EXC
403
EXP
Hj e ’ ^ t ^ le coming time were not, with infinite wisdom andk* dden f rom our ken. The past we know ; the pre-°Ur ' Ve . can govern ; for the future we can only hope, makinglet a . Ct * ons sue h as to render a cheerful hope justifiable.ai J0( | e spirit of commerce, then, when it takes up its new, e > Work with the energy and activity that have always^ it. Above all, let it preserve that integrity andthe S er 9’ a l honour which have been so long the pride of
8 «cu re
iV er,
0 i h n glish merchant, and then will it have done the best toa still further development of the wealth, extent,' v at i' and numbers of that realm over which Elizabethin„ . le< i, and which Victoria now rules ; queens who, differ-uiucli, yet resemble each other in the extent to whichan/ . ave commanded the loyalty and affection of the people;r es]
ln this also—that the commercial activity of their
f ef,?. eCt ' Ve a g e s received the countenance of both. In itstV ; eri ce to our history, the opening of the New Royalitir, by Queen Victoria, is one of the most interest-
'\V' VentS modern times.”
tj Ui l (1 ? must not conclude our description of this magnificentla g, without reference to the sculpture with which thekj,.^ woyal Exchange has been adorned. That by Mr.tlj e ar d Westmacott, in the tympanum of the pediment atfi 0t}1 est front, deserves the earliest and highest mention, botht^ v lts position and its merit. Allegorical in subject, it4f e t le less avoids the objections to which such compositions•a // nera| ly liable. It consists of seventeen figures, carvedwith two exceptions, modelled as
enti r ^ 1 P‘ act limestone, and.
ffiej ..and detached figures. The centre figure, which is tenC ° r nI)' • represents Commerce ; with her mural crown, her
Vopia, bee-hive, and other accessories. Her left handJijj ”e charter of the Exchange, her right rests on part of’ two dolphins and a shell forming her pedestal. The011 e ’t* ler s *de consist, on the right, of three British Cr ' r Orn a, " :s ' n their civic robes—as lord-mayor, alderman, andt^jn-cmnd^an ; two Asiatics, a Hindoo, and a Moham-
i r-ftn,
Afr/!'’. ln appropriate costume
an
the
left, o j!' an scholar, andS ^°vvn tWo ® r itish merchants examining some woven fabricto them by a Persian ; a Chinese ; a sailor of the\ & 5 . a negro ; a British sailor cording a bale of cot-a tlgl 6s Cl ! a super-cargo, or factory agent. The opposite'•cal 8re filled with anchors, jars, packages, and other nau-ari d commercial emblems. The arches of the upper\to a !i e decorated with the arms of various nations, accord-ing e or der determined at the congress of Vienna—the
i°,
ed walk for the merchants also has the ceiling and
Xh°l En S land occupying the centre of the eastern side,e tered walk for the merchants also has the ceiling :l? u nt 1 ? anelled ’ painted, and emblazoned with the arms of<r|nd monarchs; namely, Edward the Confessor ,a hgi . HI., Elizabeth, and Charles II . In the south-east'*■ tuer •
^st "* ere is a statue of Queen Elizabeth, and in the south-. It 0 S f atue °i Charles II .
’/tor' . rem ains now to speak of the statues of Queen'aside the building, and of the Duke of Wellington' ^titp' "11 1 e latter is a bronze equestrian figure, by
# batt?^’ an< l was composed of the metal of the guns takene, i— and valued at
1 > 00 q‘ c ’ C0I ‘tributed by the government,ej ' dhe cost of the statue itself was £900. It was com-
'be anniversary of Waterloo, the 18th June, 1844,'ue - - .—
^ODy 6 ‘ nau guration took place, at which the Kin>bl/’ s ' vll ° was in England at the time, attended. ThejAl la atUe °f the Queen, by Lough, in the centre of theJ tl > of A area, was not placed on its pedestal until the' Jct °b e r, 1845. An interesting fact is recorded by6 tag; 8 res Pecting the statue of Gresham. Duringn S of the great fire of 1666 : “ When the fire
ot
was entered,” writes the old chronicler, “ how quickly didit run round the galleries, filling them with flames ; thendescending the stairs, compassetli the walks, giving forthflaming volleys, and filling the court with sheets of fire.By-and-by the kings fell all down on their faces, and thegreater part of the stone building after them, the founder'sstatue alone remaining.”
It is a remarkable fact, that this statue was again savedin the fire of 1838.
The gates of the Exchange are exceedingly handsome.They are made of wrought-iron, the decorations being cast-iron. In the centre of the gates, on either side, are the armsof the City of London, and of the Mercers’ Company , withthe cipher of Sir Thomas Gresham , (T. G.,) very ingeniouslyintroduced. In the ornamental heads of the gates, the rose,thistle, and shamrock appear entwined.
After the publication of the first portion of this article,the following paragraphs appeared in The Times; and wethink we cannot better conclude our account of the Exchangesof London , than by recording so high and so well-deserved acompliment, to the designer of the Coal Exchange:—“ A pieceof plate, weighing 222 ounces of silver, was presented to theCity architect, for services which are sufficiently indicatedby the inscription : ‘Presented to I. B. Bunning, Esq., bythe coal-factors and merchants of the City of London , asa testimonial of their admiration of his genius and judgmentin the erection of the Coal Exchange, and of his urbanitythroughout the progress of the structure ; which is not moreapproved of by those for whose use and convenience it wasdesigned, than by the public at large, for its taste and ele-gance as a work of art. Anno Domino m.d.CCCL.’ The platewas presented by Mr. Harris, as the organ of the coal-factors, with an appropriate speech. In addition to thispleasing compliment to Mr. Bunning, the coal-factors andmerchants have signed a declaration, for presentation to theCorporation of the City , of their satisfaction of all the accom-modations provided for them by means of the New CoalExchange, which they attribute to a union of talent on thepart of the architect, which has enabled him to produce anedifice which, whilst it embodies all the requirements of thecoal-factors and merchants as men of business, is, at the sametime, in design, taste, and judgment, the admiration of thenumerous strangers who daily visit it, as one of the chiefobjects of interest and of art in the City of London .”
EXEDRiE, (from the Greek efeipai, a parlour) amongthe ancients, places wherein the philosophers, sophists, andrhetors, held their conferences and disputes. They aresupposed to have been recesses in the walls, or little chapels,answering to what we call chapters in the cloisters of monks,or collegiate churches.
Also applied to an apse or recess in a building, or to aprojecting porch, in short, to any addition to a building. Inthe early Christian church, the term is applied to all thebuildings within the consecrated enclosure which weredetached from the church. Such were the baptisteries,vestries, diaconica, schools, libraries, and such like.
EXENTRIC, or Eccentric, (from the Latin eccentricus)in geometry, a term applied to two circles or spheres, inwhich, though in some measure the one is contained withinthe other, yet the two have not the same centre, and conse-quently their surfaces are not parallel. The word is opposed toconcentric, where they are parallel, and have the same centre.
EXOSTRA, in the ancient theatre, a place where suchparts of the play were recited as were supposed to be actedprivately in the house.
EXPANSION, (from the Latin , expando ) that degree ofincrement, which a body is susceptible of extending in one