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opened, January 23, 1570-71, in person, by Queen Elizabeth, who, accompanied by her nobles, proceeded from her house in the Strand (Somerset House), to Sir Thomas Gresham's, in Bishopsgate-street, where she dined. Returning through Cornhill, she entered the Bourse on the south side, and, after having viewed every part of it above ground, especially the Pawne, which was richly furnished with all sorts of the finest wares in the city, she caused the same Bourse, by a herald and trumpet, to be proclaimed as the Royal Exchange. From the rents of the shops Sir Thomas Gresham derived considerable profit; each producing first 4 marks, (2l. 13s. 4d.,) and next 41. per year: the vaults were used for stowing merchandize. Sir Thomas died in 1579, and his wife in 1596. The latter enjoyed the rents arising from the Exchange, and all the houses, buildings, &c. belonging to it, amounting to an annual income of 751l. 5s., besides all charges and reprises.

THE NEW ROYAL EXCHANGE. THE prefixed Engraving represents the south-west elevation of the New Royal Exchange; the first stone of which will be laid, with great ceremony, on Monday, the 17th inst., by His Royal Highness Prince Albert, attended by the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, the Gresham Committee, &c. Upon the eve of this ceremonial, and before proceeding to the details of the new edifice, it may be interesting to glance at the two Exchanges which have been built upon nearly the same site as the proposed one will occupy-namely, the north-western extremity of CornNotwithstanding the early commercial importance of the city of London, the merchants and citizens appear to have been without some fixed establishment where they might assemble and prosecute their commercial transactions, until long after the building of the Bourse, at This Exchange was destroyed in the Great Fire of Antwerp, in the year 1531. Hitherto, the merchants had 1666; but it was soon rebuilt by the City, and Company been accustomed to assemble twice a day in the open air in of Mercers. Foundation-stones of certain portions of the Lombard-street. The king himself (Henry VIII.), how-building were laid by Charles II., the Duke of York, ever, so early as 1535, proposed that they should remove (afterwards James II.) and Prince Rupert. The structure to the old edifice of Leadenhall, which they declined was very nearly on the plan of the original Exchange. doing; and in 1537, Sir Richard Gresham laid before There has been much dispute as to the architect of the Thomas Cromwell, then Lord Privy Seal, the plan of a design :-Mr. Elmes claims it as Sir Christopher Wren's, Bourse for London, to which he had, probably, been and considers Mr. Edward Jerman, (to whom the entire incited by a visit to Antwerp. Before retiring from his design has been attributed,) as the City Surveyor; adding, mayoralty, in the following year, he made another effort that the bell-tower was by Hawksmoor. Mr. Tite, F.S.A. to complete his design, in a letter to Lord Cromwell, states the Exchange to have been erected "under the which is still extant. He states therein, that "it will superintendence of Mr. E. Jerman, one of the surveyors cost £2,000, and more ;" and, at the same time, shows the to the city, at an outlay of £58,962." The statue of real cause why the work was not then and there carried Gresham, which had been saved from the Great Fire, was into effect; since, he adds, "there is certain houses in the placed in the new building, as well as those of the said street belonging to Sir George Monnocks, and, except sovereigns of England. This Exchange, with some alterwe purchase them, the said Burse cannot be made. ations, (chiefly the re-building of the clock tower, in Wherefore, may it please your good lordship, to move the 1821, when the whole edifice was repaired,) stood till king's highness to have his most gracious letters directed to the said Sir George, willing, and also commanding him to cause the said houses to be sold to the Mayor and Commonalty of the City of London, for such prices as he did purchase them for, and that he fault not, but to accomplish his gracious commandment. The letter must be sharply made, for he is of no gentle nature; and, that he shall give further credence to the Mayor, I will deliver the letter, and handle him the best I may; and, if I may obtain to have the same houses, I doubt not but to gather £1,000 toward the building, or I depart out of mine office. There shall lack no goodwill in me."

The project which thus originated with Sir Richard Gresham, was realized by the liberality and enterprise of his son, Sir Thomas, who commenced his Exchange in London in the year 1566; the city having previously purchased 80 houses, covering the ground necessary for the building, according to Sir Richard Gresham's proposal. The ground was also made level, at the expense of the city; and Sir Thomas Gresham, on June 7, laid the first stone of the foundation, accompanied by several aldermen, and every one of whom, as Stow informs us, laid a piece of gold, which the workmen picked up: they forthwith set to work, with such diligence, that by November, 1567, the building was slated, and, shortly after, was finished. It closely resembled the Exchange at Antwerp: like the latter, the Exchange of London had a tall tower placed on the east side of the principal entrance, containing a bell, which, twice in the day, summoned the merchants to assemble at noon, and at six in the evening. In the interior of both, we observe the same quadrangular arcade, carrying a similar upper story, and surmounted by a high roof, and regular gabled dormers of the same character.

The Royal Exchange received its name on being

"Proclaim through every high street of the city, This place be no longer called a Burse;

But since the building's stately, fair, and strange, Be it for ever called-The Royal Exchange." Queen Elizabeth's Troubles, Part 2. A Play, by T. Heywood, 1609. "There does not appear to have been assigned either by contemporaneous or modern authority, any reason for the change of the name of this edifice by the Queen; though from the very time of the proclamation, it seems to have been most effectual and complete. If, however, at this very distant date, a conjecture may be offered, it might have been a design of Elizabeth, which was never brought to maturity, to have reestablished in this building, the ancient Exchange of the sovereigns of England; the former situation of which remains commemorated, even at the present day, in the street in Cheapside called Old 'Change. It was here that one of those ancient officers, known as the King's Exchanger,' was placed; whose duty it was to attend to the supply of the Mints with bullion, to distribute the new coinage, and to regulate the exchange of foreign coin. Of these officers there were anciently three: two in London--at the Tower and Old 'Change, and one in the city of Canterbury. Subsequently, another ancient rendezvous of the merchants; and it appears not imwas appointed with an establishment in Lombard-street, the probable that the Queen's intention was to have removed this functionary to what was now pre-eminently designated the Royal Exchange.'"-Lecture on Exchanges, delivered to the Architectural Society, by W. Tite, esq., F.S.A. 1840.

the lowermost of which contained a mullioned window, form"This front had, besides a spire-like tower of three stories, ing two arched openings with a circular compartment above them, an ugly tall lantern, covered with a bell-shaped roof, at each extremity of the part projecting from the main building. These last were removed altogether; and Mr. Smith's tower, though not without a certain degree of heaviness, partly

January 10, 1838, when it was entirely destroyed by fire. The tower was 128 feet in height, and had a clock with four dials-the standard time in the city-and three-hour musical chimes, the airs being "God save the King," "Life let us cherish," "There's nae luck about the house," and the 104th Psalm: there were also wind-dials. The vane of this tower, as well as of its predecessors, was a large gilt grasshopper, the crest of Gresham, though not, according to the legend, from a grasshopper's saving Gresham's life, when a poor famished boy; for he was of ancient family, and was educated at Cambridge.

After the fire in 1838, it was proposed to rebuild the Exchange with an open area, as before, but upon an enlarged scale, with improved approaches thereto; for which purpose, the Royal Exchange and Gresham committees conferred with the Mercers' Company; and it was decided, that of the cost, £200,000, the sum of £150,000 should be paid by the Corporation of London and Company of Mercers, to be re-imbursed out of the surplus monies of the Gresham estates; and the remaining £50,000, being incurred for the public convenience, and not for the benefit of the Gresham trust, Government agreed to grant the same. The remains of the Exchange were taken down, and designs advertised for; when the Gresham Committee selected that by Mr. Tite, F.S.A.

It will be recollected that the site of the intended building was of a very irregular form; hence has become advisable to clear the ground westward, by removing the two stacks of buildings in front of the Bank, so as to leave an uninterrupted area from the intersection of the streets in front of the Mansion-house; in which area it is intended to place Chantrey'st equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington. The works of the first contract, taken by Messrs. G. and R. Webb, were commenced November 4, 1840, and may be computed at about £10,000. During the excavation beneath the west wall of the former building, were discovered the remains of some Roman structure, founded upon a pit or pond, filled with hardened mud, in which were great quantities of the bones of sheep, bones and horns of stags, fragments of red Roman pottery, pieces of glass and glass vessels, broken lamps, &c.; several copper coins, two of the emperor Vespasian, the remainder of Domitian. Every thing preparatory to the rearing of the superstructure has been completed; and the basement of brick arches, made fire-proof with plate-iron, has been extended beneath the merchants' area, as well as the other portions of the plan. For the second contract, tenders

"After

were sent in by fourteen of the principal builders in town;
the highest being for £135,500, and the lowest, that by
Mr. Jackson, for £115,900, which last was taken.
much consideration as to whether the material employed
should be magnesian limestone, similar to that used for
the Houses of Parliament, it has been determined that
the whole of the exterior of the building, with the excep
tion of the socle, or stylobate, (which is to be of granite,)
shall be of Portland stone, of the best quality, and care-
fully selected at the quarries; it being found that this stone
varies much as to excellence and durability, according to
the beds from which it is procured."*

The plan of the new building, from the direction of the adjacent streets and buildings, will necessarily be that of a truncated triangle; for were the north and south sides continued, they must meet at an acute point towards the end of Prince's street. But that portion is cut off nearly midway of the south front of the Bank, on which line will be the west façade of the New Exchange, fronting the Mansion-house. The east front will be carried parallel to Freeman's court, so as to make the line drawn through the centre of the plan from east to west, two hundred and ninety-three feet; the width of the east end being one hundred and seventy-five feet, and that of the west, ninety feet. This last will have a Corinthian portico of eight columns, forty-one feet in height; the width of this portico will be ninety feet, and its height to the apex of the pedi ment, seventy-five feet; being sixteen feet wider, and seventeen feet higher, than the portico of the church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Behind the portico will be the central entrance to the Exchange, through a large and deeply-recessed arched opening; having on each side an arch of correspondent general character; and the three will be fitted with handsome metal gates. When clear of the portico, the building will be increased in width by Corinthian pilasters, and recesses, making its greatest extent at the west end, one hundred and six feet. The Corinthian order will be continued in pilasters along the other fronts, the interpilasters being filled up by a series of lofty rusticated arches below, (each comprising a shopfront and entresol above it,) and of large segmental-headed windows on the upper floor. The north front, towards the Bank, and the south front, towards Cornhill, will be alike; except that the first will have fifteen, the other only thir teen interpilasters or compartments; and in the centre of both these façades will be an entrance to the merchants' area; this portion of the elevation will be crowned by an attic, enriched with sculpture, and rising above the balustrade, forming the general termination of the edifice. The east front will be very similar to the above in design, except that a clock-tower, or campanile, one hundred and seventy feet high, will be carried up over the centre compartment, and will be terminated by the grasshopper vane of the former Exchange, purchased by the Gresham Committee, as already stated. The area for the merchants, which, in fact, constitutes the Exchange itself, will be nearly in the centre of the edifice; and will be, including the ambulatory around it, one hundred and seventy by one hundred and thirteen feet, or taking the mere open area, one hundred and twenty by sixty feet. This court around it below, and coupled Ionic columns, with arched was originally intended to have an open Doric colonnade windows above; but this portion of the design has been much altered, and is not yet definitively settled. Some Chantrey appears a few days before his lamented decease, alterations are also contemplated in the portico; as breakto have given the finishing touch to the bust of the Duke, casting the line of columns in a manner altogether novel in in plaster, of the size of the head intended to be completed in the metropolis; dividing the interior of the portico into bronze. He had likewise completed a full-sized model of the three compartments, (the centre one in advance of the horse; and with the aid of Mr. Weekes, Chantrey's assistant, the entire statue will, it is expected, be satisfactorily completed.

occasioned by the arched windows between the columns, was in better taste than the original structure."--Ralph Redivivus; Civil Engineer and Architect's Journal, vol. i. p. 131.

*The sale of the first portion of the materials took place in April, 1833, and produced nearly £2,000. The porter's large hand-bell, (rung daily, to warn the merchants of the close of the 'Change,) with the handle consumed, valued at 10s, was sold for £3. 3s.; the griffins supporting the City arms, £30 and £35 per pair; the two busts of Queen Elizabeth on the north and south sides, £18; the two busts of Queen Elizabeth on the east and west sides, £10. 15s.; the copper grasshopper-vane, with the iron upright, was reserved by the Committee; the carved figures of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, £110. The statues of the Kings and Queens: Anne, £10.5s.; George II. £9. 5s.; George III. and Elizabeth, £11.15s. each; Charles II. £9; and the others, sixteen in number, similar sums.

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Companion to the Almanack for 1842, p. 218.

others,) and lowering the pitch of the pediment. Still, of the details of these alterations we cannot speak confidently. We believe that the arrangements of the plan will be as follow the ground-floor to be chiefly appropriated to shops and offices, except a portion of the north-east corner, to be given to Lloyd's; and the south-west to the Royal Exchange Assurance Office. On the first, or principal floor, the Subscribers' room, Commercial-room, Reading-room, and other apartments of Lloyd's, will occupy the whole of the eastern portion of the building, and about two-thirds of the northern. The Gresham lecture-rooms, library, and other apartments, will fill up the rest of the north front, and part of the west. The south front, in nearly all its length, will be given to the Corporation of the London Assurance. The first stone of the building, (to be laid by Prince Albert on the 17th instant,) will be the fouudation of one of the columns of the merchants' area, on the north side of the ambulatory, the particular column being the first west of the centre opening, or entrance. This spot has been fixed upon as being relatively the same as that chosen when Charles the Second laid the first stone of the former Exchange.

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By the terms of the contract, the whole of the works are to be completed by Midsummer, 1844. Mr. Tite's design is much approved of in the City. It will, however, be probably still further altered in the progress of the structure, as there is a correspondent disposition on the part of the architect and the Committee, to mature and improve the design. When the Exchange is completed, it will materially contribute to render this portion of the City one of the most embellished sites of the metropolis. It will, indeed, be the nucleus of a magnificent architectural assemblage with the Bank of England, an elaborately enriched pile, very picturesque in parts, on the north, and beyond it, the palatial edifices of the Alliance and Sun offices; southward, several ornamental house-fronts in Cornhill, terminating in the handsome architectural object of the Globe Insurance office; westward, the Mansionhouse, in effect resembling a massive Italian palace; whilst in the area will be placed the last work of the greatest sculptor of our times-the statue of "the hero of a hundred fights," whose name must ever be associated with Britain's glory, and the prosperity and embellishment of her metropolis. Nor must be forgotten the splendid new streets, already radiating from this spot-as Moorgate and Prince's streets, the former with its Italian palazzo "offices," and less showy, but of far better architectural character, than Regent street; and King William street, somewhat exceptionable in design, but more interesting as leading to London Bridge, one of the mechanical triumphs of the age, and contesting with another structure across the same stream, the proud distinction of “the finest bridge in the world!"*

NEW YEAR'S DAY CUSTOM.

IN the neighbourhood of Monmouth, on New Year's Day, the little boys carry in their hands, to excite the admiration and liberality of their richer neighbours, pretty devices, made and adorned in the following manner:A strip of deal is placed perpendicularly, being, as it were, the stem of a tree. From this, at intervals, other pieces branch off horizontally; the extremities of these branches are adorned with apples,-some gilded, others covered with silver tissue, some with flour, stuck over with black and white oats, arranged in different figures. The whole is surmounted by a branch of the box-tree, to the

*Canova awarded this distinction to Waterloo Bridge.

leaves of which are attached hazel-nuts, by inserting the leaf into the smaller end of the nut, which is slightly opened, and then collapses. The whole has the appearance of a gay and pretty shrub, and makes a rattling noise, when moved, by the clashing of the nuts. The gilded apples and black oats are supposed to be substitutes for the orange, stuck with cloves, which appears formerly to have been a New Year's Gift. So, Ben Jonson, in his Christmas Masque : "he has an orange and rosemary, but not a clove to stick in it." And among "Merry Observations upon every Month, and every remarkable Day throughout the whole Year," under January, it is said,— on the first day of this month will be many gifts. Children, to their inexpressible joy, will be dressed in their best bibs and aprons, and may be seen handed along the streets, some bearing Kentish pippins, others oranges, stuck with cloves, in order to crave a blessing of their godfathers and godmothers.”—Communicated from Malvern, to the Gentleman's Magazine, Jan. 1842.

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BEFORE DINNER, AND AFTER.
GUESTS were assembled-formal, prim, and staid-
The conversation did not yet come pat in;
The bachelor found speeches ready made,
The ready maid looked twice as hard as Latin;
The lord was stiff-the lady half afraid
To spoil her silk dress with the chair she sat in!
A dreadful dull demureness fill'd the place;
Room-attics might be caught on that first floor;
No racy word, from all the human race

There gathered-nothing to create a roar-
Weather and poetry their themes of grace-

They talked of snow, and Byron,-nothing Moore. There broke no pun upon the startled ear

Nothing the soul of etiquette to smother; None were at home, but each on each did leer, As who should say, "You're out," and "Does your

mother?"

Their words were dry, and yet they did appear
To throw cold water upon one another!
They stood, or sat, like lumps of social stone,

Their wheel of life went round, yet no one spoke;
Or, if they did, not speeches from the thrown
From horse or gig, were more devoid of joke;
The little fire that, in the grate had grown

Dim, had a longing for a stir, or poke.
The hes were stupid, and, it might be said,
The shes were as uneasy as the hes:
It was all heavy there, and nothing led

To anything, but minding Q's and P's;
While every heart was absent, every head

Ran upon "soup, fish, flesh, fowl, tart, and cheese.” Nothing was on the carpet, when there came

This bright announcement-" Dinner on the table!" Then wagg'd the tongues, which soon began to frame A young confusion, like to bees, or Babel, And each face wore a smile, that quite became, Just as a doctor's bottle wears a label. Dinner passed over-they were quite genteel; The wine went very fast and freely round; None vulgarly, that day, took malt with meal, But still in the best spirits all were found; As they sat at table, they did feel

As if their soles would never touch the ground. The cloth was cut, and the dessert was spread,

Fresh bottles crowned the hospitable board, Their jolly cheeks grew fast from white to red; So passed the wine-their bark of life was moor'd Quite safe in port, while head did nod to head, Familiar as the scabbard to the sword.

Now grew the conversation fast to fruit,
The fruit had grown already very fine;
The wine produeed no whining, and, to boot,
No epicure repined about the pine;
But love did all around his arrows shoot,

Lanced from his beaur against the ladies fine.
Each Miss's joke now made a pleasant hit,
No lover's sally could be deem'd a miss;
Less stately, too, the dowagers did sit-

They let their feelings loose on that and this;
Their tongues, in fact, were bridled not a bit--

The prude would have said “thank ye" for a kiss.
The guests gave out a host of best good things,
By way of compliment to their good host;
Brimfull of eloquence, a friend upsprings,
And hopes that he will always rule the roast;
The praises of the belles another rings,

And turns, at once," the Ladies" to a toast.
So freedom reigns; whereby it seemeth clear
That people grow most cordial after dinner;
Till then, the dearest woman seems less dear,

The thinnest gentleman's thin wit grows thinner;

The cheerful will be cheerless, without cheer

You must have meat and drink, as you're a sinner!— Comic Almanack for 1842.

BLANCHE HERIOT.

A LEGEND OF OLD CHERTSEY CHURCH.

CHAPTER III.

Hoer Blanche delayed the Curfew. "Trembling in the realms of sound, It mounts, it mounts, it shakes!

Its first vibration wakes!"'

SCHILLER; BY LADY FLORA HASTINGS. HERRICK EVENDEN, in spite of his quarrel with the two soldiers of Edward's army, did not feel at all disposed to enjoy himself the less on that account, and he therefore waited carousing at the Rose Hostelrie, after the evening had set in, until he found himself publicly stating that he was the rightful successor to the throne after all. Whereupon, inclining to the belief that his brain was becoming slightly confused, from the quantity of corned beef he had indulged in, he began to think of going home. He consequently rose to depart, and after wandering somewhat vaguely amongst the scattered houses that then formed the village, he reached his abode, guided by the small lamp that twinkled in the laboratory of his father; who, besides being a learned leech, or physician, was accounted cunning in the occult sciences, and a skilful alchymist, having worked out a notable powder of projection, by which gold could be converted into lead a discovery which did not lead to the profitable results which he had anticipated would accrue from it.

The young reveller retired to bed upon arriving at home, leaving his father poring over a small crucible in his furnace; and after a quarter of an hour's confused musing, fell into a deep sleep. He was dreaming he saw King Edward's head on the top of the May-pole, and that the villagers were shooting at it with their arbalists in turn, instead of a popinjay, when he was awakened, after a short slumber, by a hurried knocking at the porch door. As soon as he could collect his ideas, he sprang out of bed, and throwing open his casement, demanded the cause of the intrusion, when he was somewhat surprised at his challenge being answered in a soft tremulous voice, begging earnestly for admission.

Herrick immediately hurried on a few articles of dress, and descended to the laboratory for a light, which he was

just able to procure, as his father had fallen asleep over his task, and the contents of the crucible had bubbled over into a white efflorescence upon the few live embers that remained. Thinking that the old man's services might be required, he aroused him, and then proceeded to open the door and admit the patient, or whoever else it might be that sought him at so unreasonable a time. His surprise was not diminished when the pale, terror-stricken features of Blanche Heriot, met his gaze.

"Mistress Heriot!" cried both father and son, at the same time. "For heaven's sake tell us what brings you here at this hour of the night?"

"Oh, I shall go mad, Master Evenden," cried the terrified girl, as she threw herself upon a settle, and pressed her hand upon her forehead. "My brain seems turning round, and still the horrid object is before my eyes."

66

Compose yourself, my dear young lady," said the old leech, kindly, as he took her hand; " you are with friends Has Sir Mark returned from a skirmish wounded, or are any of your retainers stricken with illness ?"

here.

"There is a horrid corpse on the staircase," replied Blanche, wildly, "by the panel leading to the hall gallery. Its head is shattered in the helmet, and the blood has dripped and clotted on the steps. I was obliged to cross it as I came down, and it grinned at me-I see it laughing now!"-and she buried her face in her mantle, as if to shut out the dreadful vision.

In a few minutes she became sufficiently collected to relate to Master Evenden and his son, the principal occurrences of the night. It appeared that, after the soldiers had quitted the house, she had gone over to the monastery for succour, and was astonished to find Neville there, in sanctuary. He had explained to her the fearful position in which he was placed, and likewise the hope he still cherished of ultimate escape. At the commencement of the conflict at Tewkesbury, when the Duke of Gloucester, who commanded the first line of Edward's army, attempted to carry the half-finished entrenchment which Margaret had thrown up, the Yorkists had been repulsed with considerable slaughter, through the intrepidity of the Duke of Somerset. At this period, a wounded nobleman of the opposite party fell at Audeley's side, and was about to be speared by one of the Lancastrian soldiers, had not Neville ordered him to desist, and dragged his fallen foe from the mélée, under cover of the bank. The nobleman, struck by the generous act, had drawn a ring from his finger, and given it to Neville, telling him he might upon emergency, claim a favour from Edward, by presenting, or sending the ring to him.

"And now," continued Blanche, “ upon the success of this mission his life hangs. You have long been attached to him, Herrick Evenden, and to you alone would he commit the trust-will you save him ?"

"By the mass, lady," returned Herrick, "were I to ride a hurdle to Tower hill, with nothing but a short shrift and a long halter for my reward when I got there, I would do it to save Neville Audeley from the clutches of these knaves, whose livers are as pale as their own roses.-Where is the ring ?"

"It is here," replied Blanche, drawing a costly jewel from her fore-finger, bearing the Beaufort crest; 66 preserve it as you would your life! And now, Herrick, depart-there is a fleet horse at Redwynde, which awaits your coming, Spare neither whip nor steed, I implore you, but seek out King Edward if he has returned to London, and claim this boon from him. And remember the Curfew is Neville's death peal!"

"It shall not ring his knell to-night, however," said Herrick, as he received the ring. "Father, you will accompany Mistress Blanche to the monastery, and await

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