THE REGALIA.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1160, 22 June 1911, Page 10

THE REGALIA.

Emblems and Insignia of Royalty. The. Regalia of England consists of the crown, sceptre with the era-.-, the verse or rod with the dove, the so-called sto.IT of St. Edward the Confessor, four other sceptres, (lie ampulla for the sacred oil, the Coronation ring, the spurs of chivalry, and several other articles valuable in themselves and interesting in their associations. These are now preserved in Hie Jewel Room of tlie Tower of London, and form one of tho lno.-t interesting sielits to strangers visiting tho metropolis. 11l former limes tiiey were kept in the Treasury of the Temple or in that of Westminster Abbey. Tho authorities of the latter place, however, seem to have been la x in their .guardianship. Taking the opportunity of Edward's departure for Scotland in 1303, eerlain burglarious monks

and their associates broke into the treasure IchambcTj- and abstracted sonic'of it's most ■ valuable contents. Tho thieves were not ;without discretion. They wisely, left tho Crowns alone,' and threw the consecra-it-ipiv, ring and ..Henry.-Ill's secret seal on tlie. flo'or. After this the articles--were re.nioved to the'Towor, -where they still aro 'kept. ' ' ■ Pawning the Regalia. - Til the'Plan'tagenet timos, however, tho 'Regalia did not remain anywhere, for any length of time, as their value made' them convenient, articles to deposit by way of security in the hands of money-lenders. .'Wo. find theni at ono time pledged by Henry 111 to certain merchants in Paris. •At another by. Edward 111 to certain merchants in Flanders. His grandson got possession of them again, but only to consign them to tho Bishop of London and | tho Earl of Arundel as security for a loan of .£IO,OOO. Shakespeare makes Bolingbroke's adherents assert that the proud rebel returned to England to "redeem from broking pawn the blemished crown." Tho office of Keeper of the Regalia became, in tho reign of the Tudors, a post of groat emolument and dignity, and the "Master of the Jewel House" took rank as the first Knight Bachelor of England. In IGI2 tho Commons, assuming to themrights which' they had denied to', the King, authorised Ilenrv Martvn to break open the Royal chest and sell the' contents. Among the historic rigalia'. thus confiscated were "the linnerial Crown of massive gold, commonly "called- King Edward's Crown, King Alfred's Crown of gold wirework, set with slight stones and two little bells; tlie Queen's Crown; Edward Vi's Crown and Queen Edith's Crown, formerly thought to be of maSsivo gold, but, upon trial, found to be silvergilt, enriched with garnets, "foulo" pearl, sapphires, and some odd stones. "When England grew tired of tho Protectorate a ! new set of Regalia became necossarv, and in the first year of tho Restoration ono i goldsmith's bill alone amounted to <£31,978 9s. lid. • ; I Colonel Blood and the Jewels. The "Merry Monarch" very nearly lost his own crown jewels some iew years afterwards. In his reign the emoluments of tho Keeper of the Regalia "had been so cut down, that, by way of compensation, the Keeper was allowed to. exhibit the Crown Jewels to all those who cared to pay a small ice, just as is done' at the present time in tho Tower. This gave one' Colonel iJlood the opportunity "for tiio' most audacious attempt to steal ever known. 'iliomas Blood was a native of tho county of Meath, and the son cf n biack■smith. Irom his curliest years he gave token of his aptitude tor a lite of crime, lie seems to have been famous for daring plots, for in he formed one tor ■surprising Dublin Castle, and made two attempts on the lite of hho chivalrous Duke of Ormonde. While he was concealing himself in one of the lower haunts of London, the thought struck him that,-to steal the Crown Jewels:from their,'place in the Tower would''-'be a magnificent exploit. If successtul, it would not only, enrich him for life, but. be the means of handing down his'namo to posterity as the most daring thief of. all time. An'old man' named Talbot Edwards, then in his eightieth year, was Deputy-Keeper of tho Regalia". For. a small fee the old man was allowed to admit strangers into the room where .thpy were kept. Blood, under tho guise of a country parson, managed so to iiigratiato himself with the Deputy-Keeper that at last ho proposed a match between his nephew and Edward's daughter, stating that he would bring him and two friends on May i) to bo introduced to Miss Edwards and to see the Regalia. And, as his friends had to leave London early, sevc-n o'clock was fixed. Early in the morning Blood arrived with his three confederates, armed with pocket pistols and a rapier. The' women were all upstairs in a blissful twitter of expectation awaiting tho arrival of the devoted swain. Blood,' however, said ho would remain below until his wife arrived. In the meantime, would Mr. Edwards allow his friends to see the precious Royal gems of which they had heard so'much. Of course, the old 'man was only too glad, and escorted them to where the treasure lay. Then entered the room. The old man turned to lock the door, as he was bound to do by his in-Iructions, when he was seized by powerful hands, a cloak was thrown over his head', a gag forced into his mouth, and he was (old his life would be spared if he remained quiet. .Undismayed by fear of instent dentil, however. Ilio old man struggled hard, but a blow from ono of the ruffians brought him to tho ground, stunned. Blood then, placed' the crown under his cloak, Parrot took the globe and hid it in the slack of his

voluminous breeches, while Ihe third had almost filed the sceptro in two for greater convenience of storage, when Hie fourth man, stationed outside, gave an alarm, and tho robbers lied. Thy son of Iho old Keeper had just arrived from Inlanders with a brother-in-law. Captain lieckmau. The villains gol past them, but Ilie.v were pursued, overtaken, and seized, lllood remarking—" 11 was a gallant attempt, however unsuccessful, for it: was for a Crown." Strange to say, the Merrie Monarch gratefully rewarded Wood for his during attempt to rob him of his crown bv pensioning him. while he left Iho faithful custodian of tho ,lc\vel House unpaid for risking his life in defence of the Jtoval treasures. Another Narrow Escapc. In t.lie October of 1811, a considerable portion of the Tower was destroyed by lire. Tlie damage was estimated at •£200,000. During the progress-of the conflagration the Jewel Tower was in such danger that it. was believed impossible to avert its destruction. So it was determined to remove the Regalia to a place of safety. But the difficulty was how to

get at , thc'm. i T'hey/'werer secured in' a strong iron ' grating,', tho... keys';,ofwhich' were in; Court personage 'quite,out-of''reach at the moment, whilst.■ th.c : ''fire, was advancing on the Jewel ' R00m.;.;,'.: .Crowbars '.were procured, and an opening, was made in'tho grating for a person-to ■ squeeze through. A superintendent of- police was pushed, through, and lie handed the imperilled articles out. The- last .'to .be secured' was a silver font, which was too large to bo taken out till more crowbar work had been done. The precious articles 'were, all conveyed safely to the Governor's house, and a'most extraordinary spectacle' presented itself, says one,-"in the warders carrying the crowns and other appurtenances of Royalty between, groups of. soldiers, policemen, and firemen,'many of them with garments charred in'a highly' picturesque way." '» At the time of Blood's attempt, tho Regalia was kept in a. strong vaulted chamber of the Martin Tower, hence callcd the Jewel Tower. They were shown behinds strong bars, but a woman in 1815 managed to force her hands through, and tore tho Royal Crown to pieces. Tho present Jewel House was built in 1812, south of the Martin Tower. Orb, Ring, and Spoon. : When a Sovereign is being crowned ho holds" in his hand a round globe, with a cross 1 on the top of it. This is called a mound. It is supposed to have a symbolical meaning—the ball representing tho ; world.(for the temporal power). And the cross stands on tlie top of the orb to show "that the whole world is subject to 'the Power and Empire of Christ our Redeemer."' This, ring is-placed on the fourth finger of the Sovereign's right hand after the crown has been placed upon tho head, tho Royal sceptre in the right hand, and tho rod of equity or sceptre with the

dove in the left. This is a rilby ring,, said to have been worn by Edward tiio Confessor, and to have been used at every coronation since his day. The following tradition is told concerning it:— An,old man once asked alms of Ihe King, who, having no money, drew the ring from the finger and gave -it to the beggar. Two pilgrims in the Holy Lalid some years after had lost their way, and an old man putting them right, and finding, they were Englishmen, gave them a ruby ring to be returned to the King of England, who had given it to him, little knowing that it was St. John tho Evangelist who had appeared before him in the guise of a beggar. Another relic of llic old regalia which will be used at the Coronation is the anointing spoon. It is of pure gold, with four pearls in - the broadest part of the handle: the bowl is finely chased, and of very curious antique' workmanship. Into liiis spoon the consecrated oil is poured from tho ampulla, which is in Hie form of an eagle with extended wings upon a pedestal of pure gold, finely chased. Tho head screws off at the middle of the ncck tor the convenience of putting in the nil,, which is poured out through the beak.. This golvn vessel is capable of containing . .six! ounces of oil. Its height is nine inches, its'breadth from the points of the wings seven inchcs, and the weight about nine ounces,