Margaret was forced away from her father, but a second time broke away and threw her arms round his neck, with such piteous cries of "Oh my father, my father!" that the very guards were melted into tears, while he, "remitting nothing of his steady gravity," gave her his solemn blessing and besought her "to resign herself to God's blessed pleasure, and to bear her loss with patience."

Immediately opposite the Traitor's Gate, another ancient arch with a portcullis admits us to the Inner Ward. The old ring on the left of the arch is that to which the rope was fastened, stretched across the roadway, from the boat which brought in the prisoners. This is altogether the most picturesque point in the building. It is called the Bloody Tower, from the belief that here the sons of Edward

IV. were murdered by order of their uncle Richard III. There is not, however, any proof that, if the murder was committed, it occurred here, and the present name has only been given to the place since the reign of Elizabeth: it was previously called "the Garden Tower," because it joined the constable's garden, which now forms part of the parade.

Though there is no proof that the princes were murdered here, a very old tradition points out the angle at the foot of the wall, outside the gate on the right, as the place of their hasty burial by their reputed assassins, Dighton and Forrest, before their removal by Richard III. to the foot of the staircase in the White Tower.

The gate looks the same now as it did when Sir Thomas Wyatt passed through it to his prison, when Sir John Bridges seized him and shook him by the collar, calling him names and saying "but that the law must pass upon thee, I would stick thee with my dagger "—"To the which," says Holinshed, "Wyatt, holding his arms under his side, and looking grievously with a grim look upon the lieutenant, said, 'It is no mastery now,' and so passed on."

It is from the little portico on the right within the Bloody Gate that nightly, at 11 P.M., the sentry of the guard challenges the Chief Warder having the keys of the fortress -"Who goes there?" "Keys." "Whose keys?" "Queen Victoria's keys." Upon which the Warder exclaims, "God bless Queen Victoria." The soldiers respond, the keys pass on, and the guard disperse.

Just within the gate, on the right, some steps lead into the Wakefield Tower, where the Regalia is now kept. This tower, which is said to derive its name from the prisoners kept here after the Battle of Wakefield, has a beautiful

vaulted roof. Opening from the raised recess of the window on the south side is the oratory of Henry VI., which tradition points out as the scene of his murder. The centre of the chamber is occupied by a great glass-case containing the Regalia, with the magnificent gold plate used at Coronation banquets. The collection of plate and jewels here

are

stones.

The Queen's State Crown, made 1838. It is covered with precious In front, in the centre of a cross of diamonds, is the famous ruby given to the Black Prince by Don Pedro of Castile (1367) after the Battle of Najera. Henry V. wore it in his helmet at the Battle of Agincourt.

St. Edward's Crown, made for the Coronation of Charles II., and used ever since at coronations. It replaced a crown destroyed during the Commonwealth, which tradition ascribed to the Confessor.

The Prince of Wales's Crown, of gold, without jewels.

The Crown used for the Queen's Consort, of gold, set with diamonds and precious stones.

The Queen's Circlet, made for Mary of Modena, wife of James II. The Orb, a ball of gold, set with jewels and surmounted by a cross, held by the sovereigns in their right hand at coronation, and carried in their left on their return to Westminster Hall. This is a badge of universal authority, borrowed from the Roman emperors.

St. Edward's Staff, a golden sceptre carried before the sovereign at coronation.

The King's Sceptre with the Cross, which is placed in the right hand of the sovereign at coronation by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The King's Sceptre with the Dove, surmounted by a cross, with a dove as the emblem of Mercy.

The Queen's Sceptre with the Cross.

The Queen's Ivory Rod, an ivory sceptre, with a golden cross and dove, made for Mary of Modena.

The Armilla, or Bracelets, worn by sovereigns at coronations.

The Royal Spurs, carried by ancient custom at coronations by the Lords Grey de Ruthyn, as representatives of the Earls of Hastings. The Ampulla, or golden eagle, which holds the consecrated oil at coronations. The spoon belonging to the Ampulla is the oldest piece of plate in the collection.

The Curtana, or Sword of Mercy, carried at coronations between the Swords of Temporal and Spiritual Justice.

The Salt-cellar of State-a model of the White Tower.

The Silver Fountain, presented to Charles II. by the town of Plymouth.

The Silver Font, used at the baptisms of the royal children.

The crown jewels have frequently been pledged by the English kings to Flemish and French merchants. A determined attempt to carry them off was made by an Irishman named Thomas Blood in the reign of Charles II. He was a desperate ruffian, who, amongst other wild deeds, had carried off the Duke of Ormond and very nearly succeeded in hanging him at Tyburn to avenge the deaths of some of his associates in a Dublin insurrection, when the Duke was Lord Lieutenant. On the present occasion he came first

with his supposed wife to see the Regalia, and while there the woman pretended to be taken ill, and her being conveyed into the rooms of Talbot Edwards, the Deputykeeper, then eighty years old, was made the pretext for an acquaintance, which ended in a proposition on the part of Blood to bring about a marriage between his son and the daughter of Edwards. Some days after he returned with the imaginary bridegroom and two other companions, and, while waiting for the lady, begged to show them the crown jewels. Edwards complied, and, as soon as the door, according to custom, was locked on the inside, they gagged the old man, beat him till he was half senseless, and began to pack up the regalia. Fortunately young Edwards returned from Flanders at that moment and arrived to see his father. The old keeper, hearing him, contrived to cry out "Murder," and the conspirators made off, Blood carrying the crown, and one of his companions, Perrot, the orb. They were pursued and seized. The most extraordinary part of the story is, that backed by the reminiscence of his attack on the Duke of Ormond, Blood so contrived to terrify the king by his account of the vengeance which his friends would take in case of his execution, that he was not only released, but allowed a pension of £500 a year! while poor old Edwards, promised a pension which was never paid, was allowed to die almost in destitution.

Before the Regalia were removed hither, the Wakefield Tower was used as a Record office. It was here that Selden, with Sir Robert Cotton, searched for the precedents upon which the Petition of Rights was founded. Here also Prynne forgot the loss of his ears in compiling materials for his books, for when some one asked Charles II. at