounds in
dicating commOtion: The dukes fin
ished; death to all traitors" A man
sitting next me whispered to another,
"It's all over up on the hill.
| A horror crept over me. would
| gladly have gone away, but had no
power to move. Looking down toward
| the other end OF the court where there
were buildings for dwelling purposes.
/ saw q lovely sppsrition at window.
young girl apparently from seven
| teen to twenty years old. At the
same time | heard the rumbling Of a
cart Two young girls attendant on
the one at the window tried to draw
| her away, but she would not so.
ut is the body Of her husband"
heard some one say. Hes been exc
| cuted on Tower hill"
| When the cart had passed there
was an interval that my memory fails
| to fill. but the next scene was the
| opening OF the door under the window
at which the young lady had appeared,
and she came out with an officer. at
| tended by the two girls l had seen
with her and a priest. She came to-
ward the scaffold reading from a book
| and praying. When she reached the
| scaffold she ascended the steps with
| as much composure as if she were
going to her chamber and stood wait
| Ing for silence When 1t came she
spoke to the people, but ] have no
| remembrance Of what she said There
she knelt. prayed and asked permis-
sion Of the priest to say a psalm.
These religious features ended, she
took of her gloves and her kerchief.
which she handed to one OF her maids.
and lOosened her gown. The execu-
toner knelt before her and asked for
| giveness for what he was about to do.
The girl then tied a handkerchief over
her eyes with her Own hands. Crop
| ing for the block. she asked. Where
is it," Guided to #. she kDelt and laid
her neck on 1t. saying, Lord, into thy
hands l commend my spirit" The last
l remember was the az swinging over
| her.
Have you been sitting here ali
| night, sir?" asked the attendant.
II don't know. | have a vague recol-
lection gradually coming back to me of
having followed last night when |
started to go home a figure dressed in
| singular costume
At that moment my eyes rested on
| the plate in the center OF the marked
square. l saw the name Lady Jane
Grey. / read that she. Anne Boleyn
and Catherine Howard were all exc
cuted there. My horror OF the night
before returned. l rose and was stag
| gering away when the attendant, put
ting his arm through mine, assisted
me, taking me to the gate and calling
cab for me. ! was driven to my
lodgings and did not leave them for a
fortnight.
When ! got out l had a longing to
know something Of Lady Jane Grey,
but dreaded to bring back my expert
ence Of that grewsome night After a
few months had passed ! mustered