441 
LON 
On entering the great gate of the Tower, a warder is in 
readinefs to attend vifitors to thofe parts of the fortrefs 
which are permitted to be fbown ; the firft of whicli is 
called the Spanifh Armory (fituated to the fouth of the 
White Tower), from the fpoils of the Spanifh Armada 
being depolited here, to perpetuate the memory of the 
fignal victory obtained by the Englifh over the whole na¬ 
val power of Spain, in the reign of queen Elizabeth. See 
the article England, vol. vi. p. 658, 9. 
The articles confilt of different kinds of arms in life at 
that time, which it is not neceffary to enumerate. But 
in the fame room are preferved fome other very curious 
articles; the principal of which are thefe: 1. A fmall 
train of ten pieces of brafs cannon, neatly mounted on 
proper carriages ; which were a prefent from the foundery 
of London to king Charles I. when a child, to praftife 
the art of gunnery. 2. Some Danifh and Saxon clubs ; 
weapons which each of thofe people are faid to have ufed 
in their conqueft of England ; and are, perhaps, curiofi- 
ties of the greateft antiquity of any in the Tower. 3. 
King Henry the Vlllth’s walking-lfaff, which has three 
match-lock piftols in it, with coverings to keep the charges 
dry. With this ftaff, it is faid, the king fometimes walked 
round the city, to fee that the conftables did their duty; 
and, one night, as he was walking near the bridge-foot,, 
the conftable (topped him, to know what he did with fuch 
an unlucky weapon at that time of the night; upon which 
the king (truck him ; but, the conftable calling the watch¬ 
men to his affiftance, his majefty was carried to the Poul¬ 
try Compter, where he lay till morning, without either 
fire or candle. When the keeper was informed of the 
rank of his prifoner, he difpatched a mefi'enger to the 
conftable, who came trembling with fear, expecting no¬ 
thing lefs than death ; inftead of which, the king applauded 
liis refolution in honeftly doing his duty, and made him 
a handfome prefent ; at the fame time he fettled upon St. 
Magnus parifli an annual grant of twenty-three pounds 
and a mark; and made provifion for furnifhing thirty 
chaldron of coals, and a large allowance of bread, annu¬ 
ally, for ever, toward the comfortable relief of his fellow- 
prifoners, and their fuccefl'ors. 4. A large wooden can¬ 
non, called Policy, becaufe, as we are informed, when 
Henry VIII. befieged Boulogne, the roads being impaffa- 
ble for heavy cannon, hecaufed a number of thele wooden 
ones to be made, and mounted on proper batteries before 
the town, as if real cannon ; which fo terrified the French 
commandant, that, when he beheld a formidable train, as 
he thought, juft ready to play, he gave up the towm with¬ 
out firing a (hot.—At the upper end of this room, under 
a canopy, is an elegant group of figures, reprefenting 
queen Elizabeth alighting from her horfe, to review her 
fleet at Tilbury. The figure of the queen is ftrikingly 
majeftic : it is attired in the armour (lie is faid to have 
worn upon that occafion, with a white filk petticoat, cu- 
rioufly ornamented with pearls, &c. Her robe, or upper 
garment, is of rich crimfon fatin, laced and fringed with 
gold. The horfe is a noble animal, of a cream-colour; 
his bridle ornamented with gilt metal, and the faddle co¬ 
vered with crimfon velvet, laced and fringed with gold. 
At the head of the horfe hands a page, holding the bridle 
with his left hand, and in his right is the queen’s helmet, 
decorated with a plume of white feathers. His drefs is of 
fnuft'-coloured filk lined with blue, and a blue filk fafh 
fringed with gold, according to the fafhion of the time. 
The attitude of this figure is remarkably fine. 
From the Spanifh Armory the vifitor is conduced to 
the Horfe Armory, where the following things are pre- 
fented to his notice : 1. The figuresof the horfe and foot, 
on the left hand, fuppofed to be drawn up in military or¬ 
der, to attend on the kings on the other fide of the room. 
Thefe figures, which are as large as life, are very frefh, 
and have a noble appearance. 2. A large tilting-lance of 
Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk, general to king Hen¬ 
ry VIII. This nobleman excelled at the then-fafhionable 
uliverfion of tilting; and, engaging the king, who was 
¥-ot. XIII. No. 918. 
D O N. 
likewife pafiionately fond of that royal exercife, gave him 
fuel) a fhock with his fpear as had nearly coft him his li.‘e. 
3. A complete fuit of tilting-armour, fuch as the kings, 
nobility, and gentry at arms, ufed to exercife irt 
on horfeback; at which diverfion Henry II, king of 
France was killed, by a driver of a fpear ftriking him in 
the eye. 4. A complete fuit of armour, made for king 
Henry VIII. when he was but eighteen years of age. It 
is at lea ft fix feet high, and the joints in the hands, 
arms, thighs, knees, and feet, play like the joints of a 
rattle-fnake, and are moved with all the facility imagina¬ 
ble. The method of learning the exercife of tilting, was 
upon wooden horfes fet on caftors, which, by the (way of 
the body, could be moved every way ; fo that, by fre¬ 
quent praflice, the rider could (hift, parry, (trike, unhorfe, 
and recover, with furprifing alertnefs. Several of the 
horfes in this armory have been ufed for this purpofe; 
but the caftors have been fome years taken off. 5. A verv 
fmall fuit of armour, made for king Charles II. when 
prince of Wales, and about feven or eight years of age, 
with a piece of armour for his horfe’s head ; the whole 
molt curioufly wrought, and inlaid with fiiver. 6. The 
armour of lord Courcy, who, as the warders fay, was 
grand champion of Ireland; and, as a proof, (how yon 
the very fword he took from the champion of France; 
for which valiant aftion he, and all his fuccefl'ors, have 
the honour to wear their hats in the king’s prefence ; 
which privilege is at this time enjoyed by lord Kinfale, as 
head of that ancient and noble family, who is always pre- 
fented to the king, on his firft appearance at court, with 
his hat on. 7. A number of real coats of mail, called 
brigandine jackets. They confilt of fmall bits of fteel, 
quilted one over another fo as to refift the point of a 
fword ; and yet are fo flexible, that the body may be bent 
in them any way, the fame as in common clothing. 8. 
An Indian fuit of armour, fent as a prefent to Charles IT. 
from the Great Mogul. It is made of iron quills, about 
two inches long, finely japanned, and ranged in rows, 
one row flipping over another very artificially. They are 
bound together, with filk twift, very ftrong, and are ufed 
in that country as a defence againft darts and arrows. 9. 
The armour of the great John of Gaunt, duke of Lan- 
cafler, who was the fon, father, and uncle, of a king, but 
was never king himfelf. The armour is feven feet°hiph, 
and the fw'ord and lance are of a mod enormous fize. *io. 
A droll figure of William Somers, jelter to Henry VIII. 
The defeription given of this figure by the warder, is 
calculated more for the amufement of the fpeftator than 
the entertainment of the reader, ir. To the left of this 
figure ftands the line of kings ; hut, by beginning at this 
end of it, the order of chronology is reverfed. You 
therefore begin with his late majefty, George II. in a com¬ 
plete fuit of armour, richly gilt, fitting with a fword in 
his hand, on a white horfe richly caparifoned, with a fine 
Turkey bridle, gilt, with globes, crelcents, and liars, vel¬ 
vet furniture laced with gold, gold fringe, and gold trap, 
pings. The other kings, quite back to William the 
Conqueror, are likewife on horfeback and in armour. 
In an inclofure, at the end of this room, is a perfeft 
model of that moft admirable machine, the idea of which 
was brought from Italy, by fir Thomas Loombe, and firft; 
erefted at Derby, at his own expenfe, for making organ- 
zine, or thrown filk. This ingenious gentleman, as we are 
told, made two attempts, at the hazard of his life, for the 
completing of this machine, which, by means of a friar, 
he at length effefted ; and, having obtained the fanftion 
of an aft of parliament, in the year 1742, by which 1400I. 
were granted to his majefty, to be paid to him as a re¬ 
ward tor his eminent fervice, in difeovering and intro¬ 
ducing the faid machine, he finally completed it, and 
brought it into ule. The following is a brief defeription 
of it. It contains 26,586 wheels, and 97,746 movements; 
which work 93,726 yards of filk thread every time the 
water-wheel goes round, which is thrice in one minute. 
One water-wheel gives motion to the reft of the wheels 
.S U ani 
