The Sun.
London, England, 1863-07-09 00:00:00

terms :

May it please your royal highness—lt is a source
of unfeigned gratification to the master and war-
dens, to the court of assistants, and to the genera-
lity of this, company, to have had the honour of en-
rolling your royal highness among the members of
the Mercers' Company—the first in rank and the
most ancient in constitution of all the guides in the
City of London. Your royal highness will perhaps
allow me to observe that the antiquity of the
Mercers, as a metropolitan guild, may be traced as
far back as 1172, and that the company received its
incorporation in 1392 at the hands of his Majesty
King Richard 11., who conferred upon it the dis-
tinguished honour of becoming one of its brethren.
I will not run the risk of wearying your royal
highness by enumerating the many persons who as
members of this company have done honour to it,
and whose arms, arranged round these walls, bear
testimony to the respect in which they were held ;
but I cannot pass lightly over such names is Sir
Richard Whittington, the great artist of his own
fortune, and the founder of those extensive chari-
ties which are happily more substantial than the
romantic legend which is associated with his
memory. Nor must I omit to mention Caxton, to
whom we are indebted for that invaluable art of
printing which has brought the nation from a state
of practical darkness to one of intellectual light. A
word, too, must be given to Dean Colet, the founder
of our great Pauline School, which has long been
the nursing mother of students and poets, of war-
riors and divines. The name also of Sir Thomas
Gresham, celebrated for his magnificent foundation
of the first Royal Exchange, and for his confidential
position in the council of the great sovereign Eliza-
beth, must not be forgotten here. I come now, sir,
to one who was memorable in history, Sir Thomas
Boleyn, grandfather of your illustrious ancestor,
Queen Elizabeth, who was herself a tree sister of this
company ; and, passing on to modern days, we have
the gratification of including among our members, by
ancestral descent, that gallant soldier, Lord Hill,
who throughout the Peninsular war was second only
to the indomitable Wellington. It only remains for
me to express to your royal highness eur deep sense
of the honour you have condescended to confer on
us, and to assure you that we fervently trust an
abundant measure of happiness may be in store for
your royal highness and for your beautiful and
accomplished bride. May the bright example of
your intellectual and high-minded father, whose
early death the nation still deplores, ever influence
your path through life. May you, under God, be
the instrument to displace that thorny chaplet
which the will of God has woven for your august
mother, our beloved sovereign, whose personal
attributes and whose domestic virtues so greatly en-
dear her to her subjects ; and when, in the course of
Providence, you are called to assume the throne of
your forefathers, may you be spared not merely to
rule over the millions which compose this mighty
nation, but to live and to reign within their hearts."

The PRINCE listened with marked attention to the
Master's address, which was admirably delivered,
and replied as follows :—Master, Wardens, and
Court of Assistants, I am glad to avail myself of the
last opportunity which my stay in London affords
me of attending here this day to receive the free-
dom of your ancient and honourable company. The
oldest of the city companies, the Mercers, is hardly
exceeded by any in the amount of its charities or in
its capabilities of doing good. How these powers
have been exercised the list of the foundations of
the company and of the distinguished persons whom
you have enumerated as benefactors and freemen
tell us. Amongst the latter the great Sovereign,
who was herself a sister of the company, stands
conspicuous, and commerce and science appear
equally to have lent their representatives to en-
noble the Mercers' Company. To be connected
with such names in the freedom and history of your
company is an honour and a privilege I am proud
to have conferred upon me, I thank you sincerely
for the terms in which you have mentioned the
names of my beloved mother and the Princess, and
for the happiness you desire for us both.
The beautiful casket containing the freedom was
now handed to the Prince, who examined it with
evident admiration and interest. A work of the
highest goldsmith's art, this casket is wrought in
Gothic style, with pillars at each corner, the lid
bearing the form of a Gothic cupola, very richly
ornamented and surmounted by a crown in various
coloured enamels, from which rises the Prince of
Wales's plume. The front is divided into three
arches, or compartments, the centre one bearing the
arms of the Prince and Princess of Wales in
coloured enamels, surrounded by the Garter with
its motto, " Honi snit que mal y pense." In the
centre of the remaining arches are the arms of the
Mercers' Company, also in coloured enamels, with
their motto, "Honor Deo." On the reverse,
divided in like manner into three arches, the cen-
tral one bears the following inscription—

" Presented to H. R. H. Albert Edward Prince
of Wales, K.G., by the Corporation of Mercers,
Premier Guild of the City of London, on the occa-
sion of his royal highness honouring them by
accepting the freedom of the company,July 8,1863."
This inscription is supported on either side by the
monograms of the Prince and Princess of Wales in
plain blue enamel. The casket is based upon a slab
of black Australian marble, ornamented with gar.
lands of flowers in gold, and the whole work is
worthy of the artistic taste and skill of the success-
ful candidate for its design and execution—Mr. C.
F. Hancock, of Bruton-street.
The Master now presented the various members
of the court to the Prince of Wales, who presently
retired to the banqueting room, where a civic
luncheon, prepared by Messrs. Staples,
of the
Albion, was served on the company's service of gold
,Aatahsateler
plate, with their accustomed precision and
judg-
ment. The Prince sat on the right of the
yDinugrinag tsheaetrep°alls4t Master,Mr. Johnson, the father of the company, a
b ig octogenarian,
hnesss l
et
hand.oceiip
ma Royal
proposed " The Health of his Royal lii-th-ge
Prince of Wales, citizen and Highness the
having been warmly respondedrnercer." This toast
to, hi high-
ness took cordial leave of the 8 royal
members of the company, and
and the several
pally, aDd retired.