. . .eat political and civic influence, as the famous trade-guilds of London. There now exist in that city about one hundred such associations, the twelve most prominent and influential of them being styled as the Twelve Great Livery Companies, and these associations exercise no slight share in the government of the world's metropolis. From rights which have survived to them from ancient charters, their members, although self-elected and not deriving their power from any popular suffrage, still choose the Lord Mayor of London from among the twenty-six aldermen of the city's wards, and his election takes place at the Guildhall, or central office of all the companies.

The ceremony is a most interesting one. The floor of the Hall is strewn with aromatic herbs, which is perhaps the only survival of the mediæval method of carpeting a floor with rushes. The aldermen or heads of the city wards, gather in their scarlet gowns, and are met by the representatives of. . . Read More