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Article A HOLIDAY RAMBLE.—RICHMOND AND THE THAMES. Page 1 of 2 Article A HOLIDAY RAMBLE.—RICHMOND AND THE THAMES. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
A Holiday Ramble.—Richmond And The Thames.
A HOLIDAY RAMBLE . —RICHMOND AND THE THAMES .
Br OUR ROVING BROTHER . OUR Summer Banquet at the Star and Garter was a great success . We all went down in the orthodox fashion , in " brakes" and waggonettes of the most approved fashion ; the weather was splendid j and the ladies were beaming with smiles from the moment we started until dewy eve brought us homo again . The dinner in the gilded pavilion , the tennis and other pastimes on the lawn , the delightful
scenery from the terraced walks , all combined in settling my resolve that , instead of undergoing all the bustle and fatigue of a lengthy journey to the seaside , I would just drop down to Richmond for a modest fortnight , where , if need be , I could run up to town occasionally , and rejoin the " better half" and her troop of little chicks in the cool of the evening . It was the pleasantry of our Summer
Banquet that settled the inevitable question that year , as to " Where shall we go for our annual holiday ?" With the approach of tbe autumn season is associated a programme of alluring trips and excursions into the , country , or to the seaside , where a respite from the monotony of business can be enjoyed , aud the physical powers fortified for the stern duties of life to which we
must all ere long return . And were it not for these pleasant breaks in the journey , life would indeed be but a realisation of Mr . Mantalini's sage opinion that it is only " one dem'd horrid grind . " When Parliament is on the eve of rising from its labours , and the dusky grouse already dangle from the poulterers' hooks , the momentous question " Where shall we go ? " always crops np . Pater .
familias scratches his head , and gravely calculates the cost , and mamma sees to the packing of the boxes ; while the girls scan the tourists' handbooks and lay their plans for flirtation and conquest . And so the world—i . e , those who can afford it—soar away , with the home-returning swallows—some to tho Highland moors and forests , others to Norwegian fjords and Mediterranean islands ; to the fells
and mountains of Switzerland ; to Belgium , Germany , and the Rhine ; whilst others still , with shallow purses , have to content themselves with stuffy lodgings at one or other of our own wateringplaces and the motley attractions of the " Spa . " However , before the " harvest moon ' s begun , " the autumnal
exodus is in full swing . Cook and Caygill could wondrous tales unfold of Continental cities which lay themselves out to entertain—and fleece!—the "distinguished foreigners" who patronise the " personally-condncted tours ; " whilst at home excursion trains are bar . rying to and fro with freights of pleasure-hunters whom economy , or necessity—compels to spend their holiday , if they have one at all ,
in their native land . Bnt there is a class , and one to which I may just as well at once confess I belong , who can afford neither the time nor the money to go far afield for relaxation or health . I mean the hard-worked City " hand "—the clerk , the shop assistant , and the thrifty artisan , who has enongh to do in these bard times to feed , clothe , and educate the
little olive branches which blossom so thickly around his hearth . And who has a keener relish for emerald meads and tbe fair open country then he who drudges away from year's end to year ' s end at tbe everlasting counter and the desk ? Thus , as I said at starting , and with the most agreeable recollections begotten of our summer Masonic rdunion , the writer , measuring
both his leisure and the length of his purse , decided npon staying near at home this summer ; and reflection based on experience consoles him with the thought that he might have gone farther and fared worse . Perhaps the most pleasant day amongst those mapped out for our tour was that spent in the " royal " atmosphere of Richmond and the Thames , which just at this season of the year presents an
attractiveness not surpassed by any of the favourite resorts on the " Continong . " There is , moreover , no anxiety or fussiness in the packing of huge trunks requisite for a long journey and a protracted stay ; the classic ground , so fertile in historical associations , so replete with the beauties which Nature has lavished upon it , lies within easy hail by the practical and prosaic "' iron road . "
Bright were the beams of the morning sun as we left smoky , dindistracted London behind ns , and the district railway trundled ns down in half-an-hour to Richmond . How altered since our last visit , twenty years ago ! Alongside the dingy old Southwestern station others have sprung up , connecting the town with a network of diverging lines , and the traffic mnst have assumed proportions
which were little dreamt of in the philosophy of the inhabitants half a centnry since . Signs of progress abound on every hand . In and around tbe Quadrant handsome buildings and shops have been erected , in bold and pleasing contrast with the irregularly-designed houses elsewhere , and which look as though they had been pitchforked into all manner
of impossible places , with an utter disregard to uniformity , at various periods ; whilst outside the town villas and terraces appear on the hillsides , giving to the suburbs an aspect of opulence and gentility quite gladsome to behold . But as I am pledged only a bird's-eye-view of things in my day ' s ramble , I have no time to expatiate on the enterprise which has
helped to induce so many " City gentlemen " to take up their quarters in this favoured locality . If we would see the " lions " of the place we must be quick abont it , for they are many . Threading an out-of-the way passage , we come to the parish church , surrounded by thickly-grouped tombs and gravestones , and completely shut in by buildings of a by no means aristocratic description . Inside there is nothing architectural to invite a lingering stay 5 but we
must pause before memorial to James Thomson , the poet , whose " Castle of Indolence" is well known to all who are on quotation terms with the gifted bards of England . His residence in the Kewroad is mentioned to us , where , we are told , are still the parlour in which he lived , and the furniture he used—the garden in which he basked in the sunshine , " slipper'd and with hands each in waistcoat pocket . " And there come back to us memories of poor Savage and
A Holiday Ramble.—Richmond And The Thames.
of Collins , who loved to meet in that old summer house , and to converse witb their genial and hospitable friend . Returning by way of Richmond Green , on which the boys play merrily at cricket and other games , we are shown an ancient gate , way , bearing an escutcheon of King Henry VII ., and some scanty relics of a famous Royal palace , in which so many memorable scenes
were witnessed . We trace back the pages of history to the palmy days when Charles I ., the Dnke of York and lords lived here and hunted in the New Park , when the judges and lawyers fled here to conduct their business , away from the horrible Plague iu London . The imprisonment and death of Elizabeth—that impetuous creature who longed to learn the secrets
of ye mystic tie !—the founding of the palace of Henry VII ., by whom the name of Richmond was bestowed on Sheen ; the grand tournaments that enlivened the Green in those old Tudor days ; the refuge of Wolsey , and the doings of the old Carthusian monks—are they not all written in the pages of the history of England ? Passing through George-street , which is , I suppose , the oldest
portion of the town , we proceed past the bridge which spans the river , up the hill towards the magnificent terrace , and the Scar and Garter , now of European fame . What a sublime prospect is here presented ! The river meanders along for miles , like a winding strip of silver , amidst glimpses of lawn and garden , and woodland , and meadows of many-tinted green , whilst from the embowering
glades peep here and there handsome old villas and mansions , whose gardens slope down to the water ' s edge , and which look like exquisite vignettes in one of Nature ' s title pages . Barges glide up and down , behind snorting steam tugs or panting teams ; steam launches scud briskly along amidst a crowd of boats , which skim about like gay water birds ; while from punts and river banks the disciples of
old Izaak Walton calmly pursue the " gentle art , " and form portion of the manifold pictorial effects . We shall descend the hillside presently , but meanwhile we will saunter through the labyrinths of scions in the Star and Garter , where the requirements of the inner man may be satisfied at as rea . sonable a cost , and in as sumptuous a style , as in the very heart of
London . We pass through the pavilion , witb its gilded columns and artistic arcades , whose walls ever and anon resound with echoes of revelry and mirth ; we gaise out upon the terraced gardens so trim and neat , and speculate upon the number of wedding parties that have' sported on those slopes , and celebrated the dawn of happy married lives since the days when the " Lass o' Richmond Hill" was
Grst sung . We should like to ramble awhile in the Old Park , where the ear and tail of the deer " twinkle innumerably , " and there is the sequestered little hamlet of Petersham , close by ; but tempusfugit ! We hear something of a " wishing tree" in the park , but cannot find it . I wonder whoever has ! 'Tis said that , sitting under a certain tree
Lady Russell , forty years ago , unshed she might some day come to reside in this delightful locality , and that her desire was gratified . I presume that is the origin of the term " wishing-tree , " and many there be who enquire , bnt few who find it . Here and there , on rustic seats , little groups of visitors are clustered , deliberating over alfresco luncheons , whilst the frequent passing of carriages tell of
resident aristocrats who love to sniff the morning air as they bound along over the well-kept drives which intersect those Once royal haunts . But yon who are wont to luxuriate in an occasional carriage-drive mnst read the rnles before entering the Park , for no hackney coach "badge" is permitted within those historical preoinots .
As we descend the hill we find the streets populous with visitors , whose baskets and satchels speak of considerate sisters and spouses who believe not in jaunting abont on empty stomachs ; while itinerant bands fill the air with dulcet strains of tbe most popular musio . Richmond is decidedly lively on a bright summer day , and the means of enjoyment are included in a leugthy bill of fare .
Enterprising caterers stand at the doors of eating-houses , and politely ask you to walk into their parlonrs—an invitation which is stimulated by savoury odours from steaming joints ; moreover , the principal hotels , the Castle , the Talbot , tbe Greyhound , and others hold out tempting allurements to visitors who have brought their purses ' with them , and whose delight it is to fare sumptuously . Byron reminds ns
that" Man s happiness—the hungry sinner—Since Eve ate apples , much depends on dinner ; and having so appeased the unfortunate gnawings of hunger , and feeling at peace with ourselves and all mankind , we sally forth towards the river side , passing the curious obelisk on the bridge , which informs us in a strange conglomeration of numerals and figures
how many miles and a-quarter it is respectively to ever so many places ronnd abont . This monolith , whereon the public is peremptorily and in divers spots admonished to " stick no bills , " also informs tbe visitor that tbe foundation-stone of the bridge was laid over a centnry ago—in the year 1774—and that it was completed just three years later , doubtless opened in the presence of royal and
other distinguished persons , if the local records are extant and one had time to hunt them up . Beneath the bridge we select one from amidst a crowd of pleasureboats which are let for hire— " shilling first ower , and sixpence an ower afterwards , sir" and row away up the calm sunny waters in the direction of Twickenham . On either side the banks are glowing
with rich sylvan scenes—old mansions , in the facades of which grow sturdy ivy and the more graceful creepers which depend in festoons from overhanging verandahs and terraced walks ; great oaks and cedars and elms rear their stately forms above closely shaven lawns and zig-zag walks , blending into a scene of unsurpassed
boldness and beauty . On the river lie moored saloon barges , whose decks are adorned with choice selections from the conservatory , and a peep into whose windows reveal an aspect pleasantly suggestive of cosy pic-nics up the river , away from the busy haunts of " the madding crowd . " The boat-builders on the towing paths are brisk
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
A Holiday Ramble.—Richmond And The Thames.
A HOLIDAY RAMBLE . —RICHMOND AND THE THAMES .
Br OUR ROVING BROTHER . OUR Summer Banquet at the Star and Garter was a great success . We all went down in the orthodox fashion , in " brakes" and waggonettes of the most approved fashion ; the weather was splendid j and the ladies were beaming with smiles from the moment we started until dewy eve brought us homo again . The dinner in the gilded pavilion , the tennis and other pastimes on the lawn , the delightful
scenery from the terraced walks , all combined in settling my resolve that , instead of undergoing all the bustle and fatigue of a lengthy journey to the seaside , I would just drop down to Richmond for a modest fortnight , where , if need be , I could run up to town occasionally , and rejoin the " better half" and her troop of little chicks in the cool of the evening . It was the pleasantry of our Summer
Banquet that settled the inevitable question that year , as to " Where shall we go for our annual holiday ?" With the approach of tbe autumn season is associated a programme of alluring trips and excursions into the , country , or to the seaside , where a respite from the monotony of business can be enjoyed , aud the physical powers fortified for the stern duties of life to which we
must all ere long return . And were it not for these pleasant breaks in the journey , life would indeed be but a realisation of Mr . Mantalini's sage opinion that it is only " one dem'd horrid grind . " When Parliament is on the eve of rising from its labours , and the dusky grouse already dangle from the poulterers' hooks , the momentous question " Where shall we go ? " always crops np . Pater .
familias scratches his head , and gravely calculates the cost , and mamma sees to the packing of the boxes ; while the girls scan the tourists' handbooks and lay their plans for flirtation and conquest . And so the world—i . e , those who can afford it—soar away , with the home-returning swallows—some to tho Highland moors and forests , others to Norwegian fjords and Mediterranean islands ; to the fells
and mountains of Switzerland ; to Belgium , Germany , and the Rhine ; whilst others still , with shallow purses , have to content themselves with stuffy lodgings at one or other of our own wateringplaces and the motley attractions of the " Spa . " However , before the " harvest moon ' s begun , " the autumnal
exodus is in full swing . Cook and Caygill could wondrous tales unfold of Continental cities which lay themselves out to entertain—and fleece!—the "distinguished foreigners" who patronise the " personally-condncted tours ; " whilst at home excursion trains are bar . rying to and fro with freights of pleasure-hunters whom economy , or necessity—compels to spend their holiday , if they have one at all ,
in their native land . Bnt there is a class , and one to which I may just as well at once confess I belong , who can afford neither the time nor the money to go far afield for relaxation or health . I mean the hard-worked City " hand "—the clerk , the shop assistant , and the thrifty artisan , who has enongh to do in these bard times to feed , clothe , and educate the
little olive branches which blossom so thickly around his hearth . And who has a keener relish for emerald meads and tbe fair open country then he who drudges away from year's end to year ' s end at tbe everlasting counter and the desk ? Thus , as I said at starting , and with the most agreeable recollections begotten of our summer Masonic rdunion , the writer , measuring
both his leisure and the length of his purse , decided npon staying near at home this summer ; and reflection based on experience consoles him with the thought that he might have gone farther and fared worse . Perhaps the most pleasant day amongst those mapped out for our tour was that spent in the " royal " atmosphere of Richmond and the Thames , which just at this season of the year presents an
attractiveness not surpassed by any of the favourite resorts on the " Continong . " There is , moreover , no anxiety or fussiness in the packing of huge trunks requisite for a long journey and a protracted stay ; the classic ground , so fertile in historical associations , so replete with the beauties which Nature has lavished upon it , lies within easy hail by the practical and prosaic "' iron road . "
Bright were the beams of the morning sun as we left smoky , dindistracted London behind ns , and the district railway trundled ns down in half-an-hour to Richmond . How altered since our last visit , twenty years ago ! Alongside the dingy old Southwestern station others have sprung up , connecting the town with a network of diverging lines , and the traffic mnst have assumed proportions
which were little dreamt of in the philosophy of the inhabitants half a centnry since . Signs of progress abound on every hand . In and around tbe Quadrant handsome buildings and shops have been erected , in bold and pleasing contrast with the irregularly-designed houses elsewhere , and which look as though they had been pitchforked into all manner
of impossible places , with an utter disregard to uniformity , at various periods ; whilst outside the town villas and terraces appear on the hillsides , giving to the suburbs an aspect of opulence and gentility quite gladsome to behold . But as I am pledged only a bird's-eye-view of things in my day ' s ramble , I have no time to expatiate on the enterprise which has
helped to induce so many " City gentlemen " to take up their quarters in this favoured locality . If we would see the " lions " of the place we must be quick abont it , for they are many . Threading an out-of-the way passage , we come to the parish church , surrounded by thickly-grouped tombs and gravestones , and completely shut in by buildings of a by no means aristocratic description . Inside there is nothing architectural to invite a lingering stay 5 but we
must pause before memorial to James Thomson , the poet , whose " Castle of Indolence" is well known to all who are on quotation terms with the gifted bards of England . His residence in the Kewroad is mentioned to us , where , we are told , are still the parlour in which he lived , and the furniture he used—the garden in which he basked in the sunshine , " slipper'd and with hands each in waistcoat pocket . " And there come back to us memories of poor Savage and
A Holiday Ramble.—Richmond And The Thames.
of Collins , who loved to meet in that old summer house , and to converse witb their genial and hospitable friend . Returning by way of Richmond Green , on which the boys play merrily at cricket and other games , we are shown an ancient gate , way , bearing an escutcheon of King Henry VII ., and some scanty relics of a famous Royal palace , in which so many memorable scenes
were witnessed . We trace back the pages of history to the palmy days when Charles I ., the Dnke of York and lords lived here and hunted in the New Park , when the judges and lawyers fled here to conduct their business , away from the horrible Plague iu London . The imprisonment and death of Elizabeth—that impetuous creature who longed to learn the secrets
of ye mystic tie !—the founding of the palace of Henry VII ., by whom the name of Richmond was bestowed on Sheen ; the grand tournaments that enlivened the Green in those old Tudor days ; the refuge of Wolsey , and the doings of the old Carthusian monks—are they not all written in the pages of the history of England ? Passing through George-street , which is , I suppose , the oldest
portion of the town , we proceed past the bridge which spans the river , up the hill towards the magnificent terrace , and the Scar and Garter , now of European fame . What a sublime prospect is here presented ! The river meanders along for miles , like a winding strip of silver , amidst glimpses of lawn and garden , and woodland , and meadows of many-tinted green , whilst from the embowering
glades peep here and there handsome old villas and mansions , whose gardens slope down to the water ' s edge , and which look like exquisite vignettes in one of Nature ' s title pages . Barges glide up and down , behind snorting steam tugs or panting teams ; steam launches scud briskly along amidst a crowd of boats , which skim about like gay water birds ; while from punts and river banks the disciples of
old Izaak Walton calmly pursue the " gentle art , " and form portion of the manifold pictorial effects . We shall descend the hillside presently , but meanwhile we will saunter through the labyrinths of scions in the Star and Garter , where the requirements of the inner man may be satisfied at as rea . sonable a cost , and in as sumptuous a style , as in the very heart of
London . We pass through the pavilion , witb its gilded columns and artistic arcades , whose walls ever and anon resound with echoes of revelry and mirth ; we gaise out upon the terraced gardens so trim and neat , and speculate upon the number of wedding parties that have' sported on those slopes , and celebrated the dawn of happy married lives since the days when the " Lass o' Richmond Hill" was
Grst sung . We should like to ramble awhile in the Old Park , where the ear and tail of the deer " twinkle innumerably , " and there is the sequestered little hamlet of Petersham , close by ; but tempusfugit ! We hear something of a " wishing tree" in the park , but cannot find it . I wonder whoever has ! 'Tis said that , sitting under a certain tree
Lady Russell , forty years ago , unshed she might some day come to reside in this delightful locality , and that her desire was gratified . I presume that is the origin of the term " wishing-tree , " and many there be who enquire , bnt few who find it . Here and there , on rustic seats , little groups of visitors are clustered , deliberating over alfresco luncheons , whilst the frequent passing of carriages tell of
resident aristocrats who love to sniff the morning air as they bound along over the well-kept drives which intersect those Once royal haunts . But yon who are wont to luxuriate in an occasional carriage-drive mnst read the rnles before entering the Park , for no hackney coach "badge" is permitted within those historical preoinots .
As we descend the hill we find the streets populous with visitors , whose baskets and satchels speak of considerate sisters and spouses who believe not in jaunting abont on empty stomachs ; while itinerant bands fill the air with dulcet strains of tbe most popular musio . Richmond is decidedly lively on a bright summer day , and the means of enjoyment are included in a leugthy bill of fare .
Enterprising caterers stand at the doors of eating-houses , and politely ask you to walk into their parlonrs—an invitation which is stimulated by savoury odours from steaming joints ; moreover , the principal hotels , the Castle , the Talbot , tbe Greyhound , and others hold out tempting allurements to visitors who have brought their purses ' with them , and whose delight it is to fare sumptuously . Byron reminds ns
that" Man s happiness—the hungry sinner—Since Eve ate apples , much depends on dinner ; and having so appeased the unfortunate gnawings of hunger , and feeling at peace with ourselves and all mankind , we sally forth towards the river side , passing the curious obelisk on the bridge , which informs us in a strange conglomeration of numerals and figures
how many miles and a-quarter it is respectively to ever so many places ronnd abont . This monolith , whereon the public is peremptorily and in divers spots admonished to " stick no bills , " also informs tbe visitor that tbe foundation-stone of the bridge was laid over a centnry ago—in the year 1774—and that it was completed just three years later , doubtless opened in the presence of royal and
other distinguished persons , if the local records are extant and one had time to hunt them up . Beneath the bridge we select one from amidst a crowd of pleasureboats which are let for hire— " shilling first ower , and sixpence an ower afterwards , sir" and row away up the calm sunny waters in the direction of Twickenham . On either side the banks are glowing
with rich sylvan scenes—old mansions , in the facades of which grow sturdy ivy and the more graceful creepers which depend in festoons from overhanging verandahs and terraced walks ; great oaks and cedars and elms rear their stately forms above closely shaven lawns and zig-zag walks , blending into a scene of unsurpassed
boldness and beauty . On the river lie moored saloon barges , whose decks are adorned with choice selections from the conservatory , and a peep into whose windows reveal an aspect pleasantly suggestive of cosy pic-nics up the river , away from the busy haunts of " the madding crowd . " The boat-builders on the towing paths are brisk