The Sun.
London, England, 1864-02-17 00:00:00

THE MANSION HOUSE.

Under the direction of the General Purposes Committee,
whose year of office has just expired, the interior of the
Mansion House has been undergoing the process of " bright.
ening up." There has been no striking change made in the
City palace, the works having been confined to a general
cleansing, the application of paint and varnish here and
there, and the " bringing out" the gilt mouldings, &c.,
which are so freely distributed over the interior. It is some
years, however, since so much has been done, and the effect
is to give the various parts a much-improved and cheerful
appearance. To begin at the beginning, the vestibule has
been freshened up, and some statues placed in the several
niches which were before empty. The office of the Lord
Mayor's secretary (Mr. J, Gibbs) has been repainted, and
otherwise restored. The massive and very handsome (albeit
somewhat too heavy) marble mantelpiece has been tho-
roughly cleansed and restored, and the carving is now shown
to advantage. The Lord Mayor's Parlour has been restored,
and a very large mirror, placed in the wall at the south side,
gives to the room a greatly extended appearance. The Long
Parlour has been newly carpeted, the massive moulded ceil-
ing has been restored, and over the fire-place at each end a
bust has been placed—the subjects being Wellington and
Nelson. The Egyptian Hall has been considerably improved
in appearance. The chandeliers have been relacquered, and
=pets taken up and renovated, &c. The most striking fea-
ture here, however, is the removal of the statues from be-
tween the pillars to the niches at the sides. This gives more
room, but as the receptacles are muchlarger than the statues,
the latter appear out of place. They require something to
show them up; and we think scarlet drapery, such as was
recently applied-with so much effect at Guildhall, might be
used here with advantage. Busts of Scott and Byron have
been placed over the doors of the hall, inside. The State
Drawing-rooms have been considerably improved, and a direct
entrance made into the Egyptian Hall from the south room,
which will be found very convenient for company (ladies
especially) going to or leaving the hall at banquets. The
State Bedrooms have been newly painted and varnished,and
the staircases, &c., restored. The works will cost something
like £2,000. Previous to their going out of office the General
Purposes Committee, with Mr. Deputy Scamell, the chair-
man, visited the Mansion House, and expressed their appro-
val of what had been done.

In conseqUence of the works going on, the Lord Mayor
and Lady Mayoress could not take up their official residence
until about three weeks ago. If the Lord Mayor be not
worn out with the fatigues of the mayoralty by the time his
year comes to a close, the last-mentioned fact might form
a sufficient excuse for his asking that his term might bo
extended for a couple of months ; but there is little doubt
that his lordship will be quite satisfied with the responsibli-
ties and honours of office (like most of his predecessors)
before the 9th of November comes round again.

The customary banquets have for the reason above men-
tioned been deferred. The " Plow Monday" dinner to the
officers and household has, however, been fixed for Wednes-
day next. The banquet to the Aldermen will be given on
the following Wednesday, and the first Common Council
banquet will take place almost immediately afterwards.
For the next few weeks, therefore, the activity at the Man-
sion House will be greater than usual.--City Press.

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