hfare was, yesterday, effected in this work, and made use of, for
the first time, by the whole of the directors, and some of the original
subscribers, who had assembled upon the occasion. The shield having been
advanced to the shaft at Wapping, a considerable opening was cut in the
brickwork, and it was through this the party, who had met at Rotherhithe,
were enabled to pass, thus opening the first subterranean communication
between the opposite shores of the river. Upon their arrival at the
shaft, the party was greeted by the workmen with most hearty cheers. A
curious and interesting incident was connected with the event; a few
bottles of wine, preserved since the dinner given on the occasion when
the foundation stone was laid, with the understanding that it was to be
drunk only when it could be carried under the Thames, having been opened
and enjoyed by the company, to the health of Her Majesty and the infant
Prince. It was remarked, too, as a singular coincidence, that a seal on
one of the corks bore the impress of the Prince of Wales's feathers, a
circumstance that caused some merriment. The engineer, Sir I. Brunel,
appeared highly gratified at the happy result of his past anxiety and
arduous labour. The shield will continue its advance, until it has
afforded space for the formation of the remainder of the tunnel, which is
expected to be completed in about three weeks."

By the end of the year the foundations of the New Royal Exchange were dug
out and concreted, and, as it was always anticipated that some important
discoveries might take place in the course of the excavation, proper
arrangements were made on the commencement of the work, that any articles
of interest which might be disinterred, should be secured for the Gresham
Committee. In the Specification for the Works, issued in 1840, the
Contractor and Excavator were required, in taking out the soil, to
deliver up "any plate, coins, antiquities, or curiosities, whether in
metal, or otherwise, or any carved stones, or carvings in marble,
pottery, terra cotta, or tesserae, which may be found in the course of
the excavations; it being understood that all such matters, or things,
are to be taken up with all requisite care, and are to remain the
property of the Gresham Committee."

They found a portion of a Roman building, but the greatest haul was in an
old gravel pit, some 50ft. by 34, filled with hardened mud, in which were
contained considerable quantiti