THE MODERN THAMES. 127 



No man dares send forth the commonest cart 

 unless in proper charge, and if the horse is not under 

 control a fine is promptly administered. The coal- 

 barge rolls and turns and drifts as chance and the 

 varying current please. How huge must be the rent 

 in the meshes of the law to let so large a fish go 

 through ! But in truth there is no law about it, and 

 to this day no man can confidently affirm that he 

 knows to whom the river belongs. These curious 

 anomalies are part and parcel of our political system, 

 and as I watched the black monster slowly go by 

 with the stream it occurred to me that grimy bargee, 

 with his short pipe and his onions, was really the 

 guardian of the British Constitution. 



Hardly had he gone past than a loud Pant ! 

 pant ! pant ! began some way down the river ; it 

 came from a tug, whose short puffs of steam produced 

 a giant echo against the walls and quays and houses 

 on the bank. These angry pants sounded high above 

 the splash of oars and laughter, and the chorus of 

 singers in a boat ; they conquered all other sounds 

 and noises, and domineered the place. It was im- 

 possible to shut the ears to them, or to persuade the 

 mind not to heed. The swallows dipped their breasts ; 

 how gracefully they drank on the wing ! Pant ! 

 pant ! pant ! The sunlight gleamed on the wake 

 of a four-oar. Pant ! pant ! pant ! The soft wind 

 blew among the trees and over the hawthorn hedge. 

 Pant ! pant ! pant ! Neither the eye nor ear could 

 attend to aught but this hideous uproar. The tug 

 was weak, the stream strong, the barges behind 

 heavy, broad, and deeply laden, so that each puff 



