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diff --git a/40020-8.txt b/40020-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 22a9159..0000000 --- a/40020-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1679 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Thames, by G. E. Mitton - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Thames - -Author: G. E. Mitton - -Illustrator: E. W. Haslehust - -Release Date: June 17, 2012 [EBook #40020] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE THAMES *** - - - - -Produced by Chris Curnow and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive.) - - - - - - - - - -[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. 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