Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1900-10-31

their necks, eating official dinners and
ether such cares of Office. The Sher-
ifs hold Office for only year and
they keep sharp eye on the Lord
Mayor, getting points on the manage
mant OF so much dignity; for the Sher-
ifs are the Mayors understudies, and,
sooner or later, unless fate and tradi-
tion clash, each of them in turn will
become Lord Mayor
ALL CUT AND DRIED.
The Mayor is chosen from among
those Aldermen who have not passed
the chair" l. e., been Lord Mayor, but
who have served as Sheriff. There
are more than a dozen such Aldermen
at present, and each in turn, in all
human probability, will get the covet
ed Office in the order of seniority. But
the funny part of it is that each is vot-
ed for and elected with as much SER
iousness as if no one could guess what
the result of the poll might be.
A week before the election a sum
mons is sent all the Masters and
Wardens of all the city guilds, COM
mandng them to assemble the Livery
men at the Guild Hall on Michaelmas
Day The civic Sword Bearer like
wise summons the Lord Mayor, Alder
men and Sheriffs. The appointed day
finds them gathered in the great hall
of the Guild Hail. with all the city S
insignia, mace, sword, robes of scar
let ard costly fur and all the rest of it.
The City Recorder and the City Re-
membrancer each carries in the hand
a little bunch Of flowers, because in the
dark ages before sewer pipes were in
vented the Guild Hall was not always
sweet smelling, and it was the duty of
these two officers to counteract with
their flowers any dlsagreeable odors
that might be about. The Guild Hall
is up-to-date now in the matter of
drainage, but that does not do away
with the flowers any more than the ab-
sence Of the city's gates makes the
Queens golden key unnecessary.
RECTOR'S DINNER INVITATION.
When all isready The wonderful out
fit of scarlet and gold, powder and dig
nifty, marches out to the nearby
Church of st. Lawrence Jewry, which
has been honored thus every year
since Wren built the church after the
great fire. At the end of the service
the Sword Bearer invites the Rector to
dine at the Mansion House after the
election is over. That invitation is as
much a part of the ceremony as the
election itself, and if it were not issued
in the precise language at the psyche
logical moment by the proper official
it is conceivable that the government
Of London would be shaken to lis
foundation. The brilliant procession
marches back to the Guild Hall, al,
persons who are not Liverymen are
ordered off the premises, and then the
Commons Crier delivers himself as
follows:
"Oyez! Oyez! Oyez.
! "Ye good men of the Livery of the
several companies of this city, sum
moned here this day for the election
of a fit and able person to be Lore
Mayor of this city for the year ensu
ing, draw near and give your attend
ance.
God save the Queen!"
The City Reporter steps forward ant
informs the Liverymen that the Lor,
Mayor and the Aldermen who hav
passed the chair will now retire, in or
der not to influence the Liverymen il
their choice of a new Lord Mayor
just as If every one were not perfect,
well aware who was to be elected
After this precaution has been takel
the Common Sergeant reads off tn
names of the Aldermen who have bee
Sheriffs but have not passed the chair
each Liveryman holding up his han
when the name of the man of hi
choice is called. The Liverymen dul
vote for the two candidates who hav
been Aldermen longest, and the resul
of their grave deliberations is taken b
the two Sheriffs, the Common Ser
geant and the Common Crier, carryin