floor and three galleries, the whole being capable of containing 2000
persons; nearly which number was probably present. The floor was laid
45 feet below high-water mark, and measured 95 feet by 36, being formed
of four-inch beechen planks, resting upon Piles headed with iron; upon
which was a layer of timber two feet thick, and a course of brick-work
and stone, each of 2-1/2 feet deep. It was surrounded by three rows of
seats, excepting at the entrance at the Eastern end; and on the North
side was a chair of state, covered with crimson cloth, having behind it
the seats appropriated to the Lord Mayor’s family and private friends.
The whole floor was capable of receiving 500 persons, and was entirely
covered with red baize, excepting at a rectangular space in the centre,
within which appeared a cavity, cut in stone, of 21 inches by 15, and 7
in depth, for the coins, &c., over which the First Stone was suspended
by a strong fall and tackle, secured to the upright timbers of the Dam.
Above the floor was a gallery, containing three rows of covered seats,
sufficient to hold 400 spectators; and over it were two others; the
lower one, of two rows for 400; and the upper tier for 300 more. Three
other galleries also stretched along the cross beams above; whilst a
still more lofty one, at the Western end, was appropriated to the Ward
Schools of Bridge, Dowgate, and Candlewick. The general character of
the Dam was strength and solidity; the tiers of seats being supported
by massive cross-beams, wreathed and decorated with flags and rosettes;
along the centre passed another very thick timber, bearing the uprights
and their respective supporters; and from the roof several large flags
hung heavily downwards. The taste and ingenuity which were exerted in
the arrangements, had indeed left nothing to be wished for; whilst the
general security was everywhere so palpably apparent, as to dispel the
apprehensions even of the most timid. Such was the appearance of the
INTERIOR OF THE COFFER-DAM, AND THE POSITION OF THE FIRST STONE,
[Illustration]
which was of the best hard Aberdeen Granite, weighing 4 tons. Its
measurement was, 5 feet 5/8 of an inch long, 3 feet 6-3/8 inches
broad, and 2 feet 10 inches deep; containing 50 feet 7 inches in cubic
measure; and its situation as nearly as possible the centre of the
First, or South Pier, on the Southwark side. The Company continued
rapidly to arrive until the barriers were closed at 2 o’clock, when
most of the seats in the Coffer-Dam were occupied; and where, to
lighten as much as possible the interval of waiting, the bands of
the Horse-Guards, Red and Blue, and of the Artillery Company, which
were stationed in a gallery at the entrance, were employed to furnish
frequent entertainment: Refreshments of Tea, Coffee, Champagne, &c.,
being also liberally supplied by the Committee. About a quarter before
three o’clock, the Lady Mayoress, and her family, came to the Dam in
the private state-carriage; and at four, a signal-gun announced that
the Procession had left the Court-yard of Guildhall, nearly in the
following order; passing through Cheapside, Cornhill, and Grace-Church
Street, to the Bridge, where it was received by the Committee, and
other members of the Common Council; the principal persons being in
their own carriages.
A Division of the Artillery Company, with their Field-pieces.
Constables.
Band of Music.
Marshalmen.
The Junior City Marshal, Mr. W. W. Cope, on horseback.
Nathaniel Saunders, Junr., Esq., the Water-Bailiff, and Mr.
Nelson, his Assistant.
Barge Masters.
City Watermen, bearing Colours.
Remainder of the City Watermen.
Bridgemasters and Clerk of the Bridge-House.
Contractors, William Jolliffe, Esq., and Sir Edward Banks.
Model of the Bridge, borne by Labourers.
Architect and Engineer, John Rennie, Esq., F. R. S.
Members of the New Bridge Committee.
Comptroller of the Bridge-House, Robert F. Newman, Esq.
Visitors and Members of the Committee of the Royal Society.
High Bailiff of the Borough of Southwark, John Holmes, Esq.
Under Sheriffs, George Martin, and John S. Tilson, Esqrs.
Clerk of the Peace of the City of London, Thomas Shelton, Esq.
City Solicitor, William Lewis Newman, Esq.
Remembrancer, Timothy Tyrrell, Esq.
Secondaries of Giltspur Street and the Poultry Compters.
Comptroller of the Chamber, Lewis Bushnan, Esq.
Common Pleaders, Wm. Bolland, Esq., George Bernard, Esq.
Hon. C. E. Law, and John Mirehouse, Esq.
Judges of the Sheriff’s Court.
Town Clerk, Henry Woodthorpe, Esq.
Common Serjeant, Thomas Denman, Esq., M. P.
Deputy Recorder, Mr. Serjeant Arabin.
Chamberlain, Richard Clark, Esq.
Members of Parliament and other Gentlemen, Visitors.
Sir Humphrey Davy, President of the Royal Society.
The Sheriffs, Anthony Brown, and John Key, Esqrs., Aldermen.
Aldermen below the Chair.
The Recorder, Newman Knowlys, Esq.
Aldermen past the Chair.
Visitors, Privy Councillors.
Visitors, Peers.
Officers of State.
Music and Colours, with the Court of the Lord Mayor’s
Company, the Goldsmiths.
Marshalmen.
The Senior City Marshal, Mr. Neville Brown, on horseback.
The Lord Mayor’s Household.
The Lord Mayor’s Servants in their State Liveries.
The Lord Mayor in his State Carriage, accompanied by His Royal
Highness the Duke of York.
Carriage of His Royal Highness the Duke of York.
The remainder of the Artillery Company, as a guard of honour to
the Lord Mayor.
“The streets through which the Procession passed, were all thronged;
every window was filled with spectators; and, on arriving at its
destination, the River, the Wharfs, the most distant buildings, and
even Southwark Bridge, were equally crowded with thousands of impatient
gazers. It was not, however, until a quarter before five, that the
field-pieces of the Artillery Company, at the old Swan Stairs’ Wharf,
announced the cavalcade’s actual approach, when the bands played
the famous Yäger Chor of Weber’s ‘_Freyschutz_.’ The City-Watermen,
bearing their richly emblazoned standards, soon afterwards entered the
Coffer-Dam, when, after the colours had been very ingeniously passed
between the timbers, and grouped around the Stone, it being found
that they would materially obstruct the view, they were, with similar
difficulty, conveyed back again. The narrow and winding passages of the
Dam destroyed much of the stately order of the Procession; but nearly
the whole Court of Aldermen, and a large party of the Common-Council,
in their scarlet and purple gowns, having appeared on the floor
beneath, they were followed by the City Officers; the Lord Mayor, in
his robes of state; and His Royal Highness the Duke of York, in a plain
blue coat, wearing the Garter round his knee, and the star of the order
upon his breast. In the same part of the Procession also came the Earl
of Darnley; Lord James Stuart; the Right Hon. C. W. W. Wynn, President
of the Board of Controul; Admiral Sir George Cockburn, M. P.; Admiral
Sir Isaac Coffin, Bart, M. P.; Sir George Warrender, Bart, M. P.; Sir
Peter Laurie; Sir Robert Wilson, M. P.; Thomas Wilson, Esq., M. P.;
William Williams, Esq., M. P.; George Holme Sumner, Esq., M. P.; and
several other personages of distinction.
“The Lord Mayor and His Royal Highness having arrived at the state
chair, amidst the waving of handkerchiefs, and the loudest cheers,
and having both of them declined that seat of honour, they remained
standing during the whole of the ceremony; which then commenced by the
Ward Schools and the visitors singing ‘_God save the King_,’ verse and
chorus, in which the Duke also joined with great enthusiasm. The Lord
Mayor then removed towards the Eastern end of the Platform, in the
centre of the Coffer-Dam floor, where there was a small stage covered
with crimson cloth, attended by four members of the Bridge Committee,
bearing the bottle for the coins, an inscription incrustated in glass,
the level, and the splendid SILVER-GILT TROWEL FOR LAYING THE FIRST
STONE.
[Illustration]
This elegant instrument, which was designed and executed by Messrs.
Green, Ward, and Green, of Ludgate Hill, measured 15 inches in its
extreme length, and 5 inches at the widest part of the blade; the
handle being 5-1/2 inches long, composed of wrought laurel, terminating
in very rich acanthus foliage at the end; and its depository, a green
Morocco case lined with white satin. The upper side was embossed with
a reclining figure of the Thames, with a vase, swan, and cornucopia;
beneath which was a shield, charged with the impaled arms of London and
Southwark, and surrounded by the supporters, crest, motto, and badges
of the City. The other side was perfectly flat, and was decorated
with a border of flowers; the armorial ensigns, crest, and motto, of
the Lord Mayor; and the following Inscription, engraven in ornamental
characters:--
‘THIS TROWEL
WAS USED
IN THE LAYING OF
THE FIRST STONE
OF THE
NEW LONDON BRIDGE,
ON THE 15th DAY OF JUNE, 1825,
IN THE SIXTH YEAR OF THE REIGN
OF HIS MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY
GEORGE THE FOURTH,
BY THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
JOHN GARRATT,
LORD MAYOR
OF THE CITY OF LONDON:
WHO WAS BORN IN THE WARD IN WHICH THE BRIDGE IS SITUATED,
ON THE 15th DAY OF DECEMBER, 1786;
ELECTED A MEMBER OF THE COMMON COUNCIL
FOR THAT WARD, ON THE 3rd DAY OF AUGUST, 1809
ALDERMAN THEREOF,
ON THE 10th DAY OF MARCH, 1821;
AND SHERIFF OF LONDON AND MIDDLESEX,
ON THE 24th DAY OF JUNE FOLLOWING.’
“Mr. John Rennie having exhibited to the Lord Mayor and the Duke of
York a large and excellent drawing of the elevation of the New Bridge,
Richard Clark, Esq., the venerable Chamberlain of London, next produced
a white satin purse, containing a series of new coins of the reign,
each separately enveloped, which being uncovered, and deposited by the
Lord Mayor in an elegant square bottle of cut-glass, were placed in the
cavity; four glass cylinders, 7 inches long and 3 in diameter, intended
to support the engraved Inscription-plate, being fixed at the corners
in plaster-of-Paris. Another member of the Committee then handed to the
Lord Mayor a block of solid glass, 7-1/4 inches broad, 3-1/2 in height,
and 1-1/2 in thickness, enclosing these words, in Messrs. Pellats’ and
Green’s Ceramie Incrustation:--
‘THE FIRST STONE OF THIS BRIDGE
WAS LAID BY THE RIGHT HON^{BLE} JOHN GARRATT,
LORD MAYOR OF LONDON, IN JUNE, 1825:
AND IN THE 6TH YEAR OF THE REIGN
OF KING GEORGE THE 4TH.’
‘PELLATS & GREEN.’
“The Town-clerk, Henry Woodthorpe, Esq., who had recently received the
Degree of LL.D., then came forward with the brass Depositum-plate, and
read aloud this very fine Inscription, composed, at the request of
the Bridge Committee, by the Rev. Edward Coplestone, D.D., Master of
Oriel College, Oxford, and late Professor of Poetry in that University;
whose ‘_Prælectiones Academicæ_’ have so excellently illustrated the
beauties of the ancient Classic Poets.
‘PONTIS VETVSTI
QVVM PROPTER CREBRAS NIMIS INTERIECTAS MOLES
IMPEDITO CVRSV FLVMINIS
NAVICVLAE ET RATES
NON LEVI SAEPE IACTVRA ET VITAE PERICVLO
PER ANGVSTAS FAVCES
PRAECIPITI AQVARVM IMPETV FERRI SOLERENT
CIVITAS LONDINENSIS
HIS INCOMMODIS REMEDIVM ADHIBERE VOLENS
ET CELEBERRIMI SIMVL IN TERRIS EMPORII
VTILITATIBVS CONSVLENS
REGNI INSVPER SENATVS AVCTORITATE
AC MVNIFICENTIA ADIVTA
PONTEM
SITV PRORSVS NOVO
AMPLIORIBVS SPATIIS CONSTRVENDVM DECREVIT
EA SCILICET FORMA AC MAGNITVDINE
QVAE REGIAE VRBIS MAIESTATI
TANDEM RESPONDERET
NEQVE ALIO MAGIS TEMPORE
TANTVM OPVS INCHOANDVM DVXIT
QVAM CVM PACATO FERME TOTO TERRARVM ORBE
IMPERIVM BRITTANICVM
FAMA OPIBVS MVLTITVDINE CIVIVM ET CONCORDIA POLLENS
PRINCIPE
ITEM GAVDERET
ARTIVM FAVTORE AC PATRONO
CVIVS SVB AVSPICIIS
NOVVS INDIES AEDIFICIORVM SPLENDOR VRBI ACCEDERET.
----------------------
PRIMVM OPERIS LAPIDEM
POSVIT
IOANNES GARRATT ARMIGER
PRAETOR
XV DIE IVNII
ANNO REGIS GEORGII QVARTI SEXTO
A. S. M.D.CCC.XXV.
----------------------
JOANNE RENNIE S. R. S. ARCHITECTO.’
“The following English translation of this truly elegant composition
was also engraven on the reverse of the plate; though not then read.
‘THE FREE COURSE OF THE RIVER
BEING OBSTRUCTED BY THE NUMEROUS PIERS
OF THE ANCIENT BRIDGE,
AND THE PASSAGE OF BOATS AND VESSELS
THROUGH ITS NARROW CHANNELS
BEING OFTEN ATTENDED WITH DANGER AND LOSS OF LIFE
BY REASON OF THE FORCE AND RAPIDITY OF THE CURRENT,
THE CITY OF LONDON,
DESIROUS OF PROVIDING A REMEDY FOR THIS EVIL,
AND AT THE SAME TIME CONSULTING
THE CONVENIENCE OF COMMERCE
IN THIS VAST EMPORIUM OF ALL NATIONS,
UNDER THE SANCTION AND WITH THE LIBERAL AID OF
PARLIAMENT,
RESOLVED TO ERECT A BRIDGE
UPON A FOUNDATION ALTOGETHER NEW,
WITH ARCHES OF A WIDER SPAN,
AND OF A CHARACTER CORRESPONDING
TO THE DIGNITY AND IMPORTANCE
OF THIS ROYAL CITY:
NOR DOES ANY OTHER TIME SEEM TO BE MORE SUITABLE
FOR SUCH AN UNDERTAKING
THAN WHEN, IN A PERIOD OF UNIVERSAL PEACE
THE BRITISH EMPIRE
FLOURISHING IN GLORY, WEALTH, POPULATION, AND DOMESTIC UNION,
IS GOVERNED BY A PRINCE,
THE PATRON AND ENCOURAGER OF THE ARTS,
UNDER WHOSE AUSPICES
THE METROPOLIS HAS BEEN DAILY ADVANCING IN ELEGANCE AND
SPLENDOUR.
----------------------
THE FIRST STONE OF THIS WORK
WAS LAID
BY JOHN GARRATT, ESQUIRE,
LORD MAYOR,
ON THE 15th DAY OF JUNE,
IN THE SIXTH YEAR OF KING GEORGE THE FOURTH,
AND IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, 1825.
----------------------
JOHN RENNIE, F.R.S. ARCHITECT.’
“Printed copies of these Inscriptions, with an embossed border, were
presented to each person on entering the Dam; as was also another
edition of the Latin, engraven on copper, of the same size as the
admission-ticket, and having the same view of the New Bridge above
it. The brass plate was then placed upon the glass pillars, when Mr.
Richard Lambert Jones, Sub-Chairman of the Committee for erecting the
edifice, presented the splendid Trowel to the Lord Mayor, with this
address: ‘My Lord, I have the honour to inform your Lordship, that the
Committee of Management has appointed you, in your character of Lord
Mayor of London, to lay the First Stone of the New London Bridge; and
that I am directed to present your Lordship with this Trowel, as a
means of assistance to your Lordship in accomplishing that object.’
Upon which the Lord Mayor turned towards the Duke of York, and thus
addressed His Royal Highness, and the other witnesses of the ceremony.
“‘Though it is not essential for me to speak at any length upon the
purpose for which we are this day assembled, since its importance
to this great commercial City must be clearly evident; yet I cannot
refrain from offering a few observations, feeling, as I do, more than
an ordinary interest in the accomplishment of the undertaking, of which
the present ceremony is only the primary step. I cannot consider the
present a favourable moment for entering into any chronological history
of the present venerable Bridge, which is now, from the increased
commerce of the country, and the rapid strides made by the Sciences
in this Kingdom, found inadequate to its purposes; but would rather
advert to the many advantages which must naturally result from the
completion of this great national enterprise. Whether there be taken
into consideration the rapid, and consequently dangerous, currents
arising from the obstruction incidental to the defects of this ancient
edifice, which have proved so destructive to human life and property,
or its difficult and incommodious approaches and acclivity, it must
be matter of sincere congratulation, that we are living in times when
the resources of this highly-favoured country are competent to a
work of such great public utility. If ever there were a period more
suitable than another, for engaging in national improvements, it must
be the present; governed as we are by a Sovereign, the munificent and
accomplished Patron of the Arts, beneath whose mild and paternal sway,
by the blessing of Divine Providence, we now enjoy profound peace;
living under a government, by the enlightened policy of which, our
trade and manufactures so extensively flourish; and represented by a
Parliament, ever ready to foster, by the most liberal grants, any plans
for the improvement of the Empire; to which the present undertaking is
so deeply indebted for its munificent support. Thus happily situated,
it is impossible to hail such advantages with other feelings than those
of gratitude and delight; and it is to me a source of unqualified pride
and pleasure, that this great undertaking should have occurred in the
year when I have been honoured by the office of Chief Magistrate
of this great, this greatest, City, not of England only, but of the
world; and that this important ceremony should take place in the Ward
which I have the honour to represent in the Civic Councils. I cannot
conclude without acknowledging how highly complimentary I feel it to
the honourable office which I now fill, to meet such an auditory as now
surrounds me; in which I see the illustrious Prince, Heir-presumptive
to the Throne of this Kingdom; many of His Majesty’s Ministers, and
the distinguished Nobles of the land; my active brother-magistrates;
my kind fellow-citizens; and, above all, so brilliant an assemblage
of that sex, whose radiant smiles, this day, shed a lustre on our
meeting. Under such auspices, I rejoice to lay the Foundation-Stone
of a structure, which, I trust, will, through all future time, prove
an ornament to the Metropolis; reflect credit on the Architect; and
redound to the honour of this Corporation: and I offer up a sincere and
fervent prayer, that, in executing this great work, there may occur no
calamity; that, in completing what is most particularly intended as a
preventive of future danger, no mischief may overcloud the universal
rejoicings on the undertaking.’
“The very warm applauses which followed this most appropriate address
subsided only upon the commencement of the Masonic ceremonies, by a
portion of fine mortar being placed around the cavity of the Stone,
by several of the Assistants, and spread by the Lord Mayor with his
splendid Trowel; after which, precisely at 5 o’clock, the First Stone
was gradually lowered into its bed by a brazen block of four sheaves,
and the power of a machine called a crab. When it was settled, it was
finally secured by several Masons, who cut four sockets close to it on
the stone beneath, into which were fitted strong iron clamps, cured
with plaster of Paris. The Lord Mayor then struck it with a mallet,
and ascertained its accuracy by applying the level to its East, North,
West, and South surfaces. The work being thus perfected, the City Sword
and Mace were disposed in Saltire upon the stone; successive shouts
burst from the numerous spectators; the bands again played the National
Anthem of England; and a flag being lowered as a signal on the top
of the Dam, the guns of the Artillery Company, and the carronades on
Calvert’s Brewery Wharf, fired a concluding salute. The declining Sun,
also, contributed to shed a golden glory upon the closing ceremony;
for, as the day advanced, its radiance streamed through an opening in
the tent-covering above, and, gradually approaching the Stone, shone
upon it with a dazzling brilliancy, at the very moment of its being
deposited. The whole ceremonial terminated with an universal repetition
of ‘_God save the King_,’ and three series of huzzas, for the Duke of
York, Old England, and Mr. Rennie; after which, when the Procession had
left the Dam, amidst similar acclamations to those which first greeted
it, many of the visitors went down to the floor, to view the Stone
more closely, and to boast to posterity that they had stood upon it, or
walked over it.
“To conclude the festivities of the day with appropriate Civic
hospitality, the Lord Mayor, at his own private expense, gave a most
sumptuous banquet to the Corporation, and his noble visitors, at
the Mansion House. The dinner and wines included Turtle, Venison,
Champagne, Claret, and every other luxury; to which the following card
of Invitation, thus commemorated the event:--
‘THE LORD MAYOR REQUESTS THE HONOUR OF
----------------------------------------
COMPANY TO DINNER AT THE MANSION HOUSE,
ON WEDNESDAY THE 15th OF JUNE, AT SIX O’CLOCK PRECISELY,
ON THE OCCASION OF LAYING THE FIRST STONE OF THE
NEW LONDON BRIDGE.
_The favour of an answer is particularly
requested by the 6th of June._
_Mansion House, May 25th, 1825._’
“A Royal dinner at Carlton Palace, on the same day, deprived him of
the presence of the Duke of York, who quitted the Bridge through
Southwark, immediately after the ceremony. His Lordship’s guests,
however, amounted to a greater number than had ever before dined within
the Mansion House, since, in addition to upwards of 360 in the Egyptian
Hall, nearly 200 of the Artillery Company dined in the Saloon; the
whole edifice being brilliantly illuminated with gas, both within and
without, and the entertainment superintended by a Committee of his
Lordship’s private friends.
“To mark the very deep public sense of the Lord Mayor’s munificent
conduct upon this memorable occasion, at a Court of Common Council
held on the following day, Thursday, June 16th, Adam Oldham, Esq.,
Deputy of the Ward of Farringdon Within, called the attention of the
Court to the very splendid manner in which his Lordship had conducted
himself towards the Members of the Corporation, at the recent ceremony
of Laying the First Stone of the New London Bridge; and suggested that
the Court should make some early and suitable acknowledgment of his
Lordship’s distinguished liberality. In consequence of which, at a
subsequent Court held on July 28th, a motion was made by R. L. Jones,
Esq., ‘That a Gold Medal be prepared, with a suitable Inscription,
commemorative of the circumstance of Laying the First Stone of a New
London Bridge, and presented to the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor
in the name of this Court:’ which was unanimously agreed to, and its
provision referred to the said Committee.
“This Medal, however, has not yet been presented; and of two others
which were prepared, as memorials of this work, one had the die break
in the hardening, and the other was struck for private distribution
only: as their extreme rarity is, therefore, not to be questioned,
I shall give a short account of each of them; at the same time,
expressing my surprise, that so important an event has not called
forth an host of these classical memorials. The first private Medal
was executed by Peter Rouw, and William Wyon, Esquires, Modeller, and
Die-sinker, to his Majesty; the obverse containing a MEDALLION OF THE
LORD MAYOR AND LADY MAYORESS;
[Illustration]
and the reverse being occupied by the following Inscription:--
‘TO COMMEMORATE THE
LAYING OF THE
FIRST STONE OF LONDON BRIDGE
BY
THE RIGHT HON. JOHN GARRATT, LORD MAYOR,
ON THE 15th OF JUNE 1825, IN THE PRESENCE OF
H.R.H. THE DUKE OF YORK, VARIOUS BRANCHES
OF THE NOBILITY, AND THE CORPORATION OF THE CITY,
AND IN TESTIMONY OF HIS LORDSHIP’S
PUBLIC WORTH AND PRIVATE VIRTUES,
THIS MEDAL WAS DESIGNED
AT THE REQUEST
OF HIS FELLOW CITIZENS,
BY JOSEPH YORK HATTON.’
“The other Medal had about twenty impressions struck in silver, which
were distributed to the Engineers, assistants, &c., on the day of the
foundation. These were 2-1/2 inches in diameter, and nearly 1/8 of an
inch in thickness. The obverse consisted of a fine head of the elder
Mr. Rennie, from a former Medal; and the reverse contained a design,
by Mr. William Knight, of the New London Bridge Works, consisting of
an elevation of the edifice, with representations of the First Stone,
Mallet, and Trowel: the Inscription being as follows:--
‘. LONDON . BRIDGE .
. THE . FIRST . STONE . OF . THIS .
. WORK . WAS . LAID . BY . THE .
. RIGHT . HON. . JOHN . GARRATT, .
. LORD . MAYOR . OF . LONDON. .
. ON . THE . XV . DAY . OF . JUNE, .
. MDCCCXXV . AND . IN . THE . SIXTH .
. YEAR . OF . THE . REIGN .
. OF . GEORGE . IV. .
. JOHN . RENNIE . ESQ. . F.R.S. . ENGINEER .
. JOLIFFE . & . BANKS . CONTRACTORS.’
“Such are the few remaining reliques of this Ceremony, which have been
provided for posterity; for, with the exception of a slight etching of
the Western end of the Coffer-Dam, in a Memorandum Book, and an Indian
Ink Drawing, by Dighton, of some of the principal persons standing
about the First Stone, there is no other representation to record it.
There are, indeed, several prospects of the finished Edifice; though of
its exact features, it is probable we can form no very correct idea,
until we are a few years older; so then let us here take our last VIEW
OF THE NEW LONDON BRIDGE;
[Illustration]
for such are all the particulars and memorials which I can give you
concerning this interesting Civic ceremony; and if the Italian of old
could give his famous ‘ESTO PERPETUA!’ to his water-seated Venice, how
much rather shall every true-hearted citizen bestow it upon this rising
edifice, beneath whose expansive arches,
‘The time shall come, when, free as seas or wind,
Unbounded Thames shall flow for all mankind;
Earth’s distant ends our glories shall behold,
And the new world launch forth to seek the old!’”