There is a circumstance connected with Great Marlow, beneath the dignity of history indeed, which, however, as we are writing of the Thames, must not be passed over in silence. In former days--and perhaps still, for we do not wish to make experimental proof--the simple and apparently purposeless question, "Who ate the puppy pie under Marlow Bridge?" sufficed to throw the bargee of the Thames into a state of mind which could only find adequate expression in words which more than bordered on profanity. The venom rankling in the taunt is thus explained:--The landlord of the inn at Medmenham had received private information that certain bargemen meditated that night a foray on his larder. He was a humorous man, who had just drowned a litter of young puppies. So he had their corpses baked in a pie, which he placed in the larder, and did not sit up to keep guard. The larder was robbed, the pie was carried off and conveyed to Marlow Bridge, where the plunderers feasted, as they supposed, on young rabbits. [Illustration: A PICNIC AT QUARRY WOODS.] Below the weir, where the Thames is parted by willow-covered islands, are some pleasant nooks for the artist who loves riverside scenery, and quiet spots where he may pursue his work without the presence of a small circle of gaping bystanders. Brothers of the angle also find much employment near Marlow, as the fishing is noted. Taunt, in his useful little "Guide to the Thames," tells us that he saw a trout weighing eight pounds, which had just been caught near Quarry Woods, and that in the hostel called the "Anglers" is one stuffed, which is reputed to be the largest that has been taken in the Thames.