interred; nor of the effigies and monuments of the dead whose very names are effaced from their rugged tombs; and who await the last trumpet, girded round, as it were, by the hum of existence, in which they once took so active a part-forgotten and unregistered, save in the mighty records of Eternity. There are pillars and tombs and tablets without this chapel, and carved oak within; dim and solemn; where the light forces its way as by an effort, and sunshine seldom brightens the shade: it was, in its antiquity, new and strange to us, and the echo of our feet as we turned away and mounted the steps leading to the Hall, was heard, despite the roaring of the living tide pouring on,—and on,—and on,-knowing no diminution of number or eagerness of purpose all the day through. Our courteous guide told us that the statue we sought was in the Gresham College, and that we should see it presently; but first he would show us the portraits the Guild possessed of Sir Thomas Gresham and other worthies.

The majesty of the old Hall delighted us; there is something so English and enduring in a perpetuity of oak paneling; and this is enriched by some of Gibbons' carvings-beautiful exceedingly. The effect is most imposing : it is a careful remembrance in 1850 of ancient worthies who would else have been forgotten: a strange and interesting association with old times, preserving memories of active benefactors, in the midst of a dense population totally regardless of the whole. Above the carvings are emblazoned shields of the different masters of the company, the earliest of whom is John Barone, 1371. The Greshams, too, are there, uncle, and father, and son; and above the sideboard, portraits of two masters of St. Paul's School, over which the Mercers have some control. *

In the council chamber are two portraits of Gresham—one a half-length on panel, his hand on a purse, described in Burgon—a dark picture, but full of expression; the other is only a head, with the same clear-sighted eye, and swelling nostril, so eloquent of pride, and resolve, and power. These gave us great pleasure; and it was good to look upon the sensitive and somewhat attenuated features of Dean Colet, the founder of the School of St. Paul's; and a little dumpy picture (a man's head and a cat's head) of

* In the centre of the room there is a model of the company's estates at Kilrea, twelve miles from Coleraine, on the river Bann.

that right worthy hero of independence, Sir Richard Whittington; the Company are the guardians of his charities.

Much gratified, we continued our pilgrimage to the new College,' by which the Company not long ago replaced the noble mansion left for that purpose by Sir Thomas Gresham. We could not forbear, in accordance with our old habit, pausing to think back, contrasting the very tall, fresh, clean-looking building, now devoted to City Education,' (if the mere giving of lectures can be so called), with his 'poore house' in Bishopsgate; an extensive mansion, surrounded by spacious gardens, while immediately opposite, the eye reposed on the classic outline of Crosby Place, then in the zenith of its glory, and occupied by one of Sir Thomas Gresham's kinsmen. How completely changed! How suitable for study was the former-how at variance with repose the present site-the whole history of carelessness in the application of the funds of that foundation might cause the very cheeks and ears of the Guildhall giants to tingle; the present building can be considered of value merely as a Theatre for the delivery of lectures: we looked in vain for the noble library, absolutely necessary to work out the purposes of the endowment, and only found a few books in the Music Professor's room. A number of closet-like chambers on the same floor are stowed as closely as cells in a bee-hive-each the Study' of a Professor. *

The lecture arena is all we could desire, and the entrance spacious and handsome. There are two statues of the First and Second Charles in Roman costume; and the statue we so long desired to see-not certainly as it should be, at the post of honour-where a niche or pedestal should have been prepared for its reception-but as if it had escaped from the Royal Exchange, to gaze with anger at the newness by which it is surrounded. † The head and face, the aspect and bearing of this statue

* The lectures, with the brilliant exception of Professor Taylor's, are badly attended, probably from the hour at which they are delivered-at or about mid-day. In Sir Thomas Gresham's time, one o'clock was after dinner, and the City youths were in a degree at liberty, until the afternoon; but the hours and habits of the people are changed, and evening lectures would certainly collect much larger audiences. Those who have so long violated the spirit of Sir Thomas Gresham's grant, need not hesitate at a change in the letter thereof, when of public advantage.

The statue of Gresham, which had at an early period been placed near the north end of

-which, according to some accounts, has been so strangely preserved, and according to others, is by no means as old as we would fain believe it, was

Statue of Gresham in Gresham College.

still so saved from perils by fire,' that in old times it would have been exalted as a miracle -is singularly like the portraits. The large thoughtful energetic head, uplooking, as noble heads. always do; the full sensitive nostril, the firm mouth, that could smile, yet did so but seldom; the broad chest and firm set neck; the folds of the cloak and the attitude of the lower limbs, are faithful to the character of the Merchant Prince; more so than the portrait mentioned by Burgon, * who also states that Sir Thomas was lame a defect which did not interfere with his activity. But it is most strange that neither here, nor at Mercers' Hall, are there any relics, or MS., or records of any

*The portrait is a full-length, representing Gresham at an earlier age than any other one known. He is dressed in dark clothes, and holds gloves in one hand; at his feet is a skull; above on one side is inscribed, T. Gresham, 1544; on the other, the motto Love, serve, and obei. The picture was presented by John Thruten, Esq., of Weston Hall, Suffolk, in 1845.

the western piazza, and which is mentioned as early as 1629, but the date of its original erection is not known, survived the fatal fire of 1666. It was said to have been again erected

kind that we could hear of, connected with the founder! How do the works of the flesh moulder from off the face of the earth, while those of the spirit remain, influencing and directing, through ages, the movement we call 'Life!'

We hope all pilgrims may meet with as courteous a guide as we did, who answered our questions with so much patience during this part of our City Progress. Parting company, we proceeded to St. Helen's, where Sir Thomas Gresham was buried. Passing Sir Christopher Wren's noble churches, especially Bow,' of which he was so proud, we turned down by Crosby Hall, and came at once upon one of the few places of worship that escaped the great fire of London. Mr. Fairholt's drawing is a faithful miniature of St. Helen's,* looking, from without, more like a barn with a belfry than a City church; some of the houses that hem it in on every side' are old, one or two having the first floor projecting over the trottoir.

The

in the same place, and again escaped destruction in the conflagration in 1838. The statue at Gresham College is this statue, which the last fire spared, but its age is doubtful. The original one is mentioned by many old authors. Hatton, in his New View of London, 1708, speaks of the Effigy of Sir Thomas Gresham, and the like is also (with fret-work ceiling) above, where the shops are.' The statues preserved at Gresham College are those of Charles I. and II., and Sir T. Gresham. The two kings were placed in niches over the principal entrance to the Exchange from Cornhill. In the lower story of the tower above stood another statue of Gresham. These three statues Brayley ascribes to Bushnell.

* The Church of St. Helen, Bishopsgate, is one of the few London churches which escaped the great fire. Three years before that event Hatton informs us (in 1708) it had' upward of 13007. laid out in the repair and beautifying thereof; it was last repaired, and the small tower built, in the year 1699.' It is a singularly quaint and picturesque structure; and having many trees about it, and an avenue leading to the church door from Bishopsgate Street, seems scarcely to belong to London, but rather to some small country village. It is but a fragment of the original structure, consisting of a nave and side aisle only. The spot has been sacred ground for ages, for here was a priory of black nuns, founded before the reign of Henry III. by William Basing, Dean of St. Paul's, and another William Basing, one of the sheriffs in the second year of Edward II. It contains a series of antique open seats, a beautiful Elizabethan pulpit, and an exceedingly curious and beautiful series of monuments; among which, those of Sir John Crosby and his wife, the inhabitants of the celebrated Hall adjacent, a building immortalised by Shakspeare's notice,-of Sir John Spencer, Sir William Pickering, William Bond, a friend of Gresham, and flower of merchants, as his epitaph tells us, and his son Martin, who was captain in the year 1588 at the camp at Tilbury,' with many other London worthies, -would, even in the absence of Gresham's tomb, supply enough to interest a thoughtful

visitant.

front gate was locked, but we entered the church by a side door, close to what appeared to be an extensive wine store; the only person within its walls was, we suppose, a supernumerary pew-opener, who divided her attention between

kindling a fire in the vestry, and tolling the bell, at uncertain intervals, for a funeral which she told us was to take place at half-past three. The poor woman's bustle and anxiety to perform a divided duty' was in keeping with the incongruity of this strange, but most interesting structure, where the old and the new, the costly and the careless, are oddly mingled.

There is one alabaster tomb,* canopied and carved, which, for perfectness of design and old magnificence, cannot, we believe, be surpassed in London. Another, where two figures of exceeding beauty recline on the top; another, with which tradition has been busy-stating, amongst other things, that the face of its occupant, who built † this mausoleum, is covered

*Sir William Pickering's.

Thomas Bancroft.