OCR Text |
Show SHORES OF THE THAMES. Onco Itecognlzud at tho Groat London Thoroughfare. At one time, now a century or more ago, tho Thames was recognized as tiie only grent London thorough fare. IU banks on cither side were studded with the "stairs" of the nobility, its waters were covered with ccry kind of craft, from the glldjd Lai-go of royalty to the nutshell ski.T or wlictry. In those days the riwr was pure and undcfiWl, and those v.ho lived upon its Lanka never hesitated to bnthe there in balmy weather. In those days there v,a no spot in London so picturesque as the Strand, with its broad gardens, It shady trees extending to the water's edge, where "the river glideth at its own sweet will," and where the embattled em-battled turrets of many a palace, such as the Savoy, towered artistically in tho background. Flocks of swans sailed to nnd fro in spite of the traffic; traf-fic; they ventured unmolested even below be-low the bridge, and the sight of them and their quaint "song" must have been vastly agreeable to the Thames watermen and their fares. "Pray, did you come with oars or scullers?" wus an everyday question. Citizens spoke of "taking the water" very much as wo now speak of taking nn omnibus or cab. The watermen's fares were regulated by the company's printed scale of charges, the hall of tho Watermen's company, where all their business wau transacted, being then situated at Cold Harbor, near tho Vintry. Somo 10,000 wutcrtr.cn were upon the rolls of the company, those of tho king's court nnd the nobility being, no doubt, included in this number, num-ber, and the company was in a position to furnish the navy with as many as 50,000 menChambers' Journal. |