News from Nowhere

p and washed and hurried on my clothes, but in a hazy and half-awake condition, as if I had slept for a long, long while, and could

eeze; my second, as I began to gather my wits together, mere measureless wonder: for it was winter when I went to bed the last night, and now, by witness of the river-side trees, it was summ

ery early, quoth I to myself, but I daresay I shall find someone at Biffin's to take me. However, I didn't get as far as Biffin's, or even turn to my left thitherward, because just then I began to see that there was a landing-stage right before me in front of my house: in fact, on the place where my next-door neighbour had rigged one up, though somehow it didn't look like that e

he water is

otice it. You know the flood-

ve seen it pretty mu

yes naturally sought for the bridge, and so utterly astonished was I by what I saw, that I forgot to strike out, and went spluttering under water again, and when I came up made straight for the boat; for I felt that I must ask some quest

but now he caught up the sculls and brought her head round again, and said -"A short swim, neighbour; but perhaps you find the wa

a Hammersmith waterman, that I stared at him, as I answered,

it is off Barn Elms; it's jolly everywhere this time in the mo

was no less astonished at my waterman, now that I had ti

is muscles, but with nothing rough or coarse about him, and clean as might be. His dress was not like any modern work-a-day clothes I had seen, but would have served very well as a costume for a picture of fourteenth century life: it was of dark blue cloth, simple enough, but of fine web, and

es running down the foreshore, with windlasses at the landward end of them, and said, "What are they doing with t

are salmon, there are likely to be salmon-nets, Tay or Thames; but of cour

gone; the engineer's works gone; the lead-works gone; and no sound of rivetting and hammering came down the west wind from Thorneycroft's. Then the bridge! I had perhaps dreamed of such a bridge, but never seen such an one out of an illuminated manuscript; for not even the Ponte Vecchio at Florence came anywhere near it. It was of stone arches, splendidly solid, and as graceful as they were stron

stonished look, and said, as

dges, which are so much smaller, are scarcely daintier, and t

, almost against my w

or at least opened, in 2003. There used to

ay as far as the site of the soap-works. Both shores had a line of very pretty houses, low and not large, standing back a little way from the river; they were mostly built of red brick and roofed with tiles, and looked, above all, comfortable, and as if they were, so to say, alive, and sympathetic with the life of the dwellers in them. There was a continuous garden in front of them, going do

t they have not bui

ion looked at me with a half smile which I thought I understood; so to hide

f course I was not surprised to see him wait, as if for the inevitable after-piece that follows the doing of a service to a fellow-citizen. So I put

ite understand what you are asking about. Do you m

I ask you; I mean no offence: but what ought I to pay you? You s

ne does in a foreign country. And by the way, I saw that the s

IS a waterman, and is considering what he may venture to take. He seems such a nice fellow that I'm sure I don't grudge him a

ew friend said

pardon me for saying, that it seems to us a troublesome and roundabout custom; and we don't know how to manage it. And you see this ferrying and giving people casts about the water is my BUSINESS, which I would do for anybody; so to take gifts i

began to be afraid that the man was mad, though he looked sane enough; and I was rather glad to think that I w

number of earlier ones, many of which are beautiful, whereas these nineteenth century ones are so beastly ugly, ain't they? We have a piece of Edward III., with the king in a ship, and little leopards

e influence of that doubt as to his sanity. So

it won't do to overdose you with information about this place, and that you had best suck it in little by little. Further, I should take it as very kind in you if you would allow me to be the s

tch; and besides I thought I could easily shake him o

ay, Unless you will let me pay you properly; but fearing to stir up Colney Hatch again, I cha

k here. He is a weaver from Yorkshire, who has rather overdone himself between his weaving and his mathematics, both indoor work, you see; and bei

t; but they won't be ready for us for more than a week: and besides, you might go with me, you know, and see some very n

nk him, whatever might come

l; he is living in the Guest House like you, and if he

or so strongly made as my sculler friend, being sandy-haired, rather pale, and not stout-built; but his face was not wanting in that happy and friendly expression which I had noticed in his friend. As he came up smiling towards us, I saw with pleasure that I must give up the Colney Hatc

civilly, and greeting h

ave my work, or rather your work? I dreamed las

close handy to you. But see, here is a stranger who is willing to amuse me to-day by taking me as his guide about our country-side, and you may imagine I don't want to lose

s with glee, but turning to

. But you had better both come in with me at once and get something to eat, lest you should forget your

nothing, and which in truth by this time I should have begun to doubt myself