as useful as the Brentford sovereigns were to later writers. "We will turn our courage to Braynford westward, My bird of the night, to the Pigeons " says one of the characters in Ben Jonson's 'Alchemist.' The landlord of the Three Pigeons at that time was John Lowin, a celebrated performer, and one of Shakspere's own company. Lowin played tragic parts; but he was famous for his performance of Sir John Falstaff. His portrait shows him to have looked the part well; and there is a proper social turn about the corners of his mouth and eyes, that lets it be understood he could play equally well his part as mine host of the Pigeons, in the days when much of the character and success of such a house depended on the companionable qualities of its chief. According to fame Lowin was, in the words of the old play, "admirably suited for the Three Pigeons ;"--and his hostel was honoured by not infrequent visits of Ben Jonson and others his worthy compeers. The Falcon is gone, the Mermaid is gone-and perhaps every other place in the great city is gone where this most 'clubable company met. The Three Pigeons, however, is still standing. It will be found on the north side of the street, at the corner of the market-place. But it is not likely to be * *Shakspere is also said to have been a visitant; but if, as is believed, Lowin held the house late in life, it must have been after Shakspere's time. Lowin was probably unsuccessful in the three Pigeons, as he died, according to Malone, in London at an advanced age and in poor circumstances. Mr. Collier has not been able to learn any particulars of his last years. found there much longer. For some time past it has been condemned, in order to make way for a new town-hall and some projected improvements in the market-place. The mention of Shakspere and the old dramatists will have reminded the reader of the "Brentford Witches " so often alluded to by them. Before and long after the days of the Merry Wives of Windsor "the old women of Brentford" were notorious for their bewitching qualities-and more than once in person met with rougher handling than Falstaff endured as their proxy. Lysons, among the "singular entries" he extracted from the parish register, has one under the year 1634, which would seem to show that an effort was then made by the Brentford people to rid themselves of their society: "Paid Robert Warden, the constable, which he disbursed for conveying away the witches, 11s." Where they were conveyed is not recorded. Whether any infested the good town afterwards I do not remember to have noticed. 66 As the county town, Brentford is the place of nomination for the Middlesex elections. When it was the only polling-place, and the poll used to be kept open as long as voters could be found, Brentford was often the scene of unimaginable riot. Then, and indeed when the polling time was limited to a fortnight, a Middlesex election was one of the English" sights." The elections of Wilkes, during the struggle between the electors and the House of Commons, are matters of history; and the tumultuous proceedings at those in which Burdett and Mainwaring figured somewhat later, are hardly less memorable. Of late years they have passed off quite peaceably, as well as speedily. But generally Brentford has always been notorious for its turbulence, as well as for its dirt. Brentford Fair, for example, had considerable notoriety that way—though in this, as in other matters, the town has grown quieter and graver. What it was in olden times will perhaps recur to the memory in the description of those doings wherein Sir Hudibras got so sorely moiled. Just by the church is an old half-timber house which is believed to have been the residence of Serjeant Noy of Ship-money celebrity. That this was his house is not improbable: at any rate he lived in Brentford, and the house must have been standing in his day. The fact of Noy having resided in it, if it be so, will probably not add much to its interest, but it is worth noticing on its own account. The Market-house, which is shortly to be pulled down, is a quaint crazy structure, looking not a little picturesque in its half-ruinous condition. On market-days the market-place with the marketpeople has a much more rustic character than would be anticipated from its nearness to London. In returning to the river, we may notice that the river-side houses-a miserable collection-are happily hidden from the view of the passengers along the Thames by means of the ait, which extends nearly the whole length of this part of the town, and is judiciously planted with tall trees. Brentford, from its position by the confluence of the Brent with the Thames, and the lowness of its site, is very subject to be inundated. Several times the town has suffered severely from floods. We will now cross over the river by means of Kew bridge-a substantial high-centred structure, erected, like Richmond Bridge, by Payne, in the last century. Kew is directly opposite to Brentford, but the houses of the village lie at a distance from the river. CHAPTER XXIV. KEW AND CHISWICK. DARWIN, in his 'Botanic Garden,' has proclaimed, in his most grandiloquent style, what is now, still more than it was when he wrote, the crowning glory of Kew: "So sits enthroned in vegetable pride Imperial Kew by Thames's glittering side: There is a good deal more to the same effect, but the reader is probably satisfied with this sample. Kew Gardens, with all their old recollections, their recent changes, and present admirable condition, might well alone fill a chapter of a volume on the Thames. But here they must be dismissed with a short notice. My rapidly diminishing space, and the distance yet to be traversed, warn me of the necessity of brevity. I have preferred to loiter along the more rural and distant parts of the river: as we approach London we can afford to proceed more rapidly-we need merely glance at the most inviting objects or places, and may safely leave unnoticed many which in the earlier part of the route it would have been improper to neglect. |