110 



Whittington and His Cat. 



Lord Mayor of London ; the first time in 1397, in the reign of Richard 

 II., when he was only thirty-seven years old, having been sheriff 

 four years previously, as without having filled that office, he could not 

 be ehgible to the office of Lord Mayor ; then again in 1406, in the 

 reign of Henry IV., and for the last time in 1420, in the reign of 

 Henry V. I always supposed that this thrice election was a tribute 

 to Whittington's popularity and worth ; but antiquaries never leave 

 us to the enjoyment of our pet theories, but are continually knocking 

 them to pieces by hard facts and dry logical conclusions ; and they 

 have fallen upon this theory and have endeavored to demolish it, as 

 they have many others ; they admit his popularity and worth, however, 

 only denying that his being elected three times proves it. Between 

 his first term and his second, a period of nine years elapsed ; and 

 when he was called to serve the third time, it was twenty-three years 

 since he had first filled the mayor's chair. In the time of Whitting- 

 ton, aldermen were frequently called upon to take this office more 

 than once. Sir William Stonden, grocer, who had been mayor in 

 1392, succeeded Whittington ; and Stonden himself was succeeded in 

 1408 by Sir Drew Barentine, goldsmith, who had succeeded Whitting- 

 ton in 1398 ; and from these different successions in different years, it 

 is argued that Whittington's frequent occupancy of the office arose 

 from the fact that, all the aldermen having occupied the chair, it 

 became the turn of the senior members to serve again ; so that t-he 

 repetition of election arose from the paucity of candidates of sufficient 

 station, capable of bearing the expenses of the office, rather than as a 

 tribute to his personal popularity and virtues, which his fellow 

 citizens only discovered after such long periods as nine and twenty- 

 three years. But it may be doubted whether this argument is as 

 strong as it appears ; for it is founded on the fact that the Lord 

 Mayor was always elected as he is at present. The electors now are 

 the liverymen of the several companies of London, who meet in Com- 

 mon Hall on the 29th of September in each year ; and to this com- 

 pany so assembled, the crier reads a list of aldermen in the order of 

 seniority, who have served as sheriff, and who have not already passed 

 the chair of mayoralty. In ordinary cases the first two persons named 

 are accepted ; and although the livery may depart from that order, or 

 even select those who have already been elected and served, still it is 

 not the usual course to do so. The two names finally determined 

 upon are announced to the mayor and aldermen by the common 

 sergeant ; and they also generally select the senior alderman, although 

 they have occasionally rejected the senior and chosen the other candi- 



