Hence we ascend the Lollard's [Footnote: The name Lollard was used as a
term of reproach for the followers of Wyclif. Formerly derived from Peter
Lollard, a Waldensian pastor of the thirteenth century, more recently from
the Middle Dutch "lollen," to hum.] Tower, built by Chicheley--the lower
story of which is now given up by the Archbishop for the use of Bishops
who have no fixt residence in London. The winding staircase, of rude slabs
of unplaned oak, on which the bark in many cases remains, is of
Chicheley's time. In a room at the top is a trap-door, through which as
the tide rose prisoners, secretly condemned, could be let down unseen into
the river. Hard by is the famous Lollard's Prison (13 feet long, 12 broad,
8 high), boarded all over walls, ceiling, and floor. The rough-hewn boards
bear many fragments of inscriptions which show that others besides
Lollards were immured here. Some of them, especially his motto "Nosce te
ipsum," are attributed to Cranmer. The most legible inscription is "IHS
cyppe me out of all al compane. Amen." Other boards bear the notches cut
by prisoners to mark the lapse of time. The eight rings remain to which
the prisoners were secured: one feels that his companions must have envied
the one by the window. Above some of the rings the boards are burned with
the hot-iron used in torture. The door has a wooden lock, and is fastened
by the wooden pegs which preceded the use of nails; it is a relic of
Archbishop Sudbury's palace facing the river, which was pulled down by
Chicheley. From the roof of the chapel there is a noble view up the river,
with the quaint tourelle of the Lollard's Tower in the foreground.
The gardens of Lambeth are vast and delightful. Their terrace is called
"Clarendon's Walk" from a conference which there took place between Laud
and the Earl of Clarendon. The "summer-house of exquisite workmanship,"
built by Cranmer, has disappeared. A picturesque view may be obtained of
Cranmer's Tower, with the Chapel and the Lollard's Tower behind it.
DICKENS'S LIMEHOUSE HOLE [Footnote A: From "A Pickwickian Pilgrimage." The
persons mentioned in Mr. Hassard's account of Limehouse Hole will be
recognized as characters in the novels of Charles Dickens. By arrangement
with, and by permission of, the publishers, Houghton, Mifflin Co.
Copyright, 1881.]
BY JOHN R.G. HASSARD
I took a steamboat one day at Westminster Bridge, and after a voyage of 40
minutes or so landed near Li
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