all.

THE CITY COMPANIES OF LONDON

BY P. H. DITCHFIELD, M.A., F.S.A.

In these days of change, which have obliterated most of the old
landmarks of the city, when the County Council has almost transformed
London, and high warehouses and glaring shops have replaced the old
picturesque buildings of our forefathers, it is refreshing to find some
institutions which have preserved through the ages their ancient customs
and usages, and retain their ancient homes and treasures. Such are the
Livery Companies of the City of London, the history of which teems with
vivid pictures of bygone times and manners, and the accounts of their
pageantries, their feasts, and customs furnish us with curious glimpses
of ancient civic life. When we visit the ancient homes of these
venerable societies, we are impressed by their magnificence and
interesting associations. Portraits of old city worthies gaze at us from
the walls and link our times with theirs, when they, too, strove to
uphold the honour of their guild and benefit their generation. Many a
quaint old-time custom and curious ceremonial usage linger on within the
old walls, and there, too, are enshrined cuirass and targe, helmet,
sword and buckler, which tell the story of the past and of the part
which the companies played in national defence, or in the protection of
civic rights. Turning down some little alley and entering the portals of
one of these halls, we are transported at once from the busy streets and
din of modern London into a region of old-world memories, which has a
fascination that is all its own. We see the old city merchants
resplendent in their liveries of "red and white with the connuzances of
their mysteries embroidered on their sleeves," or when fashions changed,
then dominating the sterner sex as it now does only the fair, clad in
"scarlet and green," or "scarlet and black," or "murrey and plunket," a
"darkly red," or a "kind of blue," preparing to attend some great State
function, or to march in procession through the streets to their guild
services. Again, the great hall is filled with a gallant company. Nobles
and princes are the guests of the company, and the mighty "baron" makes
the table groan, and "frumentie with venyson," brawn, fat swan, boar,
conger, sea-hog, and other delicacies crown the feast, while the merry
music of the minstrels or the performance of the players delights the
gay throng. Pictures of ancient pageantry, their triumphs, their