On the opposite bank of the Thames is Tilbury Fort, the noted fortress
that commands the navigation of the river and protects the entrance to
London. It dates from Charles II.'s time, fright from De Ruyter's Dutch
incursion up the Thames in 1667 having led the government to convert
Henry VIII.'s blockhouse that stood there into a strong fortification.
It was to Tilbury that Queen Elizabeth went when she defied the Spanish
Armada. Leicester put a bridge of boats across the river to obstruct the
passage, and gathered an army of eighteen thousand men on shore. Here
the queen made her bold speech of defiance, in which she said she knew
she had the body of but a weak and feeble woman, but she also had the
heart and stomach of a king, and rather than her realm should be invaded
and dishonor grow by her, she herself would take up arms. She had then,
all told, one hundred and thirty thousand soldiers and one hundred and
eighty-one war-vessels, but the elements conquered the "Invincible
Armada," barely one-third of it getting back to Spain.
Thus we have traced England's famous river from its source in the
Cotswolds until it falls into the North Sea at the mouth of the broad
estuary beyond Sheerness and the Nore. Knowing the tale of grandeur that
its banks unfold, Wordsworth's feelings can be understood as he halted
upon Westminster Bridge in the early morning and looked down the Thames
upon London: its mighty heart was still and its houses seemed asleep as
the tranquil scene inspired the great poet to write his sonnet:
"Earth has not anything to show more fair;
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty:
This city now doth like a garment wear
The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,
Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie
Open unto the fields and to the sky;
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
Never did sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendor valley, rock, or hill;
Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will;
Dear God! the very houses seem asleep,
And all that mighty heart is lying still."