Caricatures and cartoons -- Great Britain; English wit and humor; English wit and humor, Pictorial
_Order_ has at length succeeded to the Confusion, and _orders_ on a
large scale have followed the Fusion. The Armoury will be rebuilt and
refurnished. The edifice, it is to be hoped, will be more in harmony
with the antique character of the surrounding scene, and the new arms
not less susceptible of beautiful arrangement for being better adapted
to practical uses than the old. Thus far the nation will gain by its
misfortune; nor will the loss, even in a pecuniary sense, be equal to a
fourth of the first estimate. Every evil has been exaggerated--except the
danger. That scarcely admitted of exaggeration.
[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE SMALL ARMOURY--CAMPERDOWN ANCHOR, WATERLOO
GUNS, &C.]
Our fellow antiquaries, and not less (though for other reasons) our
country-cousins everywhere, will join with us, not in lamenting the Loss,
but in rejoicing at the Escape. The plan which heads this article, will
enable them to understand it. Of the antiquities of the Tower, little or
nothing has suffered. All that has stood for centuries, in fact, still
stands there. That of which the memory is imperishable has not perished.
The buildings which are destroyed, are--the Armoury, which was modern;
the upper part of the Bowyer or Clarence Tower, which was also modern.
The antique remains are figured on the preceding page. This tower was
three stories high. The large square window below, next the ladder, is
that of the chamber in which Clarence is supposed to have been murdered.
In the apartment immediately over this the fire commenced. Above the
belt, in the centre, all was modern. It will be seen by the Plan that
this tower is exactly in the centre of the Small Armoury, at the back.
The Brick Tower is of considerable antiquity, and the interior of this
has been wofully damaged, so that the apartment in which the gentle Lady
Jane Grey was confined, wears now a more forlorn and ruinous aspect
than the slow hand of Time would have invested it with in additional
centuries. Still, even here, what is gone is but the wood-work, the
outward coating, the modern accessories or accumulations of the scene;
the Destroyer has neither eaten through the old walls, nor undermined the
deep and enduring foundations of any portion of the Old Fortress.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account