on shore in the evening, and remained at the house of Doctor Holker. On the 23d the Prince and Princess dined on board the yacht, "in view of great numbers who went off in boats to witness the spectacle." On the 24th, after again passing the night at the house of Doctor Holker, they embarked early in the morning, and, with a fair wind, took their departure to Holland.
In those days the route between Gravesend and Windsor by water was known as the Long Ferry, and heavy barges were used for many years to carry passengers to and from various places along the banks of the Thames.
In 1737 a craft known as a tilt-boat had superseded the ancient barge, and in this year an act was passed for regulating the watermen on the Thames between Gravesend and Windsor. For some years boats and wherries had been built in imitation of tilt-boats, with closed decks, many lives having been lost in consequence.
To prevent this, it was enacted that, "after the 24th of June, 1737, it should not be lawful for any person to use any boat or wherry with a closed deck, commonly called a Gravesend wherry, or with bails (frames) which were nailed to the boat and not moveable. The dangerous properties of such small boats are obvious; for, when the bails, or semicircular hoops upon which a tilt (awning) was supported, are immovable, the passengers are so confined as to render it difficult if not impossible to escape in times of danger." It was further provided, by the same act, "that no tilt-boat should
