of his, relating to our old British caftles, read to the Antiquarian Society, and published by them in the 6th volume of the Archæologia. "I fhould be forry to indulge myself in carrying conjectures, relating to high antiquity, too far; but, when I confider with "what care and pains a magnificent ftate"room has been formed, in every one of "these kind of towers of entrance, I can"not but reflect upon what we so often read, "with regard to the earlieft ages of the world, of kings fitting in the gates of cities, and of judgment being administered "in the gate.

"

This note relates immediately to a noble room over the gate-way of the caftle at Tunbridge in Kent, of which the plan is given us in the 34th plate of that volume, but which is nothing peculiar to that caftle, for fimilar rooms were found by him in other ancient buildings of that kind.

This ftate-room, he tells us", " appears "to have been very magnificent, and of great "dimenfions, including the whole area of "all the three rooms beneath 3. It is now "indeed divided into three fuch apartments "as thofe are, but the walls forming the divifions are mere modern erections, of very

P. 290, 291, Note.

2 P. 284, &c.

3 Confequently must have been about 52 feet long, from the measures he gives us of the lower rooms, the thickness of the walls on each fide of the paffage into the castle, and the breadth of the paffage itself.

VOL. III.

I

late

1

"late years, raised (as the proprietor in"formed me) on the top of the original ones "in the lower floor, with a view to fit up a "small room as a library; which design was "afterwards laid afide."

In this state-room is a large fire-hearth and chimney, and "two very fine large win"dows, highly ornamented, in the ftyle that began to be introduced in the time of King John, and in the earliest part of the reign. " of Henry III; but they appear to have had no glass, and to have been fenced only "with iron bars, and wooden fhutters; as "is known to have been the ufage in early ❝ times.

66

-"It was no lefs than 17 feet in height. "The beams of the floor (for greater ftrength) were placed much nearer to each "other than thofe of the floor beneath: indeed they are hardly the width of a beam asun"der; and feem to have been intended to fupport occafionally the weight of a great "concourfe of people.

-"The ceiling of this room was ftill "more remarkable than the floor, being not "lefs than three feet in thickness; defigned

manifeftly to fupport not only the lead "of the fat roof, but moreover the great weight of balistas, catapultas, and other engines of war, placed there occafional

66

ly."

If there were fuch rooms in the towers of entrance into the Jewish cities, it is no wonder they

they made ufe of them for the elders to fit in, when they held their courts of judicature.

I

This gentleman goes no farther in his attempt to illuftrate the Scriptures, but I would beg leave to purfue the thought. In defcribing the ground-floor of this tower of entrance, after the first portcullis, which was of an enormous fize, he tells us was a pair of frong gates about 15 feet farther was another pair of great gates, if the plan is drawn with exactness; and after them a fecond portcullis. In the middle of the whole paffage, and between the two pair of great gates, were two small door-ways, one on each fide, both fecured by a strong portcullis first, and then by an iron door, which led to the two apartments, on either fide the gate-way one. The room on the left hand had no chimney, and feems to have ferved merely for lodging ftores, but that on the right had a large fire-place, and adjoining to it, in the wall, a recefs, which ferved for a privy. Similar rooms were over these, and above them the grand ftate-room, to which they afcended by stair-cafes, to which they went through the lower rooms, as from the ftate-room ftair-cafes led to the leads, or open top of the building.

After this I would fet down the description that the facred hiftorian gives us, of the fituation of David in the entrance of Mahanaim, during the battle fought between his adherents

"And

and Abfalom, and immediately after '. "David fat between the two gates: and the "watchman went up to the roof over the "gate unto the wall, and lift his up eyes and

looked, and behold a man running alone. "And the watchman cried and told the king. "And the king faid, If he is alone, there is

tidings in his mouth. ... And the watch"man faw another man running, and the "watchman called unto the porter, and faid, "Behold, another man running alone. And "the king faid, He alfo bringeth tidings... "And Ahimaaz called, and faid unto the

66

king, All is well.... And the king said, "Turn aside, and ftand here. And he turned afide, and stood ftill. And behold Cushi "came.... And the king faid unto Cushi, "Is the young man Abfalom fafe? And "Cufhi anfwered, The enemies of my lord "the king, and all that rise against thee to "do thee hurt, be as that young man is. "And the king was much moved, and went

up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: "and as he went, thus he faid, O my fon "Abfalom, &c!.... Then the king rofe,

and fat in the gate: and they told unto all "the people, faying, Behold, the king doth "fit in the gate and all the people came

2 Sam. 18. 24-33. ch. 19. 8.

Not two different entrances into that city through different places of it's wall, but two different gates in one and the fame tower of entrance. This Bifhop Patrick faw, and remarks in his commentary on this place.

"before

"before the king: for Ifrael had fled every 66 man to his tent."

Here we fee this tower of entrance into Mahanaim furnished, like the castle at Tunbridge, with two pair of gates, the one at a diftance from the other; the king fitting between them, not, we may justly believe, in the pallage itself, fo as to block up the way, or at all to incommode thofe that might be going or coming, but in a room by the fide of the way, as in the English castle; we find a watchman stationed on the top of this tower of entrance, made, without doubt, commodious for that purpose, by ftair-cafes communicating with each other from the bottom to the top, as the English ftructure was flat, and covered with lead, for the purpose of defcrying at a diftance thofe that were approaching, as well as wounding affailants; we find the obfervations made by this watchman were not communicated by him immediately to the king, but by the intervention. of a warder at the outer gate of this tower; and that there was a communication between this lower room, in which David first placed himself, and the upper room over the gateway, for by that means he retired to give freer vent to his forrows.. All that appears uncertain is, in what part of this building he fat, (for it is evident he continued in fome part of the gate',) when he returned his