1S06.] 



Tlie New Exchange-Hall at Hamburgh. 



217 



For the Monthly Magazine. 



BF.SCRIPTION of the NEW EXCHANGE- 

 HALL at HAMBURGH. £3/ M. GERHARD 

 VON HOSSTRLP. 



^A JMBURGH contains various places 

 of refort for profit and pleafure, 

 Inch as the Exchange, tlie Patriotic So- 

 ciety, the Harmony, different clubs, cot- 

 fee-houfes, &c. In other cities fiu- infe- 

 r.'orin rank to Hamburgh, wf find, bclides 

 thcfe, a Mufeum, or fome other new 

 place of refort erected, to which the 

 higher chilVes of the inliabitants repair, 

 for the purpoic of either deriving mutual 

 profit, or enjoying recreation hi the pe- 

 rufal of the public journais and new 

 books, or in converfation and other I'o- 

 cial amufcinents. 



At Hamburgh the places of public re- 

 fort are numerous, but they are partly 

 peiiodical, partly confined to a limited 

 circle, and to particular objects. In 

 lioufes for general accommodation, where 

 no bond of fucial union exills, the fo- 

 rcijiuer, and frequently the native too, is 

 obliged to fcek amufement within himfelf 

 . alone. Many celebrated houfes are not 

 calculated for the grave, fober man ; 

 and other ellablilliments, as they grow 

 old, no longer aflbrd conveniencics 

 adapted to the neceilities of modern 

 times and manners. 



The Exchange alone retains its gene- 

 ral intereil and dignity unhnpaired. But 

 the greatnefs of this name, which cre- 

 ates the idea of an iinmenie correfpon- 

 dei;ce, and the moft extenlive operation 

 on all the quarters of the globe, is to be 

 afcribed folely to the alVemblage of mer- 

 chants and men of buiinets, and not to 

 tlie place itfelf, for, excepting at the 

 time ■when they meet, it is open for ad- 

 mitiion to all defcriptions of people. 



The dcfetts of the Exchange at Ham- 

 burgh are fo notorious, that I ihall not 

 attempt to euumerate them here. I 

 iliall only notice the want of room, the 

 V. ant of covering, and the inconvenience 

 und uncertainty of meeting with any 

 perfon out of the regular excliange- 

 hoiirs, becaufe thefe circumilanccs are 

 conne6(cd with the remedy I have fought 

 to apply by means of an Exchange-hall. 

 Even during exchange-hours the mer- 

 chant frequently ftauds in need of a 

 iieiglibouriiig place of refort, either for 

 Dieiter, parily to meet others oa particu- 

 lar bufinefs, ike. ; in fliort, he vviihes for 

 a place to frrve for the i'mne purpofes as 

 the celebrated Lloyd's Subfcription Cof- 

 fte-hou(c in London. 



Mo.NiiiLY Mac, No. 148. 



Being intimately acquainted with the 

 places of refort at Hamburgh, I was daily 

 more convinced tiiat they were much too 

 fmall for the magnitude of the city, and 

 that a far more extenlive plan would be 

 required to form on a large fcale for that 

 refpectable place what other towns pof- 

 fefs only on a fmall one. I imparted my 

 ideas to fome friends, men of the highell 

 refpectability, of the mod fervent patri- 

 otifm, and animated with the moft fin- 

 cere delire to promote the lionour and 

 fplendour of our fmall butiinj:,py repub- 

 lic. They not only encouraged by their 

 approbation my wiihes to become the 

 founder of an ellablithment commeiifu- 

 rate with tb.e dignity and the commercial 

 relations of Hamburg, but furnithed me 

 with new ideas, and thus brought to ma- 

 turity the plan which, in the year 1802, 

 1 had the honour to fubmit to my mer- 

 cantile fellow-citizens. 



The public fpirit which particularly dif- 

 tinguilhes the inhabitants of Hamburgh, 

 and prompts them to fupport and exe- 

 cute v^■ith the greatelt zeal whatever may 

 tend to the profit or firmc of their city, 

 was now to decide the. merits of my 

 fcheme. This decifioa I obtained in the 

 courfe of a few days, in the completion 

 of the number of fubfcribers I had de- 

 manded. 



I could fcarcely have experienced 

 more honourable encouragement, and 

 immediately proceeded to the execution 

 of the plan, tinnly refolved to fpare nei- 

 tlier pains nor expence to fulfil my pro- 

 mife, and to fatisfy, perhaps furpafs, the 

 general expectation. 



This, however, more tlian doubled 

 my ellimate of expences : but I was juf- 

 tified in placing the irrmeft reliance on 

 the patriotic fpirit of Hamburgh, whicli 

 never fuffers even the greatelt underta- 

 kings of this nature to fall to the ground 

 for want of encouragement. I fought a 

 refource for this in a confiderable in- 

 creafe of the fubfcription-money. This 

 mcafure I adopted with the grcatell re- 

 luctance ; but I had the fatisfaction to 

 fee that there was Icarcely a fiiigle indi- 

 % idual by whom it was not highly appro- 

 ved. 



aiy wifh was to produce fomelhing 

 unique in its kind, whicli was not bor- 

 rowed from other towns, but which 

 fliould itic-'lf fcr\e for a model. A parti- 

 cular circumftance favoured my delign, 

 and confirmed my refolution to fpare no 

 expence. This was the aihilance of M. 

 llamec, a Trench architect fettled at 

 E e HainbiU-gh, 



