The Arizona sentinel., 1891-05-09
OLD LONDON CUSTOMS.
FSss 1sngf1zh EEStropOIis S Ver1tab.e Strong
 hold oK Antiquated Obssryanoes.


 F7ss IsngE1zh Metropolis s verItabse Strong.
 hold oK AntiqUated ObssFyances.
 The majority of people, if asked where in England they woul7 search with the best chance of su 'ess for Ehe existence of old-time customs and ebservances. would probably name she extreme north and the extreme west of our island. At any rate, we feel assured that very few would point Co the city of London. Yet, strange as it may seem, while the country has become terribly prosaic and common place in these matters, while the old songs and the old sports have died out, aud the old customs have been discon- tinued as i'll asserting with an age Of progress. the city of London is a ver- itable stronghold of customs and ob- servances which have long since been panfshed from Arcadia.
 To begin with the city churches, to which just now more intelligent at tention Is being orawn than they have enjoyed ever since the city ceased to be 6 place of residence, there are ger mons preached in them upon special occasions for the origin of many of which we must go back Q long way in our history; and there are customs practiced in connection with them of which in many cases the origin is abso- lutely unknown. On St. Paul's Day, for instance, 6 sermon has been preached in St. Sepulchre's Newgate. since Paul Jervis ordained it in 1717, on 'the excellence of the Liturgy of the Church of England" and, in ad- dition, enough money was left to pay the preacher forty shillings, certain sums to curate and clerk, twenty shil- nngs each to the ten poorest house holders of the Smithfeld quarter of St. Sepulchre's parish, four pounds to the treasurer of St. Bartholomew's Hospital, and the residue of yearly rents and profits to be divided among such poor of the parish as attend the sermon. Money was also provided for s= dinner in the evening, at which the vicar, clergy, church-wardens and common councilmen of the precinct attended, but we believe this portion has been diverted.
 Again, to this day, on Maundy Thursday twenty-one widows visit an ancient tomb in the church-yard of St. Bartholomew the Great, Smithfeld, and pick up twenty-one new six Pences from of it-s custom which has been observed for over four hun dred years. On the same day, until quite recently, the sixty youngest blue-coat boys used to assemble in @ Lombard street church and receive a new penny and a bag of raisins ac- cording to the will of Peter Symonds, who died in 1868; and at Easter the boys of the same school, which comes ia tor goodly share of the old citizen charity, hear the Spital sermon, and afterwards proceed to the Mansion House. On Whit-Sunday the officials of the Skinners' Company proceed in state from their hal to hear a sermon tn the church of St Antholin. On Whit-Monday is the famous Flour DOA %AOn ~ NA1O SH HOA SA OA NN NdIudT IA0 Cree, Leadenhal street, and on Whit Tuesday is still preached, at the church of St. Leonard, Shoreditch, in accordance with tho will of Thomas Fairchild, gardener. who died in l72S, i and left twenty-eight pounds for the | purpose, g sermon on "The certainty i of resurrection from the dead as shown by the changes in the oper- ations of the animal and vegetable | Kingdom. ."-London Standard.