The Washington bee., 1911-03-11
A Vision
By F. A. Mitchell

ings.
This is the TowerY' 1 asked pres
emily.
Eyes. sir"
was sitting on a bench in an open
court in the Tower of London. Before
me was a 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 ali How /
came to be seated on the bench in the
early morning | have never to this
| day fully determined. At II / had
started for my lodgings In Oxford
/ street, but could not remember gotE&
| there. One of the Tower attendants.
commonly called "beefesters," had
reused me.
II how / came to be there is = mys-
terry. what saw there is q still greater
| one. / had been sitting a long while.
| OF that was fully conscious. Whether
it was night or day have NO recOllec-
ton. but the scene / witnessed seems
| to me to have been enacted in the day.
Ny first remembrance is hearing
| shouts Of Long live Queen Mary" but
they seemed to come from without the
inciosure. Within a 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 / was conscious Of a 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 ruined collars. Covering the
| square place on the pavement ! have
mentioned was a platform on which
| rested q rectangular block Of wood
about two feet high and followed at
| the top on both sides. Beside it, lean
| ing on q huge AZ, was a tall figure in
| tight ntting costume. Those about the
| platform. which was plainly q scafold,
wore serious countenances. WithSut
| the Tower tnclosure / heard sounds in
dicatinG commOtion: The dukes m
isked; death to all tr2itorsr A man
sitting next me whispered to another.
ITS al ever up on the hill."
L horror crept over me. l would
| gladly have gone away, but had no
| power 70 move. Looking down toward
the other cad OF the court where there
were buildings for dwelling purposes,
saw = lovely &pparitton at window,
a 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 go.
"It is the body Of her husband"
heard some one say. He's been exc
cuted on Tower hill"
When the cart had passed there
was an interval that my memory fails
to ill, 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
sca1fold she ascended the steps with
as much compOsure as if she were
going to her chamber and stood wait
ing for silence. When it came she
| spoke to the people. but I have no
remembrance Of What she said There
she knelt, prayed and asked peTmis-
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
giyenesS for what he vas about to do.
The girl then tied g handkerchief over
her eyes with her own hands. Crop
ing for the block, she asked, Where
is it," Guided to 1t. she knelt and laid
her neck on it, saying, Lord, into thy
hands l commend my spirit" The last
l remember was the az swinging over
her
Have you been sitting here all
night, sir?" asked the attendant.
81 don't know. ! have a vague recoI-
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 op
the plate in the center Of the marked
square. I saw the name Lady Jane
Grey. I read that she, Anne Boleyn
and Catherine Howard were all exc
cuted there. My horror of the night
before returned. 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. l was driven to my
lodgings and did not leave them for a
fortnight.
When | got out | had q 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 l mustered
courage to read her life. / found
events attending her execution the
same as I witnessed In my vision. my
dream or whatever 1T was. Those who
attended her at her death have testi-
fed to her serenity