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The friends reached Reading in a steam launch at eleven, a town famous for old places and the scene of many great events. The launch steam was the narrator’s, which he preferred because it was a delight being towed, instead of rowing themselves. However it was a bit off putting because other small boats kept getting in the way of the launch, making them ease or stop at intervals. The friends have a lovely ride from Maple Dushan to Streatley, and the launch dropped them at Grotto from where the narrator took the sculls. However it hadn’t been long when George suddenly gave a cry of terror his face absolutely blanched for he had noticed a dead body of a woman on the water! It was later the friends learnt that a tragedy had befallen on the woman, for she was scorched on love. Thereafter the men had lunch in streatly at a place called the Bull, much to Montmorency’s delight.

Each friend was of the view that he was doing much more work than the other two so sometimes an argument took place amongst them. Harris’ opinion was that it was he alone who had been doing much work while George blamed that Harris slept and ate which the writer supported. Their argument ended with an agreement that George and Harris should scull up past Reading and the writer tow the boat from there, although he was little reluctant to do the hard labour.

The three friends started to discuss about their rowing experiences where they each recounted their stories of their first efforts in the art of oars-man-ship and various other boat cruises they had undertaken over the years.

Just after lunch the friends reached Ship lake. They decided that since it was too late to go to Reading, they agreed to stay the night at one of the Ship lake island, since they had time on their hands they decided to cook Irish stew for supper. Since George volunteered to cook, Harris and the narrator decided to peel the potatoes, thinking it to be an easy job. But the harder they peeled and scrapped them, they left a mess. So in the end they added all the odds and ends from their hamper to make a pot of a flavored stew.

After supper George and the narrator went to Henley but Harris stayed behind because of a Bad Stomach, accompanied by his drink and a pipe. However while returning from Henley the two friends lost their way. They shouted at way inlet for Harris since he was at the boat but they only heard silence. They were feeling cold and miserable because rain was lashing down making them soaked to their skin.

However just when they had given up hope, they caught a slight glimmer flickering on the opposite bank among the trees. Soon they realized that it was their boat so they yelled and immediately heard Montmorency barking. Somehow they boarded the boat but Harris had strangeness around him and on enquiring, they learnt that he had a fight with the swans but he defeated them with skill and courage. However, next morning, a sober Harris had no clue of anything of the previous night.

Marlow is one of the pleasant centers along an account of its historical importance and natural beauty. The friends had a pleasant night at Crown, and woke up fresh in the morning. The narrator thinks Marlow is a pleasant town with rich history and beautiful natural beauty. He recollects that once he had gone to Haymarket where he witnessed a row between various breeds of dogs, started by a fox-terrier. He doesn’t blank Montmorency for his tendency to row with cats but wished he had not started on the morning he had taken him for a walk in Marlow.

However it looked as if Montmorency wasn’t finished for the day, for in the street he had an encounter with the most disreputable cat whose facial expression sent shivers in the dog, that he quietly backed out. Before departing from Marlow the friends bought few food items, and the narrator regards that as one of their greatest success for they had such a lot of things that they had to use extra pair of hands—man and animal, to carry their possessions towards the boat. About a mile from Marsh Lock, the friends received a shock. It so happened that Harry gripped the beefsteak pie between his knees and was carving it when he asked for a spoon. The writer and George moved round to take a spoon out of the hamper but when they look around again, Harris and the pie were gone. They got worried and turned to search the place where he was last and froze when they saw Harris’ head sticking bold upright among the tall grass. He was very angry and blamed the writer and George.

Actually, Harris was perching on the verge of a small gully which it was hidden with a long grass and when he turned a little back, he had fallen into the gully. He believed and accused that it was cor spiracy hatched by the writer and George.

After breakfast the three friends did the washing up and then resumed through with their boat journey. Passing to the Magna Charta Island from Picnic Point to old Windsor Lock— a rich picturesque town to Boveny. All the way to Datchet when the friends recalled an incident that long back they had a trip to Datchet just before August Bank Holiday. But for them it turned an unpleasant trip because being back holiday the town was full therefore they had problem getting an accommodation. However they took up residence for the night at someone’s private home. In Monkey Island the friends had lunch, where they had a funny encounter with a pineapple tin. Thereafter they sailed and reached Marlow, where they left their boat and went at the Crown— a hotel for night.

Near Magna Charta island
George towed the boat upto  Staines. At half- past seven they sculled up close to the left bank and looked for a spot to stop at. They had originally intended to camp at Magna Charta Island. But somehow they did not like to look at the scenery and wanted to have their supper and go to bed.

Pitching the tent
George suggested that they should pitch the’ tent before eating supper. They thought it to be an easy task and it did not take them just ten minutes. To drop the hoops into the sockets was a dangerous task. George and Harris helped each other to fix the covering. George did his part all right, but it was new work for Hams, and he bungled it. Finally the cover was fixed after half an hour.

Behaviour after supper
They boiled the water and made supper in dead silence which lasted f minutes. After it they felt contented and felt that they were quarrelsome and before supper. After taking the supper they loved each other and everybody. George wondered why they couldn’t be always happy and generous like that and why they couldn’t remain away from sins and temptations. The narrator said that he always longed for this kind of life. George related a story about his father. He said that once his father travelled with another fellow through Wales. They stopped at a little inn, where they joined the other fellows and spent the evening with them.

The narrator’s outing at night
They went to bed at ten but the narrator could not sleep. The sound of the lapping water round the boat and the wind among the branches kept him restless and disturbed. He put on whatever clothes he could and crept under the canvas on to the bank. It was a glorious night. The moon had sunk and left the quiet earth alone with the stars. It was full of comfort and of strength. The day had been full of fret and care and their hearts had been full of evil and bitter thoughts. The world had seemed so hard and wrong to them. Night, like some great loving mother, gently laid her hand upon their fevensh heads and removed their pain.

The story of a knight
The writer narrated the story of a good knight who was lost in the forest. The name of the dark forest was Sorrow. The good knight was shown a vision, about which nothing could be said. They could not tell about it.

George’s experience of towing
Jim and Harris made George work. He towed them till Runnymede. The narrator considered tow- lines strange. He described how he got into a mess when he dealt with them himself. Once he and his friends were going down in Bovericy. They saw two men who were looking for their boat which had gone off when they were disentangling their tow-line. He also remembers how George tied a tow-line to the boat of a young couple and made them tow four bulking chaps in another boat for a long time. The girl was shocked when she could not see her aunt. Hams asked if they had recovered the old lady. George replied that he did not know. In fact they towed the wrong boat.

Bad towing by girls
The narrator said that being towed by girls was the most exciting experience. It took three girls to tow always, two to hold the rope, and third one to run round and round. They generally began by getting themselves tied up. They got the line round their legs and had to sit down on the path and to undo each other and then they twisted it round their necks, and were nearly strangled. At the end of a hundred yards, they were naturally breathless. They sat down on the grass and laughed. In the meantime the boat drifted out midstream. This was the dullest moment.

The boat trip with a Cousin
The narrator, then, describes what happened when he was out with a young lady, his on a river trip down goring. It was half when they reached Benson’s lock. She was reach home before evening. The narrator drew out a map and found that they were just a mile and half to the next lock, Wallingford. They rowed on and passed the bridge and never looked at a lock. The girl thought that they had lost their way and began to cry. The narrator pulled on for another mile. Then he began to get nervous himself. He still went on pulling however, and still no lock came in sight and the river grew more and more gloomy and mysterious under the gathering shadows of the night. Suddenly they heard the sweet sounds of an accordion. A boat came along. The narrator asked the occupants if they could tell him the way to Wallingford lock. They told him that there was no Wallingford lock for the last one year. They were very close to Cleeve now. The narrator thanked him and wished them a pleasant trip. They got home in time for supper.

The act of tresspassing

Harris and Jim stopped under the willows by Kempton Park and lunched. It was a pleasant little spot. They had just begun to eat the bread and jam when a gentleman in a short sleeves and a short pipe came along. He asked them if they knew that they were tresspassing and told them that it was his duty to turn them off. Harris was a well- made man and looked hard and bony. He asked the gentleman how he would accomplish his task. He said that he would consult his master and went away. He never returned. Actually he wanted a shilling and was trying to blackmail them. But both Harris and Jim were angry and blamed the owners who allowed that to happen. The narrator wanted to kill the owner, but Harris wanted to kill him, his family, friends, relatives, and bum down his house. Harris decided to calm himself by singing a comic songs of the ruins.

Harris as a singer

It was one of Harris’ fixed ideas that he could sing a comic song. But 1l his friends knew that he could not sing, and would never be able to sing, and that he should not be allowed to sing. Harris did not know that he made an ass of himself when he Sang. He did not realise that he annoyed many.

A German singer

Jim was reminded of an incident which threw light on the inner working of human mind. Once he was at a fashionable and highly cultured party. There were two young students who had come back from Germany. They asked if they had heard Herr Slossenn Boschen sing his great German comic song. No one had heard it. The young man said that it was the funniest song that had ever been written. They could get Herr Slossenn Boschen to sing it. They brought him and he sat down to the piano and began to sing. The prelude did not suggest a comic song. It was a soulful music. The narrator who did not understand German simply watched the two young men. When they tittered, the narrator tittered; when they roared, he also roared. He noticed that as the song progressed, most of the listeners seemed to be doing the same. Yet the German professor did not seem happy. He was surprised when they began to Laugh. As the listeners continued to laugh, he got angry and ended his song amidst their laughter. He got up, swore at them, and then danced and shook his fists. He said that he had never been so insulted in all his life.

Grave misunderstanding

It appeared that the song was not comic at all. It was about a young girl who had given UP her life to save her lover’s soul. It was a tragic song. The two young men who had done this thing disappeared. They had taken their revenge for being considered common persons. The narrator never saw a party break up so quietly. They did not say goodnight to one another.

Different places

They reached Sunburry Lock at half-past three. And then they sculled up to Walton and went past Oatlands Park, a famous old place. Henry VIII lived here. The late Duchess of York who lived at Oatlands, was very fond of dogs. She had a special graveyard made for the large number of dogs she had kept. At Weybridge they saw George’s blazer on one of the lock gates.

George joins in

Montmorency gave a furious bark, Jim shrieked and Harris roared. George waved his hat and yelled back. The lock keeper rushed out thinking that someone had fallen into the lock. George had a banjo with him. He thought that it was very easy to learn the banjo.

The narrator’s dress sense

The river afforded a good opportunity for dress. Men could reflect their  tastes in colours. The narrator liked a little red in all his things-red and black. His hair was a sort of golden brown. So the dark red matched  with his hair. A light blue necktie went well with it. A pair of Russian-leather shoes and a red silk handkerchief round the waist added charm to his personality.

Harris’ dress sense

Harris kept to shades a mixture of orange or yellow but in his opinion they didn’t suit him well. His complexion was too dark for yellows, but he didn’t pay attention to any suggestion.

George’s dress sense

George had bought some new things for this trip, but the narrator was rather vexed about them. The blazer was gaudy. He did not want George to know about his opinion. The narrator and Harris were worried about it because it would attract attention to the boat.

Girls in a boat

Girls also didn’t  look bad in a boat ,if they were prettily dressed .But he was of the opinion that a boating dress  ought to be a dress that can be worn in a boat’. The narrator once went with  two Ladies of this kind. They were both beautifully dressed. But they were dressed for a photographic studio, not for a river picnic. The first thing that they thought was that the boat was not clean. They thought that a drop of water would ruin their dress. Jim was stroke. He did his best, but could not prevent a few drops of water falling on their clothes. He left his seat and asked another man to row. The ladies felt relieved, but when the man spread more than a pint of water on their dresses, they began to protect themselves with their umbrellas and drew rugs and coats over themselves.

The narrator’s dislike of tombs

Harris wanted to get out at Hampton Court and visit Mrs. Thomas’s tomb. The writer objected to it. He is reminded of his visit to a village church. It was a lovely landscape. Suddenly the narrator looked up and saw an old bald-headed man coming to him. He was carrying a huge bunch of keys in his hand that shook and jingled at every step. He insisted that Jim should see the tomb. Jim protested. The old bald-headed man persisted and requested him to see the memorial windows. He burst into tears and asked Jim to see the skulls at least. Jim had to run away from the scene.

Harris’ liking for old places

Harris who was interested in tombs, graves, epitaphs and monuments revealed that he had joined the trip to see Mrs. Thomas’s Tomb. Jim reminded him that they had to reach Shepperton by five o’clock to meet George. This made Harris angry and he said why George had not taken the day off and joined them at the start. He further remarked that he had never seen him doing any work.

Mishap with Harris

Harris wanted to go to the pub to have a drink. Jim told him that they were miles away from a pub. He told Hams to take out a bottle from the hamper. The bottle was at the bottom of the hamper and seemed difficult to find and he had to lean further and further. In trying to steer at the same time, he pulled the wrong line and sent the boat into the bank. This upset him and he dived down right into the hamper and stood there on his head holding on the sides of the boat. He had to stay there till the narrator got hold of his legs and hauled him back.

Importance of Kingston
It was a glorious morning, late spring or early summer when every leaf was green. Kingston or ‘Kymingeston’, as it was called earlier, was known ?‘ many great kings. Great Caesar crossed the river there. The Roman kings camped upon its sloping uplands. Queen Elizabeth had stopped there.

History of Kingston
Many old houses there spoke of those days when nobles and courtiers lived there. They lived in red brick houses. They had oak stairs that did not creak. The writer was reminded of a magnificent carved oak staircase in one of the houses of Kingston. It was a shop now in the marketplace, but it was evidently the mansion of some great person. The shopkeeper once took his friend through the shop and up the staircase of his house. The wall all the way up was oak-panelled. The friend was surprised to see the house. The oak- panelling was covered with blue wall-paper. The owner said that the room looked cheerful now. It was awfully gloomy before.
Jim felt sad to think, ’’Each person has what he doesn’t want and other people have what he does want.”

The story of Stivvings
Jim remembered a boy at his school. He was called Standford and Merton. His real name was Stivvings. He was the most extraordinary lad. He loved studies. He desired to win prizes and grow up to be a clever man. He wanted to bring credit to his parents. But he used to fall ill about twice a week and couldn’t go to school. If there was any known disease going within ten miles of him, he had it and had it badly. He had to stay in bed when he was ill, and eat chickens and custards and hot-house grapes. The other boys would have sacrificed ten terms of their school-life for the sake of being ill for a day. They took things to make them ill, instead they made them fat. Nothing made them ill until the holidays began. Then they would fall III till the term recommenced, when they would suddenly get well again.

The journey to Hampton Court
Jim now began to think about life. He thought how the art treasures of today were only the dug- up commonplaces of three or four hundred years ago. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Hams. He threw away the sculls, got up, and left his seat and sat on his back and stuck his legs in the air. Montmorency howled and turned a somersault and the top hamper jumped up and all the things came out. Harris wanted Jim to scull. Jim ran the boat round the walls of Hampton Court. It looked peaceful and quiet.

The maze
Harris asked Jim if he had ever seen the maze at Hampton Court. Harris said that he went in once to show it to someone. He had studied the map and thought that it was vety simple to come out. There they met some people who wanted to come out. Harris told them to follow him. They went round and round but could not find the way out Then Harris did not know what to do. So he Suggested that the best thing was to go back to the entrance. They started again but failed to find the Way out. They all got crazy and called the keeper. He came and gave instructions to them. But they could not understand anything. The young keeper also got lost with them. Then the old keeper came after dinner and rescued them. Harris said that it was a very fine maze. Harris and Jim agreed that they would try to get George into it, On their way back.