The following day at noon the Lord Mayor, in his state coach, attended by his Sheriffs, City Marshals, &c., proceeded to Smithfield to proclaim the Fair. His lordship stopped at Newgate, where he was presented with a cool tankard by the keepers. He then proceeded along Giltspur Street to Cloth Fair. On his approach, musical instruments, consisting of drums, fiddles, cracked trumpets, broken bassoons, &c., were in readiness to salute his lordship with a grand concert. He was met by a motley group, consisting of Devils, Emperors, Kings, Harlequins, Clowns, Punch, &c., all splendidly arrayed. Upon reaching Cloth Fair, the Lord Mayor went through a house at the corner under the archway. Here the proclamation was made--whether there should be interludes or not. If the former, he was honoured with a burst of applause from the people at every booth; the concert was renewed, accompanied by the roaring of tigers, growls of bears, and the thrilling shrieks of hyenas. If, on the contrary, the Mayor interdicted shows, a sullen silence reigned for a few moments, when the indignation of the multitude was expressed by hisses, the most horrid yells, and sometimes personal indignities were offered to the Mayor. On such occasions great mischief has occurred. The Fair occupied the whole space of ground extending from the walls of the Hospital to, and covering, the site of the present Meat Market. Smithfield was formerly lined with pens, in which the live cattle were placed previous to their being sold. Here were erected the show booths, the most conspicuous of late years being that of Richardson’s; puppet shows, dancing bears, &c., were in abundance; the effect was greatly heightened by the noise of discordant bands of music, and cries of “Show them in,” “Just going to begin,” &c. At last the Fair became such an intolerable nuisance that it was suppressed by Act of Parliament in Queen Victoria’s reign. It consisted latterly merely of gingerbread stalls; and the proclamation of it since 1840 was made without the Mayor’s coach. In 1850, Alderman Musgrave, then Mayor, walked there with his attendants, and found no fair to proclaim. After that no Mayor attended to read the proclamation, which was written on a parchment scroll, but it was read by some gentlemen deputed for the purpose. Five years afterwards this form was dispensed with, and Bartholomew Fair was proclaimed for the last time in 1855, after an existence of 742 years. [Illustration: BARTHOLOMEW’S HOSPITAL ARMS OF HOSPITAL AND RAHERE.] No record of the grant of the site nor the deed of endowment is preserved. But a charter of Henry I., dated 1133, is extant, granting Rahere power to found an Hospital with a Monastery; eight brethren and four sisters who were to have the care of such sick people and pregnant women as might need the benefit of the Institution.