A very delightful country excursion may be made for visiting the neighbourhood of Henley-on-Thames, of especial interest to the readers of “Our Mutual Friend.”
It may be remembered that Lizzie Hexam, desirous of avoiding the attentions of her (then) unworthy lover, Mr. Eugene Wrayburn, left London secretly, with the assistance of Riah—representative of the honourable firm of Messrs. Pubsey and Co.; that, by his recommendation, she obtained a situation at a Paper Mill (then under Jewish management), at some distance from the Metropolis, and remained for a time undisturbed in her country employment; that, thereafter, Eugene Wrayburn obtained her address by bribing the drunken father of “Jenny Wren,” the dolls’ dressmaker, and so followed Lizzie to her retreat, being in his turn watched and followed by the passionate and jealous schoolmaster, Bradley Headstone, who attempted his life on the river bank; that, near at hand, was the Angler’s Inn, to which Eugene—nearly dead—was carried by the heroic and devoted Lizzie, who saved him from a watery grave, and where “effect was given to the dolls’ dressmaker’s discovery,” one night, some weeks later, by their romantic marriage, while it was yet doubtful whether the bridegroom would survive; that the death of Betty Higden occurred “On the Borders of Oxfordshire,” near the mill at which Lizzie Hexam was engaged, Lizzie herself attending the last moments of the dying woman, and accepting her last request; that in accordance with such request poor Betty was decently interred in a contiguous churchyard, the charges being defrayed by her own hard earnings, specially saved for the purpose; and that, on this occasion, the first meeting of Lizzie and Miss Bella Wilfer took place, when a very interesting and touching interview ensued, which greatly assisted Bella in confirmation of a brave and righteous decision in re money versus love. Also that, at no great distance from this locality, was situated “Plashwater Weir Mill Lock,” where Rogue Riderhood did duty as deputy lock-keeper, and where, at the last, he and Bradley Headstone were drowned.
These localities are in the neighbourhood of Henley, and may be readily verified by the intelligent Rambler, adopting the excursion by land and water, as subjoined.
Leaving Paddington Terminus of the Great Western Railway, we pass Westbourne Park Junction, and the well-arranged grounds of Kensal Green Cemetery (in which repose the mortal remains of Leigh Hunt, Sidney Smith, John Leech, and Thackeray) on the right, travelling westward by the suburban stations of Acton, Ealing, and Castle Hill, and cross the Wharncliffe Viaduct to Hanwell.
To the left may be seen the handsome building of the Middlesex Lunatic Asylum. We next arrive at Southall, and afterwards cross the Grand Junction Canal to Hayes and West Drayton. Our train now passes from Middlesex to Buckinghamshire, and steams onwards in the neighbourhood of Langley Park—seen on the right. The tower of Langley Church may be observed on the left, rising from the trees, as we speed forward to Slough, where we obtain a distant glimpse of the Royal Castle of Windsor, two miles southward.
Resuming the journey we come, in four miles’ run, to the pleasant village of Taplow, on the borders of the Thames (here dividing the counties of Buckinghamshire and Berkshire), and within easy distance of Burnham Beeches, a favourite picnic resort. The train now crosses the river, next arriving at Maidenhead, a market town on the Thames. On the right, observation may be taken of Maidenhead Bridge, a noble erection of thirteen arches. Thereafter we soon arrive at Twyford Junction, where we change (unless seated in a special through carriage) for Henley, situated four miles northward, and served by a branch line. The town itself is very pleasantly situated on the Thames, with an old church and handsome bridge, but is of special interest to Dickensian students as containing the Inn at which Mr. Eugene Wrayburn found accommodation on the occasion of his journey in pursuit of Lizzie Hexam. See “Our Mutual Friend,” book 3, chapter 1, in which Bradley Headstone, returning to Plashwater Weir, is described as reporting the circumstance to the deputy lock-keeper—
“‘Lock ho! Lock.’ It was a light night, and a barge coming down summoned him (Riderhood) out of a long doze. In due course he had let the barge through and was alone again, looking to the closing of his gates, when Bradley Headstone appeared before him, standing on the brink of the Lock. ‘Halloa,’ said Riderhood. ‘Back a’ready, T’otherest?’ ‘He has put up for the night at an Angler’s Inn,’ was the fatigued and hoarse reply. ‘He goes on, up the river, at six in the morning. I have come back for a couple of hours’ rest.’”
The Red Lion Inn thus referred to is situated north of Henley Bridge, on the west bank of the river, and is a favourite resort for disciples of Izaak Walton and boating men in general. Here it was that Eugene Wrayburn—after the murderous attack by the schoolmaster—was brought almost lifeless by Lizzie, when rescued by her from the river, as narrated in chapter 6—
“She ran the boat ashore, went into the water, released him from the line, and by main strength lifted him in her arms and laid him in the bottom of the boat. He had fearful wounds upon him, and she bound them up with her dress torn into strips. Else, supposing him to be still alive, she foresaw that he must bleed to death before he could be landed at his inn, which was the nearest place for succour. . . . She rowed hard—rowed desperately, but never wildly—and seldom removed her eyes from him in the bottom of the boat. She had so laid him there as that she might see his disfigured face; it was so much disfigured that his mother might have covered it, but it was above and beyond disfigurement in her eyes. The boat touched the edge of inn lawn, sloping gently to the water. There were lights in the windows, but there chanced to be no one out of doors. She made the boat fast, and again by main strength took him up, and never laid him down until she laid him down in the house.”
The landing-place and patch of inn lawn, above indicated, may now be verified as belonging to the “Red Lion” at Henley aforesaid. The lawn is a favourite standpoint for spectators interested in the Henley Royal Regatta, which takes place every year usually about the beginning of July.