there come _Lady
Jane Grey_ and _Sir Thomas More_! Do all the boats have names like
that? Wonder how the great people would like it if they knew! _Sir
Thomas_ is an express; he's on official business this morning, and
isn't going to stop! Now! here comes _Queen Elizabeth_ herself!
Nothing less than a queen for me! I hope we'll take her!" John cried
excitedly.

The _Queen Elizabeth_ did prove to be the Kew and Hampton Court boat,
so when the gangway was put across, the five went on board and took
some comfortable seats in the bow.

"Now, there are a number of things which I wish to point out to you
right away," remarked Mrs. Pitt, "so please be very attentive for a
few moments. Just as soon as we are started and go under Westminster
Bridge here, you will have the most beautiful view of the Houses of
Parliament, on your right. There! See if the great building isn't
graceful from here! And isn't its river-front imposing with all the
statues of the sovereigns!

"Now! Quickly! Look to the left, and see the building with the gateway
and square, blackened towers and battlements. That's Lambeth Palace,"
she added, "which has been the residence of the Archbishops of
Canterbury (or the 'Primates of England,' as they are called) for six
hundred years. It's a delightful old place, with its fine library, and
its several court-yards! It's very historic as well, for in one of
those towers, according to some people, the Lollards or followers of
the religious reformer, Wycliffe, are said to have been tortured.
Queen Elizabeth's favorite, the unfortunate Earl of Essex, was
imprisoned there, too.

"Here on our left was the famous amusement-park, Vauxhall, which was
so popular in the eighteenth century. Some day when you read
Thackeray's novels you will find it mentioned. There on the right is
Chelsea, where was Sir Thomas More's home. I think his grounds
bordered on the river, and he used to walk down to the bank, step into
his boat, and his son would row him to the city. At his house there he
was often visited by Henry VIII, Holbein, and the great Dutch scholar,
Erasmus. Just behind those trees is Cheyne Walk, where Thomas
Carlyle's house still stands. (There's the old Chelsea Church, which
is most interesting, and Chelsea Hospital for old pensioners.) There
have been many famous residents of Chelsea in more recent days; among
them George Eliot, the great novelist, who died there; Edward
Burne-Jones, the artist; Rossetti, the poet;