London on Thames in Bygone Days (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1903 Excerpt: ...by water to the office, through Bridge, being carried by him in oares that the other day rowed in a scull faster than my oares to the Tower, and I did give him 6/." But the most interesting of all is the diarist's description of the public entry of Queen Catherine into London, coming from Hampton Court by water; he and Creed, after dining at an ordinary in Lombard Street, went down to the Steel Yard to get a boat, and from there all along Thames Street, but could not get one to take them to Whitehall, although he offered eight shillings; so that they had to walk to Whitehall, and, having passed through Lord Sandwich's lodgings to the bowling green, mounted up on to the top of the new Banqueting House there over the Thames--not Inigo Jones' structure, be it observed--" which was a most pleasant place as any I could have got." Which was the legal fare, unless Pepys gave him 6d. for himself. He tells us that the show principally consisted of boats and barges, and that there were two pageants--one of a King and another of a Queen, with her maids of honour sitting about her feet very prettily, and he hears that the lady personating the Queen was Sir Richard Ford's daughter. "Anon came the King and Queen in a barge under a canopy, with 10,000 barges and boats, I think, for we could see no water for them nor discern the King or Queen, and so they landed at Whitehall Bridge, and the great guns on the other side went off." But what seems to have pleased him more than the show was that he saw Lady Castlemaine over against him on a piece of Whitehall, and that he saw her husband upon the same place walking up and down without taking any notice of one another, except that at his first entry he put off his hat and she made him a very civil salut...