THE WAYFARER'S LIBRARY




THE HISTORIC THAMES


Hilaire Belloc


O.M. DENT & SONS Ltd.

LONDON




THE HISTORIC THAMES


England has been built up upon the framework of her rivers, and, in
that pattern, the principal line has been the line of the Thames.

Partly because it was the main highway of Southern England, partly
because it looked eastward towards the Continent from which the
national life has been drawn, partly because it was better served by
the tide than any other channel, but mainly because it was the chief
among a great number of closely connected river basins, the Thames
Valley has in the past supported the government and the wealth of