I had always pictered the Tower of London as a tall tower a-shootin’ up, some like a steeple, only more of a size all the way up; more, mebby, like a very tall pillow. But, anyway, I’d always depictered it in my mind as steeple or pillow shaped.
But, to my surprise, I found that what is called the Tower of London is a hull lot of buildin’s that cover nigh upon fourteen acres of ground, though there are, of course, a number of towers throwed in—thirteen of ’em in all—Bloody Tower, Bell Tower, Jewel Tower, etc., etc. They date back to the time of Cæsar.
There wuz a Roman fortress on this spot when the Romans held London. One tower is called Cæsar’s Tower now. William the Conqueror founded the Tower of London as we see it. When he wuz alive it wuz a great palace, with thick walls for safety or defence; it wuz used as a prison for prisoners of state mostly, and now it is used as an arsenal. Piles of rifles and cannons are kep’ here in some of the buildin’s.
The principal entrance is the Lion’s Gate, but there are three other gates. The Traitor’s Gate wuz the one through which prisoners wuz took into the Tower. I don’t spoze they recognized the way they wuz took out. Then there is the Water Gate and the Iron Gate.
One of the most interestin’ sights there wuz the guards who had charge of the place. They had on velvet hats, with a kind of a wreath on ’em, some like Tirzah Ann’s last winter’s hat, and a deep ruffle round their necks, and a blue sort of a polenay or overskirt, with a belt all embroidered with roses and thistles and shamrocks and crowns, and, etc., and short pantoloons, with stockin’s comin’ up to the knee, and rosettes on their knees and rosettes on their shues.
Josiah sez to me, “Never before sence I wuz born have I seen a man dressed up as he ort to be to carry out my idees. You can see for yourself, Samantha, jest how perfectly beautiful, and how dressy and stylish a man can be if he sets out; why,” sez he, “a dress like that would take twenty years offen my age, and I d’no but twenty-one, and I’m bound to have one jest exactly like it if I ever live to git home. What a sensation it will create in Jonesville!” sez he dreamily.
I gin a deep sithe, but before I could reply the company started on their rounds of observation, led by one of them gay-dressed individuals. They go the rounds every half hour.
Wall, we got some guide-books, and payed our sixpence apiece for our tickets, some as if we wuz goin’ into a menagerie, and follered the guide over the moat bridge into the different towers.
Martin and Josiah wuz dretful interested in the place where the weepons wuz kep’, bayonets and swords and rifles and pistols enough to equip all the armies of the earth, it seemed to me.
But I wuz more interested, a dretful heart-sickenin’ interest in the place where the wretched captives wuz imprisoned and wore the long hours away (jest as long hours as we have now) in vain dreams of the happy and brilliant past. A-lookin’ forred to the sure approach of a awful death, or, perhaps, in ellusive hopes of escape and flight to other shores.