I find so much left to speak of, and so many things to say in every
part of England, that my journey cannot be barren of intelligence
which way soever I turn; no, though I were to oblige myself to say
nothing of anything that had been spoken of before.
I intended once to have gone due west this journey; but then I
should have been obliged to crowd my observations so close (to
bring Hampton Court, Windsor, Blenheim, Oxford, the Bath and
Bristol all into one letter; all those remarkable places lying in a
line, as it were, in one point of the compass) as to have made my
letter too long, or my observations too light and superficial, as
others have done before me.
This letter will divide the weighty task, and consequently make it
sit lighter on the memory, be pleasanter to the reader, and make my
progress the more regular: I shall therefore take in Hampton Court
and Windsor in this journey; the first at my setting out, and the
last at my return, and the rest as their situation demands.
As I came down from Kingston, in my last circuit, by the south bank
of the Thames, on the Surrey side of the river; so I go up to
Hampton Court now on the north bank, and on the Middlesex side,
which I mention, because, as the sides of the country bordering on
the river lie parallel, so the beauty of the country, the pleasant
situations, the glory of innumerable fine buildings (noblemen's and
gentlemen's houses, and citizens' retreats), are so equal a match
to what I had described on the other side that one knows not which
to give the preference to: but as I must speak of them again, when
I come to write of the county of Middlesex, which I have now
purposely omitted; so I pass them over here, except the palace of
Hampton only, which I mentioned in "Middlesex," for the reasons
above.
Hampton Court lies on the north bank of the River Thames, about two
small miles from Kingston, and on the road from Staines to Kingston
Bridge; so that the road straightening the parks a little, they
were obliged to part the parks, and leave the Paddock and the great
park part on the other side the road--a testimony of that just
regard that the kings of England always had, and still have, to the
common good, and to the service of the country, that they would not
interrupt the course of the road, or cause the poor people to go
out of the way of their business to or from the markets and fairs,
for any pleasure of their own whatsoever.
The palace of Hampton Court was first founded and built from the
ground by that great statesman and favourite of King Henry VIII,
Cardinal Wolsey; and if it be a just observation anywhere, as is
made from the situation of the old abbeys and monasteries, the
clergy were excellent judges of the beauty and pleasantness of the
country, and chose always to plant in the best; I say, if it was a
just observation in any case, it was in this; for if there be a
situation on the whole river between Staines Bridge and Windsor
Bridge pleasanter than another, it is this of Hampton; close to the
river, yet not offended by the rising of its waters in floods or
storms; near to the reflux of the tides, but not quite so near as
to be affected with any foulness of the water which the flowing of
the tides generally is the occasion of. The gardens extend almost
to the bank of the river, yet are never overflowed; nor are there
any marshes on either side the river to make the waters stagnate,
or the air unwholesome on that account. The river is high enough
to be navigable, and low enough to be a little pleasantly rapid; so
that the stream looks always cheerful, not slow and sleeping, like
a pond. This keeps the waters always clear and clean, the bottom
in view, the fish playing and in sight; and, in a word, it has
everything that can make an inland (or, as I may call it, a
country) river pleasant and agreeable.
I shall sing you no songs here of the river in the first person of
a water-nymph, a goddess, and I know not what, according to the
humour of the ancient poets; I shall talk nothing of the marriage
of old Isis, the male river, with the beautiful Thame, the female
river (a whimsey as simple as the subject was empty); but I shall
speak of the river as occasion presents, as it really is made
glorious by the splendour of its shores, gilded with noble palaces,
strong fortifications, large hospitals, and public buildings; with
the greatest bridge, and the greatest city in the world, made
famous by the opulence of its merchants, the increase and
extensiveness of its commerce; by its invincible navies, and by the
innumerable fleets of ships sailing upon it to and from all parts
of the world.
As I meet with the river upwards in my travels through the inland
country I shall speak of it, as it is the channel for conveying an
infinite quantity of provisions from remote counties to London, and
enriching all the counties again that lie near it by the return of
wealth and trade from the city; and in describing these things I
expect both to inform and divert my readers, and speak in a more
masculine manner, more to the dignity of the subject, and also more
to their satisfaction, than I could do any other way.
There is little more to be said of the Thames relating to Hampton
Court, than that it adds by its neighbourhood to the pleasure of
the situation; for as to passing by water to and from London,
though in summer it is exceeding pleasant, yet the passage is a
little too long to make it easy to the ladies, especially to be
crowded up in the small boats which usually go upon the Thames for
pleasure.
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