NEWS OF THE WEEK.
Tim new Exchange of London was publicly opened on Monday ; Queen Vicroati assisting at the ceremony, and with her own voice bestowing the title of " Royal" on the edifice. The whole ceremonial, from the beginning of the procession at Buckingham Palace to the voluntary and therefore partial illumination at night, passed off well. The weather had been thick, and malignant jokers began to hope that the procession would pursue the invisible tenour of its way in a dense fog, conscious, like the upright man, or dignities unseen by vulgar eyes. Some shrewd hirers of seats began, too, to think of having their" shilling back, you know ; for Moses could not see the show." The sun, however, was more kind and refulgent; and the innumerable audience had their penny- worth. The melodrama was as good as Mr. BATTY could have made it; and indeed, as in the scenic version of the TM:WELL tragedy, a" real gig" was brought upon the stage, so the manager here had the superior advantage of a real Queen and Prince—a pair, too, as perfectly suitable for a pageant as any engaging prima donna and tenor walking-gentleman in the world. The scene at the storming of Temple Bar was as effective as possible ; and it is beautifully described by a reporter who did not see it,—for even impossibilities cannot foil your newspaper-reporter—he sees and hears every thing, and something more. Thus the papers had been filled for days with this opening of the Exchange : all past openings of the Exchange were rereported, as amply as if they had actually reoccurred; and as each writer is bent not so much upon describing the thing as upon swelling his description as much as ever he can, in importance as well as quantity, not a pebble or shadow escaped particular mention. You scarcely can tell how far these fellows' brass will carry them in the minuteness of their personalities ; for every cough is chronicled : perhaps they "draw the line" at sneezes or hiccups, since we do not remember that those mortal incidents are ever noted—unless royalty is superior to those infirmities, like the heathen gods, who never winked. To return to the facts of that great day. Alder- man MAGNAY became for the nonce a sort of stage-hero, striding and riding about in a red robe and Spanish hat and feather, with a sword in his hand, and music to accompany his action. They say, in sooth, that he was about to address the Queen in recitative, dreaming that he was really acting in some fashionable opera ; but that he just recollected himself in time. The procession round the Exchange looked very " real " ; and the banquet told very well— it was much prettier than that in Macbeth. Item, Mr. MAGNAY was made "Sir WILLIAM," with the style, title, and rank of Baronet. The company got so merry, indeed, not excepting the highest, that their excitement reached the eulogistic stage, and they even fancied that the architecture of the new Exchange was "grand," or " beauti- ful," or some such thing : and such were the uproarious sentiments uttered at two or three o'clock, not in the morning, but in broad- day ! Among the remarkable facts may be mentioned the presence of that perpetual Churchwarden Mr. Alderman GIBBS. The man's position is a standing inversion of probabilities. Elected Lord Mayor, he was to have been one of the distinguished guests. That, in- deed, he would be anywhere; for his distinction is unique. He was to have been in the procession from Temple Bar, and he figured con- spicuously in the programme ; but in the real out-door pageant it was his absence that figured conspicuously. One apologist says that he did not stay away for fear of any popular manifestation of feeling ; but because the Queen should not run the risk of annoy- ance. So, this friendly libeller hints, it is not safe for the Queen to be seen in public with the Lord Mayor Elect, lest some of the insults thrown at his head should fall upon her ! What a peculiar qualification this implies for the post of Chief Magistrate in com- mercial London ! It is to be hoped that Mr. GIBBS may be ac- quitted of the charges against him by the 9th of November, when he could not well avoid being pilloried in the state-coach. How- ever, his discretion saved Queen VICTORIA from the awkwardness of riding in his company, and perhaps deprived the reporters of some startling incident to enliven the fiat expanse of their parrs- lives. After the play, when the principal actress had retired, the whole city seems to have given itself up to the spirit of luxurious enjoyment. The set splendours of the banquet were outdone in the hearty gusto of numberless public and private dinners ; and from the Mansionhouse to the retail-trader's parlour, sight-seers from the country, invited to the show, were entertained as guests at the hospitable board with an overflowing liberality worthy of genial Cockaigne. And so, after that day of splendours, London " swallowed up excessive feast," never to be forgotten " by those who were there or by those who were not." This is the way to commemorate !
