We now come to the White Tower, with its four turrets, which may be seen
from many an eminence that overlooks London, and is always pointed out
as "The Tower." It is to the east of London what Westminster Abbey is to
the west, and St. Paul's to the centre of the city--the great object of
attraction. The interior consists of three stories (beside the vaults),
the first floor having two rooms, the roofs of which are no doubt as old
as the walls that surround them. In ancient times they were used as
prisons. The second story also contains two large rooms, in which are
deposited arms and other stores; and here also stands the chapel, the
most interesting of all the apartments, and shewing how great must be
the strength of a building to support such massy pillars and heavy
arches on its second story. It is a splendid specimen of true unaltered
Norman architecture, and unlike any thing we have seen in London, except
the interior of St. Bartholomew, Smithfield; not that it is so beautiful
as a whole as the church of the old Priory, but there is a massiness
about it in solemn keeping with the heavy and stupendous pile of
buildings which it stands upon and overlooks, for it rises to the very
roof of the Tower--the remainder of the third story forming the Council
Chamber, which is a large, heavy, plain-looking room, and arrests the
eye as soon as you enter. It is so unlike the chapel, that you are
amazed at its rude and primitive appearance, its flat timber ceiling and
plain rows of wooden beams, give to it something of a gigantic,
barn-like look; lost, however, when you glance at the pierced walls and
side arches, that tell you that all is in keeping with the solemn
fortress that has stood the shock of war, and the wear and tear of time,
through the long nights of nearly eight centuries. The scenes that have
taken place in this vast chamber are written in the pages of English
history, and are, with few exceptions, the most important in all our
annals.
We will now glance at the Jewel-house, and give a brief description of
the chief curiosities and treasures it contains.