The Tower of London: A Historical Romance, IllustratedAinsworth, William Harrison
General
The Tower of London: A Historical Romance, Illustrated
Ainsworth, William Harrison
Grey, Jane, Lady, 1537-1554 -- Fiction; London (England) -- Fiction; Tower of London (London, England) -- Fiction
With this the whole train departed from the Tower, and proceeded to
Cheapside, where, by sound of trumpet, the new sovereign was proclaimed
by the title of “Mary, Queen of England, France, and Ireland, Defender
of the Faith.”
Shouts rent the air, and every manifestation of delight was exhibited.
“Great was the triumph,” writes an eye-witness of the ceremony; “for my
part, I never saw the like, and, by the report of others, the like was
never seen. The number of caps that were thrown up at the proclamation
was not to be told. The Earl of Pembroke threw away his cap full of
angels. I saw myself money thrown out of the windows for joy. The
bonfires were without number; and what with shouting and crying of
the people, and ringing of bells, there could no man hear almost what
another said—besides banquetting, and skipping the streets for joy.”
The proclamation over, the company proceeded to St. Paul’s, where Te
Deum was solemnly sung. It is a curious illustration of the sudden
change of feeling, that the Duke of Suffolk himself proclaimed Mary on
Tower Hill.
The utmost confusion reigned throughout the Tower. Some few there were
who regretted the change of sovereigns, but the majority were in favour
of Mary. Northumberland in fact was so universally hated by all classes,
and it was so notorious that the recent usurpation was contrived
only for his own aggrandisement, that though Jane was pitied, no
commiseration was felt for her husband or her ambitious father-in-law.
Great rejoicings were held in the Tower-green, where an immense bonfire
was lighted, and a whole ox roasted. Several casks of ale were also
broached, and mead and other liquors were distributed to the warders
and the troops. Of these good things the three gigantic warders and Xit
partook; and Magog was so elated, that he plucked up courage to propose
to Dame Placida, and, to the dwarf’s infinite dismay and mortification,
was accepted. Lord Guilford Dudley witnessed these rejoicings from the
windows of the Beauchamp Tower, in which he was confined; and as he
glanced upon the citadel opposite his prison, now lighted up by the
gleams of the fire, he could not help reflecting with bitterness what a
change a few days had effected. The voices which only nine days ago had
shouted for Jane, were now clamouring for Mary; and of the thousands
which then would have obeyed his slightest nod, not one would
acknowledge him now.
From a prince he had become a captive, and his palace was converted
into a dungeon. Such were the agonizing thoughts of Northumberland’s
ambitious son,—and such, or nearly such, were those of his unhappy
consort, who, in her chamber in the palace was a prey to the bitterest
reflection.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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