London, like famous old Briareus,
With fifty heads and twice told fifty arms,
Laid one strong arm across yon noble flood,
For free communication with each shore;

Hence, though the thews and sinews sink and shrink,
And we so manifold and strong have grown,
That a renewal of the limb for purposes
Of national and private weal be requisite,
It is to be regarded as a friend

That oft hath served us in our utmost need,
With all its strength. Be ye then merciful,
Good citizens, to this our ancient "sib,"
Operate on it tenderly, and keep
Some fragments of it, as memorials
Of its former worth: for our posterity
Will to their ancestors do reverence,
As we, ourselves, do reverence to ours.-

The present engraving is from the design at the head of the admission tickets, and is exactly of the same form and dimensions; the tickets themselves were

large cards of about the size that the present leaf will present when bound in the volume, and cut round the edges.

At an early hour of the morning the vicinity of the new and old bridges presented an appearance of activity, bustle, and preparation; and every spot that The following are to be the dimensions could command even a bird's-eye view of of the new bridge :

the scene, was eagerly and early occupied Centre arch-span, 150 feet; rise, 32 by persons desirous of becoming spectafeet; piers, 24 feet.

to pass, had their windows graced with
numerous parties of well-dressed people.
St. Magnus' on the bridge, St. Saviour's
church in the Borough, Fishmongers'-hall,
and the different warehouses in the vi-
cinity, had their roofs covered with spec-
tators; platforms were erected in every
nook from whence a sight could be ob-
tained, and several individuals took their
seals on the Monument, to catch a bird's-
eye view of the whole proceedings. The
buildings, public or private, that at all
overlooked the scene, were literally roofed
and walled with human figures, clinging
to them in all sorts of possible and im-
probable attitudes. Happy were they
who could purchase seats, at from half a
crown to fifteen shillings each, for so the
charge varied, according to the degree of
accommodation afforded. As the day ad-
vanced, the multitude increased in the
street; the windows of the shops were
closed, or otherwise secured, and those of
the upper floors became occupied with
such of the youth and beauty of the city
as has not already repaired to the river:
and delightfully occupied they were: and
were the sun down, as it was not, it had
scarcely been missed-for there-

"From every casement came the light,
Of women's eyes, so soft and bright,
Peeping between the trelliced bars,
A nearer, dearer heaven of stars!"

The wharfs on the banks of the river, between London-bridge and Southwarkbridge, were occupied by an immense multitude. Southwark-bridge itself was clustered over like a bee-hive; and the river from thence to London-bridge presented the appearance of an immense dock covered with vessels of various descriptions; or, perhaps, it more closely resembled a vast country fair, so completely was the water concealed by multitudes of boats and barges, and the latter again hidden by thousands of spectators, and canvass awnings, which, with the gay holiday company within, made them not unlike booths and tents, and contributed to strengthen the fanciful similitude. The tops of the houses had many of them also their flags and awnings; and, from the appearance of them and the river, one might almost suppose the dry and level ground altogether deserted, for this aquatic fete, worthy of Venice at her best of times. All the vessels in the pool hoisted their flags top-mast-high, in honour of the occasion, and many of them sent out their

boats manned, to increase the bustle and interest of the scene.

At eleven o'clock London-bridge was wholly closed, and at the same hour Southwark-bridge was thrown open, free of toll. At each end of London-bridge barriers were formed, and no persons were allowed to pass, unless provided with tickets, and these only were used for the purpose of arriving at the cofferdam. There was a feeling of awful solemnity at the appearance of this, the greatest thoroughfare of the metropolis, now completely vacated of all its footpassengers and noisy vehicles.

At one o'clock the lord mayor and sheriffs arrived at Guildhall, the persons engaged in the procession having met at a much earlier hour.

The lady mayoress and a select party went to the coffer-dam in the lord mayor's private state carriage, and arrived at the bridge about half-past two o'clock.

The Royal Artillery Company arrived in the court-yard of the Guildhall at two o'clock.

The carriages of the members of parliament and other gentlemen, forming part of the procession, mustered in Queenstreet and the Old Jewry.

At twelve o'clock, the barrier at the foot of the bridge on the city side of the river was thrown open, and the company, who were provided with tickets for the coffer-dam, were admitted within it, and kept arriving till two o'clock in quick succession. At that time the barriers were again closed, and no person was admitted till the arrival of the chief procession. By one o'clock, however, most of the seats within the coffer-dam were occupied, with the exception of those reserved for the persons connected with the procession.

The tickets of admission issued by the committee, consisting of members of the court of common council, were in great request. By their number being judicìously limited, and by other arrangements, there was ample accommodation for all the company. At the bottom of each ticket, there was a notice to signify that the hours of admission were between twelve and two, and not a few of the fortunate holders were extremely punctual in attending at the first mentioned hour, for the purpose of securing the best places. They were admitted at either end of the

tators. It was covered with canvass to
keep out the rays of the sun, and from
the transverse beams erected to support
it, which were decked with rosettes of
different colours, were suspended flags
and ensigns of various descriptions,
brought from Woolwich yard; which by
the constant motion in which they were
kept, created a current of air, which was
very refreshing. The floor of the dam,
which is 45 feet below the high water
mark, was covered, like the galleries, with
scarlet cloth, except in that part of it
where the first stone was to be laid. The
floor is 95 feet in length, and 36 in
breadth; is formed of beech planks, four
inches in thickness, and rests upon a mass
of piles, which are shod at the top with
iron, and are crossed by immense beams
of solid timber. By two o'clock all the
galleries were completely filled with well-
dressed company, and an eager impa-
tience for the arrival of the procession
was visible in every countenance. The
bands of the Horse Guards, red and blue,
and also that of the Artillery Company,
played different tunes, to render the in-
terval of expectation as little tedious as
possible; but, in spite of all their endea-
vours, a feeling of listlessness appeared
to pervade the spectators.—In the mean
time the arrangements at Guildhall being
completed, the procession moved from the
court-yard, in the following order :-
A body of the Artillery Company.
Band of Music.
Marshalmen.

bridge, and passed on till they came to an opening that had been made in the balustrade, leading to the platform that surrounded the area of the proposed ceremony. This was the coffer-dam formed in the bed of the river, for the building of the first pier, at the Southwark side. The greatest care had been taken to render the dam water-tight, and during the whole of the day, from twelve till six, it was scarcely found necessary to work the steam-engine a single stroke. On passing the aperture in the balustrade, already mentioned, the company immediately arrived on a most extensive platform, from which two staircases divided-the one for the pink tickets, which introduced the possessor to the lowest stage of the works, and the other for the white ones, of less privilege, and which were therefore more numerous. The interior of the works was highly creditable to the committee. Not only were the timbers, whether horizontal or upright, of immense thickness, but they were so securely and judiciously bolted and pinned together, that the liability of any danger or accident was entirely done away with. The very awning which covered the whole coffer-dam, to ensure protection from the sun or rain, had there been any, was raised on a little forest of scaffolding poles, which, any where but by the side of the huge blocks of timber introduced immediately beneath, would have appeared of an unusual stability. In fact, the whole was arranged as securely and as comfortably as though Mr. Cope, the City Marshal, mounted, and in th

it had been intended to serve the time of all the lord mayors for the next century to come, while on the outside, in the river, every necessary precaution was taken to keep off boats, by stationing officers there for that purpose. With the exception of the lower floor, which, as already mentioned, was only attainable by the possession of pink tickets, and a small portion of the floor next above it, the whole was thrown open without reservation, and the visitors took possession of the unoccupied places they liked best.

The entire coffer-dam was ornamented with as much taste and beauty as the purposes for which it was intended would possibly admit. The entrance to the platform from the bridge, was fitted up with crimson drapery, tastefully festooned. The coffer-dam itself was divided into four tiers of galleries, along which several rows of benches, covered with scarlet cloth, were arranged for the benefit of the spec

full uniform of his Office.

The private carriage of Saunders, Esq., the Water
Bailiff, containing the Water-Bailiff, and Nelson,
his Assistant.

Carriage containing the Barge-masters.
City Watermen bearing Colours.

A party of City Watermen without Colours.
Carriage containing Messrs. Lewis and Gillman, the
Bridge-masters, and the Clerk of the Bridge-house
Estate.

Another party of the City Watermen.
Carriage containing Messrs. Jolliffe and Sir E. Banks,
the Contractors for the Building of the
New Bridge.

Model of the New Bridge.
Carriages containing Members of the Royal Society
Carriage containing John Holmes, Esq., the Bailitr

of Southwark.

Carriage containing the Under-Sheriffs. Carriages containing Thomas Shelton, Esq., Clerk of the Peace for the City of London; W. L. Newman, Esq., the City Solicitor; Timothy Tyrrell, Esq., the Remembrancer; Samuel Collingridge, Esq., and P. W. Crowther, Esq., the Secondaries; J. Boudon, Esq., Clerk of the Chamber; W. Bolland, Esq., and George Bernard, Esq., the Common Pleaders; Henry Woodthorpe, Esq., the Town Clerk; Thomas Denman, Esq., the Common Sergeant; R. Clarke, Esq., the Chamberlain. These Carriages were followed by those of several Members of Parliament.

Carriages of Members of the Privy Council. Band of Music and Colours, supported by City Watermen

783

Members of the Goldsmiths' (the Lord Mayors) whose patience, by the bye, was exem

Company.
Marshalmen.

Lord Mayor's Servants in their State Liveries. Mr. Brown, the City Marshal, mounted on horseback, and in the full uniform of his Office. The Lord Mayor's State Carriage, drawn by six bay horses, beautifully caparisoned, in which were his Lordship and the Duke of York.

The Sheriffs, in their State Carriages. Carriages of several Aldermen who have passed the Chair.

Another body of the Royal Artillery Company.

The procession moved up Cornhill and down Gracechurch-street, to Londonbridge. While awaiting the arrival of the procession, wishes were wafted from many a fair lip, that the lord of the day, as well as of the city, would make his appearance. Small-talk had been exhausted, and the merits of each particular timber canvassed for the hundredth time, when, at about a quarter to three, the lady mayoress made her appearance, and renovated the hopes of the company. They argued that his lordship as a family man, would not be long absent from his lady. The clock tolled three, and no lord mayor had made his appearance. At this critical juncture a small gun made its report; but, except the noise and smoke, it produced nothing. More than an hour elapsed before the eventful moment arrived; a flourish of trumpets in the distance gave hope to many hearts, and finally two six-pounders of the Artillery Company, discharged from the wharf at Old Swan Stairs, at about a quarter-past four o'clock, announced the arrival of the cavalcade. Every one stood up, and in a very few minutes the city watermen, bearing their colours flying, made their appearance at the head of the coffer-dam, and would, if they could, have done the same thing at the bottom of it; but owing to the unaccommodating narrowness of the staircase, they found it inconvenient to convey their flags by the same route that they intended to convey themselves. Necessity, however, has long been celebrated as the mother of invention,and a plan was hit upon to wind the flags over this timber and under that, till after a very serpentine proceeding, they arrived in safety at the bottom. After this had been accomplished, there was a sort of pause, and every body seemed to be thinking of what would come next, when some one in authority hinted, that as the descent of the flags had been performed so dexterously, or for some other reason that did not express itself, they might as easily be conveyed back, so that the company,

plary, were gratified by the ceremony of
those poles returning, till the arrival of
the expected personages, satisfied every
A sweeping train of aldermen
desire.

were seen winding in their scarlet robes
through the mazes of the pink-ticket-
ted staircase, and in a very few minutes
a great portion of these dignified elders
of the city made their appearance on the
floor below, the band above having pre-
viously struck up the "Hunter's Chorus”
from Der Freischütz. Next in order en-
tered a strong body of the common-coun-
cilmen, who had gone to meet the pro-
cession on its arrival at the barriers. In-
dependently of those that made their ap-
pearance on the lower platform, glimpses
of their purple robes with fur-trimmings,
were to be caught on every stage of the
scaffolding, where many of them had been
stationed throughout the day. After these
entered the recorder, the common ser-
geant, the city solicitor, the city clerk, the
city chamberlain, and a thousand other
city officers, "all gracious in the city's
eyes." These were followed by the duke
of York and the lord mayor, advancing
together, the duke being on his lordship's
right hand.

His royal highness was dressed in a plain blue coat with star, and wore at his knee the garter. They were received with great cheering, and proceeded immediately up the floor of the platform, till they arrived opposite the place where the first stone was suspended by a tackle, ready to be swung into the place that it is destined to occupy for centuries. Opposite the stone, an elbowed seat had been introduced into the line of bench, so as to afford a marked place for the chief magistrate, without breaking in upon the direct course of the seats. lordship, who was in his full robes, offered the chair to his royal highness, which was positively declined on his part. The lord mayor therefore seated himself, and was supported on the right by his royal highness, and on the left by Mr. Alderman Wood.

His

The lady mayoress, with her daughters in elegant dresses, sat near his lordship, accompanied by two fine-looking intelligent boys her sons; near them were the two lovely daughters of lord Suffolk, and many other fashionable and elegantly dressed ladies. In the train which arrived with the lord mayor and his royal highness were the earl of Darnley, lord J. Stewart, the right hon. C. W. Wynn, M. P., sir G. Warrender, M. P., sir Ï. Coffin, M. P., sit