29 



mellow glow upon the waters, and when all ia so still 

 that you may hear the clank of the boatman's oar for a 

 mile notes it at the time with a white stone; and 

 ever after, as often as it recurs to his mind, dwells 

 upon its recollection with pleasure. 



A mile above Hampton Court lies Hampton, a plea- 

 sant village, in the neighbourhood of which there is 

 generally as good angling for gudgeons, dace, roach, 

 perch, chub, ruff, and barbel, as the Thames affords ; 

 and the same may be said of Walton, Shepperton, and 

 Cherts ey. About thirty-two years ago, the late Sir 

 William Hamilton used frequently to visit Hampton, 

 for the sake of angling in the Thames, and Nelson occa- 

 sionally took a seat in the punt beside him, and 

 looked on while the old ambassador pursued his sport. 

 Laleham and Staines, yet higher up the river, are also 

 visited by anglers from London. In fact there is 

 scarcely a village in which there is a decent public- 

 house, on each side of the Thames from Hichmond to 

 Henley, that is not visited by anglers from London 

 in search of their favorite amusement. 



From Staines to Windsor, is a walk of six miles, 

 through Egham, and across Runnemede, so famed in 

 English history as the place where the barons obtained 

 from King John, a reluctant signature to Magna 

 Charta. On the 29th of August last, we took this road, 

 intending to look through Windsor Castle, and have 

 two or three hours' barbel-fishing between Eton and 

 Datchett. The sun had not been up more than an 

 hour when we crossed the famous mead, which, in 



