ATTEMPT TO STEAL THE REGALIA FROM THE TOWER. First Opening of the Regalia to public Inspection--Edwards appointed Keeper--Plan formed by Blood to steal the Regalia--He visits the Tower with his pretended Wife--Means by which he contrived to become intimate with Edwards--His Arrangements for carrying his Scheme into Execution--He knocks down Edwards, and obtains Possession of the Jewels--Fortunate Chance by which his Scheme was frustrated--He is taken--Charles II. is present at his Examination--Blood contrives to obtain a Pardon, and the Gift of an Estate from the King. Bayley, in his History of the Tower of London, has very circumstantially related the attempt made by a desperado, named Blood, to steal the regalia from thence; though it failed in the execution, this scheme was most ingeniously planned. The subsequent ingenuity of the culprit, on his examination before the king, also saved him from a just punishment, and not only procured him pardon for his offence, but even a handsome reward in the form of an annuity. Soon after the appointment of Sir Giles Talbot to the office of Master of the Jewel-House in the Tower, the regalia first became the object of public inspection. The privilege of showing them was granted by Charles II. to the keeper, in consequence of certain reductions in the emoluments of the office. The person appointed to take charge of them was a confidential servant, named Talbot Edwards; and soon after, in 1673, the attempt of the notorious Blood was made. Three weeks before the execution of his plan, Blood went to the Tower, in the canonical habit of a clergyman, accompanied by a woman whom he called his wife. They desired to see the regalia, and just as their wishes had been gratified, the lady feigned indisposition: this circumstance called forth the kind offices of Mrs. Edwards, who courteously invited her into the dwelling-house. The lady, however, soon recovered, and, on departing, professed great gratitude. A few days after this, Blood came again, bringing Mrs. Edwards four pair of white gloves, as a present from his pretended wife. This civility opened a way to a more intimate acquaintance, and, at length, Blood offered a proposal of marriage between his nephew, (whom he represented as possessing two hundred pounds per annum in land,) and Miss Edwards, if agreeable to all parties, on a longer acquaintance. A treaty was entered into, and the young gentleman was to come in a day or two to be presented.