professing the rule of St. Austin. The church, cloisters, &c. were
granted by Henry VIII. to the Mercers' Company, who had the gift of the
mastership.[1]

[1] Tanner.

"In the old church were several monuments; among others, one to James
Butler, Earl of Ormond, and Joan his wife, living in the beginning of
the reign of Henry VI. The whole pile was destroyed in the great fire,
but was very handsomely rebuilt by the Mercers' Company, who have their
Hall here.

"In this chapel the celebrated, but unsteady, archbishop of Spalato,
preached his first sermon in 1617, in Italian, before the Archbishop of
Canterbury, and a splendid audience; and continued his discourses in the
same place several times, after he had embraced our religion; but having
the folly to return to his ancient faith, and trust himself among his
old friends at Rome, he was shut up in the Castle of St. Angelo, where
he died in 1625."

"The Mercers' Company is the first of the twelve. The name by no means
implied, originally, a dealer in silks: for _mercery_ included all sorts
of small wares, toys, and haberdashery; but, as several of this opulent
company were merchants, and imported great quantities of rich silks from
Italy, the name became applied to the Company, and all dealers in silk.
Not fewer than sixty-two mayors were of this Company, between the years
1214 and 1762; among which were Sir John Coventry, Sir Richard
Whittington, and Sir Richard and Sir John Gresham."

The front in Cheapside, which alone can be seen, is narrow, but floridly
adorned with carvings and architectural ornaments. The door is enriched
with the figures of two cupids, mantling the arms, festoons, &c. and
above the balcony, it is adorned with two pilasters, entablature, and
pediment of the Ionic order; the intercolumns are the figures of Faith
and Hope, and that of Charity, in a niche under the cornice of the
pediment, with other enrichments. The interior is very handsome. The
hall and great parlour are wainscoted with oak, and adorned with Ionic
pilasters. The ceiling is of fret-work, and the stately piazzas are
constituted by large columns, and their entablature of the Doric order.

The arms of the Mercers, as they are sculptured over the gateway,
present for their distinguishing feature a demi-virgin with dishevelled
hair: it was in allusion to this circumstance, that in the days of
pageantry, at the election of Lord Mayor, a richly ornamented chariot
was produced,