Young Americans Abroad. Various
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to see in these fine towns is the cathedral, if there be one. I never thought that I should be so pleased with old buildings as I find I am. Old houses, castles, and churches have somehow strangely taken my fancy. The Cathedral, or, as they here call it, the Abbey Church, is a noble one. It was begun in 1495, and only finished in 1606, and stands on the foundation of an old convent, erected by Osric in 676. It is famous for its clustered columns, and wide, elegantly arched windows. The roof is remarkable for having fifty-two windows, and I believe has been called the Lantern of England. You know that the city takes its name from its baths. The great resort of fashion is at the Pump-room and the Colonnade. This building is eighty-five feet in length, forty-six wide, and thirty-four high. This elegant room is open to the sick of every part of the world. An excellent band plays every day from one till half past three.
The King's Bath is a basin sixty-six feet by forty-one, and will contain three hundred and forty-six tuns. I have been much pleased with Dr. Granville's works on the Spas of England, and there you will find much interesting matter respecting Bath.
We made some pleasant excursions in the vicinity of this beautiful city. We have visited Bradford, Trowbridge, and Devizes. Trowbridge is a fine old town, and we looked with interest at the church where the poet Crabbe so long officiated. His reputation here stands high as a good man and kind neighbor, but he was called a poor preacher. Here, and in all the neighboring places, the manufacture of broadcloths and cassimeres is carried on extensively. Devizes is a charming old town. We were greatly interested with its market-place, and a fine cross, erected to hand down the history of a sad event. A woman who had appealed to God in support of a lie was here struck dead upon the spot, and the money which she said she had paid for some wheat was found clinched in her hand. This monument was built by Lord Sidmouth, and is a fine freestone edifice, with a suitable inscription.
Roundaway Down, which hangs over this ancient town, was famous in the civil wars of Charles I. Here, too, are the relics of an old castle. Devizes has two great cattle fairs, in spring and autumn; and the market day, on Thursday, gave us a good idea of the rural population. We have rarely seen finer looking men than were here to be seen around their wheat, barley, and oats. We have been pleased to see the great English game of cricket, which is so universally played by all young men in this country. It seems to us that the boys here have more athletic games than with us. Prisoners' bass seems a favorite boys' amusement, and ninepins, or, as we call it, bowls, are played by all classes freely, and it is not regarded as at all unministerial. We are going to London this week, and shall commence sight-seeing in earnest. Above all, we are to be at the exhibition. When I have seen the lions, I will write you again.
Yours affectionately,
james.
Letter 11.
London.
Dear Charley:—
The story goes that Mr. Webster, when he first arrived in London, ordered the man to drive to the Tower. Certainly we boys all wanted to go there as soon as possible. I do not think that I ever felt quite so touch excitement as I did when we were riding to the Tower, I had so many things crowding into my mind; and all the history of England with which I have been so pleased came at once freshly into my memory. I wanted to be alone, and have all day to wander up and down the old prison and palace and museum, for it has been all these things by turns. Well, we rode over Tower Hill, and got directly in front of the old fortress, and had a complete view of it.
In the centre stands a lofty square building, with four white towers, having vanes upon them. This is said to be the work of William the Conqueror, but has had many alterations under William Rufus, Henry I., and Henry II. In 1315, the Tower was besieged by the barons who made war on John. Henry III. made his residence in this place, and did much to strengthen and adorn it. About this time the Tower began to be used as a state prison. Edward I. enlarged the ditch or moat which surrounded the Tower. In the days of Richard II., when the king had his troubles with Wat Tyler, the Archbishop of Canterbury was beheaded on Tower Hill, or, rather, massacred, for it said that he was mangled by eight strokes of the axe. When Henry V. gained his great victory at Agincourt, he placed his French prisoners here. Henry VIII. was here for some time after he came to the throne, and he made his yeomen the wardens of the Tower, and they still wear the same dress as at that day. The dress is very rich—scarlet and gold—and made very large; the coat short, and sleeves full. The head-dress is a cap.
We went in at what is called the Lion's Gate, because some time back the menagerie was kept in apartments close by. The kings of other days used to have fights between the beasts, and James I. was very fond of combats between lions and dogs in presence of his court. All these animals were moved several years ago to the Zoölogical Gardens. We passed through strong gates, defended by a portcullis, and on our left we saw what the warden called the Bell Tower, and which was the prison of Bishop Fisher, who was beheaded for not acknowledging Henry VIII. to be the head of the church. I wanted to see the Traitor's Gate, and found it was on the right hand, having a communication with the Thames under a bridge on the wharf. Through this passage it was formerly the custom to convey the state prisoners, and many a man in passing this gate bade farewell to hope.
There is, just opposite to this gate, the bloody tower where Edward V. and his brother were put to death by the monster Richard, who usurped the throne. I would have given a great deal to have explored the Tower, but the things and places I wanted to look into were just what you are not let see. The old Tower of English history you look at, but must not go through. Still I have been delighted, but not satisfied. We found the spot where the grand storehouse and armory were burnt in 1841, and, if I recollect rightly, the warden said it was three hundred and fifty feet long, and sixty wide. Here, I suppose, was the finest collection of cannon and small fire-arms in the world. We saw some few fine specimens that were saved. Of course, we were curious to see the Horse Armory. This is a room one hundred and fifty feet in length, and about thirty-five wide. Some one has said that here is "the History of England, done in iron." All down the middle of the room is a line of equestrian figures, and over each character is his banner. All the sides of the apartment are decorated with trophies and figures in armor. I was much gratified with the beautiful taste displayed in the arrangement of the arms upon the walls and ceiling. Some of the suits of armor were very rich, and answered exactly to my notions of such matters. Here I saw, for the first time, the coat of mail; and I think the men of that day must have been stronger than those of our time, or they never could have endured such trappings. I was much pleased with the real armor of Henry VIII. This suit was very rich, and damasked. And here, too, was the very armor of Dudley, Earl of Leicester, who figured at the court of Elizabeth. It weighs eighty-seven pounds; and close by it is the martial suit of the unfortunate Essex. He was executed, you know, at this place, 1601. Among the most beautiful armors we saw were the suits of Charles I. and a small one which belonged to his younger brother when a lad. I think one suit made for Charles when a boy of twelve would have fitted me exactly; and wouldn't I have liked to become its owner! King Charles's armor was a present from the city of London, and was one of the latest manufactured in England.
I do not think I ever was in a place that so delighted me. I cannot tell you a hundredth part of the curiosities that are to be seen s all sorts of rude ancient weapons; several instruments of torture prepared by the Roman Catholics, at the time of the Spanish Armada, for the conversion of the English heretics. One of these was the Iron Collar, which weighs about fifteen pounds, and has a rim of inward spikes; and besides, we saw a barbarous instrument, called the Scavenger's Daughter, which packed up the body and limbs into an inconceivably small space. We looked with deep interest, you may imagine, Charley, on the block on which the Scotch lords, Balmerino, Kilmarnook, and Lovat, were beheaded in 1746. The fatal marks upon the wood are deeply cut; and we had in our hands the axe which was used at the execution of the Earl of Essex. I shall read the history of this country, I am sure, with more pleasure than ever, after walking over the yard and Tower Hill, where so many great and good, as well as so many infamous, persons have suffered death. Only think what a list of names to be connected with the block—Fisher, More, Queen Anne Boleyn, Queen Catherine Howard, Margaret, Countess of Salisbury,