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14 A QUIET STROLL BY THE THAMES.

‘To where the silver Thames first rural grows.

There let the feasted eye unwearied stray :
Luxurious there, rove through the pendent woods
That, nodding, hang o’er Harrington’s retreat ;
And, stooping thence to Ham’s embowering walks,
Slow let us trace the matchless vale of Thames ;
Far winding up to where the Muses haunt

In Twick’nam’s bowers, and for their Pope implore
The healing God ; to royal Hampton’s pile,

To Clermont’s terraced height, and Esher’s groves.
Enchanting vale! beyond whate’er the muse

Has of Achaia or Hesperia sung !

O vale of bliss! O softly-swelling hills

On which the power of cultivation lies,

And joys to see the wonders of his toil.

Heavens! what a goodly prospect spreads around—
Of hills, and dales, and woods, and lawns, and spires,
And glittering towns, and gilded streams, till all
The stretching landscape into smoke decays.

not the splendour and fashion of Chiswick, but it is pre

eminently rich in literary associations, where, indeed, the
name of Pope is only one of a very large cluster of
illustrious names. And Twickenham is very lovely, in
many of its aspects perhaps lovelier than Chiswick or
even Richmond itself. The praises of Twickenham haye
been sung as much as the great Italian poet sang the
praises of Florence. Those two great orators Grattan
and Curran have both paid their tribute to Pope’s cave,
Hazlitt says, “ Ah, how fast the years run that hurry us
away from our last fond dream of bliss, when I loitered
along the green retreats of Twickenham!” “ How shall
I describe,” says old Dibdin, “the fluttermg emotions
of my heart when, after parading through Twickenham
meadows, I first reached the summit of Richmond Hill,

TWICKENHAM,

Some expressions here may perhaps require annotation.
Shene is of course Richmond, the old Saxon name, signify-
ing shining or splendour. The “Sister Hills ” are High-
gate and Hampstead. “Huge Augusta” is London; the
name of Augusta was given to London by pretorian edict,
and it is amusing to find a Roman writer, Ammianus Mar-
cellinus, speaking of Augusta, whose name was “ formerly
Londinium.” There is an imperishable vitality about the
name of London that discredited any official appellation.
The allusion to Pope shows that the poet was ill at the
time, and this was in fact his last illness. Pope and

Twickenham are thoroughly identified. Twickenham has

and gazed from thence upon a landscape lighted up by an
autumnal setting sun?” Worthy Doctor Chalmers came
here and wrote, “The view of Twickenham was most
charming. Pope’s house was among the delightful resi-
dences that we gazed on with rapture from the opposite
side. The river was enlivened with pleasure boats, and the
gay London parties walking and drinking, &c., on both
sides, gave cheerfulness and animation to the prospect.”
Lord Bacon’s patrimonial inheritance, not too large,
was of lands in Twickenham, where he was a near neigh-
bour to Lord Essex, from whom he received so much

| kindness, which he repaid with so much ingratitude.