The present Jewel House at the Tower is the old Record Tower, formerly called the Hall Tower. [extra_illustrations.2.77.4]  were originally kept in a small building at the south side of the White Tower, but in the reign of Charles I. they were transferred to a strong chamber in the Martin Tower, afterwards called the Jewel Tower, which being damaged in the great fire of , the warders removed the regalia to the governor's house. [extra_illustrations.2.77.5]  was erected the same year, and is more commodious than the old room.

Here you see the types of power and sovereignty. The collection is surmounted by the imperial State crown of Her Majesty Queen Victoria. This crown, says Professor Tennant,

was made by Messrs. Rundell and Bridge, in the year 1838, with jewels taken from old crowns, and others furnished by command of Her Majesty. It consists of diamonds, pearls, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds, set in silver and gold; it has a crimson velvet cap with ermine border, and is lined with white silk. Its gross weight is 39 oz. 5 dwt. troy The lower part of the band, above the ermine border, consists of a row of 129 pearls, and the upper part of the band a row of 112 pearls, between which, in front of the crown, is a large sapphire (partly drilled), purchased for the crown by His Majesty George IV. At the back is a sapphire of smaller size, and six other sapphires (three on each side), between which are eight emeralds.

Above and below the seven sapphires are fourteen diamonds, and around the eight emeralds 128 diamonds. Between the emeralds and sapphires are sixteen trefoil ornaments, containing 160 diamonds. Above the band are eight sapphires, surmounted by eight diamonds, between which are eight festoons, consisting of 148 diamonds.

In the front of the crown, and in the centre of a diamond Maltese cross, is the famous ruby, said to have been given to Edward, Prince of Wales, son of Edward III., called the Black Prince, by Don Pedro, King of Castile, after the battle of Najera, near Vittoria, A.D. 1367. This ruby was worn in the helmet of Henry V. at the battle of Agincourt, A.D. 1415. It is pierced quite through, after the Eastern custom, the upper part of the piercing being filled up by a small ruby. Around this ruby, to form the cross, are seventy-five brilliant diamonds. Three other Maltese crosses, forming the two sides and back of the crown, have emerald centres, and contain respectively 132, 124, and 130 brilliant diamonds.

Between the four Maltese crosses are four ornaments in the form of the French fleur-de-lis, with four rubies in the centres, and surrounded by rose diamonds, containing respectively eightyfive, eighty-six, eighty-six, and eighty-seven rose diamonds.

From the Maltese crosses issue four imperial arches, composed of oak-leaves and acorns; the leaves containing 728 rose, table, and brilliant diamonds; thirty-two pearls forming the acorns, set in cups containing fifty-four rose diamonds and one table diamond. The total number of diamonds in the arches and acorns is 108 brilliant, 116 table, and 559 rose diamonds.

From the upper part of the arches are suspended four large pendant pear-shaped pearls, with rose diamond caps, containing twelve rose diamonds, and stems containing twenty-four very small rose diamonds. Above the arch stands the mound, containing in the lower hemisphere 304 brilliants, and in the upper 244 brilliants; the zone and arc being composed of thirty-three rose diamonds. The cross on the summit has a rosecut sapphire in the centre, surrounded by four large brilliants, and 108 smaller brilliants.

The next crown to be mentioned is known as . It is the imperial crown with which the kings of England have been crowned. It was made for the coronation of Charles II., to replace the broken up and sold during the civil wars. It is embellished with pearls, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires, with a mound of gold on the top, enriched with a band or fillet of gold, garnished also with precious stones, and very large oval pearls, at the top, and

. This is formed of pure gold, and is unadorned by jewels. On occasions of State it is placed before the seat in the which is occupied by the heir apparent.

, being that used at coronations for the queen consort, is a very rich crown of gold, set with diamonds of great value, intermixed with other precious stones and pearls; the cap being similar to the preceding.

. This was worn by Queen Mary, consort of James II., in proceeding to her coronation. It is a rim or circle of gold, richly adorned with large diamonds, curiously set, and around the upper edge a string of pearls; the cap is of purple velvet, lined with white taffeta, and turned up with ermine, richly powdered. It cost, according to Sandford, .

The , which rests in the sovereign's right

which is carried before the sovereign at the coronation, is a staff or sceptre of beaten gold, feet inches and a half in length and about quarters of an inch in diameter, with a pike or foot of steel inches and a quarter long, and a mound and cross at the top.

The , or , likewise of gold, is feet inches in length, and of the same size as that with the dove the handle is plain, but the upper part is wreathed, and the pommel at the bottom set with rubies, emeralds, and small diamonds. On the top is a mound, and on the mound is a cross adorned with precious stones. This sceptre is placed in the

The is gold, in length feet inches, and about inches in circumference. It is set with diamonds and other precious stones, and upon the mound at the top, which is enriched with a band or fillet of rose diamonds, is a small cross, whereon is fixed a dove with wings expanded, as, the emblem of mercy.

The is also of gold, adorned with diamonds and other precious stones, and in most parts is very like the king's, but not wreathed, nor quite so large.

The , which was made for Queen Mary, consort of James II., is a sceptre of white ivory feet inch and a half in length, with a pommel, mound, and cross of gold, and a dove on the top.

Besides these there is another very rich and elegant sceptre with a dove, which was discovered in behind a part of the. old wainscot of the Jewel House, where it seems to have lain unobserved for a great number of years.. This nearly assimilates to the king's sceptre with the dove, and there is every probability that it was made for Queen Mary, consort of William III., with whom she was jointly invested with the exercise of the royal authority.

The , or , which contains the holy oil at the ceremony of the coronation, is in the form of an eagle, with wings expanded, standing on a pedestal, all of pure gold finely chased. The head screws off about the middle of the neck, for the convenience of putting in the oil, which is poured out through the beak into a spoon called the anointing-spoon, which is likewise of pure gold, with pearls in the broadest part of the handle. These are considered to be of great antiquity.

, or the , which is borne naked before the king, between the swords of justice, at the coronation, is of. plain steel, gilded. The blade is inches in length, and nearly in breadth; the handle is covered with fine gold wire, and the point flat. The are the spiritual and temporal, which are borne, the former on the right. hand and,--the latter on the left, before the king or queen at their coronation. The point of the spiritual sword is somewhat obtuse, but that of the temporal sword is sharp. Their blades are about inches long, the handles cased with fine gold wire, and, the scabbards of all are alike, covered with a rich brocaded cloth of tissue, with a fine ferule, hook, and chape.

, or , which are ornaments for the king's wrist, worn at coronations, are of solid fine gold, an inch and a half in breadth, and edged with- rows of pearl. They open by means of a hinge, for the purpose of being put on the arm, and are chased with the rose, thistle, fleur-de-lis, and harp.

The are also made of fine gold, curiously wrought, and are carried in the procession at coronations by the Lords Grey of Ruthyn, a service which they claim by descent from the family of Hastings, Earls of Hastings.

The , which is said to be a model in gold of the White Tower, a grand silver font, double gilt, generally used at the baptisms of the royal family, and a large silver fountain, presented to Charles II. by the town of Plymouth, are likewise worthy of notice; and there is also deposited in the Jewel House a magnificent service of communion-plate belonging to the Tower Chapel; it is of silver, double gilt, superbly wrought, the principal piece containing a beautiful representation of the Lord's Supper.

The summary of jewels comprised in the crown is as follows :-- large ruby, irregularly polished; large broad-spread sapphire; sapphires; emeralds; rubies; brilliant diamonds; rose diamonds; table diamonds; drop-shaped pearls; and pearls.

A curious fact in connection with the regalia is related by Haydon the painter. The crown, he says, at George IV.'s coronation,

was not bought, but borrowed. Rundell's price was

£ 70,000

; and Lord Liverpool told the king he could not sanction such an expenditure. Rundell charged

£ 7,000

for the loan, and as some time elapsed before it was decided whether the crown should be bought or not, Rundell charged

£ 3,000

or

£ 4,000

more for the interval.

The crown jewels have been exhibited for a fee since the restoration of King Charles II. They had been before that period kept sometimes in the Tower, in the treasury of the Temple or other religious house, and in the treasury at . The royal jewels have on several occasions been pledged to provide for the exigencies of our monarchs, by Henry III., Edward III., Henry V., Henry VI.; and Richard II. offered them to the merchants of London as a guarantee for a loan. The office of Keeper of the Regalia, conferred by

the king's letters patent,

The Master of the Jewel-House

At the great fire of the grating was broken open and the jewels removed for safety. Mr. G. Cruikshank made a clever drawing of this scene.

The history of the regalia would be incomplete without some short mention of Blood's desperate and impudent attempt to steal the crown, globe, and sceptre, in the reign of Charles II. This villain, [extra_illustrations.2.81.1] , had been a lieutenant in Cromwell's army, and had turned Government spy. He had joined in a plan to seize Dublin Castle and kill the Lord Lieutenant. He had actually stopped the Duke of Ormond's coach in , carried off the duke, and tried to hang him at Tyburn, a plan which had all but succeeded; and the Duke of Buckingham was suspected by the Ormond family of having encouraged the attempt. In the attempt on the regalia Blood had accomplices. Blood, disguised. as a country parson, in band and gown, began the campaign by going to see the crown with a woman who passed for his wife. This woman, while seeing the jewels, pretended to be taken ill, and was shown into the private rooms of Talbot Edwards, the. old Deputy Keeper of the Crown Jewels, a man years of age. Blood then observed the loneliness of the Tower, and the scanty means of defence. He called days later with a present of gloves for Mrs. Edwards, and repeated his visits, till he at last proposed that his nephew, a young man, as he said, with or a year, should marry the old man's daughter. He finally fixed a day when the young bridegroom should present himself for approval. On the appointed day he arrived at the outside of the Iron Gate with companions, all being on horseback. The plan for action was fully matured. Hunt, Blood's son-in-law, was to hold the horses, and keep them ready at Gate. Parrot, an old Roundhead trooper and now a Government spy, was to steal the globe while Blood carried off the crown, and a accomplice was to file the sceptre into pieces and slip them into a bag. A rogue represented the lover. The men were each armed with sword-canes, sharp poignards, and a brace of pistols. While pretending to wait for the arrival of his wife; Blood asked Edwards to show his friends the jewels. The moment the door was locked inside, according to Tower custom, the [extra_illustrations.2.81.2] , and then felled him to the ground and beat him till he was nearly dead. Unluckily for the rascals, young Edwards at that moment returned from Flanders, and ran upstairs to see where his mother and sisters were. Blood and Parrot made off at once with the globe and crown. The sceptre they could not break. The old man freeing him. self from the gag, screamed and roused the family. Blood wounded a sentinel and fired at another, but was eventually overpowered. The crown fell in the dirt, a pearl was picked up by a sweeper, a diamond by an apprentice, and several stones were lost. Parrot was captured and the globe found in his pocket; fine ruby had broken loose. Hunt was thrown from his horse and taken. But none of these culprits were punished. Blood betrayed pretended plots, or in some way obtained power over the king. He was received at court, and a year was given him.

From the Jewel House we pass to the Armouries. The Armouries in the Tower were established by our earliest kings. We find Henry III. issuing a mandate to the Archdeacon of Durham to transmit to the arsenal suits of armour, iron cuirasses, iron collar, pairs of fetters, and iron helmets. In (Edward III.) John de Flete, keeper of the arms in the Tower, was commanded to bring as many

espringals, quarrells, hauberks, lances, arbalasts, bows and arrows,

A curious inventory of Tower armour in the reign of Edward VI. enumerates :--

Brigandines complete, having sleeves covered with crimson; ditto, with sleeves covered with cloth of gold; ditto, with sleeves covered with blue satin; millars' coats covered with fustian and white cloth; and brigandines covered with linen cloth with long taces.

of the shell of Tortys;

holy water sprinkler with

3

guns,

King Harry the

Eighth

's Walking-Staff.

In the reign of Elizabeth the Tower armouries were described by Hentzner, a German traveller, in , and our readers will see, by the following extract, that many of the chief curiosities now shown were even then on view:--

We were,

next led to the

Armoury, in which were these peculiarities. Spears out of which you may shoot; shields that will give fire

four

times; a great many rich halberds, commonly called partisans, with which the guard defend the royal person in battle; some lances covered with red and green velvet; and the suit of armour of Henry VIII.; many and very beautiful arms, as well for men as for horse-fights; the lance of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk,

three

spans thick;

two

pieces of cannon, the

one

fires

three

, the other

seven

balls at a time;

two

others, made of wood, which the English had at the siege of Boulogne, in France, and by this stratagem, without which they could not have succeeded, they struck a terror as at the appearance of artillery, and the town was surrendered upon articles;

nineteen

cannons of a thicker make than ordinary, and, in a room apart,

thirty-six

of a smaller; other cannons for chain-shot and balls, proper to bring down masts of ships; cross-bows, bows and arrows, of which to this day the English make great use in their exercises. But who can relate all that is to be seen here?

Eight

or

nine

men, employed by the year, are scarce sufficient to keep all the arms bright.

Hewitt, in his account of the Tower, argues very shrewdly, from Hentzner's silence about the spoils of the Armada still exhibited, and, in fact, about the

Spanish Armoury

coller of torment

The mention of a Spanish weapon-house is in a survey of , which enumerates targets with pistols, Spanish pikes; partisans, Spanish boar-spears, Spanish poleaxes, and Spanish halberts. Some later exhibitors, says Mr. Hewitt, finding a room called the Spanish Weapon-house, immediately set it down, with true showman's instinct, as a room of Armada spoils, and so the error has been perpetuated.

During the Commonwealth the Tower collection of armour lay in abeyance, but at the Restoration, William Legg, Master of the Armouries, made a survey of the stores, and in it enumerates Brandon's huge lance, the Spanish collar of torture, and the ancient head-piece with rams'-horns and spectacles still named after William Somers, the Jester of Henry VIII. Some of the suits are noted as having come from Gallery, at Greenwich. These last included both suits of Prince Henry and suits of Henry V., Henry VIII., Edward III., Edward IV., Henry VI., the Earl of Leicester, and Charles Brandon. There is also mentioned a gilt and graven suit for

his late majesty, of ever blessed memory, Charles I.;

On the Restoration, says Meyrick, the armour which had been formerly in Gallery at Greenwich, placed on horseback and dignified with the name of some of our kings, gave the hint for an exhibition at the Tower of the same sort. The Tudors and Stuarts were added; and in , the year after the death of Charles II., his figure and that of his father were added, their horses and faces carved by Grinling Gibbons.

Towards the close of the century armour fell into disuse, and was sent by various regiments to the Tower stores. A survey in enumerates thousands of back and breast pieces, pots, and head-pieces. The equestrian figures, when fitted out from these and from various gifts, increased from to .

Among the confused suits Meyrick found both William the Conqueror and William III. clad in plate armour of the age of Edward VI. The suit of Henry V. was composed from parts of others, of which the upper portion was of the time of Charles I., while the legs--which were not fellows I-were of the age of Henry VII. Henry VIII. also had the misfortune to have odd legs. George I. and George II. were armed in suits of Henry VIII.'s time, and mounted on Turkish saddles, gilt and ornamented with the globe, crescent, and star. John of Gaunt was a knight of Henry VIII.'s reign, and De Courcy a demi-lancer of Edward VI.'s. The helmet of Queen Elizabeth was of the period of Edward VI.; the armour for her arms, of that of Charles I.; her breastplate went as far back as Henry VIII.; and the of that monarch covered Her Majesty's

abdomen.

made for the king at the age of eighteen,

as much too small for him.

The absurd inventions of the Tower warders were endless. A (says [extra_illustrations.2.83.1] ), published in the reign of George III., mentions a breastplate desperately damaged by shot, which was shown as having been worn by a man, part of whose body, including some of the intestines, was carried away by a cannon-ball, notwithstanding

This story,

the old warder constantly told to all strangers, till H.R.H. Prince Frederick, father of the present king, being told the accustomed tale, said, with a smile,

And what, friend, is there so extraordinary in all this? I remember myself to have read in a book of a soldier who had his head cleft in two so dextrously by the stroke of a scimitar, that one half. of it fell on one shoulder, and the other half of it on the other shoulder; and yet, on his comrade's clapping the two sides nicely, together again, and binding them close with his handkerchief, the man did well, drank his pot of ale at night, and scarcely recollected that he had ever been hurt.

so dashed,

sold as old iron,

In the year Dr. (afterwards Sir) Samuel Rush Meyrick received the royal commands to re-arrange the Horse and Spanish Armouries, a task for which that antiquary's taste and knowledge eminently qualified him. This task he executed, but, unfortunately, was compelled by ignorant officials to appropriate every suit--(right or wrong) to some great personage of the period, distinguishing the few that could actually be identified by stars on the flags above them. The storekeeper then resumed his care, and everything went wrong: forgeries were bought and carefully preserved under glass, and valuable pieces of armour, which had been actually stolen or sold from the armoury, were often offered for sale to the authorities and rejected by them. In , Mr. Planche, an eminent authority on armour, drew the attention of the Right Hon. Sidney Herbert to the confusion of the whole collection, and to the fact that the armoury produced an annual revenue of and odd, being, therefore, self-supporting. The same publicspirited gentleman also pointed out that the Horse Armoury admitted the rain, and had an inflammable wooden shed at end. In , to the great satisfaction of all true antiquaries, Mr. Planche was commissioned to arrange the armour in the Tower in strict chronological order. In his he suggests that a fine gallery could be made out of the row of carpenters' shops on the east side of the White Tower.

The negligence of the Government led, Mr. Planche says, in his own time, to many blunders. of the bargains missed by the Keeper of the Armouries was the complete suit in which Sir Philip Sidney was killed at the battle of Zutphen, the embossed figures on which were of. solid gold. This national and magnificent relic was at Strawberry Hill, and is now at St. Petersburg. Another relic lost to the Tower was a heaume of the time of King John, now at Warwick Castle. A was the gauntlets of a fine suit made for Henry VIII., now in the Tower, imperfect from their absence. They had found their way out of the Tower, and, on being brought back to it, were ignored and refused by the authorities, and are now at Grimston. A was a most singular quaint helmet, probably as early as the time of Stephen, if not actually the helmet of that monarch, or of his son, now in the Mus#x00E9;e d'Artillerie at Paris. other helmets, Henry III., the other of the century, with part of the crest remaining, were also rejected. At the very same time a helmet newly made at Vienna, for theatrical purposes, was purchased at the price of. , and is now in of the glass cases at the Tower. The only armour at, Alton Towers that could possibly have belonged to the great Talbot was suffered by some gentleman sent down by the Tower. to pass into the hands of dealers. The back-plate, a most elegant specimen, sold for , and is now in the collection of Lord Londesborough, at Grimston.

The [extra_illustrations.2.83.4] , at the south-west corner of the White Tower, was completed in , when Meyrick re-arranged the collection. This is a single apartment, about feet long by wide. A row of pillars supporting pointed arches runs the whole length of the interior. The space- in front of the columns is occupied by figures, some equestrian and some on foot, clothed in armour from the reign of Henry VI. to that of James II. Several military trophies and emblems adorn the walls and ceilings of the apartment, and the space devoted to the armed figures is divided into several compartments by-stands containing weapons of the various periods.

The visitor can pass here from the simple mail of early days to the engraved and ornamented armour of Elizabeth's reign.

The Crusaders of Henry III.'s reign brought chain-mail from the East. Mixed plate and chain suits were introduced in the reign of Edward II. In the reign of Richard II. the visors were peaked, and projected from the face like birds' beaks. With Henry IV. armour became all plate, and the steel monster was now fully hatched. With Henry V. came -handed swords, to hew to

In the reign of Henry VII. came in the beautiful German fluted armour. The helmets worn were the round Burgundian, and the shoes were round and large at the toes. The horse-armour, too is splendid.

The Henry VIII. suit, the suit in the collection, really belonged to the king whose effigy it covers. The armour is damasked, and the stirrups are curious, from their great size. But of the finest suits in the world, and belonging to this same burly king, is in the central recess of the south wall.

This,

is one of, the most curious suits of armour in the world, having been made to commemorate the union of Henry VIII. and Katherine of Arragon. The badges of this king and queen, the rose and pomegranate, are engraved on various parts of the armour. On the fans of the genouilleres is the sheaf of arrows, the device adopted by Ferdinand, the father of Katherine, on his conquest of Granada. Henry's badges, the portcullis, the fleur-de-lis, and the red dragon, also appear; and on the edge of the lamboys, or skirts, are the initials of the royal pair, H. K., united by a true lovers' knot. The same letters, similarly united by a knot, which includes also a curious love-badge, formed of a half rose and half pomegranate, are engraved on the croupiere of the horse.

But the most remarkable part of the embellishment of this suit consists in the saintly legends which are engraved upon it. These consist of ten subjects, full of curious costume, and indicating curious manners.

On the breastplate is the figure of St. George on foot, encountering the dragon. On the backplate appears St. Barbara, with her usual emblems. On the front of the poitrail St. George, on horseback, is dispatching the dragon; the armour of his horse is embellished with the rose and pomegranate. Also, on the poitrail, St. George accused before Diocletian; and another subject, representing some lady of rank, attended by her maids, directing the fortifications of a town or fortress. On the croupiere, St. George, stretched on the rack; a saint receiving martyrdom, by being enclosed as high as the waist in the brazen figure of an ox, The Tower Menagerie About 1820. beneath which a fire is blazing, to boil the oil within; a female saint suffering decapitation; while in the background is predicted the retribution that awaits the persecutor; another saint about to suffer decapitation; St. Agatha led to be scourged; and St. Agatha being built up in prison.

Round the lower edge of the horse-armour, many times repeated, is the motto, Dieu et mon Droit, while numerous other decorations-human figures, heraldic badges, arabesque work, and grotesque devices of fabulous and other animalsare continued over the whole suit, both of man and horse. Among these engravings is one of a female figure, bearing on the front of her bodice the German word Gluck (good luck, health, prosperity). From this, it has been suggested by Sir S. Meyrick, we may infer that the suit before us was presented by the Emperor Maximilian to Henry, in honour of his marriage with Katherine of Arragon. We own this inference seems rather a bold one.

The armour is doubtless of German manufacture, and one of the finest of the period. It was formerly gilt, and when new must have had a most gorgeous appearance. From its discoloration by time, the elaborate decorations of its surface are almost entirely lost, but might easily be restored by a judicious renewal of the gilding.

We find another splendid suit of armour, of the reign of Edward VI. It is of the kind called russet, which was produced by oxidising the metal, and then smoothing its surface. By this means the gold-work with which it was afterwards damasquined looked much richer than if inlaid on a ground of polished steel (or white armour, as it was technically called). The suit before us is covered with the most beautiful filagree-work. The helmet especially is most elaborately ornamented; embossed lions' heads adorn the pauldrons, elbowpieces, gauntlets, breastplate, genouilleres, and sollerets; and the whole is in the finest preservation. The helmet, which is a burgonet, is also embellished with a lion's head. In the right hand is a mace, terminating in a spear. This figure was formerly exhibited as Edward the Black Prince.

The horse-armour, which is a complete suit, is embossed and embellished with the combined badges of Burgundy and Granada. The probabilities are that it belonged to Philip of Flanders, surnamed the Fair. He was the son of the Emperor Maximilian, by Mary, daughter and heiress of Charles the Bold, last Sovereign-Duke of Burgundy, and consequently, in right of his mother, Duke of Burgundy and Count of Flanders. He married Joanna, second daughter of Ferdinand and- Isabella, and sister of Katherine of Arragon, queen of. Henry VIII.

The badge of the pomegranate was borne by all the children of Isabella and Ferdinand the conqueror of Granada. Philip and Joanna, on the death of Isabella, in 1504, became sovereigns of Castile and Arragon, and in 5006, on a voyage to Spain, were obliged by a violent tempest to take shelter in England, where they were detained upwards of three months in a sort of honourable captivity by Henry VII. The armour might have been left behind, in England, on the departure of he royal travellers, or presented by Philip to Henry.

The tilting-suit of the Earl of Leicester is still shown.

That the armour before us was worn by Leicester,

there is not the slightest doubt. His initials,

R. D.,

are engraved on the genouilleres. His cognizance of the bear and ragged staff appears on the chanfron of the horse, encircled by the collar of the Garter; and the ragged staff is repeated on every part of the suit.

The suit was originally gilt,

and

was kept,

says Sir S. Meyrick,

in the tilt-yard, where it was exhibited on particular days.

It afterwards figured in the old horse armoury as that of King James I.

The suit of Sir Henry Lea, champion of Queen Elizabeth, was formerly exhibited as that of William the Conqueror. The fine engraved and gilt suit of the Earl of Essex () was worn by the king's champion at the coronation of George II. The figure of James I. was formerly shown as Henry IV. The suit of Charles I. was given him by the Armourers' Company. It is richly gilt and arabesqued. The suit is specially interesting as being the identical laid on the coffin of the Duke of Marlborough at his public funeral. The head of the effigy of James II. is carved by Grinling Gibbons as a portrait of Charles II.

The suit long called John of Gaunt's turned out to be an engraved suit for a man-at-arms of the reign of Henry VIII., and the Norman Crusader to have come from the Mogul country. There is a fine suit of Italian armour here, date , once worn by Count Oddi, of Padua. It is ornamented with the imperial eagle, the badge of his house. The devices, formed of swords, pistols, and bayonets, are very ingenious. The large pavois shield ( James I.) should be noticed. The russet and gold armour is Venetian, of the century; and the pieces of a puffed and engraved suit of the time of Henry VIII. are extremely curious and rare. The ancient German saddle of bone inlaid with figures is of uncertain date. The inscription is-

I hope the best to you may happen;

May God help you well in Saint George's name.

[extra_illustrations.2.87.1] , made for mock tournaments, is said to have belonged to Henry VIII.'s jester. The crossbows are of all ages. Firearms can here be traced, from the earliest hand-gun of . flint-lock rifle, of Austrian make (), could be fired eighteen times in a minute. Here we see the steel mace combined with the pistol . Edward VI.). The padded Chinese armour, too, is curious; and there is a curious suit of the Great Mogul, sent to Charles II., made partly of plates and partly of small iron tubes bound in rows. The Elizabethan Armoury contains a goodly store of glaives, black-bills, Lochaber axes, and boar-spears. The great curiosity here is the block on which Lords Balmerino, Kilmarnock, and Lovat laid down their heads; the old headingaxe (said to have taken off the head of Essex); the iron torture-cravat, called in the Tower,

Skeffington's Daughter,

The grand storehouse for the royal train of artillery, and the small-arms armoury for stand of arms, destroyed by fire , was built in the reign of James II. or William III., since which the Tower has been remodelled, many small dwelling-houses cleared away, and several towers and defences rebuilt. The houses of Petty Wales and the outworks have been removed, as well as the menagerie buildings near the west entrance. In the great fire of only stand of arms were saved out of about , and the loss was computed at about . But for the height of the tide and the fulness of the ditch, the whole Tower would have been destroyed. In the store of arms in the Tower had amounted to . Among the curiosities destroyed was of the state swords carried before the Pretender when he was proclaimed in Scotland, in , and a curious wooden gun.

The Train Room contained some interesting naval relics; among others, the steering-wheel of Lord Nelson's , trophies of William III. and General Wolfe, and relics of Waterloo. The earliest guns were of the reigns of Henry VI. and Edward IV.-hooped guns, with movable chambers. There was also a great treasure which fortunately escaped the fire--a large iron chambergun, recovered from the wreck of the (Henry VIII.). The Great Harry, which is of brass, weighs tons ( Henry VIII.). It has the date , and the English rose engraved upon it is surmounted by the crown of France. There were guns, too, from Ramillies, and relics of the . old brass German gun, date , had the spirited motto-

I sing and spring,

My foe transfixing.

In other parts of the Armoury are ancient British flint axes, Saxon weapons, a suit of Greek armour, found in a tomb at Cumae ; kettle-drums from Blenheim; the cloak in which General Wolfe died; the sword-sash of that eminent but unappreciated hero, the Duke of York; Saracenic, Indian, Moorish, New Zealand, and Kaffrarian arms, and even a door-mat suit from the South Seas. In , stand of Russian arms, taken at Bomarsund, the trophies of a useless and unlucky war, were placed in the Tower. Those rude wooden figures on the staircase, called

Beer and Gin,

From the above account it will be seen that the Tower contains as many interesting historical relics as any museum in England. Here the intelligent visitor can trace the progress of weapons from the rude flint axe of the early Briton to the latest rifle that science has invented. Here he can see all the changes of armour, from the rude suits worn t Hastings to the time when the Italians turned the coat of steel into a work of the finest art, and lavished upon it years. of anxious and refined labour. There are breastplates in the Tower on which Montfort's spear has splintered, and cuirasses on which English swords struck fire at Waterloo. There are trophies of all our wars, from Cressy and Poictiers to Blenheim and Inkermann, spoils of the Armada, relics of the early Crusade wars, muskets that were discharged at Minden, swords of Marlborough's troopers, shields carried at Agincourt; suits of steel that Elizabeth's champions wore at Cadiz, flags that have been scorched by Napoleon's powder, blades that have shared in struggles with Dane and Indian, Spaniard and Russian. Thanks to Mr. Planche, the Tower Armoury can now be studied in sequence, and with intellectual advantage. The blunders of former days have been rectified, and order once more prevails, where formerly all was confusion and jumble. Thanks to the imperishability of steel, the old warcostumes of England remain for us to study, and with the smallest imagination can see Harry of Monmouth, in the very arms he wore, ride forth against the French spears, all blazoned with heraldic splendour, and, shouting

God and St. George for merry England,

[extra_illustrations.2.77.4] The regalia

[extra_illustrations.2.77.5] The new Jewel House

[] It derives its name from the ancient crown, supposed to have been worn by King Edward the Confessor, and which was preserved in Westminster Abbey till the rebellion in the reign of Charles I., when it was sacrilegiously taken away, together with many other articles belonging to the regalia.

[extra_illustrations.2.81.1] Blood

[extra_illustrations.2.81.2] ruffians muffled and gagged the old man

[extra_illustrations.2.83.1] Mr. Planche

[extra_illustrations.2.83.2] The Norman Archway

[extra_illustrations.2.83.3] Edward I. Armor

[extra_illustrations.2.83.4] present Horse Armoury

[extra_illustrations.2.84.1] The Richard III. suit

[extra_illustrations.2.87.1] The fantastic helmet with horns

[extra_illustrations.2.87.2] New Armory-1863