OCR Text |
Show i-f a ?T'?1'J?"JA?-"" "1!V ""tONDOiV'S LOrlO MAYOi?. When Arrayed tn Stalo Itobe Hts Otorjr la I.Ike Unto Solomon',, The fountain of municipal honor in En(flaiul undoubtedly nprtna from tho Oulldhall, London, which justly claims to bo accounted tho most nnclcntof our municipal halls, nay tho London Tclcsraph, seeing that tho ord mayors of tho last olfilit conlurics nro with justtco nsMirao'l tohavo had prototypes In tho Roman prefect nnd tho Saxon fortrcyo or portfrravo. l'or o considerable consider-able number of years tho robes of tho lord mayor, tho court of nldcrmou nnd tho common councilors have been tot-tied tot-tied with a precision that none fJivo tins moat rccklovi of Innovators would prctumo to disturb Tlio lonl mayor himself has his "Kold" robo for tho occasion of tho annual tiutldhnll banquet nnd for the times when ho proceeds in slate either to tho new law courts or to tho houses of parliament. parlia-ment. Tho aide. limn have their stmr-lottjowns, stmr-lottjowns, tho sheriffs their distinctive and very hnndmmo robes niul chatm, whllo the common councilors rojoico In (towns called "mnznrlncs," It bolng generally uiiderstool that marnrtrvo Is n tenn for n particular dark-blue color, although, according to omo loxl-cojjrnpliers, loxl-cojjrnpliers, mazarine only means u drinhinjr vestel nnd nn old way of dressing fowln. Tlicn, naln, when tho novcrcign romes Into tho clly, tho lord mayor is bound to don n robo of crimson or purple pur-ple velvet, trimmed with rnnlno. At tho time of his Investlturo ho wears a mnssivo gold chain, hut when ho Is honored by reelection, at tlio expiration expira-tion of his term of olllcc, ho wears two chains. Tlio maeo of sllvcr-gilt, surmounted by n royal crown nnd tho Imperial arms, Is carried before tlio mayor by the nuthorily of tho charter of Kdward III,: while tho city posROhsos no less than four swords ono called "Pearl," presented by Queen IJoss when she opened tho first royal exchange, ex-change, and so called from Its bclntf richly set wjtli pearls. This sword precedes the ohtof mngistrato on all occasions of rejoicing nnd fostlvRy. , Tho sword of stato Is carried bofore tho lord mayor as an emblem of Ills sovereignty within tho city proper; tho "black" sword is used on fast dnys in Lent nnd nt tho death of nny member mem-ber of tho royal family, whllo tho fourth sword Is that placed cloio to tho lord mayor's chair at tho central criminal court. |