ST. PAUL'S SCHOOL

St. Paul's Churchyard. Founded in 1509, and endowed by Dr. John Colet, Dean of St. Paul's, son of Sir Henry Colet, twice Lord Mayor of London, and the friend of More and Erasmus. "This one divine," writes Erasmus, "Master Colet, was more than a match for us all; he seemed to be filled with a divine spirit, and to be somewhat above a man. He spoke not only with his voice, but with his eyes, his countenance, and his all demeanour."

The present building consists of a centre and wings, ornamented with a colonnade, and was erected in 1824, from the designs, and under the direction of Mr. George Smith, architect. The school is divided into eight classes, or forms; and is under the superintendence of a master, an usher, and a chaplain. The Mercers' Company are the trustees and guardians.

Among the many great and eminent men, educated at this school, were Leland and Camden, the antiquaries; Milton, the immortal author of "Paradise Lost;" Samuel Pepys, the diarist; Calamy, and Marlborough.

MERCHANT TAILORS' SCHOOL,

Suffolk Lane, Cannon Street, was founded in 1561. the present spacious fabric, erected by Sir Christopher Wren, whose father had been educated at the school, is supported on the east side by stone pillars, forming a handsome cloister, containing apartments for the ushers. Adjoining is the chapel, and a well-furnished library. Three hundred boys receive a classical education, one-third of them free, and the rest for a very small stipend. It sends several scholars annually to St. John's, Oxford, in which there are forty-six fellowships belonging to it.

Among other eminent men here educated, may be named Bishop Andrews; Edwin Sandys, the traveller; Archbishop Juxon, who attended Charles I. to the scaffold; Bishop Van Mildetr; Shirley, the dramatist; Lord Clive; Lieut. Col. Derham, the African traveller; and many other shining characters of modern times.

CHAPTER XX.

THE CITY HALLS.

The number of the City Companies, comprising the Livery, is ninety-one, of which forty-nine possess Halls, many of which are of a splendid and interesting character, and may be attractive to strangers; some being remarkable for their magnitude and architectural beauty, or from the paintings and antiquities they possess. Many of the Companies are extremely rich, possessing clear annual revenues of from thirty to fifty thousand pounds.

The Livery Companies hold no insignificant rank in the history of the City of London. Their wealth, the important trusts reposed in them, the noble charities they support, and their connection with the civil constitution of the metropolis, make them not only of primary consequence to every Liveryman and Freeman, but also of engrossing interest to every one who takes a pleasure in being acquainted with the institutions that had the earliest share in laying the foundation of the commerce of his country; and who loves to know something of the government, religion, customs, habits, and expenses under which such institutions attained their princely prosperity.

MERCHANT TAILORS' HALL,

Threadneedle Street. The entrance is by a large nandsome gateway, above which are the arms of the Company, finely executed on stone. Within, are tapestry hangings, containing the history of their patron, St. John the Baptist, exceedingly curious. The hall was built after the Great Fire, by Jarman, the city architect, and is the largest of the companies' halls, and from its size admirably adapted for public meetings, to which purpose it is occasionally applied. It contains portraits of Henry VIII., by Paris Bordone; Charles I., Charles II., (full-length) James II., William III., Queen Anne; George III., and Queen Caroline, by Ramsay; the late Duke of York, by Sir T. Lawrence; the Duke of Wellington, by Wilkie; William Pitt, by Hoppner; and portraits of some of the old officers of the company; as also a charter granted by Henry VIII.

Foster Lane. This noble structure was erected in 1833, from the designs of Mr. Hardwicke, and opened July 15th, 1835. It is an imposing building of Portland stone, in the Italian style, the front having six noble Corinthian columns, over which is a rich entablature, of the same order. It is considerably larger than the old hall, built shortly after the Great Fire, which stood on the same site, and was taken down in 1829.

The staircase, which branches off from right to left, is eighty feet from end to end; it is adorned with statues of the Seasons, by Nixon, and sculptures from the antique on the walls are portraits of George III. and Queen Charlotte, by Ramsay; George IV., on horseback, by Northcote; and William IV., by Sir M. A. Shee; there is also a very fine bust of William IV., by Chantrey.

The livery tea-room is spacious and well-proportioned, wainscotted and panelled with oak, and contains a large conversation piece, by Hudson.

The suite of state rooms is in the west front, the first of which, the court dining room, is fifty-two feet by twenty-eight, and is lined with oak; beyond this is the drawing room, forty-two feet by twenty-eight, which is splendidly fitted up; the ceiling is fretted with a profusion of stucco work; and from it hangs a large and handsome chandelier.

The last room in the suite is the grand banqueting room, a noble apartment, eighty feet in length, forty in breadth, and thirty-five feet in height; it is lighted by five lofty arched windows on the east side, emblazoned with armorial bearings. The ceiling is divided into square compartments, richly ornamented. Along the walls, hung with scarlet drapery, are Corinthian columns of scagliola, in imitation of Siema marble, are portraits of Sir Hugh Middleton, by Jansen; Sir Martin

Bowes, with the cup from which Queen Eilzabeth drank at her coronation; the cup is still preserved by this company, to whom it was bequeathed by him; Queen Adelaide, by Shee; Her Majesty and Prince Albert, by Hayter. In the room are also busts, by Chantrey, of George III., George IV., and William IV.: and a Roman altar, found in excavating for the foundation of the present building.

Amongst the civic companies, or guilds of the City of London, tha of the Goldsmiths is, in some respects, the chief, not only on account of its great antiquity and its wealth, but because it keeps up far more of ancient state and etiquette than the rest; and its entertainments are, if not more luxurious in their cheer, conducted with greater magnificence. It is, besides, with the exception of the Apothecaries' Company, the only one which still continues to exercise any of the functions of its craft, it still retaining the privilege and carrying out the business of assaying and stamping all gold and silver plate before it can be exposed for public sale, which is done in the ground floor rooms, in the rear of the building. This office they were appointed to exercise by letters patent of Edward 1II., in which it is commanded that all work ascertained to be of the proper fineness, shall have upon it "a stamp of a puncheon with a leopard's head." They are also required to assist at "the trial of the pix,” that is, the examination of the coinage, for the purpose of ascertaining whether it is of the sterling weight and purity. The pix (from the Latin pyxis) is the box in which the coins to be weighed and analyzed are contained. The jury of goldsmiths summoned, usually consists of twenty-five, and they meet in a vaulted chamber, on the east side of the cloisters at Westminster, called the chamber of the Pix.

Admission to the Hall may be obtained by an order from the master.

MERCERS' HALL,

Cheapside. Erected by Sir Christopher Wren, after the Great Fire. The front of the building next Cheapside, has a richly sculptured façade, adorned with emblematical figures of Faith, Hope, and Charity; with other enrichments. The entrance from Ironmonger Lane is decorated with rustic stone pillars, supporting an arch, on the keystone of which is the company's arms. The inner court, or piazza, is ornamented with colonnades of Doric columns. The hall and court room are wainscotted with carved oak, ornamented with Ionic columns, and the ceiling with moulded stucco work. The chapel is also wainscotted, and paved with black and white marble. In the hall are some curious and interesting relics of Whittington, "thrice Lord Mayor of London ;" and portraits of Dean Colet, the founder of St. Paul's School; and Sir Thomas Gresham, founder of the Royal Exchange.

London Bridge. Erected in 1833, from designs by Mr. Henry Roberts (a little to the west of the site of the former hall, built by Sir Christopher Wren, and which was taken down for the approaches to London Bridge).

This magnificent edifice is of the Grecian Ionic order, simple in its character, and admirably adapted to the peculiarities of its situation. It is faced with Portland stone; and there are three distinct fronts: that to the east, being the entrance front, consists of a range of attached columns in the centre, and two wings adorned with pilasters, with a lofty attic surmounting the entablature. The Thames Street front presents a receding centre and two projecting wings; and the river front is ornamented by a colonnade of granite, which supports a terrace. These fronts being all separate compositions, do not produce that unity of effect which would have been desirable.

Among other relics, the company possess a curiously carved wood statue of Sir William Walworth, by Edward Pierce, grasping a dagger, said to be the identical one with which he slew Wat Tyler, in Smithfield; on the pedestal are the following lines:

Brave Walworth, Knight, Lord Maior, yt slew
Rebellious Tyler, in his alarmes ;

The king, therefore, did give in lieu,

The dagger to Citye's arme'.

IN THE IV. YEAR OF RICHARD II., ANNO DOMINI 1381.

Here are also portraits of William III. and Queen Mary, by Murray; George II. and Queen Caroline, by Shackleton; Duke of Kent, and Admiral Earl St. Vincent, by Sir W. Beechey; and Her Majesty Queen Victoria, by Herbert Smith.