midday
Then they sallied out into Cornhill , past the Exchange , erected by the worshipful citizen Sir Thomas Gresham , and then into Chepeside , where they were astonished at the wealth and variety of the wares displayed in the shops . Gazing into the windows , they frequently got into the way , and were saluted many times with the query , `` Where are you going , stupids ? '' a question which Hugh was largely inclined to resent , and would have done so had not Rupert told him that evidently they did get into the way of the hurrying citizens , and that it was more wise to put up with rudeness than to embark in a series of quarrels , in which , moreover , as strangers they were likely to get the worst of the dispute . Saint Paul 's Cathedral , then but newly finished , astonished them vastly with its size and magnificence , and they returned to the midday dinner at the Bell delighted with all that they had seen . Asking the landlord how he would recommend them to pass the afternoon , he said that they could do no better than take a boat at London Bridge , and be rowed up to the village of Chelsea , where many of the nobility did dwell , and then coming back to Westminster might get out there , see the Abbey and the great Hall , and then walk back along the Strand . The lads followed the advice , and were soon delighted and surprised with the great river , then pure and limpid , and covered with boats proceeding rapidly in all directions , for it was at that time the great highway of London . Tide was flowing and the river nearly full , and having given their waterman the intimation that time did not press , he rowed them very gently along in the centre of the stream , pointing out to them , when they had passed above the limits of the city , the various noblemen 's houses scattered along the banks of the river .