“The tower”—“the old round tower”—“the old stone tower,” at Newport,
Rhode Island, if not one of the wonders of the world, has at least
excited wonder enough in some of its inhabitants, and been a monument of
deep interest to the traveler, the antiquarian, the controversialist,
and the poet. Its appearance may be seen in the cut below, which is
taken from a drawing made on the spot. For a long time it was the
prevailing belief, that it was built by the Northmen, who, it was
supposed, coasted along the New England shores as early as the twelfth
century. Even the society of Danish antiquaries, gravely came to this
conclusion, from some drawings and accounts that were sent them; and the
discovery of a “skeleton in armor,” on the main land, near Newport, gave
currency to this impression. Later investigations, however, have settled
the point that it was originally built _for a windmill_, about 1676. It
is about seventy-five feet above high-water level in the harbor, and
about one hundred and twenty rods from the shore. Thus has been
dissipated the foundation of many a wild theory, and many a joyous hoax
of other days.
[Illustration: SUBMARINE OR DIVING ARMOR.]