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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40020 ***
+
+[Illustration: AT HAMPTON COURT]
+
+
+
+
+  THE THAMES
+
+
+  DESCRIBED BY G. E. MITTON
+  PICTURED BY E. W. HASLEHUST
+
+
+  BLACKIE & SON LIMITED
+  LONDON AND GLASGOW
+
+
+
+
+Beautiful England
+
+  BATH AND WELLS
+  CANTERBURY
+  DARTMOOR
+  DICKENS-LAND
+  EXETER
+  FOLKESTONE AND DOVER
+  HAMPTON COURT
+  HASTINGS AND NEIGHBOURHOOD
+  NORWICH AND THE BROADS
+  OXFORD
+  THE PEAK DISTRICT
+  RIPON AND HARROGATE
+  SHAKESPEARE-LAND
+  THE THAMES
+  WINCHESTER
+  YORK
+
+London
+
+  THE HEART OF LONDON
+  THROUGH LONDON'S HIGHWAYS
+  IN LONDON'S BY-WAYS
+  RAMBLES IN GREATER LONDON
+
+
+Beautiful Scotland
+
+  EDINBURGH
+  THE SCOTT COUNTRY
+  LOCH LOMOND, LOCH KATRINE, AND THE TROSSACHS
+
+
+Beautiful Switzerland
+
+  CHAMONIX
+  LAUSANNE
+  VILLARS AND CHAMPERY
+
+
+BLACKIE & SON LTD., 50 OLD BAILEY, LONDON, AND 17 STANHOPE STREET GLASGOW
+
+BLACKIE & SON (INDIA) LTD. BOMBAY; BLACKIE & SON (CANADA) LTD., TORONTO
+
+_Printed in Great Britain by Blackie & Son, Limited, Glasgow_
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+  Facing Page
+
+  At Hampton Court      _Frontispiece_
+
+  Windsor                            5
+
+  Richmond                          12
+
+  Marlow Lock                       16
+
+  Maidenhead Bridge                 21
+
+  Cookham Church                    28
+
+  Henley                            33
+
+  Sonning                           37
+
+  Pangbourne                        44
+
+  Folly Bridge, Oxford              48
+
+  Streatley Hills                   51
+
+  Wallingford                       54
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: WINDSOR]
+
+
+
+
+THE THAMES
+
+
+When the American wondered what all the fuss was about, and "guessed" that
+any one of his home rivers could swallow the Thames and never know it, the
+Englishman replied, he "guessed" it depended at which end the process
+began; if at the mouth, the American river would probably get no farther
+than the "greatest city the world has ever known" before succumbing to
+indigestion!
+
+With rivers as with men, size is not an element in greatness, and for no
+other reason than that it carries London on its banks the Thames would be
+the most famous river in the world. It has other claims too, claims which
+are here set forth with pen and pencil; for at present we are not dealing
+with London at all, but with that river of pleasure of which Spenser
+wrote:--
+
+  Along the shores of silver-streaming Themmes;
+  Whose rutty bank, the which his river hemmes,
+  Was paynted all with variable flowers,
+  And all the meades adorned with dainty gemmes,
+  Fit to deck mayden bowres and crowne their paramoures,
+  Against the brydale day which is not long,
+  Sweet Thames! runne softly till I end my song.
+
+Oddly enough, this is one of the comparatively few allusions to the Thames
+in literature, and there is no single striking ode in its honour. It is
+perhaps too much to expect the present Poet Laureate to fill the gap, but
+certainly the poet of the Thames has yet to arise.
+
+Besides Spenser, Drayton makes allusion to the Thames in his _Polyolbion_,
+using as an allegory the wedding of Thame and Isis, from which union is
+born the Thames; and in this he is correct, for where Thame and Isis unite
+at Dorchester there begins the Thames, and all that is usually counted
+Thames, up to Oxford and beyond, is, as Oxford men correctly say, the
+Isis. Yet by custom now the river which flows past Oxford is treated as
+the Thames, and when we speak of our national river we count its source as
+being in the Cotswold Hills.
+
+Other poets who refer to the Thames are Denham, Cowley, Milton, and Pope.
+In modern times Matthew Arnold's tender descriptions of the river about
+and below Oxford have been many times quoted. Gray wrote an _Ode on a
+Distant Prospect of Eton College_, in which he refers to the "hoary
+Thames", but the lines apostrophizing the "little victims" at play are
+more often quoted than those regarding the river.
+
+The influence of the Thames on the countless sons of England who have
+passed through Eton and Oxford must be incalculable. It is impossible to
+mention Eton without thinking of Windsor, the one royal castle which
+really impresses foreigners in England. Buckingham Palace is a palace in
+name only, its ugly, stiff, stuccoed walls might belong to a gigantic box,
+but Windsor, with its massive towers and its splendid situation, is castle
+and palace both. Well may the German Emperor envy it! It carries in it
+something of the character of that other William, the first of the Norman
+Kings of England, who saw the possibilities of the situation, though
+little of the castle as we see it is due to him. The mass of it is of the
+time of Edward III, and much of it was altered in that worst era of taste,
+the reign of George IV. Windsor has come scatheless out of the ordeal; the
+fine masses of masonry already existing have carried off the alterations
+in their own grandeur, and the result is harmonious.
+
+Many and many a tale might be quoted of Windsor, but these are amply told
+in _Windsor Castle_ by Edward Thomas, the volume which follows this in
+the same series. Here we must be content with quoting only four lines from
+_The Kingis Quhair_, the great poem of King James I of Scotland, who spent
+part of his long captivity at Windsor. By reason of this poem James I
+ranks as high among poets as among kings; in it he speaks of the Thames
+as--
+
+            A river pleasant to behold,
+  Embroidered all with fresh flowers gay,
+  Where, through the gravel, bright as any gold,
+  The crystal water ran so clear and cold.
+
+Windsor is the only royal palace, still used as such, which remains out of
+the seven once standing on the banks of the Thames. Few people indeed
+would be able to recite offhand the names of the others. They are all
+below Windsor. The nearest to it is Hampton Court, chiefly associated with
+William III, though it was originally founded by the tactless Wolsey, who
+dared so to adorn it that it attracted the unenviable notice of Henry
+VIII. Little was it to be wondered at, since the Court was described by
+Skelton as--
+
+  With turrettes and with toures,
+  With halls and with boures,
+  Stretching to the starres,
+  With glass windows and barres;
+  Hanginge about their walles,
+  Clothes of gold and palles
+  Fresh as floures in May.
+
+Skelton also wrote a satire beginning:--
+
+  Why come ye not to court?
+        To whyche court?
+  To the Kynge's Court
+  Or Hampton Court?
+  The Kynge's Court
+  Should have the excellence,
+  But Hampton Court
+  Hath the pre-eminence
+  And Yorkes Place,
+
+which was like pouring vitriol into the mind of such a man as Henry. When
+Wolsey entertained the French ambassadors at Hampton, "every chamber had a
+bason and a ewer of silver, some gilt and some parcel gilt, and some two
+great pots of silver, in like manner, and one pot at the least with wine
+or beer, a bowl or goblet, and a silver pot to drink beer in; a silver
+candlestick or two, with both white lights and yellow lights of three
+sizes of wax; and a staff torch; a fine manchet, and a cheat loaf of
+bread". No wonder the King's cupidity was aroused. It was not long before
+the great Cardinal was forced to make a "voluntary" gift of his beloved
+toy, as he had also to do with another noble mansion which he "made" by
+Thames side--Whitehall, formerly known as York Place, because held by the
+Archbishops of York. When Wolsey was told the King required this, he said
+with truth: "I know that the King of his own nature is of a royal
+stomach!"
+
+On leaving Hampton the great prelate was allowed to go to the palace at
+Richmond. One wonders if he rode from Hampton to Richmond, only a mile or
+two by the river bank, on that "mule trapped altogether in crimson velvet
+and gilt stirrups". Of the thousands who use that popular towpath does one
+ever give a thought to the Cardinal thus setting his first step on his
+tremendous downward descent?
+
+It was while he was at Hampton that the news was brought to Henry of the
+death of his old favourite at Leicester Abbey. Henry, standing in a
+"nightgown of russet velvet furred with sables", heard the news callously,
+and only demanded an account of some money paid to the cardinal before his
+death; not a qualm disturbed his self-satisfaction. Such is the most
+picturesque reminiscence of Hampton, and others must stand aside with a
+mere reference; such events as the birth of Edward VI, which occurred
+here; the "honeymoon" of bitter, loveless Mary and her Spanish husband;
+the imprisonment of Charles I for three months. Melancholy ghosts these;
+but they do not haunt the main part of the palace, for that was built
+later by Wren, acting under orders from William III, to imitate
+Versailles. This incongruity of style must have sorely puzzled the
+much-tried architect, who has, however, succeeded admirably in his bizarre
+task.
+
+But of all the picturesque and romantic associations with palaces, those
+connected with Richmond are the most interesting. Only a fragment of the
+building now remains. After many vicissitudes, including destruction by
+fire at the hands of Richard II--who, like a child rending a toy which has
+hurt him, had it destroyed because the death of his wife occurred here--it
+was rebuilt by Henry VII, the first to call it Richmond, whereas before it
+had been Sheen. It is much associated with the eccentric and forceful
+Tudors, who, whatever their faults, had plenty of ability, and of that
+most valuable of all nature's gifts, originality. It is said that in a
+room over the gateway took place the death of the miserable Countess of
+Nottingham, who confessed at last that she had failed to give to Elizabeth
+the ring which the Earl of Essex had sent to her in his extremity;
+whereupon the miserable queen exclaimed: "May God forgive you, for I never
+can". The unhappy Katherine of Aragon, and still more unhappy Queen Mary,
+spent bitter days at Richmond.
+
+How different is Kew, a palace in name only, a snug red-brick villa in
+appearance, where the most homely of the Hanoverian kings played at being
+a private gentleman! The other royal palaces--Westminster, Whitehall and
+the Tower--belong to the London zone, a thing apart, just as London is now
+itself a county, an entity, and not merely a city overflowing into
+neighbouring counties.
+
+Not only for its palaces is the Thames famous, the monks made excuse that
+Friday's fish necessitated the vicinity of a river, but in reality they
+knew better than their neighbours how to choose the most desirable
+localities. Note any exceptionally beautiful situation, any celebrated
+house, and ten times to one you will find its origin in a monastery. The
+monasteries which dotted the shores of Thames were frequent and lordly. To
+mention a few of the most important, we have Reading, Dorchester,
+Chertsey, Abingdon, and an incomparable relic remaining in the magnificent
+abbey church at Dorchester, with its "Jesse" window, which draws strangers
+from all parts to see the tree of David arising from Jesse and culminating
+in the Christ.
+
+[Illustration: RICHMOND]
+
+Nowadays many besides monks have discovered the desirability of a river
+residence; too many, in fact, for a house with the lawn of that unrivalled
+turf, smooth as velvet, bright as emerald, which grows only by Thames
+side, commands a rent out of reach of all but the well-to-do. How
+beautiful such river lawns may be can be judged only at the time when
+the crimson rambler is in its glory, flinging its rose-red masses over
+rustic supports, and finding an extraordinary counterblast of colour in
+the striking vermilion of the geraniums which line the roofs of the
+prettily painted houseboats anchored near. A houseboat is not exactly a
+marvel either of comfort or cheapness, but as a joyous experience it is
+worth the money. You see them lying up in lines by Molesey and Richmond
+out of the season, dead lifeless things, with weather-stained paint and
+tightly shut casements. How different are they in the summer, resplendent
+in blue and white, lined by flowers and vivified by men in flannels and
+girls in muslin frocks, with parasols like flowers themselves; then the
+very houseboat seems alive.
+
+Of all the notable houses which are passed in following "the
+silver-winding" way of the Thames two cannot be overlooked, because, being
+perched in lordly situations, they command great vistas of the river. The
+first is Cliveden, standing high above the woods and facing down the river
+to Maidenhead. The present house dates only from the middle of the
+nineteenth century. It has had two predecessors, both destroyed by fire.
+The first one was built by "Steenie", first Duke of Buckingham, Charles
+I's favourite. His gay, arrogant life, which came to a fitting end by the
+assassin's knife, was carried on at Cliveden with unbridled licence and
+extravagance. His wardrobe for the journey to Spain with Charles, when
+Prince of Wales, consisted of "twenty-seven rich suits, embroidered and
+laced with silk and silver plushes, besides one rich satten incut velvet
+suit, set all over, both suit and cloak, of diamonds, the value whereof is
+thought to be about one thousand pounds". It was to Cliveden the duke
+brought the Countess of Shrewsbury after he had killed her husband by
+mortally wounding him in a duel, while she stood by disguised as a page
+and held his horse.
+
+There is nothing more curious than to discover how young were the
+principal actors in the dramas of history. After a life full of action, of
+intrigue, of excitement, the first Duke of Buckingham's career was ended
+at the early age of thirty-six. He left a son and daughter, and another
+son, Francis, was born shortly after. This boy is described as having been
+singularly lovable and handsome. He fought gallantly for his King in the
+civil wars, and was killed when only nineteen at Kingston-on-Thames,
+thereby, giving us another riverside association. He stood with his back
+against an oak tree, scorning to ask quarter from his enemies, and fell
+covered with wounds.
+
+It was an age of masques and dramas, and Buckingham was the patron of many
+a poet. Ben Jonson's masques, performed in costumes designed by Inigo
+Jones, were popular both with him and the King. In later days Cliveden was
+the scene of another masque, _Alfred_, written by James Thomson, who was
+staying in the house as a guest of Frederick, Prince of Wales, then the
+lessee. This masque itself is long forgotten, but it contained "Rule,
+Britannia!" the national song which thus first made the walls of Cliveden
+echo, before it echoed round the Empire. The masque was performed at a
+fête given in the garden, Aug. 1 and 2, 1740. Thomson's connection with
+the Thames does not end here. It was at the Mall, Hammersmith, that he had
+previously written _The Seasons_.
+
+Enough has been said of Cliveden to show that not only in situation but in
+interesting association it takes high rank among river mansions. The other
+pronouncedly notable high-standing river mansion is Danesfield, above
+Hurley, built of chalk, and reared upon the great chalk cliffs that here
+line the river's flood. On the slopes near, in crocus time, the hills
+shine purple and gold with blossom, resembling a royal carpet spread by
+someone's lavish hand. The place derives its name from having been the
+site of a Danish encampment.
+
+But Cliveden and Danesfield do not exhaust the list of fine riverside
+mansions, though, as they stand so high, they are more conspicuous than
+most. One of the most delightful and desirable of all the old houses is
+Bisham Abbey, not far from Marlow, picturesque in itself and redolent of
+old associations. There is the Bisham ghost, which spreads itself across
+the river in a thin, white mist which means death to those who try to
+penetrate it. But the most touching and pitiful tale is of a certain Lady
+Hoby, one of the family who held the mansion from the time of Edward VI to
+1780. She is represented as wandering about in a never-ending purgatory,
+wringing her hands and trying to cleanse them from indelible inkstains.
+The story goes that she was condemned thus for her cruelty to her little
+son, whom, perhaps in mistaken severity, she beat so much for failure to
+write in his copybooks without blots that the poor child died. It was an
+age of sternness toward children. We know how Lady Jane Grey suffered, and
+thought herself "in hell" while with her parents. There were no Froebel
+schools or Kindergartens then; and it may be the wretched mother was
+trying to do her duty as she knew it. A curious confirmation of the story
+was found in the discovery of a number of copybooks behind a shutter
+during some repairs. The books were of the Tudor period and were deluged
+in every line with blots!
+
+[Illustration: MARLOW LOCK]
+
+Several of the Hobys are buried in the pretty little church, near to which
+the river laps the very edge of the churchyard. One monument is to two
+brothers, Sir Philip and Sir Thomas Hoby, and the epitaph on the latter,
+put up by his sorrowing widow, concludes with the lines:--
+
+  Give me, oh God, a husband like unto Thomas,
+  Or else restore me to my husband Thomas.
+
+Like many another disconsolate widow she married again in a few years, so
+she had presumably found someone who could rank with Thomas! Leland in his
+_Itinerary_ mentions the Abbey as "a very pleasant delightsome place as
+most in England", and, indeed, so it is, with its grey stone walls,
+mullioned windows, and high tower rising amid the trees.
+
+Bisham at one time belonged to the Knights Templars, and in 1388 the Earl
+of Salisbury established here a monastery for Augustinian monks. It was
+twice surrendered at the dissolution, and the prior, William Barlow, had
+five daughters, who all married bishops! It seems that the worthy cleric
+had readily taken advantage of the change which abolished celibacy for the
+clergy!
+
+Poor Anne of Cleves lived here in retirement, whilst her stepson was on
+the throne, but she perhaps found the place too quiet after the fierce
+excitement of being wife to such a monarch as Henry, because it was she
+who exchanged it with the Hoby family, and went elsewhere. Edward VI seems
+to have had a liking for sending his relatives here, for he next committed
+his sister Elizabeth to the care of Sir Thomas, who seems to have treated
+her well, though she was in fact a prisoner. That she appreciated the
+beauty of the river scenery is shown by her revisiting the place when she
+was queen. The great square hall is said with much probability to have
+been the abbey church, and if so three Earls of Salisbury, the
+"King-maker" Warwick, and the unhappy Edward Plantagenet, son of the Duke
+of Clarence, lie beneath the stones. We have lingered a little about
+Bisham, but few places are so well worth it.
+
+Temple Lock, near by, recalls the Templars, and just above it is another
+grand old house, Lady Place, also on the site of an abbey. Sir Richard
+Lovelace, created Baron by Charles I, built here a magnificent mansion,
+described by Macaulay in his usual rolling style, in his _History of
+England_. The house, therefore, is younger than Bisham, but the abbey was
+older, having been founded as far back as 1086. A part of the crypt
+remains. Here in the dim depths was signed that document which changed the
+whole course of English history, the invitation to William of Orange to
+come over and take the throne. The chief conspirator was the second Baron
+Lovelace, who thus repaid the Stuarts who had ennobled his father!
+
+At Greenlands also, about three miles above Lady Place and Hurley as the
+crow flies, but more by the winding river, we get another echo of the
+Civil Wars. We are told that "for a little fort it was made very strong
+for the King". It belonged at that time to Sir Cope D'Oyley, a stanch
+Royalist, and when he died his eldest son followed in his steps, and held
+out even when the Parliamentarians planted their cannon in the meadows
+opposite and fired across the river. The marks of their balls are said to
+be still visible on the old walls. Greenlands now belongs to the Hon. W.
+F. D. Smith, heir to his mother, Viscountess Hambleden. An altogether
+peculiar case in the peerage this! When the Right Hon. W. H. Smith, First
+Lord of the Treasury, died, in October, 1891, he just missed the peerage
+destined for him. A month later it was conferred upon his widow with
+remainder to her son.
+
+So much for a few of the interesting and romantic associations of the
+river. But it is not thus the holiday crowds regard it. They seek no
+meaning in place-names, no historical associations in the grand old
+mansions passed; to them the river is a playground merely, where every
+yard of a particular backwater is known, where a favourite boatman
+reserves a special boat or punt, and where crowds of fellow creatures may
+be sought or shunned as individual fancy prompts. We might paraphrase
+Wordsworth and say:
+
+  A place-name on the river's brim,
+  A simple name it was to him,
+          And it was nothing more.
+
+One might wander from subject to subject while treating of the Thames,
+finding in each matter enough for a book, indeed the variety of the
+subjects rivals in scope that famous conversation which ranged "from
+sealing-wax to Kings". Romance, history, boating, flowers, regattas, and
+fish are but a few out of the vast number lying ready for choice, and
+space is limited.
+
+[Illustration: MAIDENHEAD BRIDGE]
+
+The Thames swans are a feature to be by no means overlooked. They belong
+to the Crown, the Vintners' and Dyers' Companies, and so ancient are the
+rights of the companies in this matter that their origin is lost in the
+mist of antiquity. The annual stock-taking and marking of the swans gives
+occasion for a pleasant holiday every year about the middle of July; but
+though the privileged members of the companies and their friends are no
+longer conveyed in "gaily decorated barges", they no doubt enjoy their
+excursion by steam launch just as much. "Swan-hopping", as it is usually
+called, is really a corruption of "swan-upping", meaning the process of
+taking up the swans to mark them according to their ownership. The
+Vintners used to mark their swans with a large V across the mandible, but
+this custom, having been protested against in the new spirit of tenderness
+which has swept over the country, they now give two nicks only, one on
+each side. The well-known tavern sign "The Swan with Two Necks" is really
+a corruption of this much-used mark of identification, and should be "The
+Swan with Two Nicks".
+
+The King is by far the largest owner, and as he has discontinued the
+custom of having a number of swans and cygnets taken for the royal table,
+it is probable that swans will increase on the river very rapidly. The
+swan has always been a royal bird, and in the time of Edward IV no one was
+permitted to keep swans unless he had a freehold of at least five marks
+annually. The order for the regulation of the Thames swans, in which this
+clause appears, runs to thirty clauses, and is a very quaint document. One
+sentence is as follows: "It is ordained that every owner that hath any
+swans shall pay every year ... fourpence to the Master of the Game for
+his fee, and his dinner and supper free on the Upping Days".
+
+These regulations show that the institution of swans on the Thames is a
+very ancient one, and the graceful, bad-tempered birds themselves add much
+to the beauty of the river.
+
+            The swan with arched neck
+  Between her white wings mantling, proudly rows
+  Her state with oary feet.
+                                --_Milton._
+
+To light upon another subject. There is in the boating alone enough to
+occupy many volumes. We might start from the solid punt, furnished with
+chairs, and shoved out into midstream by three sober snuff-coloured
+gentlemen; there anchored by its own poles, while the three sit on their
+chairs in midstream, regardless of the obstruction they form to quicker
+nimbler mortals, fishing, or rather holding rods, as immovable as
+themselves, the livelong day. The punt plays such a small part in the
+whole proceeding, it might well fall outside the boating classification
+altogether--a mud island would do as well. It has not even the dignity of
+a ferry boat. From here, through all varieties of broad-beamed,
+blunt-nosed family boats, to the long slender racing skiffs or the canoe
+light as a dragon-fly on the wing, we could run the gamut in the Book of
+the Boat.
+
+The distance between Hammersmith Bridge and Folly Bridge, Oxford, is 103
+miles, and the extent and variety of boating on this stretch, to go no
+lower, is unequalled on any other river in England. The first weir is to
+be found below Richmond, and the first lock at Teddington. In 1578 there
+were 23 locks, 16 mills, 16 floodgates, and 7 weirs on the river between
+Maidenhead and Oxford. Thirty more locks and weirs were added in the next
+six years. When we find that "the locks were machines of wood placed
+across the river, and so contrived to hold the water as long as
+convenient, that is, till the water rises to such a height as to allow of
+depth enough for the barge to pass over the shallows", we are not
+surprised to learn that exception was taken to the building of more locks,
+because so many people had been drowned! The barges were not charged for
+going up, but only for coming down, which seems a little unreasonable when
+we realize that "the going up of the locks was so steep that every year
+cables had been broken that cost £400".
+
+It is curious how easily the river may be divided into "zones", each with
+its usual habitués quite distinct from those of other zones. Taking it
+generally, it may be said that the farther from London the more exclusive
+is the crowd, and this is perhaps because a very large number of Thames
+lovers live in London, and the accessibility and expense of the outing
+tend to thin out the number as the distance lengthens. The influence of
+London is felt all the way to Hampton, linked up as it now is by trams
+with the metropolis. Putney and Hammersmith are part of London; Chiswick
+and Brentford run on continuously, and are only excluded by an arbitrary
+line. Kew and Richmond and Hampton are the favourite playgrounds of the
+Londoner, and may be reckoned as much among the "sights" as the Tower or
+the Zoo.
+
+The river between Putney and Barnes is associated with the greatest event
+of the boating year, the University Boat Race. It is the day of the year
+to many a quiet country clergyman, who comes up from his rural parish for
+the great event, even if it takes place at some impossible hour in the
+early morning. The hour varies according to the tide, for the race is
+rowed at its height, and, in spite of inconvenience or discomfort, there
+is always a company of enthusiasts to line the banks. On a really
+favourable day, when the chances are even, the route about Mortlake is
+alive with people on both sides of the river. Every vantage point is
+occupied, and trains arriving slowly on the railway bridge deposit their
+freights and withdraw every few minutes. Carts are drawn up on the
+roadway, and filled with people, happy to get a seat at a reasonable
+price, while the meadows on the northern shore afford room for hundreds.
+
+The launch of the Thames conservators comes to clear the course, hustling
+aside the small steamers and boats. A murmur begins and grows in intensity
+until the rival boats are seen rounding the corner from Hammersmith. There
+is a moment of intense anxiety until the rival crews are distinguished,
+and then a roar goes up from impulsive partisans. Close behind the boats
+comes the umpire's launch, and half a dozen others, including press boats.
+The crew which gets first under Barnes railway bridge is generally
+considered to have the race in hand, but if the two boats are close this
+is by no means sure. The crowd prefers the slice of river between
+Hammersmith and Barnes Bridge, because from first to last so much can be
+seen of the race, but the curve hides the winning-post. Some few moments
+after the disappearance of the boats a rumour as to the winner comes
+swiftly back; but it is not till the umpire's launch returns, and glides
+smoothly down the course with the flag of the victors streaming out
+gallantly, that the result is known with certainty.
+
+The next zone, including Sunbury, Walton, Weybridge, right on to Windsor,
+is a quiet one. It has its own charm, but lacks any exceptional features
+of striking interest. Placid green meadows, feathery willows, peaceful
+cows, and sunny little unpretentious houses are the chief components of
+almost every view. Weybridge is perhaps the prettiest place, because of
+the many turnings and windings of the river near it, but Penton Hook,
+Laleham, Shepperton, and Walton can all claim a quiet prettiness of their
+own.
+
+Windsor stands by itself, and the influence of Eton is paramount. Then
+from Bray right on to Marlow we get what must be by far the most popular
+bit of the whole river.
+
+Bray itself is particularly pleasant, and is associated for all time with
+the worthy vicar, who was content to turn his coat at the bidding of the
+party in power sooner than lose his beloved parish. The original vicar
+lived in the reigns of Henry VIII and his immediate successor, and his
+mental somersaults were from the Catholic to Reformed Church, and back
+once more; but the ballad makes him live in the days of Charles II, James
+II, William, Anne, and George I, a period of over fifty years. As it is
+rather difficult to get hold of, we may quote part of it here. It runs
+through all the variations from--
+
+  In good King Charles's golden days,
+  When loyalty no harm meant,
+  A zealous High Churchman was I,
+  And so I got preferment.
+  To teach my flock I never missed,
+  Kings were by God appointed,
+  And damn'd are those that do resist
+  Or touch the Lord's anointed.
+
+  When royal James obtained the crown
+  And Popery came in fashion,
+  The Penal laws I hooted down
+  And read the Declaration.
+  The Church of Rome I found would fit
+  Full well my constitution,
+  And had become a Jesuit
+  But for the Revolution.
+
+      *       *       *       *
+
+  When George in pudding-time came o'er,
+  And moderate men looked big, sir,
+  I turned a cat-in-a-pan once more
+  And so became a whig, sir.
+  And thus preferment I secured
+  From our new faith's defender,
+  And almost every day abjured
+  The Pope and the Pretender.
+
+      *       *       *       *
+
+  For this is law I will maintain
+  Until my dying day, sir.
+  Whatever king in England reign
+  I'll still be Vicar of Bray, sir.
+
+Maidenhead bridges, rail and road, span the river above Bray. Maidenhead
+is easily accessible by the Great Western Railway main line, and, with
+Taplow, which comes down to the river on the opposite bank, counts its
+devotees in thousands. Taplow village is a little distance away, but
+Skindle's Hotel on that side counts largely in itself as representing
+Taplow. Not even the sacred Ganges itself could show a crowd more ardent
+or more gaily clad than this stretch of the river on a fine summer day.
+The rich ochres and purples of the East are outshone by the soft
+brilliancy of blues and pinks, the rose-reds and yellows of the gayer sex
+both in their garments and sunshades. And if the great day, the Sunday
+after Ascot, be in any way tolerable, Boulter's Lock, all the more sought
+apparently because of its congestion, is a sight indeed. People come in
+crowds to stand on the banks and view it as a show.
+
+But all the year round, even in winter, a few visitors may be found in the
+reach above Boulter's, under the magnificent amphitheatre-like sweeps of
+the Cliveden woods. The cliff itself rises to a height of 140 feet and is
+clothed to the very summit. Oak, beech, ash, and chestnut show up against
+clumps of dark evergreen. The bosky masses are broken here and there by a
+Lombardy poplar pointing upward, and the whole is wreathed and swathed in
+shawls of the wild clematis, the woodbine of the older poets, otherwise
+traveller's joy. Beyond the Cliveden reach is Cookham, beloved of many,
+with its pretty little church tower peeping over the trees, and opposite
+is Bourne End, near which is a wide, open reach used as a course for
+sailing boats. The only woods that can rival those of Cliveden are the
+Quarry Woods, opposite Great Marlow, and they lose in effect from not
+coming right down to the water but sweeping away inland. The Quarry Woods
+are largely beech and evergreen, and in the autumn the stems, owing to the
+damp atmosphere, are covered with a vivid green lichen, the thick leaves,
+turning the burnt red colour peculiar to beeches, not only shine overhead,
+but make a rich carpet for the ground. Then the woods might well be the
+enchanted woods of a child's fairy tale, so glorious is their aspect.
+Between Marlow and Henley, as we have seen, most of the ancient historical
+associations cluster; within that short space are Bisham, Lady Place,
+Medmenham, and Greenlands, and the reach of the river is quite pretty
+enough to tempt people without the added glamour.
+
+[Illustration: COOKHAM CHURCH]
+
+Medmenham Abbey is now a carefully composed ruin, with a most
+attractive-looking cloister close to the river. So well has art aped
+reality, that it is regarded with much more reverence than many genuinely
+old buildings which make less display. It is at present a private house,
+but began its career in the orthodox way as an abbey, being founded about
+1200 for Cistercian monks. Few of the thirteenth-century stones can now
+remain, unless it be as foundations.
+
+A weird and ghostly flavour was imparted to the place by its being chosen
+as headquarters by the roistering crew of the eighteenth century who
+called themselves "The Hell-Fire Club", and professed to worship Satan.
+The leader of the revellers was Sir Francis Dashwood, who succeeded his
+uncle in the title of Baron le Despencer in 1763. The club motto was _Fay
+ce que voudras_, and each member tried to outdo the rest in eccentricity.
+Though they gloried in their wild doings and set afloat many tales which
+made quieter folk catch their breath in horror, it is probable that, apart
+from open blasphemy, their proceedings were more foolish than horrible.
+Once, as a joke, someone sent an ape down the chimney while they were
+gathered together, and the frightened gibbering creature, soot-begrimed,
+was mistaken by the terror-stricken revellers for Satan himself.
+
+Not far off is the old Abbey Hotel, beloved of artists, and farther on up
+the green lane is a curious old house which once belonged to Sir John
+Borlase, friend of King Charles II, who was visited here by His Majesty on
+horseback, often accompanied, so tradition goes, by Nelly Gwynne.
+
+Henley, of course, boasts the regatta of the Thames; other regattas there
+are in plenty, but none can compare with Henley in importance. Its heats
+are telegraphed abroad, and as a sporting event it ranks only second to
+the boat race. The regatta is held the first week in July. The course is
+lined by booms, within the shelter of which every variety of craft is seen
+wedged together so tightly as to make upsetting a sheer impossibility.
+Punts worked with canoe paddles are perhaps the most popular, but skiffs
+and frail Canadian canoes, as well as the solid hired craft of the boat
+builders may be seen. Gondolas regularly make their appearance, and seem
+to vanish in between from year to year. It used to be fashionable to wear
+simple muslins and straws at Henley, but year by year fashion has screwed
+up things to a higher pitch, until nowadays gowns which, in their
+elaborate affectation of simplicity, would not disgrace Ascot itself, are
+to be seen everywhere, especially on the lawns of the clubs which run down
+to the water behind the waiting craft. The scene is a gay one, and for
+days before every available room is taken, every available boat hired. The
+Red Lion--and Henley would hardly be Henley without the Red Lion--could be
+filled several times over. It was of this inn Shenstone wrote:--
+
+  Whoe'er has travelled life's dull round,
+  Whate'er his stages may have been,
+  May sigh to think he still has found
+  The warmest welcome at an inn.
+
+The whole poem, of which this is a verse, was written on a window of the
+inn, and though the window was broken the relic is preserved. Charles I
+stayed at the Red Lion in 1632, on his way from London to Oxford, and a
+large fresco painting of the Royal Arms, done in commemoration of this
+visit, was discovered over a fireplace during alterations. Doubtless it
+had been purposely hidden in the days when Henley was hotly
+Parliamentarian and striving vainly to subdue poor little Greenlands.
+
+Owing to its position as a sort of halfway house between London and
+Oxford, Henley enjoys a good deal of society. The great Duke of
+Marlborough actually furnished a room at the inn that he might frequently
+occupy it. It is at Henley that the daily steamer stops when running
+between Kingston and Oxford in the summer months.
+
+Between Henley and Sonning lies the most intricate part of the river bed,
+and here are the most bewitching reaches. The numerous islets, the
+backwaters and sheltered nooks, make it a favourite part with boating men.
+
+Wargrave backwater, indeed, is the most famous on the river, and is in
+summer simply a fairyland of greenery. The entrance, behind a
+willow-covered island, conveys something of mystery, and as one floats
+gently along a waterway so narrow that one could almost touch the banks
+on either side, with the sun showering down between the meshes of the
+delicate veil of leaves, one might be sailing into the palace where lies
+the sleeping princess. Fiddler's Bridge is so low that it is necessary to
+lie down full length in the boat in passing under it, and two boats
+meeting must certainly make some arrangement for mutual safety, even if it
+be not exactly that of the goats in the fable.
+
+[Illustration: HENLEY]
+
+Wargrave itself might be taken as a typical Thames-side village. Here we
+have collected together many of the features to be found singly in other
+river villages, notably the weather-worn look about the small irregular
+houses, probably due to the damp atmosphere, and, though not exactly an
+attraction from the house-hunter's point of view, yet a most desirable
+feature in the eyes of artists. No crudity can long exist by Thames side;
+with gentle fingers the soft atmosphere caresses the hard red brick and
+adds a touch of lichen here and there, and straightway the wall becomes a
+thing of beauty. Added to this, this same atmosphere, aided by the rich
+soil, possibly at one time part of the river bed, produces creepers in
+profusion in every nook and corner; and those asperities which will not
+yield to gentler methods are veiled by climbing clematis, by masses of
+wistaria, or by the stretching withy branches of rose bushes. The result
+is a sweet vista of glory in flower-time, a glory out of which peep
+casement windows, gable ends, and irregular angles. Roses and sweetbrier,
+purple clematis and starry jasmine, tall garden plants, and delicate
+overhanging mauve blooms of wistaria, looking like rare coloured bunches
+of grapes, mingle with or succeed one another from spring to autumn. The
+prolific growth in Thames village gardens is one source of beauty to the
+river. In autumn no strip of a few square yards but has its tall
+hollyhocks, its royal sunflowers, and, in gay carpets, its scented stocks.
+The gardens of the lock-keepers, often situated on small islands, are
+among the gayest on the river; a prize is offered every year for the best
+of them, a prize which, I believe, Goring has carried off frequently.
+Matthew Arnold must have had some of these cottage gardens in his mind,
+when he wrote:
+
+  Soon will the musk carnations break and swell,
+  Soon shall we have gold-dusted snapdragon,
+  Sweet-william with his homely cottage smell,
+  And stocks in fragrant blow;
+  Roses, that down the alleys shine afar,
+  And open jasmine-muffled lattices.
+
+Besides its flowers and its general architecture, Wargrave has other
+claims to rank as a typical Thames-side village. The old inn, The George,
+whose lawn runs down to the water, is just the kind of hostelry one
+expects to find. Its signboard, indeed, was painted by two R.A.s, a fact
+eloquent of the kind of "wild-fowl" which forgathers at Wargrave. This
+unique sign is preserved indoors, while an understudy swings out over the
+village street.
+
+Wargrave church, too, is no whit behind expectation. It is of flint, as
+are the most part of the Thames-side churches, and has a square tower with
+pinnacles, half ivycovered; so it acts up to all that is required of it.
+Thomas Day, the author of _Sandford and Merton_, which so delighted the
+last generation of children, is buried in the church; he was killed by a
+fall from his horse. To add to the list of its self-respecting virtues,
+the tower of Wargrave church can be seen from the river, peeping out from
+among the tall trees that surround it.
+
+Above Wargrave is Shiplake, between which and Sonning is the curious
+channel known as the Loddon and St. Patrick's stream. These two, making a
+loop by which the lock may be avoided, are tempting to boatmen, for
+nowhere else on the river may such a feat be performed. Yet if the boatman
+try the passage up-stream it is likely he will regret it and wish he had
+favoured the lock, with all its bother and its unwelcome toll instead; for
+St. Patrick's Stream has a swift current.
+
+Of Sonning who can write with sufficient inspiration? The wonderful old
+red-brick bridge has drawn artists by the score, whereupon they have drawn
+it in retaliation! The hotel rose garden, famous for the variety and
+beauty of the blooms, is an attraction only second, and the hotel itself
+is second to none on the river.
+
+The mills on the Thames might well have a book to themselves; they are so
+ancient and so picturesque. Several, including the one at Sonning, are
+actually mentioned in _Domesday Book_. They are more ancient in their
+establishment even than the records of the monasteries, and so can claim
+to be the oldest things on the river, though some of the bridges might run
+them close. In the hot summer days the backwater of a mill is a place
+beloved of many. There, beneath the shelter of a broad-leaved
+horse-chestnut, so thick and rich of growth it makes the water almost
+black, one may lie in still content, hearing the splash of the falling
+water, and perhaps seeing it dashing from the mighty flaps of the wheel in
+glittering cascades. The very sight helps to keep one cool.
+
+[Illustration: SONNING]
+
+Of bridges, too, much might be said, and yet records are hard to find.
+Sonning bridge must rank high in age, as also that at Abingdon, of which
+we read:
+
+  King Herry the Fyft in his fourthe yere,
+  He hath i-founde for his folke a brige in Berkschire
+  For cartes with cariage may go and come clere,
+  That many wynters afore were mareed in the myre.
+  Culham hythe hath caused many a curse,
+  I-blessed be our helpers we have a better waye,
+  Without any peny for cart or for horse.
+                                --_Geoffrey Barbour._
+
+The building of bridges was in old days considered an act of charity, in
+the same way as the founding of almshouses and "hospitals". People left
+bequests with this object.
+
+Between Reading and Wallingford are two other noted beauty bits, which
+could not be omitted in any book on the Thames, however limited the space.
+Mapledurham, with its beautiful little church, its fine old Elizabethan
+house near by, and its most delightful mill, is visited by everyone who
+can make the pilgrimage. It is, however, rather spoilt by the near
+neighbourhood of Reading, which is the only town which can be called such,
+in the real "towny" sense, between London and Oxford. Yet Reading is not
+exactly on the riverside, but has a river suburb at Caversham. Henley,
+Wallingford, Abingdon, and the rest are so thoroughly in accordance with
+the spirit of the river, so charming in themselves, and above all so
+comparatively limited in extent, they add to rather than detract from the
+Thames scenery. Reading, in spite of its undoubted features of interest,
+in spite of its ancient history, is still a manufacturing town, and as
+such spreads around an atmosphere which is uncongenial to true Thames
+lovers, who regard it as a blot.
+
+The abbot of Reading was mitred, and ruled with a powerful hand; indeed,
+the abbey over which he held sway was third in England, and had the
+privilege of coining, a royal prerogative. Adela, second queen of King
+Henry I, is buried here, also his daughter the Empress Maude. When the
+Dissolution came, the abbot in office, Hugh Farringford, thirty-first of
+his line, nourished on the proud traditions of his predecessors, refused
+to yield to Henry VIII, and was in consequence hanged, drawn, and
+quartered in front of his own gate.
+
+There was a castle in Reading as well as an abbey, though the only
+reminiscence of it left is in the name of Castle Street. From the time of
+the Danes the castle played its part in history; in the Civil Wars it was
+at first a stronghold for the King and later for the Parliamentarians. St.
+Giles's Church still bears the marks of the artillery from which it
+suffered. Archbishop Laud was born at Reading and educated at the Free
+School there. At present, as everyone knows, Reading is renowned for its
+biscuits and seeds.
+
+Farther up we have a repetition of twin villages, linked by a bridge,
+veritable Siamese twins, a fact which is interesting and curious.
+Pangbourne and Whitchurch dwell in the same sort of amicable rivalry as do
+Streatley and Goring. They may be at war between themselves but they hold
+together against the world.
+
+Streatley certainly cannot fail to yield the palm to Goring for beauty.
+For Goring is considered by many critics to be the very prettiest village
+on the river, a claim which its quaint main street, falling down the
+hillside to the river at right angles, does much to establish. But the
+surroundings of Streatley, the splendid sweep of heights, which back it
+up, cannot be rivalled by Goring. The road running through both crosses
+the river, and it is ancient in very truth. It was used by the Romans and
+formed part of the famous Icknield Way, but was made long before their
+time. For generations before history begins bands of furtive men, ready
+for surprise, and as suspicious as wild animals, must have padded on bare
+feet down one line of hills, across the river ford, and mounted the
+heights again, keenly scanning the country for possible enemies. No neat
+creeper-covered red brick cottages then, no church even, though Goring
+church is very old, dating back to Norman times, and having been the
+church of an Augustinian priory. No mills even, not the most primitive,
+and though neither village can be accused of ruining its beauty in a
+frantic search after modernism--the mill at Goring, in spite of its mossy
+roof, gleaming green and russet, frequented by the flocks of white
+pigeons, has adopted an electric generating station! From the
+electric-power methods to the Ancient Britons is indeed a far cry!
+
+Pangbourne and Whitchurch, taken as a couple, cannot vie with Goring and
+Streatley; though Pangbourne is pretty enough, and the river near it is
+island-broken, and particularly attractive. The reach succeeding Goring
+and Streatley is dull right up to Wallingford. In some points Wallingford
+and Abingdon may claim brotherhood, they are of the same size and about
+them hangs the same atmosphere, but the river at Abingdon is incomparably
+more interesting. Of Wallingford something more must be said in the
+historical reminiscences, and for the time we may leave it, and, skipping
+Dorchester, already mentioned, and Sutton-Courtney, another beauty spot,
+with an incomparable "pool", go on to Abingdon.
+
+Of the bridge we have already spoken--there it stands, Burford Bridge, old
+and irregular, with straggling arches, some round, some pointed. The
+bridge is long and rests partly on an island on which is built the Nag's
+Head Inn, whose garden occupies the island. The abbey buildings, still
+partly standing, founded by Cissa in 675, is one of the most interesting
+features of the town. The long range of wall, and the mighty exterior
+chimney, probably built about the fourteenth century, show up in season
+amid masses of horse-chestnut blossom, for which the town is famous. Henry
+I, the learned Beauclerc, was here educated from his twelfth year.
+
+Christ's Hospital, as it is called, with a hall dating from 1400, is one
+of the sights of Abingdon, and the day to see it is that on which eighty
+loaves of bread are distributed to the poor people of the town. This
+occurs once a week.
+
+With Abingdon we get within range of Oxford, and what remains is
+distinctly in the Oxford zone, just as all the river below Hampton is
+London in character. The famous Oxford meadows, with their range of wild
+flowers, rival the Swiss meadows.
+
+The profusion of flowers in the riverside gardens has already been noted,
+but these differ little, except in richness of growth, from those usually
+found in cottage gardens. More interesting to those studying the Thames as
+a theme are the flowers growing wild along the banks, which are native to
+the river. Among these may be reckoned the purple loosestrife, with its
+tapering gaily coloured spikes standing often four feet high, and at times
+mistaken for a foxglove; also the pink-flowering willow-herb, the wild
+mustard with its raw tone of yellow, the buckbean growing in low-lying
+stagnant places, and the tall yellow iris, clear-cut and soldierly, with
+its broad-bladed leaves rustling along the margin of the banks. Not less
+beautiful are the burr-reeds and flowering rushes, the marsh-mallows and
+the cuckoo-flowers, found in many parts of the river; but the growth of
+wild flowers, including these and others, is richest of all in the meadows
+below Oxford. Here the fritillaries are especially noted:--
+
+  I know what white, what purple fritillaries,
+  The grassy harvest of the river fields
+  Above by Ensham, down by Sandford yields.
+                                --_Matthew Arnold._
+
+Also the yellow iris, the cuckoo flower, the water villarsia, the purple
+orchis, the willow-weed, and many another are here seen in full
+perfection. The Nuneham woods rank with the Oxford meadows as an
+attraction, and the inn at Sandford still holds its own, though
+overshadowed by a paper mill.
+
+There is one glorious gem by the river which is in a category by itself,
+and is unapproached by rivals; this is the small church of Iffley. Its
+architecture is not pure, but its claim to date from Norman times is
+undisputed. No one passing along the meadows should fail to stop at Iffley
+and see some genuine Norman mouldings and massive architecture.
+
+After this we come to Oxford and may stand on Folly Bridge, and as we
+watch the water flowing swiftly beneath our feet may run with it in
+imagination past all the beauties and all the places of interest already
+described, on by cool meadows and overshadowing trees until it meets the
+flooding uptide below Richmond and mingling with it in the ebb is lost in
+the "town" water of Brentford and Hammersmith, and so plunges into the
+thick grey flood by London, and on by wharves and docks until--
+
+  Stately prows are rising and bowing,
+  Shouts of mariners winnow the air,
+  And level banks for sands endowing
+  The tiny green ribbon that showed so fair.
+                                --_Jean Ingelow._
+
+No river in the world can show so wonderful a gallery of great names, or
+so noted a collection of world's men, in connection with it. Perhaps the
+two names which arise at once to everyone's mind are those of Pope and
+Walpole, who lived so near one another at Twickenham. Pope was at
+Twickenham from 1719-44, and produced here his most famous works,
+including the last books of the _Odyssey_, the _Dunciad_, and the _Essay
+on Man_, but he is not by these remembered on the river, his claim to
+notice is that he made a curious underground grotto, of which he wrote:--
+
+    From the River Thames you see through my arch up a walk of the
+    wilderness to a kind of open temple, wholly composed of shells in the
+    rustic manner, and from that distance under the temple, you look down
+    through a sloping arcade of trees, and see the sails on the river,
+    passing suddenly and vanishing as through a perspective glass. When
+    you shut the doors of this grotto it becomes on the instant from a
+    luminous room a camera obscura, on the walls of which all objects of
+    the river, hills, woods, and boats, are forming a moving picture in
+    their visible radiation.
+
+Pope had known the river from his birth. His parents lived at Binfield,
+about nine miles from Windsor. Part of Windsor Forest is still called
+Pope's Wood, and his poem on Windsor Forest must contain some of his
+earliest impressions. He was two years at Chiswick, after leaving
+Binfield, and then bought the house at Twickenham with which his name is
+chiefly associated. Long before this, however, he had been a popular
+visitor at Mapledurham, where the glorious old Elizabethan mansion near
+the church still shelters Blounts as it did in his day and long before.
+Two pretty daughters of the house, described by Gay as--
+
+  The fair-hair'd Martha and Teresa brown,
+
+competed for the honour of Pope's attentions, even though he was "a little
+miserable object, so weak that he could not hold himself upright
+without stays, so sickly that his whole life was a continued illness"; his
+genius, early recognized, concealed by its blaze such trifles. His poems
+in many places keep alive the sisters' names, and in the Mapledurham MS
+Collection much of his correspondence is preserved. There does not seem to
+have been any question of his marriage with either of the girls, and it is
+doubtful if his connection with them was altogether for their good; but at
+any rate it has added lustre to the family records. Teresa once assured
+him, he tells us, "that but for some whims of that kind (propriety) she
+would go a-raking with me in man's clothes".
+
+[Illustration: PANGBOURNE]
+
+One detail of Pope's garden is so peculiarly associated with the river
+that it must be mentioned. It is said that the weeping willow grown by him
+was the parent of all the weeping willows in England, and if so many a
+Thames vista owes an added touch of beauty to him.
+
+Pope's grotto has taken so much hold on the popular imagination that it
+ranks only second to his hideous and grotesque villa by the riverside,
+which was recently occupied by Henry Labouchere, M.P. The real interest of
+the place lies in the literary coteries which met in the house, including
+such men as Swift and Gay, who helped by suggestions and designs during
+the building of the famous Marble Hill for the Countess of Suffolk, friend
+of George II. Gay in particular was a _persona grata_ with the countess,
+and occupied a special suite of rooms set aside for him at Marble Hill.
+
+It was three years after Pope's death that Walpole came to the
+neighbourhood; he had the mania for fantastic building effects even more
+strongly than the poet. Pope had made his villa peculiar enough in all
+conscience, but Walpole's so-called Gothic in the rebuilding of Strawberry
+Hill was a medley of every sort of architectural effect which could
+conceivably be classed under that heading. "Not to mention minute
+discordances, there are several parts of Strawberry Hill which belong to
+the religious, and others to the castellated, form of Gothic
+architecture." Walpole solemnly boasted that his "house will give a lesson
+in taste to all who visit it". It might have done so, but not exactly in
+the way he intended. He made the place a perfect museum, and it became the
+fashion to visit Strawberry Hill. The Earl of Bath was so enchanted with
+it that he wrote a ballad, which, in its own kind, might well take rank
+with the architectural effort which inspired it. Every verse ended:
+
+  But Strawberry Hill, but Strawberry Hill
+      Must bear away the palm.
+
+Walpole wrote of the place, soon after he had acquired it: "Two delightful
+roads, which you would call dusty, supply me continually with coaches and
+chaises, barges as solemn as barons of the exchequer move under my window.
+Richmond Hill and Ham walks round my prospect; but, thank God! the Thames
+is between me and the Duchess of Queensberry!"
+
+He used to term the mansion his "paper house" because, the walls being
+very slight, and the roof not very secure, in the heavy rains it was apt
+to leak, "but," adds an enthusiastic writer of his own time, "in viewing
+the apartments, particularly the magnificent gallery, all such ideas
+vanished in admiration".
+
+After his first visit to Paris, Walpole never wore a hat, and used to go
+out walking over his soaking lawns in thin slippers. He sat much in the
+breakfast-room, which gave a view toward the Thames, and his constant
+companion was an inordinately fat little dog. He wrote the _Castle of
+Otranto_ in eight days, or rather eight nights, for he says his "general
+hours of composition are from ten o'clock at night till two in the
+morning".
+
+The squirrels at Strawberry Hill were a great feature; regularly after
+breakfast Walpole used to mix a large basin of bread-and-milk and throw it
+out to them. He was very fond of animals, he even used to cut up bread
+and spread it on the dining-room mantelpiece, thus drawing a number of
+expectant mice from their holes!
+
+It troubled him greatly when he became Earl of Orford, at the advanced age
+of seventy-four, on the death of his nephew. He could not see why, sitting
+at home in his own room, he should be called by a new name!
+
+The most notable fact connected with Strawberry Hill was the
+printing-press Walpole there established, from which he issued many of his
+own, and some of his friend, the poet Gray's, works.
+
+Henry Fielding came to Twickenham, having first married, as his second
+choice, his late wife's maid. He was only here about a year. Sir Godfrey
+Kneller, too, was a resident; and Turner, having built here a summer
+resort, and called it Sandycombe Lodge, used it from 1814-26. So that, all
+things considered, Twickenham may boast a considerable galaxy of stars.
+
+[Illustration: FOLLY BRIDGE, OXFORD]
+
+Though the names of Pope and Walpole are best known from their long
+association with the river, by far the noblest name that Thames can boast
+is that of Milton. It was as a young man, fresh from the University, that
+he came to live for five years with his parents at Horton, near Wraysbury.
+Horton is not exactly on the river, but it is very near, and the
+influence of the scenery must have been strong on the delicate youth
+nicknamed "the lady", whose genius was already blossoming. He walked far
+and wide over the rich, well-watered land, down to the river's banks with
+its overhanging trees. In many of his stately poems little word pictures,
+reminiscences of these quiet days, are found:
+
+          By the rushy-fringed bank
+  Where grows the willow and the osier dank.
+                                --_Comus._
+
+  Ye valleys low, where the mild whispers use
+  Of shades and wanton winds and gushing brooks.
+                                --_Lycidas._
+
+The house in which Milton lived has vanished, in fact the only one of his
+many residences remaining is that at Chalfont St. Giles, Bucks. But the
+pretty little church at Horton, close by which the house was situated,
+still stands. The poet's only sister was married, his younger brother an
+occasional visitor, and, as his father was well on in years, the life must
+have been singularly quiet. Milton was only in his twenty-fourth year when
+he left the University, but already his poems had shown the bent of his
+mind. He was at Horton from 1632-38, and he himself says he spent there "a
+complete holiday in turning over the Greek and Latin writers". Hardly the
+kind of holiday that would commend itself to the Etonians not so many
+miles off. Yet this "holiday" was productive of _L'Allegro_, _Il
+Penseroso_, _Arcades_, and _Comus_, all ranking among the greatest
+classics in the English language.
+
+It is in single lines the effect of the landscape he knew best is seen.
+
+  By hedgerow elms on hillocks green.
+  Meadows trim with daisies pied,
+
+are redolent of the Thames country. Milton's mother died in 1637, and was
+buried in Horton Church: soon after the poet went abroad.
+
+Another poet of the first rank who may be claimed by the Thames is
+Shelley, who was at Great Marlow when he wrote _The Revolt of Islam_ and
+_Alastor_. The cottage is now divided into four and is easy to see, as
+there is a long inscription, giving details about the poet's occupation,
+upon the front of it. _The Revolt of Islam_ was written partly as he sat
+in the Quarry Woods and partly in a boat; so it belongs peculiarly to the
+river.
+
+Matthew Arnold has already been mentioned, and many of his poems show
+strong impressions of the river scenery. He was born and is buried at
+Laleham, where his father, the afterwards famous Dr. Arnold of Rugby, had
+settled down to take pupils for the Universities.
+
+[Illustration: STREATLEY HILLS]
+
+Another name the Thames can claim is that of Cowley. The house in which he
+lived for two years before his death in 1665 is still standing, at
+Chertsey.
+
+It is easy to see, therefore, that the river can boast more poets of high
+rank than any other celebrated men. This makes it the more peculiar that
+there is no great poem on the subject.
+
+Above Molesey Lock, at Hampton, stands the house bought by the great actor
+Garrick in 1754. The place is known better by the little Shakespeare
+Temple near the water than by the galaxy of great names drawn thither by
+Garrick himself. We have in Fitzgerald's _Life of Garrick_ a living
+picture of the daily comings and goings; we see Mrs. Garrick discussing
+laurel cuttings with the Vicar, or eating figs in the garden with her
+husband, who was dressed in dark-blue coat with gold-bound buttonholes. At
+all sorts of odd hours Dr. Johnson burst into the family circle, and when
+consulted as to how best the ridiculous little "Temple" could be reached
+from the house, from which it was divided by a road, broke out in all
+earnestness in favour of a tunnel, as against a bridge, in the words:
+"David, David, what can't be over-done may be under-done!" One terrible
+night, when the sensitive actor read aloud from Shakespeare, his guest,
+Lord March, fell asleep. The sting was the deeper as "Davie" dearly loved
+a lord! The river fêtes Garrick gave were renowned, and the fame of them
+remains to this day; alas, the knack of river pageantry has long been
+lost!
+
+Carlyle, in later days a frequent visitor to the villa, once drove a golf
+ball through the centre of a leafy archway clean into the river.
+
+History is notoriously dull, except to those who have a taste for it, but
+yet there are scenes in history which may stand out as brightly as any
+pictures. Of such is the signing of Magna Charta, the greatest act
+recorded in the whole of our English annals. Well might it be thought that
+London, by means of the Tower or Westminster, would have claimed to be the
+theatre of so epoch-making a scene; not at all; as the youngest child
+knows, it was no building which witnessed the deed, but a Thames-side
+meadow, which may be seen to-day all unchanged, and happily as yet unbuilt
+on. The island, which goes by the name of Magna Charta Island, is now
+generally supposed to have usurped a claim properly belonging to the
+meadow by Thames side, and we confess to a certain pleasure that this
+discovery has been made; for the island is altogether too trim, too neat,
+and the house thereon too modern, to assort with thoughts of a mighty
+past. No, we who love the river believe rather, and in our belief we are
+backed by the latest research, that the flat land, encircled by the
+heights of Cooper's Hill, as by the rising tiers of seats, was the
+amphitheatre whereon the great scene was enacted. We can imagine it
+crowded by mailed men who trampled under foot the mushy grass, mushy even
+in the season of summer, an English June. The exact date, never to be
+forgotten, is June 15, 1215.
+
+The flowers grow well about here, the spotted knotweed, the common
+forget-me-not, the pink willow-herb, the yellow iris, and purple
+loosestrife may all be found in season, and the meadowsweet and dog-rose
+scent the summer air.
+
+Everyone knows about Magna Charta, but few perhaps realize that Kingston
+has an older historical claim than Runnymeade, for it owes its name to
+being the seat of government of our oldest kings. In the marketplace may
+be seen the stone inscribed with the names of the seven Saxon kings here
+crowned in turn; hence Kings' Stone. At that date Mercia and Wessex were
+united under one king, and the boundaries of Mercia came down to the
+Thames on the north side, while those of Wessex marched with them on the
+south. London was unsafe because of the ravages of the Danes, and as at
+Kingston from time immemorial there has been a ford, a thing of vast
+importance in the absence of bridges, and a ford well known, it seemed
+that Kingston had some claim to the ceremony. In 1224 a wooden bridge
+replaced the ford, the oldest bridge, and the only one, between this and
+London Bridge. The bridge itself has played a historic part. In 1554 Sir
+Thomas Wyatt, marching to London, found London Bridge closed against him,
+so he had to march as far as Kingston to reach the next crossing-place.
+The fact seems incredible to us in the days of many bridges. But when Sir
+Thomas arrived at the end of his tedious march he found he had been
+forestalled, the bridge was broken down, and on the farther bank two
+hundred soldiers stood ready for him should he dare to use the ford!
+Therefore back went he to London Town.
+
+Wallingford has a little bit of history of its own. It boasts the oldest
+corporation in England, a hundred years prior to that of London. It also
+disputes with Kingston the claim to the oldest bridge and ford above
+Westminster. The town was "destroyed" by the Danes in 1006. At the time of
+William the Conqueror's advance on London the castle was held by Wigod, a
+Saxon, and from that time onward it was a notable fort, taking part in
+many historical events. It boasted three moats, and a fragment of the old
+wall remains in the pretty garden of the house now called the Castle.
+In 1153 Prince Henry "lay" at Wallingford with 3000 men, and Stephen, with
+another army, glared at him from the opposite bank; but like two
+schoolboys, mutually unwilling, the rivals slipped away without encounter.
+It was Cromwell who ordered the utter destruction of the castle in 1652.
+
+[Illustration: WALLINGFORD]
+
+The oldest historical incident of all in connection with the Thames is the
+supposed crossing of Cæsar at Cowey Stakes, above Walton Bridge. Some
+strong wooden stakes, black and tough with age, and metal-capped, were
+found driven into the bed of the river at this point. They are supposed to
+have been driven in by the Britons to hinder the crossing of Cæsar in B.C.
+54. As it is known that Cæsar did cross the river some eighty miles above
+the sea, and as a Roman camp was discovered in the neighbourhood, it is
+quite possible that anyone standing on Walton Bridge, looking over the
+wide peaceful stretch of river above, is really surveying the stage on
+which one of the earliest acts in our great national drama was played.
+
+The unhappy Henry VI, too weak to bear without misery to himself the
+responsibility life thrust upon him, sleeps at Chertsey. His body, after
+being exposed at Blackfriars, was brought here on a barge--a slow
+procession and a sad one. In _Richard III_ Shakespeare makes the
+hyprocritical Duke of Gloucester say:
+
+          After I have solemnly interred
+  At Chertsey monastery this noble king,
+  And wet his grave with my repentant tears.
+
+Not far from the resting-place of Henry VI, a great statesman, Charles
+James Fox, was born. What a gap in time and manners and customs is here
+suggested. To think of the two is to span the distance between generations
+of growth and thought. Fox died at Chiswick House, so his life began and
+ended by Thames side. In the same house, twenty years later, died another
+great statesman, George Canning. Thus, even without reckoning London
+itself, the centre of our national life and history, we find the Thames
+can show names famous in literature, in history, and in politics. Its
+banks are studded with memories as they are with flowers, and in
+contemplation and reminiscence the annals of the centuries flow past us as
+the water itself flows by, ever smoothly and unceasingly.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Thames, by G. E. Mitton
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40020 ***