N.B. - It is to be noted, that when any of the nobility are sent
hither, on the charge of high crimes, punishable with death, such as
treason, &c., they seldom or never recover their liberty.
Here was
beheaded Anne Boleyn, wife of King Henry VIII., and lies buried in
the chapel, but without any inscription; and Queen Elizabeth was
kept prisoner here by her sister, Queen Mary, at whose death she was
enlarged, and by right called to the throne.
On coming out of the Tower, we were led to a small house close by,
where are kept variety of creatures, viz. - three lionesses; one lion
of great size, called Edward VI. from his having been born in that
reign: a tiger; a lynx; a wolf excessively old - this is a very
scarce animal in England, so that their sheep and cattle stray about
in great numbers, free from any danger, though without anybody to
keep them; there is, besides, a porcupine, and an eagle. All these
creatures are kept in a remote place, fitted up for the purpose with
wooden lattices, at the Queen's expense.
Near to this Tower is a large open space; on the highest part of it
is erected a wooden scaffold, for the execution of noble criminals;
upon which, they say, three princes of England, the last of their
families, have been beheaded for high treason; on the bank of the
Thames close by are a great many cannon, such chiefly as are used at
sea.
The next thing worthy of note is the Royal Exchange, so named by
Queen Elizabeth, built by Sir Thomas Gresham, citizen, for public
ornament and the convenience of merchants. It has a great effect,
whether you consider the stateliness of the building, the assemblage
of different nations, or the quantities of merchandise. I shall say
nothing of the hall belonging to the Hans Society; or of the
conveyance of water to all parts of the town by subterraneous pipes,
nor the beautiful conduits and cisterns for the reception of it; nor
of the raising of water out of the Thames by a wheel, invented a few
years since by a German.
Bridewell, at present the House of Correction; it was built in six
weeks for the reception of the Emperor Charles V.
A Hall built by a cobbler and bestowed on the city, where are
exposed to sale, three times in a week, corn, wool, cloth, fruits,
and the like.
Without the city are some theatres, where English actors represent
almost every day tragedies and comedies to a very numerous
audiences; these are concluded with excellent music, variety of
dances, and the excessive applause of those that are present.
Not far from one of these theatres, which are all built of wood,
lies the royal barge, close to the river. It has two splendid
cabins, beautifully ornamented with glass windows, painting, and
gilding; it is kept upon dry ground, and sheltered from the weather.
There is still another place, built in the form of a theatre, which
serves for the baiting of bulls and bears; they are fastened behind,
and then worried by great English bull-dogs, but not without great
risk to the dogs, from the horns of the one and the teeth of the
other; and it sometimes happens that they are killed upon the spot;
fresh ones are immediately supplied in the places of those that are
wounded or tired. To this entertainment there often follows that of
whipping a blinded bear, which is performed by five or six men,
standing circularly with whips, which they exercise upon him without
any mercy, as he cannot escape from them because of his chain; he
defends himself with all his force and skill, throwing down all who
come within his reach and are not active enough to get out of it,
and tearing the whips out of their hands and breaking them. At
these spectacles, and everywhere else, the English are constantly
smoking tobacco; and in this manner - they have pipes on purpose made
of clay, into the farther end of which they put the herb, so dry
that it may be rubbed into powder, and putting fire to it, they draw
the smoke into their mouths, which they puff out again through their
nostrils like funnels, along with it plenty of phlegm and defluxion
from the head. In these theatres, fruits, such as apples, pears,
and nuts, according to the season, are carried about to be sold, as
well as ale and wine.
There are fifteen colleges within and without the city, nobly built,
with beautiful gardens adjoining. Of these the three principal
are:-
I. The Temple, inhabited formerly by the Knights Templars; it seems
to have taken its name from the old temple, or church, which has a
round tower added to it, under which lied buried those Kings of
Denmark that reigned in England.
II. Gray's Inn. And,
III. Lincoln's Inn.
In these colleges numbers of young nobility, gentry, and others, are
educated, and chiefly in the study of physic, for very few apply
themselves to that of the law; they are allowed a very good table,
and silver cups to drink out of. Once a person of distinction, who
could not help being surprised at the great number of cups, said,
"He should have thought it more suitable to the life of students, if
they had used rather glass, or earthenware, than silver." The
college answered, "They were ready to make him a present of all
their plate, provided he would undertake to supply them with all the
glass and earthenware they should have a demand for; since it was
very likely he would find the expense, from constant breaking,
exceed the value of the silver."
The streets in this city are very handsome and clean; but that which
is named from the goldsmiths who inhabit it, surpasses all the rest;
there is in it a gilt tower, with a fountain that plays.
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