THE LORD MAYOR'S SHOW.
()NE cannot help wondering what effect a Lord Mayor's Show is likely to produce upon the mind of that un- tiring and ubiquitous critic, the intelligent foreigner. The general idea entertained abroad as to the position of a Lord Mayor is, we know, one of almost fabulous splendour ; the Chief Magistrate of the greatest city in the world, the repre- sentative of all the wealth and magnificence of commerce, a personage who in dignity is second only to his Sovereign, who lives in a palace and dispenses a royal hospitality,—it is no wonder that such a man should be the object of much admiring curiosity and the subject of many extravagant beliefs among our foreign friends. When it is known, moreover, that the day upon which this dignitary enters upon his office, and is presented to the representatives of the Sovereign and to the people, is kept as a public holiday; that at the banquet held in his honour, her Majesty's Ministers make their most im- portant azmoucements upon State affairs ; and that the pro- cession with which, from time immemorial, he has made his entrance upon public life is the one solemn pageant of which London can boast, it might well be expected that the stranger would find in such an occasion a unique opportunity of studying the most splendid side of English life. Doubtless there were present last Monday a great many foreigners who entertained this belief, and who were prepared to be immensely gratified by a pageant so ancient and so glorious. Well, we wonder what they thought of it.
It is in no spirit of carping criticism that we would ask the worshipful Aldermen of the City of London, "most potent, grave, and reverend signors," and its citizens, our " very noble and approved good masters," whether they consider that the show in which they took part was in any degree worthy of the dignity of their city and themselves ; whether it was calculated to convey any impression of the immense wealth or of the glorious history of the Metropolis ; and whether, seeing that it is the one and only pageant that has been allowed to survive, and the one and only spectacle that they have to offer to the people, they think they have done full justice to so unique an occasion by playing their parts with fitting pomp and magnificence P And we would have them remember, too, that there can never be a more legitimate occasion for a brave and sumptuous display than this yearly festival, in which they celebrate liberties and privileges nobly acquired by the ancestors of themselves and the spectators ; and that, as representing the wealthiest body of a wealthy community, some liberality of expenditure may fairly be expected from them. Our private opinion is, that the intelligent foreigner must have gone away very profoundly impressed indeed by what he saw : profoundly impressed with the idea that England's wealth must have been amassed by avarice, since it was exemplified after so niggardly and miserly a fashion, and that the English want of taste and love for beauty is even more hopeless than be had been led to believe. It is not difficult to describe last Monday's procession,—it was not a very long or varied one. It began with a steam fire- engine and a life-boat,—a rare combination ! Possibly the inventor of it expected that he should set the Thames on fire. Four Worshipful Companies lent the light of their countenance, the Pattenmakers, the Clockmakers, the Poulterers, and the Barber-Surgeons ; the last-named Company has been dead for a century and a half, so its presence could only have been a ghostly manifestation. Only three Companies and one ghost, out of something like seventy-five. Where, then, were the Vintners, or the Salters, or the Haberdashers ? Of the twelve great City Companies whose incomes average over ten thousand a year, not one. Next there followed some cars emblematic of the markets. A car bearing a pastoral scene of shepherd, shepherdess, and sheep, closely followed by butchers in blue aprons, and hearing their cleavers, —oh, bathos ! And another, on which Neptune was borne, surrounded by Nereids and sportsmen in city clothing. Another car carried the Nine Muses, to represent the arts that are so conspicuous in their own city. And yet another, to represent the Colonies,—all our Colonies upon one car, and figured by a few Red Indians, and a young man lifting a ton of gold in one hand. Some twenty shabby carriages were filled with Crimean veterans, brought out as a raree-show to make an English holiday—let us hope that the intelligent foreigner did not ask how their services had been otherwise requited ; a few gaudy coaches containing Sheriffs, and the Lord Mayor himself ; a great many bands, a great deal too near each other ; and—that was all. That was all the spectacle that we had to offer to the intelligent foreigner and our still more intelligent selves. It is useless to answer that the people were satisfied with and applauded it; with what show are the people not satisfied ? They are a great deal too easily pleased ; but that is not a reason for trying with how little they can be contented. Rumour asserts that one of the Sheriffs, he that is happily known by the name of "Augustus Druriolanus," was largely responsible for the arrangement and equipment of this magnificent pageant. We trust that rumour is in this case ill-informed. With respect to that gentleman, we had almost come to share the children's belief that he was possessed of the lamp of Aladdin. Before he could have conceived and executed a scheme so devoid of beauty and imagination, so silly and unmeaning, so hopelessly vulgar and commonplace, surely either his lamp must have been rubbed completely out, or its attendant slaves must have succumbed to the prevailing epidemic, and "gone on strike."
Is it not really worth while to spend a little time and money upon the preparations, and make a Show of which we shall have no reason to be ashamed P When we consider that it gives an immense amount of pleasure to an immense number of people, and that to some of these people it comes almost as an education in itself, and gives them ideas of things that they have never thought nor dreamt of, surely we might also consider that their pleasure comes but once a year, and that the lesson ought to be one that is worth the learning. The City Companies might well undertake so pleasant a task, as a kind of labour of love, among the other not very onerous duties that are laid upon them. They can hardly plead want of funds. Certainly they cannot plead want of material. A small German city, such as Nuremberg or Munich, can indulge in a yearly festival which, for wealth of imagination, for historical value, and for real beauty of conception and artistic execution, gives pleasure even to the most fastidious of their visitors. But what, then, should a Lord Mayor's Show be, some one may ask. What might it not be ? Has the City no history of its own that is worth commemorating P Have there been no Lord Mayors between Henry Fitz-Alwyne and Sir Henry Isaacs whose deeds have been worthy of tradition ? Sir William Walwortb, that doughty champion of law and order, who cut down the rebel Wat Tyler, might well be remembered to-day, when champions of law and order are few and far to seek. Dick Whittington of the cats, the three-times Mayor, has his own romantic history. London, that has many a time been laid waste by fire and pestilence, but never by the hands of an invading foe, has also many a tale to tell of its past, glorious to its citizens and well worth the retelling ; even as the story of the Jileistertnink is still told by the pageant of Rothenburg, the giant draught of the Burgomaster Nusch, who saved the city from Tilly's vengeance by his remarkable capacity for swallowing wine. Seriously speaking, we do not think that half-a- dozen men in mis-shapen and ill-fitting armour are likely to give the Londoner of to-day a very exalted idea of his ancestors, or a very clear notion of his past history. A thoughtful and artistic pageant of the history of London would, we believe, do more to inspire its citizens to- day with a love and reverence for their own city than all the teaching of the Board schools,—that is to say, if the Board schools do still teach history, and have not re- nounced that also as being too sectarian. There is no doubt but that the sturdy patriotism of the German is largely due to his knowledge of his country's history, and that. that knowledge has been acquired among the lower classes only bythesepageauts that keep such memories alive. What does the Londoner of the lowest class know of the men who built the city wherein he dwells, and fought for the liberties which he enjoys ? As a role, nothing. But he is not without curiosity ; and though London Stone, Monument, or Tower may fail, by reason of their familiarity to his outward gaze, to wake that curiosity in him as to his past, it would speedily be awakened by the unfamiliar sight of its old heroes treading once more the familiar streets. To most people, this will probably appear a very fanciful view to take of a Lord Mayor's Show ; but let them consider. Either a Lord Mayor's Show means something, or it means nothing at all. In the latter case, it had better be done away with as a sorry waste of time ; in the former, surely it would be worth while to make that meaning clear. Nor do we think that they will deny that such Shows not only serve as an amusement, but also as exercising a considerable educating in- fluence over people to whom it is difficult to bring either amusement or education in any other way. The love of a spectacle is as old as humanity, and the lessons that are learnt from it are written large and easily remembered. If our City magnates to-day are better pleased to forget the past and remember only our present position, at least let that position be worthily represented. Think of London, the heart of the greatest Empire the world has known, and then think of the meagre festival in which she symbolises her great- ness. Truly we are an unimaginative people. From East and West the wonders and riches of the world are poured into London's lap. She parades a few Red Indians and a gold- digger, and cries to her citizens "Behold your Colonies, and your greatness ! " It is not difficult to imagine a pageant of the- British Empire, in which her subjects, race upon race, nation after nation, should pass through the streets of the Imperial' city, even as the same races trod the stones of Imperial Rome in the days of her triumphs. We would not wish to see the Lord' Mayor arrayed after the fashion of the Roman Imperator. He, if we remember aright, bore a sceptre in one hand, a laurel crown in the other, and was painted bright red as to his body;. behind him stood a slave, who warned him at intervals with the• words, " Hominem memento to "—a reminder, that considering the trying nature of both his garb and circumstances, was probably as necessary as it was well-intentioned. W e do not. wish to see our Chief Magistrate in such a dress, but we do wish that our City Corporations were rather more imbued with the Roman idea of public magnificence. If, rich as they are, they shrink from the expense of a Show that is worthy of their dignity, they might seek assistance from private individuals. Some of those enterprising firms who are so anxious to adver- tise themselves before the public, might well be persuaded to- advertise themselves in a more useful and legitimate fashion by taking a brave part in a great public display.
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