London and Its Environs Described, vol. 6 (of 6): Containing an Account of Whatever is Most Remarkable for Grandeur, Elegance, Curiosity or Use, in the City and in the Country Twenty Miles Round ItAnonymous
History
London and Its Environs Described, vol. 6 (of 6): Containing an Account of Whatever is Most Remarkable for Grandeur, Elegance, Curiosity or Use, in the City and in the Country Twenty Miles Round It
Anonymous
London (England) -- Description and travel -- Early works to 1800; London (England) -- Gazetteers -- Early works to 1800
You are next shewn what your guides call their school of apes, which
consists of two apes from Turky, and two Egyptian night-walkers. Of the
largest of these creatures they will tell you abundance of surprizing
stories. There are also one or two man tygers, a man of the wood, a
Guinea racoon, much more beautiful than those brought from America; a
jackal, a fine tyger cat, two large hyenas, a male and a female, and a
very uncommon beast which the keeper calls the whistler of the woods.
This is a beautiful little creature of the size of a badger, brought
from Guinea, and receives her name from her counterfeiting in the woods
the whistling and chirping of birds, by which she allures them to her,
and so makes them her prey.
These animals are all regularly fed with proper food, and attended with
all possible care.
But to proceed; the next place worthy of observation is the Mint, which
comprehends near one third of the Tower, and contains houses for all
the officers belonging to the coinage. See the article MINT.
_The white Tower_, on passing the principal gate you see the White
Tower, built, as has been already said, by William the Conqueror. This
is a large, square, irregular stone building, situated almost in the
centre, no one side answering to another, nor any of its watch towers,
of which there are four at the top, built alike. One of these towers is
now converted into an observatory.
The building itself consists of three very lofty stories, under which
are spacious and commodious vaults, chiefly filled with saltpetre.
It is covered on the top with flat leads, from whence there is an
extensive and delightful prospect.
In the first story are two noble rooms, one of which is a small armoury
for the sea service, it having various sorts of arms very curiously
laid up, for above 10,000 seamen. In the other room are many closets
and presses, all filled with warlike engines and instruments of death.
Over this are two other floors, one principally filled with arms; the
other with arms and other warlike instruments, as spades, shovels,
pick-axes, and cheveaux de Frize. In the upper story are kept match,
sheep-skins, tanned hides, &c. and in a little room called Julius
Cæsar’s chapel are deposited some records, containing perhaps the
ancient usages and customs of the place. In this building are also
preserved models of the new invented engines of destruction that have
from time to time been presented to the government.
On the top of one of the towers is a large cistern or reservoir for
supplying the whole garrison with water; it is about seven feet deep,
nine broad, and about sixty in length, and is filled from the Thames by
means of an engine very ingeniously contrived for that purpose.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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