Shock loss horror
A FEARFUL omen from the money mar- ket is the fate of the Earl of Clarendon's hat. Tall black burnished silk hats are the market's uniform. Lord Clarendon (7th earl, cr. 1776) is the chairman of bill- brokers Seccombe Marshall & Campion, and, in point of noble precedence within the market, second only to Gerrard & National's deputy chairman, the Earl of Eglinton and Winton (18th, cr. 1507). Setting off to call upon banks, and, of course, correctly turned out, he was walk- ing through the City when, without warn- ing, he found his hat snatched from his head. He stood in astonishment while the snatcher made good his escape. The hat is still missing. The market is at a loss. Some liken it to the theft of King Baudouin's ceremonial sword at the independence of the Belgian Congo, others, classically brought up, to the mutilation of the herms.
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