The Sun.
London, England, 1827-10-06 00:00:00

lAMMERSMITII SUSPENSION BRIDGE,

kaiandatdseitailood,cloacckcotublilst
The Hammersmith Suspension Bridge, of
iC
whichr mpvaepgear veofaxin aoencduarya,te,.v
morning opened to the public.
In the Course of the week arrsigemelits on• a
very large scale had been made, with the 'view of
opening the Bridge with a solemnity and pomp.
suitable to the character of the undertaking.
It was intended that the ceremony should be
of the most splendid and imposing description.
A grand procession was to have taken place.
Their Royal Highnesses the Dukes of Clarence
and Sussex had been invited to honour the
ceremony with their presence, and several Noble-
men and 'Gentlemen of distinction were also so-
licited to • assist at it. Mr. Leith, the Secre-
tary of • the Company, and Mr. Clark, the
Engineer; who has had the exclusive direc-
tion of the works since their first commence-
ment, were busily engaged in making all the ar-
rangbeumsinenetsssnof
necessary to.
We may here, perhaps, give effect and spirit to
the
as well mention that Mr. Clark has published an
admirably executed lithographic sketch of the
bridge. The people of Hammersmith were
quite full of theintesidtd procession. Nothing
was to be: heard of arnotig them, but the great
sight with which they were to be gladdened on
Saturday : and as "'self" will sometimes intrude,
we fear that much of the anticipated pleasure,
was to be found in the hope that the innumerous
visitors attracted to the spot, would leave a little
of their dust behind them. We fear that our
hosts of the " City Arms," " Windsor Castle,"
" The George," and the " Plough and Harrow,"
&c., must plead guilty to this charge ;—at all
events, certain it is, that they made very exten-
sive preparations for accommodating their ex-
pected guests, with the view, no doubt, of con-
vincing their Lurplun friends, that all the good
things of this world were not confined to their
own great land " Leviathan."
No ceremony, however—no procession;took
place. • His Royal Highness the Duke of
Clarence was engaged with official business, and
could not attend. 'The Duke of Wellington,
the Marquis of Lansdowne, Lords Lyndhurst,
Holland, Lowther, and Ellenborough, also sent
letters to say that previous engagements
rendered it impossible for them to be present.
Under these circumstances, and as the splendour
of the ceremony must thus have been shorn of its
beams, it was deemed advisable not to put his
Royal Highness the 'Duke of Sussex to all the
fatigue and trouble of going through it. The more
particularly, as his Royal Highness was as we
were informed about to leave town this evening.
The disappointment was known generally in the
neighbourhood of Hammersmith yesterday, and
some paine were taken by the officers of the
Bridge Company to circulate it in town. Not-
withstanding these exertions to give it publicity,
crowds assembled from all directions in the
course of the day, and no small was their cha-
grin at finding that they were to return with-
out seeing the " Lions." The Thames, both
above and below the bridge, presented a most
animated scene. It was covered with boats
but even the fineness of the day, and the wonder-
ment with which the visitors viewed " the new
Suspension Bridge," die not quite dissipate their
annoyance. They came to see a procession and
they did not see it. Among the crowd there
were some, however, who seemed not to share in
the feeling—these were the mechanics and labour-
ers who had been employed in the construction
of the Bridge.—A g.ood dinner, given by the
proprietors, awaited these persons at " the
George," where time landlord had • direction to
supply them with the national fare—" The roast
beef of Old England," and it is but justice to
" Mine host" to say, that nothing was left undone
by him to provide for the accommodation and
tothe
comfort of his guests.
praise
liberality c er
twa ihnicyh d hasL'e
proprietorsl'he greatest
for
the
distin-
guished their. conduct ; and we were informed
that in order to compensate for the disappoint-
ment of to-day, they have determined to give a
splendid aquatic fete in the course of the ensuing
week.