diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'old/62372-h/62372-h.htm')
| -rw-r--r-- | old/62372-h/62372-h.htm | 22041 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 22041 deletions
diff --git a/old/62372-h/62372-h.htm b/old/62372-h/62372-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index b203724..0000000 --- a/old/62372-h/62372-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,22041 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html - PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<head> -<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII" /> -<title>The History of Lynn, Vol. 2 [of 2], by William Richards</title> - <style type="text/css"> -/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ -<!-- - P { margin-top: .75em; - margin-bottom: .75em; - } - P.gutsumm { margin-left: 5%;} - P.poetry {margin-left: 3%; } - .GutSmall { font-size: 0.7em; } - H1, H2 { - text-align: center; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - } - H3, H4, H5 { - text-align: center; - margin-top: 1em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - } - BODY{margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; - } - table { border-collapse: collapse; } -table {margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;} - td { vertical-align: top; border: 1px solid black;} - td p { margin: 0.2em; } - .blkquot {margin-left: 4em; margin-right: 4em;} /* block indent */ - - .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - - .pagenum {position: absolute; - left: 92%; - font-size: small; - text-align: right; - font-weight: normal; - color: gray; - } - img { border: none; } - img.dc { float: left; width: 50px; height: 50px; } - p.gutindent { margin-left: 2em; } - p.gutlist { margin-top: 0.2em; margin-bottom: 0.2em} - div.gapspace { height: 0.8em; } - div.gapline { height: 0.8em; width: 100%; border-top: 1px solid;} - div.gapmediumline { height: 0.3em; width: 40%; margin-left:30%; - border-top: 1px solid; } - div.gapmediumdoubleline { height: 0.3em; width: 40%; margin-left:30%; - border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} - div.gapshortdoubleline { height: 0.3em; width: 20%; - margin-left: 40%; border-top: 1px solid; - border-bottom: 1px solid; } - div.gapdoubleline { height: 0.3em; width: 50%; - margin-left: 25%; border-top: 1px solid; - border-bottom: 1px solid;} - div.gapshortline { height: 0.3em; width: 20%; margin-left:40%; - border-top: 1px solid; } - .citation {vertical-align: super; - font-size: .5em; - text-decoration: none;} - span.red { color: red; } - body {background-color: #ffffc0; } - img.floatleft { float: left; - margin-right: 1em; - margin-top: 0.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; } - img.floatright { float: right; - margin-left: 1em; margin-top: 0.5em; - margin-bottom: 0.5em; } - img.clearcenter {display: block; - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0.5em; - margin-bottom: 0.5em} - --> - /* XML end ]]>*/ - </style> -</head> -<body> -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg eBook, The History of Lynn, Vol. 2 [of 2], by -William Richards - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: The History of Lynn, Vol. 2 [of 2] - - -Author: William Richards - - - -Release Date: June 11, 2020 [eBook #62372] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HISTORY OF LYNN, VOL. 2 [OF -2]*** -</pre> -<p>Transcribed from the 1812 W. G. Whittingham edition by David -Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org</p> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/cover.jpg"> -<img alt= -"Book cover" -title= -"Book cover" - src="images/cover.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/fpb.jpg"> -<img alt= -"East View of Lynn Regis, pub. May 1, 1812 by W. G. Whittingham, -Lynn. Draw J. Sillett, engraved J. Hassell" -title= -"East View of Lynn Regis, pub. May 1, 1812 by W. G. Whittingham, -Lynn. Draw J. Sillett, engraved J. Hassell" - src="images/fps.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<h1><span class="GutSmall">THE</span><br /> -HISTORY<br /> -<span class="GutSmall">OF</span><br /> -LYNN,</h1> -<p style="text-align: center"><i>Civil</i>, -<i>Ecclesiastical</i>, <i>Political</i>, <i>Commercial</i>, -<i>Biographical</i>,<br /> -<i>Municipal</i>, <i>and Military</i>,</p> -<p style="text-align: center"><span -class="GutSmall">FROM</span><br /> -THE EARLIEST ACCOUNTS TO THE PRESENT TIME,<br /> -<span class="GutSmall">INTERSPERSED</span><br /> -With occasional remarks on such national occurrences as may serve -to<br /> -elucidate the real state of the town, or the manners, -character,<br /> -and condition of the inhabitants at different periods.</p> -<p style="text-align: center"><span class="GutSmall">TO WHICH IS -PREFIXED</span><br /> -A COPIOUS INTRODUCTORY ACCOUNT<br /> -<span class="GutSmall">OF ITS</span><br /> -<i>Situation</i>, <i>Harbour</i>, <i>Rivers</i>, <i>Inland Trade -and Navigation</i>,<br /> -<i>the Ancient and Modern State</i><br /> -<span class="GutSmall">OF</span><br /> -Marshland, Wisbeach, and the Fens,<br /> -<span class="GutSmall">AND</span><br /> -Whatever is most remarkable, memorable, or interesting, in -other<br /> -parts of the adjacent country.</p> -<p style="text-align: center">IN TWO VOLUMES.<br /> -<i>BY WILLIAM RICHARDS</i>, <i>M.A.</i></p> -<p style="text-align: center"><i>Honorary member of the -Pennsylvania Society</i>, <i>for promoting the Abolition</i><br -/> -<i>of Slavery</i>, <i>and the relief of free Negroes unlawfully -held in bondage</i>.</p> - -<div class="gapshortdoubleline"> </div> -<p style="text-align: center">VOL. II.</p> - -<div class="gapshortline"> </div> -<p style="text-align: center">LYNN:<br /> -<span class="GutSmall">PRINTED BY W. G. WHITTINGHAM,</span><br /> -<span class="GutSmall">AND SOLD BY R. BALDWIN; PATERNOSTER ROW; -LONDON.</span></p> - -<div class="gapshortdoubleline"> </div> -<p style="text-align: center">1812.</p> - -<div class="gapspace"> </div> -<h2><a name="page623"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 623</span>PART -IV.<br /> -<span class="smcap">From the Reformation to the present -time</span>.</h2> -<h3>CHAP. I.</h3> -<p class="gutsumm">Miscellaneous remarks on the -Reformation—its rise and progress on the -continent—introduction into this island, and effects upon -this town.</p> -<p>The reformation formed a new era in the history of the world, -and was one of those mighty revolutionary events which have a -most extensive and lasting effect on the affairs and destinies of -mankind. But men have been ever since greatly divided in -their ideas and judgments concerning it. While some have -hailed it as a most happy, admirable, and glorious event, fraught -with heaven’s choicest blessings, it has been deemed by -others, and even by a large majority of the inhabitants of -christendom, as an exceedingly unfortunate, pernicious, and -execrable occurrence, which has produced all manner of mischief, -and, like the opening of Pandora’s box, filled the world -with calamities and <a name="page624"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 624</span>miseries innumerable. The -learned and the wise, as well as the illiterate and fly foolish, -have been found among each of these opposite and contending -parties: their respective opinions and allegations must therefore -be entitled to a serious and candid hearing. But it is not -intended here to go deeply or largely into this disputed subject: -nor would it well accord with the plan or design of this -publication. Some cursory hints, however, on a few of the -most prominent facts will not, it is presumed, be either -impertinent or uninstructive.</p> -<h4><span class="smcap">Section</span> I.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>Statement of different and opposite -opinions respecting the reformation—with brief -remarks</i>.</p> -<p>The information, like the French revolution, seems to have -been too much admired by its friends, and too much vilified by -its enemies. The former, for the most part, perceive -nothing in it but what is praise worthy and divine, and the -latter nothing but what is detestable and devilish. The -truth, probably, lies somewhere about midway between these two -extremes, as is usual in most of the disputes that divide and -agitate the world. The reformation had certainly some good -points in it, as well as some very bad ones, that can never be -too much reprobated and detested. Had they been all bad, -its friends would have defended them, for they have actually and -unblushingly defended its <a name="page625"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 625</span>very worst points; <a -name="citation625a"></a><a href="#footnote625a" -class="citation">[625a]</a> and had they been all good, its -enemies, on the other hand, would not fail to condemn them, for -they have really done so with its very best parts, whose -intrinsic or essential goodness and beneficial tendency are most -obvious and demonstrable. <a name="citation625b"></a><a -href="#footnote625b" class="citation">[625b]</a></p> -<p>The friends of the reformation consider the original and chief -actors in that great revolutionary work as excellent men, -actuated by a right apostolical and christian spirit, with a view -to the restoration of primitive christianity, and the promotion -of the best interests of mankind. Their opponents, on the -contrary, consider them in a very different light, and hold them -up as persons of a disreputable character, who were actuated by -very unworthy and base motives, from whose thoughts nothing could -be further than the restoration of genuine christianity, or the -promoting of real benevolence, philanthropy, or human -happiness. It will not be safe to give implicit credit to -either of these representations. There were, certainly, -some good men concerned in the reformation, and there were also -some very bad men concerned in it, whose misdeeds ought never to -be palliated; and these were probably the most numerous and the -most powerful, or the work, surely, would have been more worthy -of our praise and admiration.</p> -<p><a name="page626"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 626</span>The -reformation, in the judgment of its admirers, was eminently -calculated to promote the cause of truth and virtue, and -inculcate the practice of piety, morality, and all manner of good -works. All this, however, is flatly contradicted by the -champions of the opposite cause, who positively affirm that the -doctrines of the reformers were, in the very nature of them, of -an evil, immoral and impious tendency:—alluding to the -grand Lutheran tenet of <i>justification</i> by faith <i>without -works</i>, <a name="citation626a"></a><a href="#footnote626a" -class="citation">[626a]</a> and to the famous Calvinian notion of -predestination, as extending to all the deeds of men, bad and -good, or that all human actions, even the very worst, originate -in the <i>Divine decrees</i>, or <i>will of God</i>. <a -name="citation626b"></a><a href="#footnote626b" -class="citation">[626b]</a> This opinion of the evil -tendency of the reformation, or of the reformed doctrine, they -represent as further corroborated <a name="page627"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 627</span>and established by undeniable facts, -and authentic historical evidence; or in other words, by its -immediate effects, or the very first fruits it produced wherever -it did prevail.</p> -<p>Those who advocate the cause of the reformers say that their -labours were abundantly fruitful of good works, and that their -doctrine produced the happiest effects wherever it was -received. But their opponents flatly deny it, and -positively assert that the very reverse was actually the case: -and they support their assertion, not only by referring to those -long and bloody wars which resulted from the reformation, but -also to the express testimony of credible witnesses, who affirm, -that vice and immorality greatly increased wherever protestantism -became predominant. Nor is it a little remarkable that -these same witnesses are, for the most part, some of the very -chief reformers; so that their evidence comes with a force that -cannot well be resisted. Some of them belonged to the -continent, and others to this kingdom; but we shall in this place -bring forward only the former, reserving the latter till we come -to exhibit the rise and progress of the reformation in this -country.</p> -<p>We shall begin with <span class="smcap">Luther</span>, whose -testimony on this occasion is very strong and -remarkable.—“The world (says he) grows worse and -worse. It is plain that men are much more covetous, -malicious, and resentful, much more unruly, shameless, and full -of vice, <a name="page628"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -628</span>than they were in the time of popery.” <a -name="citation628a"></a><a href="#footnote628a" -class="citation">[628a]</a> “Formerly, when we were -suduced by the pope, men willingly followed good works, but now -all their study is to get every thing to themselves by exactions, -pillage, theft, lying, usury.” <a -name="citation628b"></a><a href="#footnote628b" -class="citation">[628b]</a> “It is a wonderful thing, -and full of scandal, that from the time that the pure doctrine -was first called to light, the world should daily grow worse and -worse.” <a name="citation628c"></a><a href="#footnote628c" -class="citation">[628c]</a>—The testimony of <span -class="smcap">Bucer</span>, another celebrated reformer, is to -the same effect. “The greater part of the -people” (says he) “seem only to have embraced the -gospel, in order to shake off the yoke of discipline, and the -obligation of fasting, penance, &c., which lay upon them in -the time of popery; and to live at their pleasure, enjoying their -lust and lawless appetites without controul. They therefore -lend a willing ear to the doctrine that we are <i>justified by -faith alone</i> and <i>not by good works</i>, having no relish -for them.”—<a name="citation628d"></a><a -href="#footnote628d" class="citation">[628d]</a> <span -class="smcap">Musculus</span> also, another eminent reformer, is -said to have borne much the same testimony. <a -name="citation628e"></a><a href="#footnote628e" -class="citation">[628e]</a></p> -<p><span class="smcap">Calvin’s</span> evidence in this -case seems also to be equally forcible and decisive: “Of so -many thousands (says he) seemingly eager in embracing the gospel, -how few have since amended their lives? Nay, to what else -does the greater part pretend, except by shaking off the heavy -yoke of superstition to launch out more freely into <a -name="page629"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 629</span>every kind -of lasciviousness?” <a name="citation629a"></a><a -href="#footnote629a" class="citation">[629a]</a> Thus said -Calvin. When the character of the reformation is duly and -thoroughly considered, and especially that of Calvin’s own -doctrine, it is no great wonder that such effects should -follow. It would have been much more wonderful if they had -not followed; at least, when we further consider the abominable -conduct, the vile and bloody deeds that were sanctioned by the -same reformer’s own example. Had he been a different -sort of man, these unsightly fruits of his labours might have led -him to doubt the soundness of his faith, or suspect that his -creed did not altogether tally with the doctrine that is -according to godliness. But from him it could not be -expected.</p> -<p>Another testimony of no small weight in this case, and which -must not be here omitted, is that of the celebrated <span -class="smcap">Erasmus</span>, one of the greatest luminaries and -most eminent characters of that age, who has been reckoned among -the principal authors of the reformation as well as restorers of -literature. Let us listen then to his evidence on this -subject: “What an <i>evangelical</i> generation is -this? Nothing was ever seen more licentious and more -seditious. Nothing is less <i>evangelical</i> than these -pretended <i>gospellers</i>. <a name="citation629b"></a><a -href="#footnote629b" class="citation">[629b]</a> Take -notice of this <i>evangelical</i> people, and shew me an -individual amongst them all who from being a drunkard has become -sober, from being <a name="page630"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -630</span>a libertine has become chaste. I, on the other -hand, can shew you many who have become worse by the -change. Those whom I once knew to have been chaste, -sincere, and without fraud, I found, after they had embraced this -sect, to be licentious in their conversation, gamblers, -neglectful of prayer, passionate, vain, as spiteful as serpents, -and lost to the feelings of human nature. I speak from -experience.” <a name="citation630"></a><a -href="#footnote630" class="citation">[630]</a></p> -<p>Upon the whole, it seems impossible to evade the force of this -evidence, or deny that vice and immorality increased where -protestantism prevailed, and, consequently, that there must have -been some radical and essential defect in that system from the -very first: so that it must be the very height of folly, -absurdity, and arrogance in our present pretended evangelical -demagogues to attempt to hold it up to the people as a standard -of unadulterated truth and model of christian perfection. -It is remarkable enough that these good people, almost to a man, -are very loud in their reprobation of the French revolution, -although it might easily be proved that that same revolution was -nearly, if not quite as honourable in its origin, and respectable -in its progress as that which was excited and conducted by Martin -Luther, John Calvin, and their coadjutors, and which they seem so -much to admire, and so ready to commend and justify. While -reprobating the Gallic revolution on account of the -licentiousness and crimes it produced, they are not aware how -much the protestant revolution is liable to the same -imputation.</p> -<h4><a name="page631"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -631</span><span class="smcap">Section</span> II.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>The former subject continued</i>, <i>with -occasional and brief remarks</i>.</p> -<p>There does not seem on any point a greater difference of -opinion between the admirers of the reformation and their -opponents than that which relates to the real character of the -reformers. Volumes have been written on both sides of the -question: one party extolling them to the skies, as if they had -been all perfect beings or angels of light, and the other -degrading them to the lowest point, as if they had been no better -than so many demons. Too much, no doubt, has been said both -for and against them. We must not believe them to be quite -so bad as some catholic writers have represented them; nor yet, -on the other hand, altogether so good and perfect as they have -been described by the generality of our protestant authors. -What is unfounded on either side we wish to explode; but some -apparently well established facts relating to the reformers, and -not generally known among protestants, ought not here to be -passed over unnoticed, as they are well calculated to correct the -reader’s ideas, both as to the reformers and the -reformation.</p> -<p>As to Luther, it seems to be the common opinion among -protestants that he was convinced of the errors and corruptions -of the church of Rome, and, of course, decidedly hostile to them -before the appearance of <i>Tetzel</i> with his -indulgences. But this opinion appears to be -untenable. It is more likely that he had thought nothing -about the said errors and corruptions <a name="page632"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 632</span>before the arrival of that memorable -vender of pardons; and that either wholly out of detestation of -his extravagant and shameless pretensions, or partly also out of -spite to the Dominicans, to which order he belonged, he then -ventured to oppose that scandalous traffick, without any direct -intention to declare against any others of the papal -abominations, towards which it does not seem that he had yet -begun to conceive any aversion.</p> -<p>Accordingly, he appeared for some years after, to have no -mighty objection to any thing in the popish religion but the -<i>abuse</i> of the traffick of indulgences; and even on that -point he actually consented to observe in future a profound -silence, provided the same condition were imposed on his -adversaries. Nay he went still further, and proposed to -write a humble and submissive <i>Letter to the Pope</i>, -acknowledging that he had carried his zeal and animosity too far: -and such a Letter he actually did write. He even consented -to publish a <i>circular Letter</i>, exhorting all his disciples -and followers to reverence and obey all the dictates of the Roman -church. He declared that his only intention, in the -writings which he had composed was to brand with infamy those -emissaries who abused its authority, and employed its protection -as a mask to cover their abominable and impious frauds. <a -name="citation632"></a><a href="#footnote632" -class="citation">[632]</a></p> -<p>Such was the hostility to the pope and his cause, and such the -anxiety for religious reformation which Luther manifested for -some years after he had assumed the character of a reformer, or -rather after the commencement <a name="page633"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 633</span>of his quarrel with Tetzel and the -Dominicans. Had <i>Leo</i> X. been wise and politic enough -to accept his proffered submission, about the time of the -conferences with <i>Miltitz</i>, he would, to all appearance, -immediately and gladly have returned into the bosom of holy -church, and, most probably, never have given his holiness or the -world any further trouble on the score of religious abuses and -corruptions.</p> -<p>The haughty pontiff, however, instead of embracing the golden -opportunity, and receiving readily and kindly his rebellious, but -now repentant son, had recourse to the very opposite mode of -proceeding. He fulminated his anathemas against him, had -him solemnly excommunicated, declared an enemy to the church, and -even to the holy Roman empire. Luther having now no -alternative, was obliged to make virtue of necessity; and it is -easy to see that he was actually forced to take that course which -he afterwards pursued, and in the pursuit of which he displayed -such wonderful address, and such extraordinary talents as have -really immortalized his name. But as to real virtue, it -seems hard to see or say how much of that there was in his -opposition to the pope and church of Rome, except what is implied -in the law of selfpreservation. <i>Cromwell</i> too, had -that law on his side, to the full as much, perhaps, as Luther, -even while engaged in what has been deemed the most criminal -parts of his conduct, the dethronement of the king and attainment -of the supreme power. But which of these two men was the -most virtuous or most vicious, was the better or worse man, is a -point that <a name="page634"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -634</span>will not be presumed or attempted to be made here a -subject of investigation. They certainly had, both of them, -great talents and great defects.</p> -<p>Lutheran and other protestant writers have appeared not a -little anxious to have Luther acquitted from the imputation of -having opposed Tetzel out of spite to the Dominicans, or from -resentment for the preference shewn them in the distribution or -traffick of indulgences. We pretend not to say that that -was the <i>sole</i> cause of his opposition; but that it might be -<i>partly</i> the cause seems not at all improbable from what he -himself has owned on other occasions. Thus he acknowledges -that he had tried to persuade himself of there being no real -presence of Christ in the sacrament, “on purpose <i>to -spite the pope</i>, but that the words of scripture were too -plain in favour of it.” Likewise, in his letter to -the Vaudois, he says, “I have hitherto thought it of small -consequence whether the bread remains in the sacrament or not, -but now, <i>to spite the papists</i>, I am determined to believe -that it does remain.” Thus also, writing against -those who had presumed to alter the public service without his -authority, he says, “I knew very well that the elevation of -the sacrament was idolatrous, but 1 retained it <i>out of pure -spite to that devil Carlostadius</i>.” <a -name="citation634"></a><a href="#footnote634" -class="citation">[634]</a> <a name="page635"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 635</span>A very glaring and most odious trait -in Luther’s character was the ungentlemanly and foul -language in which he used to address his opponents, than which -nothing could be more unbecoming in one who pretended to be -engaged in, or anxious for the reformation of mankind, and the -revival or restoration of genuine and primitive -christianity. We have just now seen in what style he could -speak of his quondam friend Carlostadius: “that -<i>devil</i> Carlostadius:” and it seems he could be -sometimes equally uncivil and foulmouthed when he had occasion to -speak of <i>Zuinglius</i> and the rest of that party, who did not -receive his favourite doctrine of consubstantiation, or the real -presence; for whom he had no mercy, but consigned them all to -everlasting perdition; just as his modern disciples, our present -<i>evangelicals</i>, do to the poor Arians and Socinians.</p> -<p>As to the <i>papists</i>, it was not to be expected that he -should be more civil or polite to them than to the -Zuinglians. Accordingly, we are told that “the usual -flowers of his speech, when addressing the pope and other -catholic prelates, were: villain, thief, traitor, apostle of the -devil, bishop of sodomites: and that the extent of his charity to -them was to wish that their bowels were torn out, that they were -cast into the Mediterranean sea or into the flames, and that they -were hurried away to the devil. His treatment of the king -of England, Henry VIII, with whom he had at one time a -theological controversy, (though afterwards they grew into a -better understanding with each other,) was not more respectful -than his treatment of the pope. Luther makes no <a -name="page636"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 636</span>difficulty -to call his royal antagonist, a Thomistical pig, an ass, a jakes, -a dunghill, the spawn of an adder, a basilisk, a lying buffoon -disguised in a king’s robe, a mad fool with a frothy mouth -and a whorish face. He even addresses him as follows: You -lie, you stupid and sacrilegious king.” <a -name="citation636a"></a><a href="#footnote636a" -class="citation">[636a]</a></p> -<p>Another very unamiable and disgustful trait in Luther’s -character was his assuming an extraordinary and apostolic dignity -and authority, under the name or title of <i>Ecclesiastes</i>: -“Martin Luther <i>Ecclesiastes</i> of -Wittemberg.”—“It is not fitting, (said he,) -that I should be without a <i>title</i>, having received the work -of the ministry, not from man, or by man, but by the gift of God, -and the revelation of Jesus Christ.” <a -name="citation636b"></a><a href="#footnote636b" -class="citation">[636b]</a> This was evidently putting -himself upon a level, at least, with Peter and Paul, and the rest -of the apostles, and claiming from professing christians the -deference or submission due to them. Accordingly, “he -plainly proclaims to the whole body of protestants, in case they -presume to consult together and determine about their common -belief, that he will return back to the ancient church, and -revoke every word he had ever written or taught against it; -telling them that even in acting right, when they acted without -his authority, they were plunging themselves into the jaws of -hell.” <a name="citation636c"></a><a href="#footnote636c" -class="citation">[636c]</a></p> -<p><a name="page637"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 637</span>It is -not a little remarkable that this reformer pretended to have some -extraordinary intercourse, not only with the Deity, but also with -<i>Satan</i>. Accordingly, he has published to the world, -not only that he held frequent communications with the devil, but -also that he learned the most material part of the reformation, -namely, the abolition of the mass from him. In his treatise -on that subject there is an account of Satan’s appearing to -him by night, and of a long dialogue that passed between them, in -which Luther defends the mass, and the devil argues against -it. The conclusion is that this new apostle yields to the -motives suggested by his internal antagonist, and adopts the -important reform which he proposes. We are also informed, -that Luther in one of his Sermons, according to <i>Cochleus</i>, -affirmed that he had “eat more than a bushel of salt with -Satan;” and that in his Colloquies he describes himself as -constantly haunted by the devil, who, he says, “sleeps -nearer to me than my wife Catherine.” <a -name="citation637"></a><a href="#footnote637" -class="citation">[637]</a></p> -<p>Luther bears testimony to the unfavourable effects of the -reformed religion, not only upon his followers, (as we have seen -before) but also upon <i>himself</i>. He says that whilst -he continued a catholic monk he observed <a -name="page638"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 638</span>chastity, -obedience and poverty; and that being free from worldly cares be -gave himself up to fasting, watching, and prayer: whereas, after -he commenced reformer, he describes himself as raging with the -most violent concupiscence, to satisfy which he broke through his -solemn vow of continency, in direct opposition to his former -doctrine, by marrying a religious woman, who was under the same -obligation. He then proceeded to teach what most people -deem shameful and licentious lessons, such as the permission, in -certain cases, of concubinage and polygamy, and that pestilential -doctrine, which is the utter destruction of all morality, that -there is no freedom in human actions—and that when the -scripture commands good works, “we are to understand it to -forbid them, because we cannot do them; that a baptized person -cannot lose his soul, whatever sins he commit, provided he -believe, inasmuch as no sin can damn except infidelity.” <a -name="citation638"></a><a href="#footnote638" -class="citation">[638]</a></p> -<h4><span class="smcap">Section</span> III.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>Further remarks on the reformers and -reformation—tenaciously adhered to</i>, <i>and retained the -very worst part of popery</i>, <i>its intolerant</i>, -<i>persecuting</i>, <i>and bloody spirit—the very first -thing whose reformation or expulsion they ought to have -attempted—its omission rendered their whole undertaking -illfavored</i>, <i>preposterous</i>, <i>and ineffectual</i>.</p> -<p>Defective in many parts as Luther’s character really -was, he appears to have been, nevertheless, one of the <a -name="page639"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 639</span>best among -the original and leading reformers. There seemed to be a -frankness or unreservedness about him that was somewhat pleasing, -and which it is not easy to discover in many of his -coadjutors. He was also apparently not so bloodyminded as -some of them were, at whose head, it is presumed, we may venture -to place the apostle of Geneva, <i>Calvin</i>. This man (as -is evinced by the tragical case of <i>Servetus</i>,) when his -favourite dogmas were opposed, and his wisdom, learning, and -infallibility set at naught, nothing would satisfy but the -<i>obstruction</i> of his opponent: but Luther, (as appears from -the affair of Carlostadius,) would be pretty well satisfied with -the <i>banishment</i> only of those who happened so to offend -him. The spirit of Luther, however, though less vindictive -and diabolical than that of Calvin, was yet very dissimilar to -that of Jesus Christ, whose followers they both professed -themselves to be.</p> -<p>It seems to have been then the case, that those reformers who -had gone the furthest from the church of Rome in <i>doctrine</i>, -such as Calvin and the Swiss divines, who denied the real -presence, were yet the nighest to that church in <i>spirit</i>: -for they seemed more addicted to the practice of consigning to -destruction those whom they deemed heretics than the Lutherans, -though the latter did not depart near so far as the former from -the grand popish doctrine of <i>transubstantiation</i>. Odd -as this may be considered, it appears to be a fact; though to -account for it may, perhaps, be attended with considerable -difficulty. It cannot however, be supposed, that the denial -<a name="page640"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 640</span>of the -real presence could have any tendency to make people more -bloodthirsty, vindictive, or intolerant.</p> -<p>The reformers, in retaining the bigotry and intolerance, or -the <i>spirit</i> of popery, retained in fact its very worst -part, and what may be called its marrow and substance; which the -world had most need to get rid of. All therefore that they -did, or could do, in such a case, was only like giving a new -edition, or an abridgment of an old and bad work, which still -contained the essence of the former, and must, of course, have -the same defective and evil tendency. They appeared like -people undertaking the cure of a demoniac without casting out the -demon, or pretending that the evil or scrophula may be healed and -eradicated by the royal touch. In short, they began the -work at the wrong end, and never meddled with that part at which -they ought to have begun.</p> -<p>Their first work ought to have been to exhibit to the -religious world the meekness and gentleness of Christ, and -endeavour to bring those who professed to be his servants back to -the spirit of his religion. Had they done so, and -succeeded, their work would have beep more than half done. -The rest would have followed of course, or, at least, with little -comparative difficulty. For when men have once imbibed the -spirit of the New Testament, it will not be very hard to persuade -them to renounce such doctrines or practices as are not enjoined -or countenanced in that sacred volume: and if any errors or -misconceptions happen still to remain, they will <a -name="page641"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 641</span>become in a -great measure harmless, through the influence of that divine -spirit by which they are now led and governed.</p> -<p>The reformers in foisting into their system the impious and -horrid principle of intolerance and persecution, gave it a most -monstrous and shocking aspect, even more so than that of the -centaurs, or minotaurs of ancient fable; for it was like joining -God with the devil, or Christ with Belial. But nothing -better, perhaps, could be expected from men who knew so little of -the temper which christianity produces; and who never discerned -the difference between the wisdom that is from above and that -which is from beneath; or considered that Jesus Christ came not -to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. For men who -knew so little of the genius of christianity to take it upon -them, as they did, to lord it over the faith of professing -christians, was certainly a most gross and iniquitous piece of -presumption.</p> -<p>The power which the reformers acquired was very great and -formidable, and the authority which they sometimes assumed and -exercised was not a little remarkable and extraordinary, as -appears not only from the permission of concubinage, &c. -already mentioned, but also from the <i>Dispensation</i> granted -by Luther, Melancthon, Bucer, and five others, to the prince of -Hesse Cassel to have two wives at a time, and which was -afterwards published by a descendant of that prince. This -was certainly taking a great deal upon them, and placing -themselves, not indeed upon a level with the <a -name="page642"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 642</span>apostles, -as was before observed, but much above them, even with the pope -himself. Yet they seemed very angry with his holiness, -calling him antichrist, and many other bad names. They -appeared very desirous to pull him down, but had no manner of -objection to do his work, or act the pope themselves when it -suited them, and that was not unfrequently.</p> -<p>It is curious enough to hear these men inveigh against the -intolerant and persecuting spirit of the church of Rome, at the -very time when they themselves were manifesting the selfsame -spirit, and pursuing the same tyrannical and murderous course -which they so much condemned in the papists. In our own -country, John Fox, the martyrologist, was employed in writing -huge folios to describe the horrors of popish persecution, while -his own protestant sovereign and her bishops and clergy were -persecuting the poor puritans with unfeeling and relentless -rigour. Protestants can see the hatefulness of persecution -in the papists, but very often are quite blind to it in -themselves, or those of their own party. <a -name="citation642"></a><a href="#footnote642" -class="citation">[642]</a> They can discern what is bad in -their opponents, but overlook what is equally so in -themselves.</p> -<p><a name="page643"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -643</span>Christianity, in its first aspect and fundamental -principles, is a religion of peace and good will towards men, -which forbids any to domineer over their brethren, or exercise -authority over their consciences, and requires, in all things -whatsoever, to do to others as we would they should do to -us. But the reformers overlooked all this, and discovered -either an entire ignorance of, or a fixed aversion to these -godlike principles. In either case they must have been -wretchedly qualified to reform and christianize the world, or -form a religion worthy the reception of mankind. A -religion, however, they would and did form, and never rested till -they got it established by the civil power, and enforced by penal -sanctions; and this rendered its native intolerance doubly -pernicious and detestable.</p> -<p>“No religion” (says an excellent writer) -“can be established without penal sanctions, and all penal -sanctions in cases of religion are persecutions. Before a -man can persecute he must renounce the generous tolerant -dispositions of a christian. No religion can be established -without human creeds; and subscription to all human creeds -implies two dispositions contrary to true religion, <a -name="page644"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 644</span>and both -expressly forbidden by the author of it. These two -dispositions are, love of dominion over conscience in the -imposer, and an abject preference of slavery in the -subscriber. The first usurps the rights of Christ; the last -swears allegiance to a pretender. The first domineers, and -gives laws like a tyrant; the last truckles like a vassal. -The first assumes a dominion incompatible with his frailty, -impossible even to his dignity, yea even denied to the dignity of -angels; the last yields a low submission, inconsistent with his -own dignity, and ruinous to that very religion, which he pretends -by this mean to support.” <a name="citation644"></a><a -href="#footnote644" class="citation">[644]</a></p> -<p>It is very remarkable, and no less true and disgusting, that -protestantism was ushered into the world in the very spirit of -the religion it strove to supplant. Yet its authors -expected to be thought commissioned by heaven to do what they -did, and clearly entitled to the gratitude and reverence of -mankind, as well as their ready submission to their dictates and -authority. But to one who has carefully examined the New -Testament, they appear so very different from the first -disseminators or propagators of christianity, that they can -hardly be supposed to belong to the same cause or family. -When <i>Luther</i> is seen <i>banishing</i> conscientious people -who differed from him, and <i>Calvin</i>, and the Swiss -reformers, <i>burning</i> or <i>hanging</i> them, and the French -protestants, or Calvinists of France solemnly soliciting their -popish sovereign to inflict severe punishment on those whom <a -name="page645"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 645</span>they were -pleased to deem heretics: <a name="citation645"></a><a -href="#footnote645" class="citation">[645]</a>—when one -recollects these acts, and that they were all done in the name of -the Lord, one is ready to sicken at the thought of the -pretensions of the actors, to reform the world and restore -christianity to its original state. Nor is it less -disgusting to hear our flaming advocates for modern orthodoxy -extolling these men, as models of christian sanctity, and -unexceptionable or safe guides to pure, undefiled, and -evangelical religion.</p> -<h4><span class="smcap">Section</span> IV.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>Brief account of the rise and progress of -the reformation in this kingdom</i>.</p> -<p>No sooner had the reformation begun to gain ground and spread -on the continent than its effects began to be felt in this -country. The court, or government was at first so far from -being disposed to countenance it, that it seemed, on the -contrary, quite determined to oppose and crush it. The -sovereign himself appeared exceedingly hostile to it: which, from -his known character, must have rendered the prospect of its -admission and success here very dark and hopeless. So -inimical was <a name="page646"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -646</span>his majesty then to the cause of the reformers and so -hearty in that of their opponents, that he actually took up his -pen and wrote a book against Luther; for which important -performance and acceptable service the pope thought proper to -reward him, by conferring on him the dignified title of -<i>Defender of the Faith</i>; a title which all his -<i>protestant</i> successors have tenaciously, if not proudly -retained to this day. This was the book which Luther -answered in the rude and uncourtly manner before described. <a -name="citation646"></a><a href="#footnote646" -class="citation">[646]</a></p> -<p>Our royal polemic did not long continue to be that fond and -dutiful son of his holy father at Rome of which he had at first -exhibited so fair and hopeful a promise. His Holiness not -readily favouring his inclination, or gratifying his wish to be -divorced from his first wife and marry another Lady, whom he -liked much better, he disdainfully threw off that paternal yoke, -renounced his connection with Rome, and became himself a great -and violent reformer; so as to deserve to be placed in the very -first rank among his contemporaries of that denomination. A -mighty revolution ensued throughout his dominions: and though we -cannot boast of the purity of the source whence it sprung, or of -its being distinguished, (at least in the outset,) by much, if -any, real virtue; yet it proved eventually of no small advantage -and benefit to these nations: and Henry ought to be commemorated -as one of the chief and most meritorious of all our royal -benefactors.</p> -<p><a name="page647"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 647</span>One -of the chief objects of Henry’s reformation, like that of -Lather, seems to have been to <i>spite the pope</i>. He had -also in view, no doubt, the gratification of his ambition and -caprice, which in a mind like his must have been very powerful -springs of action. Nor did he miss his aims: he fairly -expelled the pope, obtained full scope for his caprice, boundless -as it was, and actually acquired far more power than ever, for he -now became a complete and uncontrouled despot in temporal, and a -pope in spiritual affairs. The two other branches of the -legislature, from whom alone any effectual or legal opposition -could have arisen, were so far from daring or attempting to check -his soaring career, or cross his capricious humour, that they -readily and obsequiously concurred in constituting him supreme -head both of church and state.</p> -<p>Having reached the utmost point of elevation, or pinnacle of -power, he set about reforming the religion, and rectifying the -faith of his subjects, after the example of his brother-reformers -on the continent; and a most curious, grotesque, and strange -piece of work he certainly made of it. Yet it is supposed -to be the true foundation or groundwork of our present national -establishment, and that Henry himself was the father, or first -patriarch of the English protestant Hierarchy. Nor has our -established church any just ground or reason, apparently, to -disown him in that character, for he was perhaps as holy and good -a soul as most of her succeeding patriarchs. But this point -we pretend not to determine.</p> -<p><a name="page648"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 648</span>King -Henry made his own faith or creed the standard or model for all -his subjects, male and female, young and old, learned and -unlearned. It was at the utmost peril of any of his -subjects if their religion did not exactly tally with his; at -least, if he happened to find it out. If shorter or -narrower than his, it was at the peril of their lives; and the -same again if it proved longer or broader. It must not vary -a single inch, or even a hair’s breadth from his, or his -majesty would deem it a most grievous offence, and a crime -deserving capital punishment. Hence he is known to have put -some to death for <i>not</i> going so far from Rome or popery as -he did, and some again for <i>going</i> further; and both were -occasionally burnt in the same fire, or at the same time. -In short, it was then a sad and dismal time in this country, and -Henry’s reformation must have been a most strange and -terrible work.</p> -<p>Even the bishops and other religious functionaries, who -generally fare better than most other people, could not then have -a very pleasant time of it; especially the better sort of them, -who could have wished to lead honest lives and act somewhat -conscientiously, had they been quietly permitted so to do. -To that class bishop <i>Latimer</i> is supposed to belong. -He seemed more simple and downright than most of the rest, which -might involve him in difficulties which his more wary brethren -would naturally escape. Accordingly we find the correctness -of his creed repeatedly called in question, and he got frequently -into heretical scrapes, which he generally <a -name="page649"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 649</span>managed to -get out of by abjuration: <a name="citation649"></a><a -href="#footnote649" class="citation">[649]</a>—a method -which some would be apt to deem not very creditable to his virtue -or integrity, though in general looked upon as unimpeachable and -of the first order.</p> -<p>“Admitting him” (says Milner to Sturges) “to -have been conscientiously persuaded of the truth of the -Reformation, was it consistent with christian integrity and -virtue to dissemble his religion for twenty years together, and -repeatedly abjure it, as he certainly did as often as he found -himself threatened with any serious danger by adhering to -it? Was it consistent with integrity and virtue to accept -of one of the highest offices, the bishopric of Worcester, in a -church which he so much reprobated, and even to take an oath of -opposing, to the utmost of his power, all persons who dissented -from, or were <a name="page650"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -650</span>disobedient to it? But supposing you inclined to -overlook all this, what will you say to the share he took in the -religious persecutions both of Henry’s and of -Edward’s reign? What excuse will you make for him -when you find him sending christians and protestants to the stake -for the very opinion which he himself holds?” <a -name="citation650"></a><a href="#footnote650" -class="citation">[650]</a> These are serious charges, and -all apparently well-founded; but the chief and heaviest of them -is his being a bloody persecutor. He was moreover one of -our chief English reformers, on which account the above brief -sketch of his character has been here introduced, along with the -rest of his most conspicuous associates, to give the reader an -opportunity to judge what veneration is due to their memory, or -how well or ill they deserved of their contemporaries and of -posterity.</p> -<p><i>Ridley</i> is another of our protestant prelates that -appeared at the head of our English Reformation. Dr. -<i>Sturges</i> describes him as “active in the conduct of -ecclesiastical affairs.” To which his keen and able -opponent replies: “I think, sir, you will grant that he -shewed rather too much activity in these affairs, to be -consistent with integrity, after I shall have reminded you, that -when bishop of Rochester in Henry’s days, and when bishop -of London in those of Edward, he was as forward in persecuting -protestants and anabaptists as <a name="page651"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 651</span>Cranmer, Latimer, and the rest of -the prelates were; and that he was one of the most zealous and -forward of Dudley’s partisans in endeavouring to interrupt -the regular succession of the throne, and in raising that -rebellion which was attended with the loss of so much -blood.” <a name="citation651"></a><a href="#footnote651" -class="citation">[651]</a></p> -<p><i>Hooper</i>, another of our chief reformers, was much less -active than Ridley in the conduct of ecclesiastical -affairs. He was somewhat scrupulous about certain vestments -and ceremonies; and he might have some scruples too on the -subject of persecution: at least it is not in the present -writer’s recollection that he was very forward, like the -others, in harassing those who were called heretics. His -character, however, seems not so indefectible as to entitle him -to be held up as a mirror of evangelical soundness, or an object -of universal admiration. He has been charged with being the -founder of the sect called <i>puritans</i>, which proved so -troublesome to our rulers in church and state for a whole century -or more: but this is not mentioned here as a blemish in his -character. The following circumstances are of a more -blamable nature: 1. His obtaining and holding the bishopric -of Worcester, in addition to his former bishopric of Gloucester, -after having inveighed very strongly in his sermons against -pluralities: 2. His consenting to wear the vestments, after -having engaged the young king to write to Cranmer that they -“were offensive to his conscience;” and his taking -the oath of supremacy, after <a name="page652"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 652</span>having made his patron, Dudley, -write to the same prelate that “it was burdensome to his -conscience,” when he found that he could not get promotion -otherwise. <a name="citation652a"></a><a href="#footnote652a" -class="citation">[652a]</a></p> -<p>But in our English reformation, under Henry VIII, and Edward -VI, the chief agent was confessedly archbishop <i>Cranmer</i>, -whose character, as exhibited by eminent protestant writers, -abounded with great and glaring blemishes. “The first -remarkable circumstance we meet in the life of Cranmer is his -privately marrying a woman of low condition, whilst he was fellow -of Jesus College, Cambridge, <a name="citation652b"></a><a -href="#footnote652b" class="citation">[652b]</a> contrary to the -engagements of his admission. He afterwards, when a priest, -[and while his first wife was alive] married a second wife in -Germany, by a much more flagrant violation of his vow of -celibacy, and having brought her privately into England, he -continued to live with her, in equal opposition to the laws of -the church and of the land,” [and though he had assured the -king that he had sent her home to Germany.] “Being a -Lutheran in principle, as far back as the year 1529, he -afterwards accepted the office of pope’s penitentiary, and -when named to the archbishopric of Canterbury he was content to -accept different bulls from the pontiff to take upon himself the -character of his legate in England, and even to make a solemn -oath of obedience to him, <a name="citation652c"></a><a -href="#footnote652c" class="citation">[652c]</a> with an -obligation of opposing all heretics and schismatics, that is to -say, according to the received sense of the words, all persons of -his own religious persuasion. <a name="page653"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 653</span>In like manner he must have said -mass, which, in his opinion, was an idolatrous worship, both at -his consecration, and frequently at other times, during the -fourteen years that he governed the church of England under -Henry. He must also necessarily, from time to time, have -ordained other priests to perform the same worship, and imposed -upon them the obligation of that continency which he himself did -not observe. In a word, we see his subscription still -affixed to a great variety of doctrinal articles and injunctions, -issued during that reign, which we know to have been in direct -opposition to his real sentiments.”</p> -<p>“Every one knows that Cranmer owed his rise in the -church to the part which he took in Henry’s divorce from -queen Catherine of Arragon. Henry tired out with the -opposition of Rome, and impatient to be united with his beloved -Ann Boleyn, privately marries her Nov. 14, 1532, and Cranmer -himself is one of the witnesses of the contract. <a -name="citation653a"></a><a href="#footnote653a" -class="citation">[653a]</a> On the 11th. of the following -March this same prelate writes a letter to Henry, from -“pure motives of conscience” as he declares, <a -name="citation653b"></a><a href="#footnote653b" -class="citation">[653b]</a> but from a preconcerted scheme as the -fact proves, representing the necessity there was of determining -the long depending cause between him and his queen, and demanding -of him the necessary ecclesiastical jurisdiction to decide it. <a -name="citation653c"></a><a href="#footnote653c" -class="citation">[653c]</a> This being granted, he on the -20th of May pronounces a sentence of divorce between the royal -pair, and authorises Henry to take another wife; <a -name="citation653d"></a><a href="#footnote653d" -class="citation">[653d]</a> six months <a -name="page654"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 654</span>after he -himself had officiated as witness to his marriage with Ann -Boleyn, and only four months before the latter was delivered of -an infant who was afterwards queen Elizabeth. <a -name="citation654a"></a><a href="#footnote654a" -class="citation">[654a]</a> What a scandalous collusion in -so important a matter of conscience and public -example!”</p> -<p>“In less than three years however [his sacred majesty] -grows weary of the consort whom he had moved heaven and earth to -gain, <a name="citation654b"></a><a href="#footnote654b" -class="citation">[654b]</a> and becomes enamoured of a new -beauty. Nevertheless appearances must be saved; and -therefore Cranmer presents himself as the ready instrument in -smoothing the way to the gratification of [his sovereign’s] -passions. After a feint effort to save Ann, <a -name="page655"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 655</span>to whose -family he had such infinite obligations, in a cold adulatory -letter to the king, which he wrote on the occasion, <a -name="citation655a"></a><a href="#footnote655a" -class="citation">[655a]</a> he lent all his aid to ruin and -oppress her, permitting, if not persuading, her, (standing as she -then did upon the verge of eternity) to confess what he knew to -be false; <a name="citation655b"></a><a href="#footnote655b" -class="citation">[655b]</a> and pronouncing a sentence of -divorce, which contained that she had never been <i>validly -married to Henry</i>, at the very time when she was lying under -sentence of death for violating his bed by adultery!” <a -name="citation655c"></a><a href="#footnote655c" -class="citation">[655c]</a></p> -<p>In the transactions relating to Ann of Cleves, Henry’s -fourth queen, Cranmer’s conduct appears scarcely less -dishonourable than in those relating to Ann Boleyn. Nor -does it seem that the death of Henry produced in him any real or -material amendment: so that there can be no validity in the -excuse usually made for his former misconduct by ascribing it -chiefly to that monarch’s despotic will. He appeared -just as obsequious to the will of the protector Seymour as he had -been before to that of Henry. “To gratify this he -consented to set aside in a great measure the last will of his -old master, of which he was the first-named executor. <a -name="citation655d"></a><a href="#footnote655d" -class="citation">[655d]</a> Having raised this -ecclesiastical no less than civil idol to undue power, he was -ready to pay homage to him with all the essential authority of -the church, taking out a new commission <a -name="page656"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 656</span>for his -archbishopric, under the pretext that his former power had -expired with the deceased king, and professing to be a prelate no -longer than the child Edward, or rather Seymour himself, should -acknowledge him to be so.” <a name="citation656a"></a><a -href="#footnote656a" class="citation">[656a]</a></p> -<p>“Cranmer concurred no less in other [misdoings] and -disorders of this infant reign, than he did in those stated -above. He gratified Somerset by subscribing to the death -warrant of his brother. He was afterwards as forward as any -of the other courtiers in paying his homage to the rising power -of Dudley, when he found the interest of the latter growing -stronger than that of Seymour: and he carried his ingratitude to -his deceased benefactor Henry, and his infidelity in the -discharge of that prince’s last will, to such a length as -to concur in excluding his two daughters from their lawful -inheritance and right to the crown, in order to place it on the -head of Dudley’s daughter-in-law, the lady Jane. If -Elizabeth [therefore] had succeeded to the throne immediately -after Edward, she would no more have spared Cranmer and Ridley -than Mary did.” <a name="citation656b"></a><a -href="#footnote656b" class="citation">[656b]</a></p> -<p>“In conclusion, if Cranmer was <i>burnt</i> to death for -heresy, instead of being beheaded for rebellion, [his advocates -ought to] reflect, how many persons he himself, whilst he had -power in his hands, had condemned to this punishment, on the -selfsame accusation.” For it is undeniable that be -was instrumental in the execution <a name="page657"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 657</span>of many persons for religions -opinions, and that some of them held the very tenets for which he -himself afterwards suffered. “Though this part of his -conduct has keen kept out of sight as much as possible, yet we -have certain proofs of his having been one of the chief -instruments, under Henry, in bringing to the stake John Lambert, -Ann Askew, John Frith, and William Allen, <a -name="citation657a"></a><a href="#footnote657a" -class="citation">[657a]</a> for denying the real presence of -Christ in the sacrament, besides a great number of anabaptists, -&c. for their respective opinions.”</p> -<p>“In the reign of Edward VI, besides other most severe -persecutions which he carried on against Gospellers, Anabaptists, -and other sectaries, amongst whom two at least were -Sacramentarians, he was the active promoter and immediate cause -of the burning of Joan Knell, <a name="citation657b"></a><a -href="#footnote657b" class="citation">[657b]</a> and George Paris -or Van Parr, <a name="citation657c"></a><a href="#footnote657c" -class="citation">[657c]</a> for certain <a -name="page658"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 658</span>singular -opinions. Amongst those who escaped with their lives, a -great part of them were forced to recant, through the fear of -torments, and to carry lighted tapers and faggots, in testimony -of their having merited burning. <a name="citation658a"></a><a -href="#footnote658a" class="citation">[658a]</a> As to the -fate of Joan Knell, or Butcher, commonly called Joan of Kent, -(and whose innocent blood was evidently shed by the procurement -of Cranmer,) Dr. Milner thinks that when it is considered with -all its attendant circumstances, a more cruel and wanton act of -persecution (he might have said <i>murder</i>,) is not to be -found upon record. <a name="citation658b"></a><a -href="#footnote658b" class="citation">[658b]</a> “The -doctrine for which she suffered (he adds) was of an abstract -nature, not calculated to gain proselytes or to occasion any -public disturbances. <a name="page659"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 659</span>She was barely accused of -maintaining, that “Christ passed through the blessed -Virgin’s body as water through a conduit, without -participating of that body through which he passed.” <a -name="citation659a"></a><a href="#footnote659a" -class="citation">[659a]</a> For no other cause than -persisting in this opinion, she was convented in the church of -St. Paul, before archbishop Cranmer and his assistants, convicted -and delivered over to the secular arm. We have the sentence -that he pronounced on the occasion, which is rigorous beyond the -usual terms; and we have a certificate of it, addressed to the -king, in which instead of petitioning for mercy, in the usual -style of such instruments, the convict heretic is expressly -recommended “to receive due punishment.” Nor is -this all, for the royal youth being unwilling to sign the warrant -for her execution, Cranmer employs all his theological arguments -to induce him to comply; amongst other things telling him that -“princes, being God’s deputies, ought to punish -impieties against God.” In the end Edward sets his -hand to the warrant, but with tears in his eyes, telling Cranmer, -that “if he did wrong, he (the said Cranmer) should answer -for it to God.” At length, by a change in -circumstances, the archbishop himself being condemned as a -heretic to suffer that cruel death, to which he had condemned so -many others on the same account, “he was far from imitating -the firmness of the greater part of them.” <a -name="citation659b"></a><a href="#footnote659b" -class="citation">[659b]</a></p> -<p>His recantation of his former or protestant principles, at -Mary’s accession, is well known. The prevailing <a -name="page660"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 660</span>notion is, -that it was the effect of “a momentary weakness,” or -the act and deed of “an unguarded hour:” but that -appears very far from being correct or true. On the -contrary, “he is proved to have deliberately subscribed six -different forms of recantation, at so many different periods, <a -name="citation660a"></a><a href="#footnote660a" -class="citation">[660a]</a> each one of which was more ample and -express than the preceding one; and he remained during the whole -five or six last weeks of his life, and until the very hour of -his death, either a sincere catholic or an egregious -hypocrite. At length finding that, notwithstanding so many -retractations, he was upon the point of being executed, he -revoked them all, and shewed a resolution at his death which he -had exhibited in no one occurrence of his life.” <a -name="citation660b"></a><a href="#footnote660b" -class="citation">[660b]</a></p> -<h4><span class="smcap">Section</span> V.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>View of the first fruits of the English -reformation</i>, <i>or its immediate and subsequent effects on -the public manners and morals—system -defective—reasons for introducing these subjects into this -work</i>.</p> -<p>We have seen already what were the first fruits, or immediate -effects of the continental reformation; and as our own -reformation was only the counterpart of that, or, as we might -say, its offspring, it was hardly to be expected but that the -effects or fruits of both would be similar. We accordingly -meet with undeniable evidence <a name="page661"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 661</span>that that was really the case. -Among those competent witnesses who describe the effects of the -reformation in this kingdom, the first place or first hearing, no -doubt, is due to that memorable prince who laid the foundation of -it, Henry VIII. His majesty speaks very plainly and -pointedly upon this subject, in a speech which he delivered to -parliament the year before his death. Having then -complained of the abuse which the people made of the permission -he had granted them to read the scriptures in the vulgar tongue, -by “their own phantastical opinions and vain -expositions,” instead of consulting him their spiritual -head, he goes on: “I am sure that charitie was never so -faint amongst you, and vertuous and godlie living was never less, -nor God himselfe amongst christians was never less reverenced, -honored, or served.” <a name="citation661"></a><a -href="#footnote661" class="citation">[661]</a></p> -<p>“That the state of morality was not rendered better, but -rather infinitely worse, in the following reign, when the -protestant religion was fully developed and established, we have -abundant and undeniable evidence in the confessions of the most -zealous advocates and abettors of that cause. The following -is <i>bishop Burnet’s</i> account of the state of morality -under Edward VI: “The sins of England did at that time call -down from heaven heavy curses on the land. They are sadly -expressed in a discourse that <i>Ridley</i> wrote soon after, -under the title of <i>The Lamentation of England</i>: he says -that “lechery, oppression, pride, covetousness, and a -hatred and scorn <a name="page662"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -662</span>of all religion were generally spread amongst all -people, but chiefly those of the higher ranks.” <a -name="citation662a"></a><a href="#footnote662a" -class="citation">[662a]</a></p> -<p>Ridley’s fellow-bishop, <i>Latimer</i>, speaks still -more openly as to one particular vice, in a sermon preached -before the king, and quoted by Heylin. His words are these: -“Lechery is used in England, and such lechery as is used in -no other part of the world. And it is made a matter of -sport, a trifle not to be passed on or reformed.” To -remedy this he begs that the church may be reinstated in -“her right of excommunicating notable offenders, by putting -them out of the congregation.” <a -name="citation662b"></a><a href="#footnote662b" -class="citation">[662b]</a> In another of his court sermons -he seems to glance at corruption in high places or -offices—such as judges taking bribes: “I would -wish,” (says he) “that of such a judge in England now -we might have the skin hanged up. It were a goodly sight, -the sign of the judge’s skin.” <a -name="citation662c"></a><a href="#footnote662c" -class="citation">[662c]</a></p> -<p>“The laborious collector <i>Strype</i>, though a most -zealous advocate for the cause of the reformation, yet draws the -most frightful picture of the wickedness which prevailed -throughout the nation after its first establishment that is to be -met with in history. The account is too long to be here -inserted at length, but it is comprised under the following -heads: “The covetousness of the nobility and gentry; the -oppression of the poor; no redress at law; the judges ready to -barter justice for money; impunity of murders; the clergy very -bad from the bishops to the curates; and above all, the increase -of <a name="page663"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -663</span>adulteries and whoredom. <a name="citation663a"></a><a -href="#footnote663a" class="citation">[663a]</a> The -historian <i>Camden’s</i> description of these times agrees -with that of the former writers. He says, “The -sacrilegious avarice of the times rapaciously seized upon -colleges, chantries, and hospitals, under the pretence of -superstition: whilst ambition and jealousy amongst the great, and -insolence and sedition amongst the people, swelled to such a -pitch that England seemed to be raging mad with rebellions, -tumults, party zeal, &c.” <a name="citation663b"></a><a -href="#footnote663b" class="citation">[663b]</a></p> -<p>During the reign of Elizabeth, when Camden wrote, and when the -reformation had arrived at full maturity, though the civil state -of the realm was better regulated, yet in private life, as Dr. -Milner observes, “the vices of individuals in every rank -rose to the same height of profligacy as before.” In -corroboration of this he refers to contemporary protestant -testimonies. <i>Stubbs</i>, the author of a piece entitled -“Motives to Good Works,” with an epistle dedicatorie -to the lord major of London, an. 1596, asserts, among other -things, that the observation of Luther, (quoted above, p. <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page628">628</a></span>,) still -holds good: and he further says; “For good works who sees -not that they (the papists of former times) were far beyond us, -and we far behind them.” p. 44. To the same effect -speaks <i>R. Jeffery</i>, in his sermon at Paul’s Cross, -an. 1604. Many other writers, particularly of the puritan -party, have given similar testimonies in reference <a -name="page664"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 664</span>to the -reign both of Elizabeth and also of her successor James. <a -name="citation664"></a><a href="#footnote664" -class="citation">[664]</a></p> -<p>From the preceding facts or premises we may venture to affirm -that the effects of the reformation on those who first embraced -it were not such as might be expected, <a -name="page665"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 665</span>or such as -would have appeared, had the religion which the reformers -introduced been of divine origin, or the same with that which the -apostles promulgated, and which is contained in the New -Testament. The latter, like a good tree, produced good -fruit; and its effects, wherever it prevailed, or was heartily -received, were very different from those above described, and of -the very opposite character. It must follow therefore, that -the religion of the reformers was so radically and materially -defective as not to be adapted to answer some of the chief or -most important ends which the religion of Christ was designed to -promote—and even that its whole scope and tendency were -actually subversive of those very ends.</p> -<p>This will not appear very wonderful when it is considered what -manner of spirit the reformers were of, or how their religion was -constituted, and that they appear to have paid far more attention -to the sayings and dictates of Athanasius and Jerom, Ambrose and -Austin, and the rest of those old women called <i>fathers</i>, -than they did to those of the apostles and evangelists, or even -of Jesus Christ himself. Nothing therefore very good and -excellent could be expected from them; nor indeed any thing -superior to, or better than such a farrago as they did produce, -or such articles, creeds, confessions, directories, formulas, -&c. as they thought proper to impose on their disciples and -followers. To have produced what was right good, and -excellent, they must have drawn from a purer fountain, and -partaken of another and very different spirit.</p> -<p><a name="page666"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 666</span>The -reformation being destitute of the spirit of christianity, and -full of that of popery, which constituted its grand defect, it -could not possibly prove that blessing to mankind which it -otherwise would have done. It usurped the same dominion -over conscience as the old religion did, and persecuted with -equal bitterness and violence those who dared to think and judge -for themselves, and refused to yield obedience to its authority, -or submit to its usurpation. It is difficult therefore to -see on what that mighty reverence claimed for the names and -memory of the reformers can be founded. Had they actually -published and granted liberty of conscience to the people, and -allowed every honest man to think and judge for himself, and to -serve and worship God according to the conviction of his own -mind—then, indeed, might love and gratitude and reverence -be justly claimed to their memory, and their names be enrolled -among the best and most eminent benefactors of their -species. But such was not their conduct.—In fine, -considering the spirit which they breathed and the effects which -their doctrines produced, it seems impossible to look upon them -as promoters of the religion of the New Testament, or -promulgators of the genuine gospel of Jesus Christ.</p> -<p>But it may, and probably will be asked, Why introduce these -subjects into the present work? To this we beg leave to -answer: 1. Because they are in general ill understood, and -supposed to be so by many who will probably peruse these sheets, -to whom an attempt to place them in a right and true light would -be, as it was thought, a reasonable and acceptable -service.—<a name="page667"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -667</span>2. Because we are now entering upon that part of -the work which commences at the reformation, in which of course, -many things will occur which have resulted from that event; an -introductory sketch of which therefore seemed necessary for the -right conception or illustration of such -occurrences.—3. Because the discussion of these -subjects here will enable the reader to perceive the living image -and offspring of the original reformers in those of the present -day who assume the character of <i>evangelical</i>, and sole -promoters of <i>vital</i> religion. Their <i>principles</i> -and <i>spirit</i> evince the stock whence they are sprung: and so -also do those <i>filial feelings</i> so very visible in their -readiness at all times to defend or palliate the very worst -actions of those reformers, and even the murderous deeds of a -Calvin and a Cranmer.—4 Because it afforded the author an -opportunity to bear his testimony against some of the greatest -existing evils that have sprung from the reformation, bigotry and -intolerance; which have ever since, even in this protestant -country and town, and among most of our tolerated sects, usurped -the place of religious liberty, and trampled upon the sacred -rights of conscience.</p> -<h4><span class="smcap">Section</span> VI.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>Further remarks on the effects of the -Reformation</i>, <i>especially as they appeared in this -town</i>.</p> -<p>The effects of the reformation were very great and remarkable, -not only on those who were rationally proselyted to it, or who -received it upon conviction, but also <a name="page668"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 668</span>on them who went with the tide -without exercising their reason or troubling their heads at all -about the comparative merits of the two religions. Neither -party had their morals improved, but on the contrary rendered -much more dissolute by the change, as we have already seen. -The same event had likewise effects no less visible and -remarkable on the very aspect or appearance of both town and -country; as must necessarily have been the case from the -dissolution and demolition of so many religious houses, and the -suppression and expulsion of such a multitude of monks, friars, -and nuns, who must have had no small influence in preserving -social order, regulating the morals, and restraining many of the -vicious propensities of the community.</p> -<p>In fact, the licentiousness which appears to have resulted -from the reformation is seemingly to be ascribed to the three -following causes—1. The real, apparent, or supposed loose -tendency of certain leading doctrines of the reformers, as was -observed before.—2. The suppression of the religious -houses, whose inhabitants used to be the means of promoting -public decency, and checking the influence of licentious -principles. <a name="citation668"></a><a href="#footnote668" -class="citation">[668]</a>—3. The revolutionary character -of the reformation. All great revolutions, from their very -nature, tend to weaken the ties, and loosen the bands which -preserve the good order of society and strengthen the moral -habits of its members.—It may be reasonably concluded that -each of these causes had a material effect on this <a -name="page669"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 669</span>town and -country at the memorable era of reformation, and long after.</p> -<p>We can discover no appearance or indication that the character -or disposition of the Lynn people was further christianized, -mollified, or any way improved by that extraordinary event; but -rather the contrary. Among the principal transactions left -upon record as having taken place here since the reformation, one -of the first is “the burning of a Dutchman in the Market -place for heresy.” This is said to have happened in -the year 1335, and so at an early period of our -protestantism. It is remarkable enough that the only -instance that occurred in this town of putting a man to death for -heresy, or burning him for his religion, happened after the -reformation, or since the town became protestant; which shews -that people may bear that honourable name and at the same time be -very far from humanity and righteousness.</p> -<p>The poor hapless sufferer had probably fled to England and -made choice of Lynn as a place of refuge from the persecution -which then raged in his own country. He might be induced to -take this step from the favourable reports he had heard at home -of the generosity and hospitality of our nation towards -strangers, and particularly the oppressed and friendless. -If such was actually the case, he found himself at last miserably -disappointed, and learnt by dear bought and bitter experience, -that however abundant the liberality and tender mercies of -England and of Lynn might be towards some descriptions of -oppressed or distressed people, yet that <a -name="page670"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 670</span>they by no -means extended to those called <i>heretics</i>:—an -appellation which has too often meant no more than that those -branded with it differed from the ruling or predominant party, -and were consigned by them to the ill opinion and detestation of -the public.</p> -<p>The deplorable fate of this friendless stranger must stamp -indelible disgrace on the memory of his brutal murderers? and it -shews what little reason Lynn then had to congratulate itself on -its change from popery to protestantism. We have no account -what the dreadful heresy was, with which this unpitied victim to -protestant bigotry and persecution was charged, and for which he -suffered. Whatever it was, it could not be very dangerous -or alarming; for as he was a foreigner there could be no danger -of his disseminating it here among a people of whose language he -can be supposed to have little or no knowledge. In short, -every feeling heart must be shocked at the aggravated atrocity of -this diabolical deed.</p> -<p>It is sad and mortifying enough to think how much this town -has been under the influence of religious bigotry and -intolerance, and the most pitiful narrowmindedness almost ever -since. The harmless <i>Quakers</i> were here imprisoned and -cruelly treated, and the <i>Baptists</i> were harassed in the -most unjust and shameful manner even after the revolution. -Poor creatures, most wrongfully branded with the odious name of -<i>witches</i>, were here also for no short period since the -reformation, subjected to rigorous prosecutions and capital -punishments. These facts are now just glanced at, but shall -be more fully related hereafter in the course of the work.</p> -<p><a name="page671"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -671</span>Unfavourable as some of the reformed doctrines -undoubtedly were to moral improvement, it cannot be said to be -the case with all of them. Some were evidently of the -opposite tendency, as were also some of the romish -doctrines. But they could not be expected to produce the -desired effect unless they were extensively promulgated; and that -does not appear to have been the case in this country, at least -till a long while after the commencement of the -reformation. It was one of the great and glaring defects of -the reforming system in England, that it did not provide a -sufficient number of religious or public instructors in lieu of -those of the old religion who had been suppressed and silenced at -the dissolution of the monasteries and other religious houses, or -in consequence of their aversion to the new order of -things. These are known to have been very numerous, but the -number of the reformed ministers, or protestant clergy, who were -appointed to succeed them and supply their places as public -instructors, appears to have been very inconsiderable; -comparatively at least: and, what is not a little remarkable, -they were also, for the most part, far less competent than their -predecessors for the charge they undertook. In such -circumstances, and with such a ministry, it might be expected -that vice and licentiousness would increase and abound.</p> -<p>The state of things at Lynn, at, and long after the -reformation, does not appear to have been at all favourable to -moral and religious improvement. Before that period the -town abounded with religious and moral instructors, <a -name="page672"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 672</span>such as -they were, who certainly contributed in no small measure to -preserve social order and public decency; and when they were -afterwards superseded, their successors did not appear to greater -advantage. They were not their superiors in abilities, and -they were far inferior to them in number, and probably no less so -in the public estimation, and the weight and extent of their -influence over the minds of the inhabitants at large, especially -those of the middling and lower orders, who constituted the main -body or majority of the inhabitants. For among these there -did not appear to be many then, as there had been formerly, who -were dissatisfied with the old order of things, and anxious for a -religious revolution. <a name="citation672"></a><a -href="#footnote672" class="citation">[672]</a></p> -<p>Before the reformation the number of ecclesiastics or -religious functionaries at Lynn was very considerable, amounting -perhaps to sixty or seventy at least. Of them fifteen -belonged to the <i>Austin</i> Convent, twelve to the -<i>Dominican</i>, ten to the <i>Franciscan</i>, and eleven to the -<i>Carmelite</i>: making in all <i>forty eight</i>. To -these may be added the monks of the <i>Benedictine</i> Priory, -those who belonged to the Convent <i>de Penitentia</i>, and <a -name="page673"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 673</span>to the -<i>College</i> of Priests, amounting, it may be supposed, on a -moderate computation, to twenty or thirty more. Such a -number as seventy or eighty, or even <i>sixty</i> clergymen, or -public teachers of religion, for this town, would now be thought -too large of all reason and conscience. But they were no -fewer here before the reformation, if indeed they were so few; -and the influence of such a number of ghostly guides and -instructors, to restrain immoral excesses, and preserve public -decency and social order, must certainly have been very -considerable.</p> -<p>At the reformation they were all silenced and -suppressed. They were also succeeded, when successors could -be found, (which was not always the case) <a -name="citation673"></a><a href="#footnote673" -class="citation">[673]</a> by men who had renounced the spiritual -supremacy of the pope, and acknowledged that of the king, which -was always an indispensible requirement and qualification. -But very generally, it seems, throughout the nation, the -protestant successors of the priests, monks, and friars, were -poor hands, and ill qualified to instruct <a -name="page674"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 674</span>and -enlighten the people; <a name="citation674"></a><a -href="#footnote674" class="citation">[674]</a> and such, it is -probable, were those who succeeded in this town. There is -reason to think that their number too was very small, not -exceeding perhaps three or four, or half a dozen at most, which, -considering also their deficiency in other respects, was not -likely to render them in the eyes of the public of any thing like -equal consideration with their expelled predecessors. The -state of society therefore could not be expected to be much -benefited or improved, or the progress of the reformation -facilitated and advanced by their ministration.</p> -<p>To supply the wants or defects, and remedy in some measure the -insufficiency of that new race of clergy, the <i>Book of -Homilies</i> was composed and introduced; portions of which were -directed to be read in the churches instead of sermons. -This seems to have been a wise and commendable contrivance, as -things then stood. The generality of the clergy were not -allowed to preach, owing, it is presumed, to their known or -supposed incapacity, or insufficiency to perform that task -properly, or to edification. Those of a superior class, who -were judged equal to that task, were allowed to take out licences -to empower or authorize them to preach to the people. Their -preaching was extempore, or without book, as had always been the -case before, in this <a name="page675"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 675</span>as well as every other -country. They could not therefore be objected to on that -account.</p> -<p>But it so happened that their preaching did not give general -satisfaction; owing, perhaps, partly, if not chiefly, to its -containing what Burnet calls “very foul and indiscreet -reflections on the other party;” <a -name="citation675a"></a><a href="#footnote675a" -class="citation">[675a]</a> (meaning the papists;) a party which -still contained a large majority of the nation, with not a few of -its first families. However that was, the sermons gave -great offence, and the preachers were much blamed. -Complaints against them were made to the king, “by hot men -on both sides,” <a name="citation675b"></a><a -href="#footnote675b" class="citation">[675b]</a> as the writer -above mentioned expresses himself. On what ground those of -their own side, the protestants, objected to their preaching, it -is not easy to discover: nor does it appear to be very -material. They must however have been rather unfortunate, -to incur the displeasure of their friends as well as their -enemies. But what makes this of most importance is what -resulted from it, and which we will now proceed to relate.</p> -<p>Of the charges and accusations brought against those preachers -it is very probable that not a few were utterly unfounded and -false, the offspring of envy and malice. Others might be -mere misrepresentations or exaggerations, proceeding from -unintentional mistake or strong prejudice. But as the -discourses referred to and complained of were delivered -extemporaneously or off hand, the accused could not easily and -effectually disprove what their accusers had alleged against -them, as they <a name="page676"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -676</span>could do little more than oppose their own word or -testimony to those allegations, which was not likely to prove -always satisfactory to their superiors. In order therefore -to justify themselves, and be secure in future from -misrepresentation and false accusation, they came generally to -write and read their sermons. <a name="citation676"></a><a -href="#footnote676" class="citation">[676]</a> This was the -beginning of preaching from <i>notes</i>, and thus was the -<i>reading</i> of sermons introduced among the clergy of the -church of England, which has universally prevailed there ever -since, with the exception of the <i>puritans</i> in former times, -and those called <i>evangelical clergy</i> in the present -day.</p> -<p>This practice seems to be still confined to the clergy of the -church of England, and the English presbyterians; which may -account for the small effect the ministry of either has on the -lower orders of the community. By the Scotch Presbyterians, -or the church of Scotland it has never been adopted, nor would it -be deemed, beyond the Tweed, worthy the name of <i>preaching</i>: -all there is extempore, or from memory; yet the common people -there are of far superior morals, and infinitely better informed -than those of this country; which furnishes at least a strong -presumption that the ancient practice is abundantly preferable to -the other in its tendency, aptitude, or adaptation to attract the -attention, impress the minds, improve the manners and character, -and promote the moral and religious proficiency of the lower -ranks of society, which constitute the great body of the -nation.</p> -<p>Such was the practice of the Lollards, or Wickliffites <a -name="page677"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 677</span>formerly, -when they brought half the nation over to their way of thinking; -such also was the practice of the puritans and nonconformists -afterwards, whose success was by no means inconsiderable, -notwithstanding the grievous opposition and persecution which -they had to encounter: and such, we all know, has been and is the -practice of the popular dissenters and methodists of the present -day, who seem to bid fair soon to bring two thirds of the -thinking and serious part of the nation to enlist under their -banners. In short, we know of no preaching, but what has -been extempore or without book, that has ever made very deep -impression, or produced any mighty and salutary effect upon the -minds of the common people. If therefore this kind of -preaching were to cease, or be discontinued among us, there is -every reason to believe that the lower orders of our countrymen -would soon become heathenized, barbarized, and brutalized to a -most deplorable degree; and that the profession of religion would -ere long be confined within narrow limits, and to a comparatively -small party among our middling classes.</p> -<p>This modern device, or, as it may be called, the English mode -of promoting religious knowledge by <i>reading</i> sermons, which -excludes half the nation from almost any chance of receiving -instruction, has yet had its warm admirers and encomiasts among -us, who have not failed most lavishly to congratulate or -compliment their dear country on the important result of this -contrivance, in the unequalled number of English printed sermons, -of a cast and merit superior to those of any other nation. -Now allowing all this to be true, and <a name="page678"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 678</span>that the generality of the clergy -have aimed at excelling in the same way in all their unprinted -discourses, must it not follow that they have taken pains to -compose such elaborate productions as will be, after all, of -little or no use to the greatest part of those who have been -committed to their charge? This seems to be one reason why -so many are seen to withdraw from the church and resort to the -conventicle. May it not be said therefore, that the -practice in question, or this change which commenced at the -reformation, has proved unfavourable, not only to the interest of -the common people of this country, but even to that of the -established church itself?</p> -<p>As to this town, at and for some time after the reformation, -it does not seem likely, from the character of that event, and -the complexion and small number of the reformed successors of the -priests, monks, and friars, that it derived much, if any, moral -or intellectual improvement from that change. Its few -officiating protestant clergymen, with their humdrum reading of -homilies or illsuited sermons, could prove but poor substitutes -for the numerous friars that preceded them, whose preaching, like -that of our modern methodists, &c. was always animated and -energetic, directed chiefly and powerfully to affect the -feelings, and move and rouse the passions of their auditors: and -it was delivered in a plain familiar style, and a language suited -to the weakest understanding and meanest capacity. Here the -friars excelled, and here the preachers of our modern popular -sects excel also, and succeed abundantly, like their prototypes. -<a name="citation678"></a><a href="#footnote678" -class="citation">[678]</a></p> -<p><a name="page679"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 679</span>It -seems very probable, though it may be thought not a little -strange, that the impression and influence of moral and religious -principles have never been so general or extensive among the -common people of this town and country since the reformation, as -they were before, in the time and by means of the friars. -They used to go about unweariedly, and dispense their precepts to -all ranks of people, in a language suited to every capacity, so -that those of the lowest condition appear to have been as much -the objects of their attention, and as completely under their -discipline as any of the rest. This cannot be said to have -been the case at any one period with our established protestant -clergy. One half, if not two thirds of those committed to -their charge have generally lain beyond the range of their -ministry, with little chance of deriving any benefit or advantage -from their labours. They would therefore have remained from -generation to generation in a state of mere barbarism or -heathenism, but for the laudable exertions of some of our -religious sectaries, who yet have been always viewed by our -rulers with an evil eye, when they certainly ought to have been -looked upon with approbation and gratitude, as richly entitled to -their good opinion and encouragement.</p> -<p>We know of no period in the history of this town, from the -reformation to the present time, when a great majority of its -population was not involved in deplorable and heathenish -darkness. Nor do we know of any period when the town was -favoured with a more respectable <a name="page680"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 680</span>clergy than those who officiate in -the churches here at present. Yet the state of the town, -even now, appears to answer to the above description; though -there are here several dissenting chapels, besides the -established places of worship, which are all well attended. -In fact, more than two thirds of our population, at this very -time, notwithstanding all the labours and efforts of our -established and dissenting ministers, appear still to remain as -destitute of any sense of religion as if religion had been -actually abolished, or as if a law had passed to prohibit the -public profession of it.</p> -<p>As to our churches and chapels, though they may be thought by -some too numerous and too spacious, yet they are certainly very -inadequate to the want or accommodation of the inhabitants, in -case they were generally disposed to attend the public -worship. The present writer has lately learnt and -ascertained, that but little more than one third of our -population could be held or accommodated for the purposes of -religious worship in all these places. <a -name="citation680"></a><a href="#footnote680" -class="citation">[680]</a> How very unreasonable therefore -<a name="page681"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 681</span>must -those little jealousies be which our religious parties too often -manifest towards each other, as if religion had been no more than -a trade, and they thought it allowable to vilify their -brother-tradesmen in order to draw more customers to their own -shops. This evil spirit has been more manifest and -predominant here of late years among Dissenters than among -Churchmen.</p> -<h4><span class="smcap">Section</span> VII.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>Effects of the reformation at Lynn further -exemplified—dissolution of the convents</i>, -<i>chapels</i>, <i>and gilds—suppression and expulsion of -the monks and friars—the consequences</i>.</p> -<p>It seems very probable, and even morally certain, that all the -inhabitants of this town, before the reformation, were in the -habit of paying attention to religious institutions and -observances, or to the externals of the religion that was then in -vogue. The numerous friars and other religious -functionaries would not fail to keep them to that, as they had, -without doubt, sufficient inclination, influence and power so to -do. From this state of things we may reasonably conclude -that a change for the worse would, and actually did take place -after the reformation, when so many convents and chapels were -shut up, which were before much resorted to: in <a -name="page682"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 682</span>consequence -of which the bulk of the people were necessarily deprived of any -fair chance or opportunity to attend upon, and profit by the -public ministrations of their new or protestant pastors: and -this, as was before observed, has really been the case here to -this day.</p> -<p>The shutting up and demolition of the <i>chapels</i> must have -been a very strange, impolitic, and unaccountable measure; and -the suppression of the <i>gilds</i> was perhaps not much less -so. The former measure deprived more than half the -inhabitants of an opportunity to receive public instruction, or -to attend public worship; and the latter dissolved and abolished -a number of fraternal institutions, or friendly societies, of -long standing, most of which, if not all, seem to have been very -harmless, and many of them apparently of the same useful tendency -as our modern benefit clubs, whose general utility is -unquestionable, and universally acknowledged. Were our -present government to abolish or prohibit these, it would -certainly be, not only an unjustifiable deed, but a real and very -serious grievance. How much less so the suppression of the -Gilds may have been, it is perhaps not very easy to -determine. Though the possessions of some of these Gilds -were very considerable, yet they were all sequestered, and no -part of them, that we know of applied to any public advantage, or -real benefit to the community. <a name="citation682"></a><a -href="#footnote682" class="citation">[682]</a> As it was -with the sequestration of the possessions of the gild companies, -so it was also with that of the possessions of our -<i>convents</i>, or different religious orders. They were -lavishly bestowed <a name="page683"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -683</span>and thrown away on a certain royal minion, or court -favourite, of the name of <i>Eyre</i>, from whom they soon passed -into different hands as regardless as himself of the public -welfare. Had a due regard been paid to the public good, -these possessions might have been laid out, or applied, so as to -form such foundations and establishments as might have proved of -great and lasting benefit to the community, and amply compensate -for any detriment that accrued to the lower ranks of society, or -to the public morals, from the expulsion of the friars, or -shutting up of their houses. But Henry was not the only -sovereign of these realms who appeared more bent upon the -gratification of his own caprice and waywardness than the -promotion or advancement of the public weal.</p> -<p>The <i>poor</i> of this town must have sustained a most -serious loss by the expulsion of the monks and friars and the -sequestration of their revenues; which deprived them of their -best friends, at whose houses they were entertained, not only -with moral and religious instruction, but also with food for -their bodies. For it is well known that the monasteries and -convents were eminent for their hospitality, and furnished the -poor with their chief support in those days. The -<i>friars</i> also were very remarkable for the attention which -they paid the poor and the rest of the common people, over whom -they maintained no small influence, even in seasons of public -commotion, distraction and anarchy. It is no wonder -therefore that those of the lower orders long regretted their -disappearance, and had songs composed <a name="page684"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 684</span>to celebrate the superior felicity -of the times when the country was honoured with their residence. -<a name="citation684a"></a><a href="#footnote684a" -class="citation">[684a]</a></p> -<p>We know of but <i>two</i> periods at which Lynn appears to -have materially suffered from the circumstance of unoccupied or -<i>empty houses</i>. One of those periods is the present, -when the number of such houses amounts to some scores, owing to -the extreme pressure of burdens brought upon the inhabitants by -the inexcusable misdoings of some of their own townsmen. <a -name="citation684b"></a><a href="#footnote684b" -class="citation">[684b]</a> The other <a -name="page685"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 685</span>period was -at the reformation, or after the dissolution of the monasteries, -when all the convents in this town with many chapels and other -religious houses were shut up, and afterwards demolished; so that -the people, for the most part, were left without places where -they might attend public worship and receive religious -instruction; which must have proved very unfavourable to the -public morals, from its obvious and powerful tendency to deprave -and barbarize those who were so situated.</p> -<p>Previously to the actual dissolution of the monasteries, -&c. a formal surrender and resignation, and also a -<i>confession</i>, generally took place. This was solemnly -declared to have been done voluntarily, though the contrary was -well known to have been the fact. These deeds of surrender -are still in being, with some also of the confessions; but most -of them are said to have been destroyed in Mary’s reign: it -being then, probably, in contemplation, if circumstances would -admit, to restore those places to their former -occupants.—The instruments or deeds of surrender from Lynn -are supposed to be still extant in the Augmentation Office. -But as the present writer has not seen them, he can only guess -what their tenor was from such as have fallen in his <a -name="page686"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 686</span>way, which -he has met in Burnet’s History of the Reformation, and -Martin’s History of Thetford.</p> -<p>The work last mentioned contains a copy of the surrender of -the Dominican Convent at Thetford, addressed “To all the -Faithful in Christ,” and solemnly declaring that “the -Prior and Convent of the House or Priory commonly called The -Black Friars and Convent of the same, with unanimous assent and -consent, with minds deliberate, and with our free will and -certain knowledge, and for certain just and reasonable causes, -our souls and consciences in a special manner moving, freely and -of our own accord have given, granted, and by these presents do -give, grant and restore, release and confirm to the most -illustrious prince, our lord Henry VIII, by the grace of God of -England and France king, defender of the faith, lord of Ireland, -and on earth supreme Head of the English church, all our said -Priory or House called the Black Friars, in Thetford aforesaid, -together with all and singular the messuages, gardens, tofts, -lands, tenements, meadows, feeds, pastures, woods, rents, -reversions, services, mills, &c. &c.”</p> -<p>This Surrender was dated 30. Henry VIII, and subscribed by the -<i>Prior Richard Cley</i>, <i>Robert Baldry</i>, <i>Edward -Dyer</i>, <i>Edmund Palmer</i>, and two more.—“Those -mercenary monks (says Martin) were obliged by royal authority to -resign what they valued most upon earth, and declare the will of -their sovereign to be the motion of their own minds; whereas -their possessions were extorted from them contrary to their -wishes <a name="page687"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -687</span>and inclinations. They acquired their wealth by -hypocrisy, and parted with it under the influence of the same -principle.” <a name="citation687"></a><a -href="#footnote687" class="citation">[687]</a> But he -should have remembered that hypocrisy of much the same sort was -displayed by the corporations, or the different cities and -boroughs, in the reign of James II, in the surrender of their -respective charters: and the hypocrisy of the latter was perhaps -much less excusable than that of the poor friars, because they -were in much less peril.—The mayors and aldermen ran no -risk of hanging, but several of the others were actually hanged, -for refusing to surrender and play the hypocrites.</p> -<p>A copy of the Surrender of the <i>Carmelites</i> in Stamford -has been preserved by Burnet, and is as follows—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Forasmuch as we the Prior and Friers of -this House of <i>Carmelites</i> in <i>Stamford</i>, commonly -called the White Friers in Stamford, in the County of -<i>Lincoln</i>, do profoundly consider that the perfection of -Christian living doth not consist in some Ceremonies, wearing of -a white Coat, disguising ourselves after strange fashions, -dockying and becking, wearing Scapulars and Hoods, and other-like -Papistical Ceremonies, wherein we have been most principally -practised and noseled in times past; but the very true way to -please God, and to live a true Christian Man, without all -hyprocrisy and feigned dissimulation, is sincerely declared to us -by our Master Christ, his Evangelists and Apostles; being minded -hereafter to follow the same, conforming ourselves to the will -and pleasure of our supreme Head, <a name="page688"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 688</span>under God, on Earth, the -King’s Majesty; and not to follow henceforth the -superstitious traditions of any forinsecal potentate or power, -with mutual assent and consent, do submit ourselves unto the -mercy of our said Sovereign Lord, and with the Like mutual assent -and consent do surrender,” &c. <a -name="citation688"></a><a href="#footnote688" -class="citation">[688]</a>—signed by the Prior and six -Friers.</p> -</blockquote> -<p>The poor monks and friars and nuns, previously to their -expulsion, were forced to play the hypocrites and tell lies to -save their necks, which was certainly very hard upon them. -But rulers have seldom minded or <a name="page689"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 689</span>commiserated hardships of that -sort. With whatever they ordain or impose they always -expect a ready compliance, however unreasonable in itself, or -however hard it may bear on the consciences of their -subjects. The above religious orders, by falsely declaring -that they surrendered voluntarily and of their own accord, saved -their lives, but lost their livelihood. A few abbots -&c. were provided for; but thousands of friars and nuns were -turned out into the wide world pennyless; which must have been -very inhuman and cruel. We are assured that the arts -flourished in the convents to the last. Many of the abbots -and other heads of houses had been terrified, persuaded, or -bribed, as it is said, to surrender their trusts. Three -only (those of Colchester, Reading and Glastonbury) resisted to -the last, and fell by the hands of the executioner. <a -name="citation689"></a><a href="#footnote689" -class="citation">[689]</a></p> -<p>With respect to Lynn, it does not appear that the heads of the -houses or convents, or any of the brethren, made the least -difficulty to surrender in the form and manner prescribed to -them. They therefore ran no risk of the gallows: they saved -their lives, but lost their living; for they were turned adrift -and thrown upon <a name="page690"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -690</span>the wide world. Many of them, and of their fellow -sufferers, had a pretty good chance of obtaining subsistence by -their own ingenuity; for they had among them some excellent -penmen, some notable carvers, some admirable embroiderers, some -intelligent gardeners; and, in short, some that excelled in every -useful art, and in all handycraft employments. There they -had greatly the advantage of our modern clergy, many of whom, it -is to be feared, know little beyond what appertains to the -occupation of sportsmen or foxhunters, which would afford but a -poor prospect of subsistence, if they had nothing else to depend -upon.</p> -<p>Moreover, we must reckon among the most striking and memorable -effects which the reformation had upon Lynn the very visible and -degrading change it produced in the aspect or appearance of the -town, reducing it, as it evidently did, to a most mean and paltry -object, compared to what it was previously to that event. -For the demolition and disappearance of so many stately edifices, -which had long been the pride and boast of the inhabitants, must -have had a most strange, humiliating and transforming effect upon -the place, both with respect to its external aspect, or as it -appeared without from the adjacent country, and also as it looked -within, to those who passed through its streets, or observed it -internally. It must have looked somewhat like a town that -had undergone a close and successful siege, and which had been -left half demolished and ruined by a victorious and exasperated -enemy. In short, the present Lynn, or this town since the -reformation, <a name="page691"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -691</span>must have always made a far inferior, or much meaner -figure than the former or papal Lynn, with its four large and -stately convents, adorned with lofty towers, and ranged along the -whole town from south to north. Besides them we must also -reckon the Benedictine Priory, the convent of the friars <i>de -Penitentia</i>, the College, the churches or chapels of St. John, -St. James, St. Catherine, St. Anne, those of our Lady at the -Bridge and on the Mount, and undoubtedly other venerable -structures, whose sites and very names are now forgotten and -unknown.</p> -<p>In fine, there were perhaps not many towns in the kingdom, if -indeed there were any at all, whose appearance underwent a -greater change than this, at, and in consequence of the -reformation. Had two persons, a papist and a protestant, -who remembered the town in its former state, now visited and -jointly surveyed it, one would have been apt to take up his -lamentation and pronounce <i>Ichabod</i>! its glory is departed! -while the other would be no less apt exultingly to exclaim -“Babylon is fallen, is fallen!”—But a -<i>third</i> person, accustomed to view things with the eyes of a -christian philosopher, would have given way to neither -lamentation nor exultation, but would have considered the whole -as the natural effect of a mighty revolution, and an additional -proof of the changing and perishing nature of all human -productions and sublunary magnificence.</p> -<h3><a name="page692"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -692</span>CHAP. II.</h3> -<p class="gutsumm">History of Lynn for the first hundred years -after the reformation; or rather, from the dissolution of the -monasteries to the meeting of the long parliament and -commencement of the civil wars.</p> -<p>In the preceding account of the immediate effects of the -reformation upon this town little or nothing occurs that appears -of a very pleasing or favourable nature. No symptoms are -discernable of either moral or intellectual improvement. -The town had become protestant, but superstition and ignorance -still remained, and licentiousness and barbarism seemed rather to -increase than diminish. The former religious functionaries -or instructors were expelled, and they were succeeded by men less -competent than themselves for the tuition or instruction of the -people: and therefore it was not to be expected that the latter -should be better taught, or further enlightened under their -guidance and management. On the contrary, we may suppose -them to have gone in a retrograde rather than in a progressive -direction: and so it seems really to have happened. In <a -name="page693"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 693</span>fact, very -little appears to have been done here of reformation work, or for -the advancement of protestantism during the long period now under -consideration, besides the expulsion of the monks and friars and -demolition of their Houses. Of that little, some account -shall be given in the following section.</p> -<h4><span class="smcap">Section</span> I.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>Statement of the progress of -protestantism</i>, <i>or of the most remarkable and memorable -acts or works of reformation which took place at Lynn during the -first century after its renunciation of the papal -supremacy</i>.</p> -<p>The first fruits of the reformation at Lynn seem to be the -burning of the Dutchman before mentioned, and hanging, sometime -after, a certain friar, of the name of <i>William -Gisborough</i>. The former suffered for what was called -<i>heresy</i>, but we cannot find what the crime was that was -laid to the charge of the latter. It seems most probable -however, that it was denying the king’s spiritual -supremacy, or maintaining that the pope, and not his majesty, was -the supreme head of the church. This was a crime, or -heresy, which Henry never would tolerate, after he had set up for -himself in competition with the Roman pontiff, as a kind of -antipope, or pontifex maximus of England. Many a luckless -wight was put to death, during the latter part of his reign, for -no other fault, or offence, but that of being <a -name="page694"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 694</span>unconvinced -of his majesty’s right and title to be on earth the supreme -head of the English church. They could not, it seems, help -their scruples; and therefore it was, surely, very hard and cruel -to put them to death. But kings and courtiers are seldom -disposed to be very tender, or shew much mercy to those who do -not think well of their pretensions, however doubtful, -unreasonable, or absurd they happen to be: and they come not -unfrequently under one or other of these denominations.</p> -<p>In <i>Edward’s</i> reign, very little if any reformation -work appears to have been carried on at Lynn. At his death -we are told that Lord Audley came here and proclaimed Lady Jane -Grey queen of England; which seems to imply that this town was -favourable to her succession. However that was, her -succession was frustrated, and she came soon after to an untimely -and tragical end, though she appears to have been worthy of a -better fate.—<i>Mary</i> succeeded; in whose reign the very -name of reformation was exploded: its favourers were persecuted -with the utmost rigour, hundreds of them suffered at the stake, -and a still greater number fled their native country, and found -an asylum in foreign parts, where they staid till the storm was -blown over, or, in other words, till Mary was no more. She -was succeeded by a sovereign that was more favourable to a -certain description of reformation and reformers, though in other -respects of an equally intolerant and unamiable character.</p> -<p>At the accession of <i>Elizabeth</i> the pope was again -discarded, and her majesty assumed the character of reformer and -supreme head of the church. The protestant <a -name="page695"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 695</span>exiles now -returned home, and resumed the arduous task of reforming their -countrymen, though from what is known to have been the conduct of -too many of them while abroad, it would seem that they ought -first of all to have <i>reformed themselves</i>. They -rapidly obtained preferment in the church, and many of them were -promoted to the vacant sees, some of whom soon became most bitter -persecutors of the poor puritans and other protestant -sectaries:—so little good effect had their former -sufferings upon them, and so far was their experience of the -bitterness of persecution from disposing them to refrain from -being themselves concerned in the same bloody and detestable -work.</p> -<p>The effect of the new order of things was soon felt at Lynn, -and the inhabitants were furnished with convincing proofs that -the new was once more to supersede and triumph over the old -religion. In the first year of this queen’s reign, -“the rood lofts,” we are told, “and the images -that were upon them, were taken down from all the churches in -this town.” There surely could be no great harm in -this. The harm, if there was any, must lie in its being -done before the people had been convinced of the inutility and -impropriety of setting up such images and retaining them in their -churches. The work certainly should have succeeded and not -preceded the people’s conviction of its reasonableness and -propriety.</p> -<p>At the same time, or in the course of the same year 1559 -“The steps,” as we further learn, “were taken -from <a name="page696"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 696</span>the -altars in this town, and the ground, at the upper, or east ends -of all the churches levelled with that in the other parts of -them.”—All this seems to have been a courtly or royal -mode of reforming: for it appears to have been done before the -inhabitants were convinced of its necessity, or knew any thing -about the meaning of it. It was done, no doubt, by royal -authority; and that is reason enough for any thing, in the eyes -of most courtiers and statesmen. It was, however, a -preposterous mode of proceeding, as it was beginning the work at -the wrong end, and treating the people as if they had not been -rational beings, but were to be brought under discipline and made -to obey their masters or managers just like all other -cattle. But mankind have been treated pretty much in the -same way in all ages.</p> -<p>The year following, (1560,) “several gentlemen came -here,” (as it is said,) “by order of the privy -council, to take the state of St. James’s church, but were -opposed and resisted by the corporation.” Whether the -object of those gentlemen, in taking the state of the said church -was to have it repaired and refitted for a place of worship, or -something else, we are not told. If the former the -corporation was probably to blame in resisting them, as there -seemed to be need enough for an additional place of worship, if -it was thought desirable that the inhabitants should more -generally attend at such places. Nor is it very easy to -conceive how the corporation durst resist them, if they were -indeed authorised by Letters from the privy council to do what -they proposed. In short, the circumstance is involved in -too much obscurity <a name="page697"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -697</span>and uncertainly to allow our hazarding any decided -opinion upon it.</p> -<p>The next year, (1561,) “many popish relics and mass -books are said to have been burnt here, in the market -place.” This, probably, was also premature; being -done, in all likelihood, before the inhabitants were sufficiently -enlightened and satisfied of the inutility or perniciousness of -those books and relicks. The articles thus destroyed were -seemingly such as had belonged to this town, and had been, till -then, carefully preserved here. It is not very clear that -the destruction of them could be of any material advantage to the -cause of the reformation: it only serves to shew the spirit and -complexion of Elizabeth’s reforming system.—About -seven years after the date of this last transaction, another very -similar to it occurred here: for we are told under 1568, -“This year several vestments, popish relics, strings of -beads, and crucifixes, were brought from Tilney to Lynn, and -burnt in the open market.” This seems to indicate -that Tilney was a very noted place for that kind of ware before -the reformation: but it was now, as we may suppose, entirely -deprived of them, so as to be reduced, in that respect, upon a -level with the rest of its neighbours. This, however, would -not have signified much, had the people been carefully instructed -and rationalized. But that really appears have been -exceedingly and shamefully neglected at Lynn and the parts -adjacent for a very long period after the accession of Elizabeth, -as we shall endeavour to shew in the following Section.</p> -<h4><a name="page698"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -698</span><span class="smcap">Section</span> II.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>Observations on the slow progress</i>, -<i>or low state of protestantism</i>, <i>and of intellectual and -moral improvement at Lynn during the period under -consideration</i>.</p> -<p>During no one part of the long century which we are now -reviewing does it appear that this town had any great taste or -desire for reformation. It was forced upon it at first, -rather than sought for or desired; and it was submitted to out of -pure loyalty, or profound deference to his majesty’s royal -will and better judgment, as would, probably, have been the case -had he appointed Mahomet, instead of the pope, or himself, to be -the Head of the church. Be that as it might, it seems -pretty evident that Lynn remained in a very dark and unimproved -state from the era of the reformation till towards the middle of -the seventeenth century, if not much longer. It bore indeed -the name of a protestant town, but its faith, its morals, and its -manners, appear not to have been at all superior, or more -estimable than they were when it was a popish town, or remained -under the papal jurisdiction. Thus it has often happened, -that large communities as well as individuals have borne the -honourable names of christians and protestants while they -remained as far from the kingdom of heaven, or from the light and -influence and spirit of the New Testament as the most -superstitious romanists, or blindest heathens.</p> -<p>In the early part and near the commencement of this period, -<i>Baret</i>, a native of this town, as was before mentioned, -renouncing popery, embraced protestantism, and <a -name="page699"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 699</span>became a -very laborious and famous preacher. But it was Norwich, and -not Lynn that reaped the benefit of his labours; a pretty plain -indication of the very low estimation in which eminent protestant -preachers were then held among our ancestors. Had they -highly appreciated the labours of such instructors, there can be -little doubt but they would have invited and encouraged him to -settle here: nor is it less probable that he would in that case -have preferred his native town to any other place. But as -there is not the least appearance of its being thought of getting -him to settle here, it is very natural to conclude that Lynn was -then no way zealous in the cause of reformation, and felt no kind -of anxiety for introducing and establishing an able protestant -ministry: and the same we presume continued to be the case for a -very long season afterwards.</p> -<p>About the latter part of the reign of James I, or the -beginning of that of his successor, the pious, learned, and -memorable <i>Samuel Fairclough</i> became lecturer of this town: -and he is the only protestant preacher that we know of among the -Lynn clergy, during this long period, who set himself in good -earnest, and with any prospect of success, about civilizing the -town or reforming the inhabitants. But a host of enemies -rose against him, which soon obliged him to desist and -retire. The whole body of <i>publicans</i> and -<i>sinners</i>, (and among the latter, without doubt, the -manufacturers of strong beer, or the <i>brewers</i>, <a -name="citation699"></a><a href="#footnote699" -class="citation">[699]</a>) became decidedly hostile <a -name="page700"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 700</span>to him; for -it was found that great numbers of those who formerly used to -spend their Sundays at the alehouses, now discontinued that -practice, and attended Fairclough’s ministry. This -was very alarming to the votaries of the great goddess Diana, of -Lynn. Like the Ephesian craftsmen, they perceived that -their beloved craft, by which they got their wealth, was in -imminent danger, and therefore it was high time to bestir -themselves, and make such an outcry and uproar against this -troublesome preacher as would oblige him to desist and -decamp.</p> -<p>What greatly promoted and insured the attainment of their -wishes was, that the diocesan, <i>Dr. Harsnett</i>, with his -spiritual (or rather diabolical) court took the same side. -The other clergy of the town were also supposed, out of envy, to -do the same, underhand. The pretext for this spiritual -interference was, that the preacher did not use the sign of the -cross in the ceremony of christening; which, however disorderly -some might deem it, had certainly nothing in it of moral -turpitude. Had the whole ceremony been omitted, as well as -that idle appendage, there would have been, perhaps, no mighty -loss to any body, except to the preacher himself, who, in that -case, it may be supposed, would have sustained some loss. -In short, this preacher of righteousness was driven away by the -violence and threatening aspect of the opposition that had been -raised against him, and which to him and friends appeared -irresistible. He removed to <i>Clare</i> in Suffolk, a more -christianlike place, where, and in the adjacent parts, he long -continued <a name="page701"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -701</span>eminently useful, as well as greatly and deservedly -respected. The Lynn people by expelling him prolonged the -duration of their own blindness and barbarism.</p> -<h4><span class="smcap">Section</span> III.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>The fast of </i><span -class="smcap"><i>Lent</i></span><i> rigidly enforced and strictly -observed at Lynn to the very close of this period</i>, <i>a -further proof of the dark and unreformed state of the -town—additional observations</i>.</p> -<p>That the observance of <i>Lent</i> was rigorously enforced and -religiously regarded here as late as the reign of Charles I, -admits of no manner of doubt. None, but those whose cases -absolutely required it, were allowed here to taste of flesh meat -during all that season. In such cases <i>licences</i> were -applied for to the parish-minister, and obtained, provided the -cases came well attested. But a strict charge was given not -to exceed the bounds, or time, specified in the licence, without -acquainting the minister, in order to have the licence renewed -and continued. Of this we have sufficient evidence in the -old parish-book of South Lynn, where, under the date of 1632, -there is the following memorandum, in the hand writing of Mr. -<i>Man</i>, who was then the minister of that parish.</p> -<blockquote><p>“A Copy of a License for eating flesh in -time of childbed, to the wife of goodman Sowell of South Lynn, -blacksmyth, according to law, during the time of her <a -name="page702"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 702</span>sickness, -granted the 14. of March 1633, and now eight dayes after, her -sicknes still continuing, registered hereunder as -followeth”—</p> -<p>“Forasmuch as the wife of goodman Sowell of South Lynn -(being a member of the Borough of King’s Lynn) in the -county of Norfolk, blacksmith, now lying in childbed, is by the -testimony of the midwife and her said husband and others, -testified to me to be very weak and sick; these are therefore, -upon her and friends very earnest request, so far as in me is, -and according to the statute in that behalf provided, for the -better recovery of her former health and strength again, to -signify that by me the minister of the said parish, she is -licensed, the time of Lent notwithstanding, to eat flesh: Always -provided that the said license continue no longer in force than -only for the time of this her present sicknes: And if this her -present sicknes shall continue above the space of eight days next -after the date hereof, that then I be certified thereof further -to perform and do therein as law requireth. In witness -whereof the day and year above written I have hereunto sett my -hand and seale</p> -<p style="text-align: center">By me John Man cler. minister ibid: -<a name="citation702a"></a><a href="#footnote702a" -class="citation">[702a]</a><br /> -In the presence of me Tho. Lilly churchwarden.” <a -name="citation702b"></a><a href="#footnote702b" -class="citation">[702b]</a></p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="page703"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 703</span>The -duty of the Lynn Clergy must have been much greater then, -especially during the time of Lent, than it is at present; for it -may be supposed that these applications for licences were not few -or unfrequent: and if they were obliged to do this work for -nothing, it must have been still harder upon them. However -that was, this practice seems to have continued till the civil -wars broke out, or till the town was besieged and taken by the -Earl of Manchester, when it was strongly garrisoned by the -parliament, and made to undergo a civil as well as religious -reformation. This appears to have been the greatest and -most thorough reformation this town ever underwent, or -experienced; at least, since the days of Henry VIII: for the long -parliament, like his majesty, seldom did things by halves, but -generally carried on with energy and effect whatever they took -earnestly in hand.</p> -<p>It may very safely be concluded that the religious observance -of Lent was discontinued at Lynn from the time referred to till -the <i>restoration</i>, when it seems to have been again revived, -both here and throughout the kingdom, among all true -churchmen. For it appears to have been one of those choice -and invaluable blessings which Charles II, (that <i>most -sacred</i>, and <i>most religious</i> sovereign, as his bishops -and clergy used to call him,) restored to us at his return from -exile. Accordingly, we find, by the public prints and -records of that period, that his majesty from the beginning of -his reign, or first arrival, was attentive to this point. -Among <a name="page704"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -704</span>other plain indications of this is a striking passage -in the <i>Mercurius Publicus</i>, of February 21, 1661, (a -flaming weekly court paper of that time,) which is worded as -follows.</p> -<blockquote><p>“London Feb. 16.—We are commanded to -give Notice of a malicious Slander against the good government of -the city of London for observation of Lent according to law and -his <span class="smcap">Majesties</span> <i>Proclamation</i>: -some malecontents suggesting that the company of -<i>Fishmongers</i> have confessed they are not able to supply the -market with fish sufficient for this occasion; (and therefore -that the late proclamation will be recalled) which is so false -and bottomles a fiction that the most vigilant Lord Maior hath -assured the Lords of his <span class="smcap">Majesties</span> -Privy Council how the company of fishmongers do not only -undertake to furnish the market with plenty and variety of good -and wholesome fish, but to sell fish cheaper by twopence in a -shilling; which is more than sufficient to stop the mouths of all -that are averse to our good and wholesome laws (made upon so long -experience, and so necessary for the common good and safety of -this Island) which yet deprive none of the benefit of -dispensation, whose condition really requires other dyet, such as -are aged, or infants, women with child, sick persons, and such -whose health and constitution is known to be prejudiced by -continuall eating fish; for all whom the Law hath provided -Licences and Dispensations to eat Flesh.” <a -name="citation704"></a><a href="#footnote704" -class="citation">[704]</a></p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="page705"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 705</span>Here -Charles appears in the character of a <i>religious king</i>, to -which he, of all men living, had, perhaps, the least -pretension. Yet his bishops and clergy unblushingly gave -him that title, and would frequently mention him, even in their -addresses to the Deity himself, under the same appellation, and -under one still stronger—“Our <i>most</i> religious -king!” So much for the bishops and clergy of those -days. But it was in <i>Scotland</i> that his -majesty’s <i>religious</i> and <i>reforming</i> character, -at least in respect to the strict observance of Lent, was -exhibited in the most striking light. This may be inferred -from the following curious document in the above mentioned -Court-newspaper of Feb. 26. 1662, which, though somewhat -extraneous and out of place, the author hopes the reader will -excuse his introducing it here, as he knew of no fitter place for -its insertion.</p> -<blockquote><p>“<i>Edinburgh</i> 12. Febr. -1662.—Forasmuch as the not keeping of Lent and Fish days, -conform to several Acts of Parliament and late Act of Council of -the sixth of <i>February</i> 1662, hath been occasioned by not -exacting the penalties therein contained from the contraveeners, -who, upon hopes of impunity, may still continue disobey the saids -Acts, to the great prejudice of the kingdom: Therefore the Lords -of his Majesties Privy <a name="page706"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 706</span>Council have thought fit to cause -intimat publickly at the Mercat Cross of <i>Edinburgh</i>, that -none presume nor take upon hand to contraveen the saids Acts; -with certification if they failize, the pains and penalties -therein contained shall be exacted with all rigour: and that they -will crave an account of all Magistrates and other Ministers of -Justice, who are intrusted to procure obedience to the saids -Acts, and give notice of the offendors within their respective -bounds, as they will be answerable; and for that effect to cause, -of new again, intimat the aforesaid Act; whereof the tenor -follows—The Lords of His Majesties Privy Councill taking to -their consideration the greatest advantage and profit will -redound to all the Leiges of this kingdome, by keeping the time -of Lent and the weekly Fish dayes, <i>viz. Wednesday</i>, -<i>Friday</i>, and <i>Saturday</i>, and discharging of all -persons to eat any flesh, during that time and upon the saids -dayes; or to kill or sell in the Marcats any sort of Fleshes -which are usually brought at other times, whereby the young brood -and store will be preserved; so that hereafter the hazard of -scarcity and dearth may be prevented, and the fishes, which by -the mercy of God, abound in the salt and fresh waters of this -kingdome, may be made use of for the food and entertainment of -the Lieges, to the profit and encouragment of many poor families -who live by fishing; the improvement whereof hath not been looked -to these many years by gone, which hath been occasioned by the -universal allowance of eating flesh and keeping of Mercats at all -ordinary times without any restraint, against which many laudable -Laws and Acts of Parliament have been made, prohibiting <a -name="page707"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 707</span>the eating -flesh during the said time of Lent or upon the saids Fishdays, -under the pains therein contained. Therefore, Ordains and -Commands, that the time of Lent, for this year, and yearly -hereafter, shall begin and be kept as before the year of God -1640, and that the saids weekly Fishdays be strictly observed in -all time coming. And that no subject of whatsoever rank, -quality or degree (except they have a special Licence) presume to -eat any flesh during the said time of Lent, or upon the saids -three weekly Fishdayes; and that no Butchers, Cooks, or Hostlers, -kill, make ready or sell any flesh, either publickly in Mercats -or privately in their own houses, during the said time or upon -the saids dayes, under the penalties following, to be exacted -with all rigour, <i>viz.</i> For the first fault 10<i>l</i>; for -the second 20<i>l</i>; and for the third fault 40<i>l</i>; and so -to be multiplied according to the oft contraveening of the said -Act, to be exacted and payed, the one half to the king’s -Majesty, and the other half to the delators. Likeas, for -the surer exacting of the said pains, they give power and warrand -to all Magistrates within Burghs, and all Sheriffs, Stewards, and -Bailies within their several Jurisdictions, to enquire after the -contraveeners and to pursue them before the Lords of Privy -Council, or such others as shall be appointed or delegat for that -effect. And ordains Heraulds, Macers, or Messengers at -Arms, to make publication hereof at the Mercat Cross of -<i>Edinburgh</i>, and other places needful, and that these -presents be printed that none pretend ignorance.</p> -<p style="text-align: right"><i>Pet. Wedderburne Cl. Sti. -Concillii</i>.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="page708"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 708</span>The -above may serve as a sample of the manner in which that father of -his people, king Charles II, managed, disciplined, and educated -his Caledonian children. It was severe enough; but he -sometimes far exceeded this specimen of his paternal attention; -especially when he had some of the most obstreperous of those -children of his <i>hunted with bloodhounds</i>, like wild -beasts. This, as we learn from Laing’s excellent -History of Scotland, was sometimes actually the case in that -memorable reign. Having been naturally led to these -digressions by the circumstance of the strict and religious -observance of Lent in this town till near the middle of the 17th -century, (which shews the small progress protestantism had made -here down to that period,) we shall now resume the thread of our -history.</p> -<h4><span class="smcap">Section</span> IV.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>Observations on other occurrences relating -to Lynn during the period under consideration</i>.</p> -<p>Lynn appears to have been several times visited, during this -period, by the plague and other destructive diseases; and there -is great reason to be thankful that it has not in more modern -times experienced the like awful visitations. In 1540 the -town is said to have been so severely afflicted with hot burning -agues, (or intermittent fevers) and fluxes, that no Mart was kept -here that year; which shews that the disorder must have <a -name="page709"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 709</span>raged to a -terrible degree, and proved a most severe scourge to the -town. The <i>plague</i> also was here three or four -different times within this period. The last of them was in -1636, when it raged so violently and dreadfully that the markets -were discontinued, and wooden houses or sheds were set up under -the town-walk for the reception of the diseased, especially those -of the poorer sort. It must have been a most awful season, -and the present generation ought to rejoice in having escaped -such calamities.—In 1598 also there was here a very great -and destructive sickness: but it is not said of what sort or -description it was: only we are told, that the mortality was so -great, from <i>March</i> to <i>July</i>, that three hundred and -twenty persons were buried in St. James’s Church -Yard. To whatever cause it is to be ascribed, it seems to -be a fact, that this town has been much healthier for the last -140 years than it was during the period of which we are now -treating. There is a natural cause, no doubt, for that -difference, though it may not be a very easy matter, perhaps, to -discover it, or point it out.</p> -<p>It may be here further observed, that it was within this -period the parish of All-Hallows, or All Saints, otherwise -<i>South Lynn</i>, became a part or member of this Borough; being -before a separate parish or hamlet, subject to the jurisdiction -of the sheriff of the county. This union, or incorporation -was first effected in 1546, by a <i>Licence</i> from the king, -and afterwards fully confirmed by the <i>Charter</i> of Philip -and Mary, in the fourth year of their reign. From that -period it has ever been <a name="page710"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 710</span>under the jurisdiction of the mayor, -as an integral or indivisible part of the borough. Yet it -has been long after, (if not down quite to our time,) treated by -the corporation somewhat like a step-daughter, or as regular -governments (as they are called,) are too apt to treat ceded or -conquered places. Of this some remarkable instances have -occurred at different times, and especially in the reign of -Charles II, when the South Lynnians were very wrongfully involved -in a most vexatious <i>law-suit</i> with the mayor and -corporation, about the <i>Long Bridge</i>, which ended -unfavourably to the latter, as has been also the case with our -corporation law-suits, not unfrequently since that period. -The above cause was tried at Thetford in 1672 before Sir Matthew -Hale, who was exceedingly severe on the conduct of the mayor and -corporation in that affair.</p> -<p>Many events are mentioned as having occurred at Lynn, during -this period, of whose circumstances we are left very much in the -dark: among them are the following—in 1562, <i>Sir Nicholas -Le Strange</i> (according to one old MS.) “began a suit -against Lynn for the House of Corpus Christi:” but we are -not told either where that house stood, or what was the ground of -that knight’s claim to it, or yet how the suit -terminated.—In 1567 St. Margaret’s spire is said to -have been shot down by a Dutch ship that then lay in the harbour, -as were also several little crosses and ornaments on different -parts of the church.” But we cannot learn how all -this happened; whether designedly, or otherwise, or what was its -result. In 1575 <i>Henry Wodehouse</i>, vice admiral <a -name="page711"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 711</span>of Norfolk -is said to have arrested two Fly-Boats at Lynn, by process, which -he delivered to the mayor, who refusing to serve them, brought -great trouble on himself and several others.” This -also is related so baldly, that it is impossible to form any -adequate idea of the affair. Of much the same sort is what -we read under 1587, “Sir <i>Robert Southwell</i>, being -admiral of Norfolk, with several commissioners and justices, sat -at Lynn and held a court of admiralty, at which sixteen -<i>pirates</i> were condemned, and most of them executed at -<i>Gannock</i>.” It is in vain we enquire into the -particular case or circumstantial history of those pirates: all -we can learn is that there were so many then tried and condemned -here, and that <i>Gannock</i> was in the mean time the place of -execution.</p> -<p>The following Lynn occurrences of this period are somewhat -more luminous than the preceding ones. In 1576 queen -Elizabeth visited Norwich; but it does not appear that her -majesty deigned to honour Lynn with her royal presence. The -corporation, however, went to meet her majesty. It is not -said where, but we may suppose it to have been at Norwich, where -her highness appears to have made some stay. At that -interview, wherever it took place, our corporation presented -their gracious sovereign with “a <i>rich purse</i>, finely -wrought with pearl and gold, containing <i>an hundred old angels -of gold</i>;” the whole valued at 200<i>l.</i> a sum equal, -perhaps, to 2 or 3,000<i>l.</i> of our money. This, no -doubt, was very handsome, and a proof of the sterling loyalty, <a -name="page712"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 712</span>as well as -of the wealth and liberality of our corporation. What our -virgin queen thought of this specimen of Lynn loyalty and homage, -we are not told: but if the same had been done to her renowned -grandfather, Henry VII, when he visited this town, we may be very -sure that it would have proved highly acceptable and gratifying, -as he is well known to have been a most ardent lover of -money. His grand-daughter was in some things very different -from him. Nor are we quite certain, though the gift was -very handsome, that her majesty did not on this occasion laugh in -her sleeve at the vanity and ostentation of the donors, who -appear to have given her too much reason for so doing. She -is also understood as not entertaining, in general, a very -exalted opinion of the sagacity of her corporations, or the -wisdom of the ruling and leading men of her cities and boroughs, -who in her different excursions would sometimes sadly expose -their folly, and excite in no small degree her contempt and -derision. <a name="citation712"></a><a href="#footnote712" -class="citation">[712]</a></p> -<p><a name="page713"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 713</span>In, -or about 1582, it is said, “that certain lusty young -fellows began to set up ringing again, which for sometime had -been disused; divers of the aldermen, meaning to silence them, -occasioned a great disturbance, which turned to the mayor’s -disadvantage, and was the cause of spending a great deal of -money.” For aught we know, the mayor and aldermen -might be very right on this occasion. Where there is a -great deal of ringing it is certainly a very serious nuisance to -the inhabitants, especially those who live near the -steeples.—It is probable that those <i>lusty young -fellows</i> belonged to some wealthy families, which enabled them -to make so effectual a stand against the mayor and -aldermen. Be that as it might, this circumstance may serve -to shew what serious results may proceed from very frivolous -causes, and how easily a parcel of idle fellows may sometimes -disturb the tranquillity of a whole town, and bring every thing -into the utmost confusion.</p> -<p>In 1587 the <i>wife of one John Wanker</i> and the <i>widow -Porker</i> were both <i>carted</i> here for <i>whoredom</i>: and -we <a name="page714"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -714</span>further learn, that the sin of whoredom was deemed so -detestable then, both at Lynn, and Norwich, that whoever were -guilty of it were publickly exposed fastened to a cart and driven -through the whole town.—This must be highly honourable to -the moral character of both places at that period, and furnishes -a favourable idea of the state of society here in the mean -time. But alas! how very different must have been the -character of Lynn then, from what it is at present, when it is -said to abound with that sort of sinners more than any other -place of its size, and when that vice seems no longer detested, -or thought to have any moral pravity or turpitude attached to it: -and as to the interference of magistrates, that seems to be -entirely out of the question. After all, it seems to be a -fact, that the unexampled burdens under which the people now lie, -have contributed in no small degree to bring things to this sad -pass.</p> -<p>The year 1558 was rendered remarkable in the annals of this -town, by an <i>order</i>, as it is called, which was then made, -“that on every first <i>Monday</i> in the Month there -should be a meeting at a certain house, consisting of the Mayor, -some of the aldermen and common Council-men, and the preachers, -in order to settle peace and quietness between man and man, and -to decide all manner of controversies: and it was called, <i>The -Feast of Reconciliation</i>.”—This certainly looks -well, and seems to reflect honour on the memory of the projector -or projectors of it, as well as those who afterwards devoted -their time for so useful and laudable a purpose. It is <a -name="page715"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 715</span>certainly -much to be wished that every town and district was furnished with -a similar institution; which, if properly conducted, would not -fail to prove of very important benefit to the community. -This therefore is here recorded as forming a favourable trait in -the character of the magistrates and ministers of this town in -the latter part of the reign of Elizabeth.—But, alas! those -very people, at the same time, were persecuting, burning, and -hanging, (and we may add, <i>murdering</i>) poor ignorant, -friendless and harmless old creatures, under the name of -witches!—Of this very dark shade, (which together with the -preceding favourable trait exhibit so deplorable an inconsistency -of character,) we shall take some further notice hereafter.</p> -<p>In the next reign, (that of <i>James</i> I,) the obtaining of -a royal Charter, and the recovery of the alienated revenues and -possessions belonging to the Gaywood hospital, (of the latter of -which we have spoken already) seem to have constituted the -principal and most memorable transactions that appertain to this -history. Besides which scarce any thing occurred worthy of -being here recorded, unless it be the erection or establishment -(in 1617) of a <i>Library</i> in the Vestry of <i>St. -Nicholas’s Chapel</i>: which appears to have been the first -institution of the kind in this town since the dissolution of the -convents. <a name="citation715"></a><a href="#footnote715" -class="citation">[715]</a> So that for about eighty years, -or ever since the <a name="page716"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -716</span>reformation, the character of the town as a literary, -or bookish place, must have been at a miserable low ebb. We -need not wonder therefore at the extreme ignorance that seemed to -have prevailed here in the mean time. This library is said -to have been founded by the mayor, burgesses, &c. The -library in St. Margaret’s Church is said not to have been -founded till about fourteen years after. How extensively -useful these bibliothecal collections proved we have not the -means of ascertaining. At any rate, they were creditable to -those by whom they were projected and promoted.</p> -<p>Upon the accession of <i>Charles</i> I, one of the first and -most remarkable circumstances that appear to have occurred here -was the <i>erection of St. Anne’s Fort</i>, on which were -mounted, as we are told, “several great pieces of ordnance, -sent from London and planted here for the defence of the -town.” This some, perhaps, would be apt to construe -as ominous of the subsequent troubles of that reign, of which -this town appears to have had its full share: for having declared -against the parliament, it was by their forces closely besieged -<a name="page717"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 717</span>and -taken, and afterwards laid under contribution, and strongly -garrisoned. As to the <i>Fort</i>, we cannot find that it -proved of any material use to the town in that time of danger: -nor does it appear to have been ever calculated for the defence -and protection of the place, or for any other purpose but to -please little or full-grown children, who are naturally fond of -ribands and rattles. <a name="citation717"></a><a -href="#footnote717" class="citation">[717]</a></p> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p717b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"A view of the Pilot Office, St. Ann’s Battery etc. -Published Dec.r 1809 by W. Whittingham, Lynn" -title= -"A view of the Pilot Office, St. Ann’s Battery etc. -Published Dec.r 1809 by W. Whittingham, Lynn" - src="images/p717s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>About the beginning of 1637, “an order came from the -archbishop (Laud) to this town, that the ground at the east end -of the churches should be raised; the communion table (or altar) -placed at the upper end of the churches, under the east windows; -and that they be decently railed in, and steps made to ascend -thereto.”—This was evidently undoing what Elizabeth -and her reformers had done at the beginning of her reign; for the -ground at the upper or east end of the churches was then ordered, -as we have seen, to be levelled with that in the other parts of -them. That queen and her prelates were certainly quite high -enough in their notions about these matters, and yet we see that -they come not nearly up to Charles and Laud. Neither of -these had any dislike to popery, provided they could be -themselves at the head of it. Nor would it be a very easy -matter to point out the time when the spirit of popery was more -predominant, than it was in the church of England <a -name="page718"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 718</span>in the -detestable reign of the first Charles, and under the vile -administration and superintendence of archbishop Laud. The -latter was a sworn and mortal enemy to both civil and religious -liberty, as the whole tenor of his conduct shews. In short, -he was no less superstitious, than intolerant, tyrannical, and -cruel, as this order which he sent to Lynn, and many other parts -of his conduct clearly evince: and he may be very safely said to -have contributed largely to accelerate the ruin of the cause -which he had espoused, and the downfal of the church of which he -was unworthily the chief metropolitan.</p> -<p>Laud has been often represented as very learned: but it was -paying learning but a poor compliment, as it appears to have done -little, or rather nothing at all towards humanizing him, or -softening his hard heart, and subduing the bigotry, intolerance, -and unfeelingness, which were in him so preeminently conspicuous -and predominant. Severities and terrors which most of the -vulgar or unlearned protestant persecutors would have deemed -sufficient, could not satisfy him: cropping or cutting off the -ears, and slitting the noses of those who openly objected to his -proceedings, were among his favourite forms of discipline, and -what passed with him as justifiable and wholesome -severities. His atrocities at last recoiled upon him with a -vengeance, and he became the unpitied victim of his own system of -terror and tyranny.</p> -<h3><a name="page719"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -719</span>CHAP. III.</h3> -<p class="gutsumm">Account of reputed <span -class="smcap">Witches</span>, of this and subsequent periods, at -Lynn and some other places—inexcusable severity of their -sufferings—brutality of their persecutors—barbaric -stupidity and infatuated credulity of the people and their -rulers.</p> -<p>The existence of witches was formerly a part of the creed of -the good people of Lynn, as well as of the rest of their -countrymen. It was not a mere mental error, which would -have made it, at least in a great measure, harmless, but it was a -practical error of a most horrid nature, for it issued in the -persecution and murder of not a few wretched, friendless, and -innocent beings, who were no more in league with satan and the -powers of darkness than their persecutors and judges, or even -half so much. These legal murders were once very common in -this country, even since the reformation: so that many hundreds, -if not thousands of them have been perpetrated under the sanction -of our protestant government, and in the sacred name of justice, -and of our sovereign lord the king. This town, as was -before observed, <a name="page720"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -720</span>is among the places where this innocent blood has been -spilt, and where the names of law, justice, and royalty, have -been shamefully prostituted to justify those foul and murderous -deeds. We shall now proceed to give a sketch of the part -which our townsmen of other times appear to have taken in this -detestable business.</p> -<h4><span class="smcap">Section</span> I.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>A sketch of the history of the prosecution -and murder of divers poor harmless creatures</i>, <i>falsely -denominated witches</i>, <i>at Lynn</i>, <i>in the sixteenth and -seventeenth centuries</i>.</p> -<p>Before the reformation, and since in popish countries, the -cognizance of reputed <i>witches</i>, and suppression of what is -called <i>witchcraft</i>, pertained to the -<i>inquisitors</i>. <i>Luiz de Paramo</i>, a Spanish -inquisitor, who wrote a most curious book in defence of the holy -office, <a name="citation720"></a><a href="#footnote720" -class="citation">[720]</a> declares <a name="page721"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 721</span>that in the course of 150 years, -(from 1485, if we are not mistaken) the inquisition had -<i>burnt</i> 30,000 <i>witches</i>, which he evidently thought a -most meritorious deed, for which the pious actors were entitled -to the gratitude and veneration of posterity, and himself, who -had been very active in the same way, to the praise of having -deserved well of his country and of all Christendom.</p> -<p>After the reformation, the business, in these kingdoms, was -taken up by such zealous protestants (conformists <a -name="page722"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 722</span>and -nonconformists) whose spirit pretty much resembled that of the -Spanish Inquisitors, and who appear to have been equally -unchristianlike. Their zeal against what they called -witchcraft was unbounded; and whenever they could fix that stigma -upon any one, he could have little chance of escaping with his -life. This country has therefore been highly infamous for -the punishments inflicted, and the barbarities exercised upon -those hapless beings whom our ignorant, superstitious, and savage -ancestors used to brand with the odious names of <i>witches</i> -and <i>wizards</i>. We might well be called to blush for -those execrable deeds of our forefathers, if there were not -others belonging to ourselves which no less loudly call for -blushing.</p> -<p>Lancashire, it seems, has been noted for its reputed witches, -and so has Warboys and other places in Huntingdonshire. Nor -has this town been unproductive of persons who bore the same -name, or had the hard fate of lying under the same -imputation.—The first of these, that has fallen within the -knowledge of the present writer, was <i>Margaret Read</i>, who is -said to have been <i>burnt</i> here for witchcraft, in -1590.—Poor creature! She was certainly -<i>murdered</i>! by the magistrates! by what was called the law -of the land, and in the venerable and sacred name of -justice! Such acts, however, have been but too common in -all ages, in all countries, and even in what are called -protestant states. England was then such a state, but that -did not always secure the people from injustice and oppression, -or prevent in all instances the rulers and magistrates from -shedding innocent blood.</p> -<p><a name="page723"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 723</span>About -eight years after, that is, in 1598, one <i>Elizabeth -Housegoe</i> was executed here on the same account: but whether -she was put to death by <i>burning</i>, or by <i>hanging</i>, -does not appear. Whichever it was, it was a most horrid and -detestable deed, and would lead one to shudder at the barbarous -character of our ancestors, but for certain existing -circumstances, which seem too clearly to indicate that we are not -yet got so far beyond them in civilization and humanity as we are -apt sometimes to conceive. Our boasted superiority in those -respects over all modern nations, may also be suspected to be -much less real than imaginary.</p> -<p><i>Mary Smith</i> is the next name that occurs among this -description of hapless sufferers at Lynn. She is said to -have been <i>burnt</i> <a name="citation723a"></a><a -href="#footnote723a" class="citation">[723a]</a> here, on the -12th. of January 1616, for witchcraft, which she was accused of -having practised upon divers persons by means of a vocal contract -with the devil. The poor creature, who no doubt was insane, -acknowledged the truth of these foolish accusations; which -acknowledgement, probably, formed the chief, if not the only -proof of her guilt: and <i>Alexander Roberts</i>, styling himself -<i>preacher of God’s Word at King’s Linne</i>, in the -same year published a treatise on Witchcraft, in which the story -of this Mary Smith, this pitiable victim of the stupid ignorance -and savage superstition of our ancestors, is related. <a -name="citation723b"></a><a href="#footnote723b" -class="citation">[723b]</a></p> -<p><a name="page724"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 724</span>While -their hands were still red and poluted with the innocent blood of -this poor defenceless woman, our magistrates went about -establishing a Library in the town, which seems indeed to have -been very much wanted among them: and we have already given them -credit for that undertaking. But its inconsistency with the -other part of their conduct is so manifest and glaring -(especially if we join with it their laudable <i>feast of -reconciliation</i>,) that one is apt to wonder that they should -be capable of acting such different parts, or of being the -performers of actions so totally dissimilar and -heterogeneous. It must however be owned that the -inconsistencies of the human character are sometimes very -strange, unaccountable, and surprising.</p> -<p>After the last mentioned affair we hear no more of these -horrid doings at Lynn till 1645, when <i>Dorothy Lee</i>, and -<i>Grace Wright</i>, as Mackerel informs us, were <i>hanged</i> -here for witchcraft. But we suspect that this is misdated, -and that this bloody scene did not take place till the following -year, (1646) as it appears, from the Town Records, that on the -11th. of May, that year, it was “ordered that alderman -Thomas Rivett be requested to send for Mr. <i>Hopkins</i>, the -Witch-discoverer, to come to Lynn, and his charges and recompense -to be borne by the town.” We may presume that he did -not hesitate to come, and that it was in consequence of his -coming the prosecution and execution of those poor unhappy -creatures took place. It must have been a sad time when -such arch-villains as this Hopkins were caressed by the -magistrates, and employed to assist them in the administration <a -name="page725"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 725</span>of -justice!—Of him we shall hereafter give some further -account.</p> -<p>Those two women were probably the last that were put to death -here for witchcraft: but great numbers suffered afterwards for -the same imaginary crime in other parts of the kingdom, to the -great disgrace of both the makers and the administrators of our -laws. Even till within these sixty or seventy years, if we -are not mistaken, there have been instances among us of poor -defenceless beings doomed to capital punishment for the same -pretended offence: and though our legislators and rulers seem no -longer to have any faith in the existence of witches, yet the -common people in many places are as much in that belief as ever, -and would be very glad, no doubt, to have the old sanguinary laws -still put in execution. A melancholy instance of the -present existence of such a superstitious belief among our -country people occurred but about two years ago at Great Paxton -in Huntingdonshire, of which we shall, perhaps, in another place -take some further notice.</p> -<h4><span class="smcap">Section</span> II.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>Brief account of some of the principal</i> -witch-finders, <i>or</i> witch discoverers, <i>as they were -sometimes called</i>, <i>those pests of society</i>, <i>who were -a disgrace to the country and to the age in which they -lived</i>.</p> -<p>It would appear perhaps incredible, that those infernal beings -called witch-finders should ever have been tolerated <a -name="page726"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 726</span>and -encouraged in any country calling itself christian and -protestant, had we not seen characters no less detestable and -diabolical countenanced, caressed, and patronised in such -countries. The execrable reign of Charles II swarmed with -<i>Spies</i> and <i>informers</i>, whose talents were employed to -promote religious uniformity, and suppress liberty of -conscience. Like the witch finders, they were countenanced -by the magistrates, patronized by the gentry, and enriched by the -wages of unrighteousness, and the ruin of innocent persons and -families. Our own time has seen such wretches, and poor -Ireland has been not a little prolific of them. Even among -our financial or revenue agents some of the same family have made -their appearance, which some are apt to consider as an evil and a -grievance of no small magnitude. If our own time has -abounded with such characters, and if they have been really -countenanced and cherished by rulers and magistrates, we must not -be too severe upon our ancestors for the course which they -pursued in regard to those called witches and witch-finders: for -we do not seem to have yet gone so far beyond them in wisdom and -virtue as we are sometimes apt to think.</p> -<p>Among those called witch-finders, the first place seems due to -<i>Matthew Hopkins</i>, of Maningtree, in Essex, who has been -already mentioned, as invited here by the magistrates, to assist -them in the discovery, or detection and conviction of witches, -and the suppression of witchcraft. This man, as we are -told, was witch-finder for the associated counties, (Essex, -Suffolk, and Norfolk,) and hanged in one year no less than -<i>sixty</i> reputed witches <a name="page727"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 727</span>in his own county. The old, -the ignorant, and the indigent; such as could neither plead their -own cause nor hire an advocate; were the miserable victims of -this wretch’s avarice and villany. He pretended to be -a great critic in <i>special marks</i>; which were only moles, -scorbutic spots, or warts, which frequently grew large and -pendulous in old age, but were absurdly supposed to be teats to -suckle imps. His ultimate method of proof was by tying -together the thumbs and toes of the suspected person, about whose -waist was fastened a cord, the ends of which were held, on the -banks of a river, by two persons, in whose power it was to -straighten or slacken it. <i>Swimming</i>, upon this -experiment, was deemed a full proof of guilt; for which king -James, (who is said to have recommended it, if he did not invent -it,) assigned the following sage reason: “That as such -persons have renounced their baptism by water, so the water -refuses to receive them.” Sometimes those who were -accused of diabolical practices were tied neck and heels and -tossed into a pond. If they floated they were consequently -guilty, and therefore taken out and burnt: if they were -<i>innocent</i> they were only <i>drowned</i>. The -experiment of <i>swimming</i> was at length tried upon Hopkins -himself, in his own way, and he was in the event condemned, and, -as it seems, executed as a wizard; <a name="citation727"></a><a -href="#footnote727" class="citation">[727]</a> an end or -retribution which he appears to have richly merited. But -how far he was (if at all) convinced of that, at his exit, we are -not informed. If we are not <a name="page728"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 728</span>mistaken, there was also, about the -same time, a noted witch-finder at <i>Ipswich</i>, who found -pretty full employment, but as we have no account either of his -mode of proceeding or exploits, or yet of his exit, we can say no -more about him.</p> -<p>At the time when the belief and detestation of witchcraft were -universal in this country there can be no doubt but the number of -our pretended witch-finders was very considerable. It may -be fairly supposed that there were more than one for every -county, and even that they were no less numerous than our modern -mountebanks and quack doctors. Some of them, however, -would, in the natural course of things, outshine the rest, or far -excel them in point of reputation or celebrity. Such a one -was Hopkins, and such a one was that famous Scotchman, whose name -we cannot at present make out, who found so much employment, in -the way of his vile vocation, on this, as well as on the other -side of the Tweed. Of him a curious account is given in a -book entitled, England’s Grievance, &c. by <i>Ralph -Gardiner</i>, Gent. of Chirton, in Northumberland. London: -printed in 1655. Reprinted in 1796. Where we have the -following information.</p> -<blockquote><p>“In or about the year 1649 or 1650, the -magistrates of Newcastle upon Tyne sent two of their sergeants, -namely Thomas Shevel, and Cuthbert Nicholson, into Scotland, to -agree with a Scotchman, who pretended knowledge to finde out -witches by pricking them with pins, to come to Newcastle, where -he should try such who should be brought to him, and have -20<i>s.</i> a-piece <a name="page729"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 729</span>for all he could condemn (or -convict) as witches, and free passage thither and back again: -[i.e. have his expenses borne to and fro.] When the -sergeants had brought this witch-finder on horseback to town, the -magistrates sent their bellman through the town ringing his bell, -and crying, all people that would bring in any complaint against -any woman for a witch, they should be sent for and tryed by the -person appointed. <i>Thirty</i> women were [accordingly] -brought into the town-hall and stript, and then openly had pins -thrust into their bodies, and most of them was (were) found -guilty by him, and set aside.</p> -<p>“The said reputed witch-finder acquainted colonel Hobson -that he knew women, whether they were witches or no, by their -looks; and when he was searching a personable and good-like [or -good looking] woman, the said colonel replied and said, Surely, -this woman in none, and need not be tryed: but the scotchman said -she was, for the town said she was, and therefore he would try -her; and presently, in sight of all the people, laid her body -naked to the waste, [waist] with her cloaths over her head; by -which fright and shame all her blood contracted into one part of -her body, and then he ran a pin into her thigh, and suddenly let -her coats fall, and then demanded whither she had nothing of his -in her body, but did not bleed? But she being amazed, -replied little. Then he put his hands up her coats and -pulled out the pin, setting her aside, as a guilty person and -child of the devil, and fell to try others, whom he made -guilty.”</p> -<p><a name="page730"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -730</span>“Colonel Hobson perceiving the alteration of the -foresaid woman, by her blood settling in her right parts, caused -her to be brought again, and her cloaths pulled up to her thigh, -and required the scot to run the pin into the same place, and -then it gushed out of blood, and the said scot cleared her, and -said she was not a child of the devil. So soon as he had -done, and received his wages, he went into Northumberland to try -women there, where he got of some 3<i>l.</i> a-piece. But -Henry Ogle Esq. a late member of parliament, laid hold on him, -and required bond of him, to answer the sessions, but he got away -for Scotland, and it was conceived, if he had staid, he would -have made most of the women in the north witches, for -money.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>The poor Newcastle women, whom this wretch had set aside and -pronounced guilty, were put in prison till the assizes, when 14 -of them, and <i>one man</i>, were condemned, and afterwards -executed: all solemnly protesting their innocence. Their -names are mentioned at page 115 of the said book. The truth -of the above account is attested by three persons, whose names it -is needless to insert here.—As to the infamous witch-finder -himself, we are told that “he was afterwards taken up in -Scotland, cast into prison, indicted, arraigned, and condemned -for such like villanie exercised in Scotland: and on the gallows -confessed he had been the death of above 220 women, in England -and Scotland, for the gain of 20<i>s.</i> a-piece, and beseeched -forgiveness, and was executed.”</p> -<p>The author of the work from which this account is extracted, -indignantly inquires, “by what law the magistrates <a -name="page731"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 731</span>of -Newcastle could send to another nation for a mercenary person to -try women for witches? and set the bellman to cry for them to be -brought in?—and give 20<i>s.</i> a piece to the former to -condemn them?” These queries we know not how to -answer, but by supposing that the whole was a <i>lawless</i>, as -well as a most iniquitous, barbarous, and scandalous -business. The magistrates of Newcastle certainly appear on -this occasion a vile and infamous crew, whose memory ought to be -held up to the horror of perpetual detestation. How much -better the magistrates of Lynn would have appeared, had we so -particular an account of their proceedings, when they sent for -Hopkins, it is impossible now to say. Their conduct, to say -the least of it, appears sufficiently dark and despicable.</p> -<p>While we feel and express a just indignation against the -witchfinders, as well as against the spies and informers and such -like miscreants, we ought not to forget how much the existence, -sufferance, and employment of them reflect on the character of -the rulers and magistrates of those days, and even of the nation, -or public at large; for had these been sufficiently enlightened -and humanized, those detestable wretches had never been -encouraged and employed, or even endured in the country. -How baleful and deplorable therefore must intellectual blindness -or ignorance be in any community? how desirable, important, and -necessary for all descriptions of men, is the true knowledge of -their respective rights and duties! Had our magistrates and -legislators always possessed that knowledge, and acted -accordingly, our <a name="page732"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -732</span>annals had never been disgraced, as they are, with the -recital of so many acts of injustice and oppression, or with such -shocking accounts of the torturing, burning, and hanging of so -many reputed criminals, under the misapplied and odious names of -witches, heretics, and blasphemers.</p> -<h4><span class="smcap">Section</span> III.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>Additional observations on Witchcraft</i>, -<i>and on the absurd and superstitious notions entertained by our -ancestors concerning witches</i>, <i>as well as their deep-rooted -and deadly antipathy against all those whom they considered as -such</i>.</p> -<p>That the world abounded in former ages, and from the remotest -periods, with jugglers and other sorts of artful impostors, who -pretended to the knowledge of future events and other secrets, -and so supported themselves and acquired great names by working -upon the weakness, or imposing upon the credulity of mankind, is -well known. Being of different sorts they went under -different names, according to their respective pretensions, or -peculiar, apparent, or professed modes of proceeding. Hence -we speak of them under the various appellations of magicians, -sorcerers, diviners, conjurers, witches and wizards, &c. -each, or most of which denote a certain distinction of character -or operation. <a name="citation732"></a><a href="#footnote732" -class="citation">[732]</a> There were <a -name="page733"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 733</span>among them -from the earliest times ventriloquists and consummate jugglers, -well skilled in the arts of dexterity, or slight of hand tricks, -and their operations served, (as real miracles did with the true -prophets,) to gain credit to their declarations and -pretensions. Thus their high and solemn professions, with -the aid of gastriloquy, legerdemain or juggling, obtained credit -in the world, so as to establish their character or fame, and -perpetuate the delusion. Falshood assumed the name or place -of truth, and fiction that of reality: and those who were thus -taken in, or imposed upon, have always with difficulty been -undeceived.</p> -<p>Formerly the names of magicians, sorcerers, witches, &c. -were appropriated to those only who avowed or professed -themselves to be such; but latterly, or in more recent times, -they seem to have been chiefly, if not entirely appropriated to -those who did <i>not</i> make such an avowal or profession, and -who even disclaimed any such imputation or pretension. And, -what is exceedingly remarkable, those who were uncommonly -knowing, and those who were uncommonly ignorant became <a -name="page734"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 734</span>now equally -the objects of suspicion, and were of course included under one -or another of those appellations; as if extraordinary -intelligence and extraordinary stupidity equally indicated an -alliance or confederacy with the devil. Such men as -<i>Roger Bacon</i> and <i>Galileo</i>, the most enlightened of -their species, were more than suspected to be <i>sorcerers</i>, -and multitudes of poor creatures, mostly old women, who were no -way distinguished from the rest of the community, except by their -extreme poverty, or extreme ignorance, have been treated in the -most brutal manner, and in the end burnt or hanged, under the -opprobrious name of <i>witches</i>—in the infamy of which -conduct, as we have shewn, this town is deeply implicated.</p> -<p>Before the reformation there was, it seems, in this country a -regular board of justice, for the constant apprehension and -conviction of magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, witches, &c. -and a warrant is said to be still extant for the seizing of one -Thomas Northfield, <i>professor of divinity</i>, and -<i>sorcerer</i>, with all his books and instruments. <a -name="citation734a"></a><a href="#footnote734a" -class="citation">[734a]</a> This double character, of -conjurer and divine, exhibits the poor fellow in a queer kind of -light, as a sort of amphibious animal. What he was as a -divine, it is impossible now to ascertain. He might be -eminent, or he might not. <a name="citation734b"></a><a -href="#footnote734b" class="citation">[734b]</a> But his -being also a sorcerer or conjurer, in the usual acceptations of -those <a name="page735"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -735</span>words, seems no way entitled to credit; so that his -lying under that imputation, or his being so reputed, was merely -the effect of the blind superstition which then prevailed, and -which usually ascribed every appearance of superior genius or -intelligence to a diabolical inspiration.</p> -<p>After the reformation, the rage against witches and sorcerers -underwent no abatement. New laws were enacted against them, -and reputed offenders were prosecuted with the utmost -rigour. The most learned of our sovereigns, (Henry VIII. -and James I.) not only strongly believed in the existence of such -offenders, but likewise held them in the greatest abhorrence: -Hence by statute 33 Henry VIII, c. 8. witchcraft and sorcery are -made felony without benefit of clergy; and by statute 1 Jac. 1. -c. 12. it is enacted, “that all persons invoking any evil -spirit, or consulting, covenanting with, entertaining, employing, -<i>feeding</i>, or <i>rewarding</i> any evil spirit; or taking up -dead bodies from their graves to be used in any witchcraft, -sorcery, charm, or enchantment; or killing, or otherwise hurting -any person by such infernal arts; should be guilty of felony -without benefit of clergy, and suffer death. And if any -person should attempt by sorcery to discover hidden treasure, or -to restore stolen goods, or to provoke unlawful love, or to hurt -any man or beast, though the same were not effected, he or she -should suffer imprisonment and pillory for the first offence, and -death for the second.” These acts (judge Blackstone -says) <a name="page736"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -736</span>“continued in force till lately, to the terror of -all ancient females in the kingdom: and many poor wretches were -sacrificed to the prejudice of their neighbours and their own -illusion; not a few having, by some means or other, confessed the -fact at the gallows. But (he adds,) all executions for this -dubious crime are now at an end. Accordingly it is with us -enacted by statute 9 Geo. II. c. 5. that no prosecution shall be -carried on against any person for conjuration, witchcraft, -sorcery, or inchantment. <a name="citation736a"></a><a -href="#footnote736a" class="citation">[736a]</a> But the -misdemeanor of persons pretending to use witchcraft, tell -fortunes, or discover stolen goods by skill in the occult -sciences, is still deservedly punished with a year’s -imprisonment, and standing four times in the pillory.” <a -name="citation736b"></a><a href="#footnote736b" -class="citation">[736b]</a></p> -<p>Thus it appears that it was not till the last reign that the -sanguinary laws against witchcraft &c. were repealed in this -country; so that we had enjoyed the light of the reformation full -200 years before we discerned the injustice and bloodguiltiness -of those laws, or even the folly and absurdity of believing that -those poor, ignorant, defenceless women, whom we were pleased to -call witches, had actually sold their souls and bodies to the <a -name="page737"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 737</span>devil, and -had in exchange obtained from him the power of working -miracles. For we always imputed to our witches a -supernatural power, which we deemed one of their essential -characteristics: and we firmly believed that they could fly, or -ride in the air upon broomsticks, change themselves into the form -of other animals, injure their neighbours in their persons or -property, by their looks, their thoughts, or their wishes, -&c. Now, if not only the public at large and the -juries, but even the judges and legislators could believe all -this, what wonder is it if some of the poor old women could do so -too, as they are said to have sometimes made such a -confession? Their confession, however, appears to have been -often, if not always, the mere effect of terror and confusion. <a -name="citation737"></a><a href="#footnote737" -class="citation">[737]</a> Poor hapless creatures! without -a friend in the world to take their part, or speak a word in -their behalf; terrified also and confounded beyond measure by the -presence of their judge and the awful apparatus of a court of -Justice, they would confess any thing that might be urged upon -them, and all without thought or reflection, or even knowing what -they said.</p> -<p>It is not unworthy of observation that witches were formerly, -even by our legislators, classed with heretics, and witchcraft -went under the name of heresy, being <a name="page738"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 738</span>deemed a species of that offence, -and subjected to the same punishment, that of -<i>burning</i>. It might quite as well have gone under the -name of <i>rebellion</i> or <i>high treason</i>, or any other -crime, for it has as much affinity with them, to the full, as it -has with heresy. It is astonishing how often, or how -commonly it is that human laws and governments are characterized -by ignorance, absurdity, injustice, cruelty, <i>folly</i> and -<i>madness</i>. So unfortunate in general has the world -been in its rulers, that most of them have proved its greatest -enemies, though often extolled to the skies, for every imaginable -excellence, by the vile sycophants that surround them, and the -vermin of every province and district who live and fatten on -their oppressive and rapacious devices.</p> -<h4><span class="smcap">Section</span> IV.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>Summary view of the whole -subject—account of proceedings against witches in this -country till the repeal of the laws that chiefly affected -them—hints on the present state of the nation in regard to -this and its kindred delusions</i>.</p> -<p>The proper idea of <i>witchcraft</i>, it is presumed, has been -already very plainly suggested; but lest it should not seem -sufficiently clear to our readers in general, it may be proper to -attempt here a more explicit definition. We say therefore -that witchcraft is a supernatural power <a -name="page739"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 739</span>which -persons were supposed to obtain the possession of by entering -into compact with the devil. It was believed that they had -given themselves up to him body and soul; and that he engaged on -his part that they should want for nothing, and that he would -avenge them upon all their enemies:—also, that as soon as -the bargain was concluded, the devil delivered up to the witch an -imp, or familiar spirit, to be ready at a call and do whatever it -was directed. By the assistance of this imp and the devil -together, [that is, of both the young devil and the old one,] the -witch, who was almost always an old woman, was enabled, as it was -firmly believed, to do very marvellous feats—even to -transport herself in the air, on a broomstick or a spit, to -distant places to attend the assemblies or meetings of the -witches; for, according to this belief, or way of thinking, the -witches, (like some of our modern sects,) actually had their -<i>assemblies</i>, <i>associations</i>, or general -<i>conferences</i>, at which the devil himself always -presided. It was also believed that they were enabled to -transform themselves into various shapes, particularly to assume -the forms of <i>cats</i> and <i>hares</i>, in which they most -delighted; to inflict diseases on whomsoever they thought proper; -and to punish their enemies in a variety of ways. <a -name="citation739"></a><a href="#footnote739" -class="citation">[739]</a> These ideas of witchery could -not obtain belief among the heathens, as they had no knowledge of -our <i>devil</i>.</p> -<p><a name="page740"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 740</span>Under -popish darkness and delusion these views of witchcraft -universally obtained in Europe till the 16th century, and the -doctrine maintained its ground with tolerable firmness till after -the middle of the seventeenth, and even till the former part of -the eighteenth century, when it was obliged to give way to more -rational views of things. Vast numbers of reputed witches -were here, in <i>protestant</i> and <i>evangelical England</i>, -convicted and condemned to be burnt every year; and a man who had -the hardihood to deny the doctrine, or doubt of its truth, would -be at once suspected of atheism, and perhaps run the risk of -being burnt, if not for downright witchcraft, yet at least for -advocating the cause, and being the agent of his Satanic majesty. -<a name="citation740"></a><a href="#footnote740" -class="citation">[740]</a></p> -<p>Of the <i>methods of discovering witches</i>, one was to weigh -the supposed criminal against the <i>church bible</i>, which, if -she was guilty, would preponderate. Another method was by -making her attempt to say the Lord’s Prayer; this no witch -was able to repeat entirely, but would omit some part or other: -all witches did not hesitate at the same place; some leaving out -one part and some another.—It was also believed that -witches always said their prayers -<i>backwards</i>.—<i>Teats</i>, though which the imps -suckled, were indubitable marks of a witch: these were always -raw, and also insensible; and, if squeezed, sometimes yielded a -drop of blood. A witch could not weep more than three -tears, and that only out of the left eye. This want of -tears was, by <a name="page741"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -741</span>the witchfinders, and even by some <i>judges</i>, -considered as a very substantial proof of guilt. -<i>Swimming</i> a witch, as was before observed, was another kind -of popular ordeal generally practised: for this she was stript -naked, and cross bound, the right thumb to the left toe, and the -left thumb to the right toe. Thus prepared, she was thrown -into a pond or river, in which, if guilty, she could not sink; -for having, as was said before, by her compact with the devil, -renounced the benefit of the water of baptism, that element, in -its turn, renounced her, and refused to receive her into its -bosom.</p> -<p>The trial by <i>stool</i>, another method for the discovery of -witches, was thus managed: having taken the suspected witch, she -was placed in the middle of a room upon a stool or table, cross -legged, or in some other uneasy posture; to which if she -submitted not, she was bound with cords: there she was watched, -and kept without food or sleep, for twenty four hours; for it was -believed that they should within that time see her imp come and -suck. A little hole was therefore made in the door for the -imp to come in at: and lest he should come in a less discernible -shape, they that watched were taught to be frequently sweeping -the room, and, if they saw any <i>spiders</i> or <i>flies</i>, to -kill them; if they could not kill them, then they might be sure -they were <i>imps</i>.</p> -<p>If witches, under examination or torture, would not confess, -all their apparel was changed, and every hair of their body -shaven off with a sharp razor, lest they should secrete magical -charms to prevent their confessing. <a -name="page742"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 742</span>Witches -were believed to be most apt to confess on -<i>Fridays</i>.—The two following expedients, or fiery -ordeals, are also mentioned, as used to extort confession: the -first, burning the thatch of the house of the suspected witch; -the other, burning any animal supposed to be bewitched by her, as -a hog or ox. These, it was held would force a witch to -confess, <a name="citation742"></a><a href="#footnote742" -class="citation">[742]</a> in spite of her teeth, or of the -devil.—Our ancestors, strange as it may seem, persisted in -the belief and practice, or observance of these horrid -monstrosities till within the memory of some of the present -generation. Nor had they perhaps relinquished or abandoned -them quite so soon, but for the laudable exertions of such men as -Locke and Addison, and their enlightened contemporaries.</p> -<p>Our kings, courtiers, and legislators were all believers in -witchcraft, and hearty approvers of the existing laws against -that reputed crime. One of the former, and deemed the -<i>wisest</i> of that sacred order, and the <i>Solomon</i> of his -day, (James I,) wrote a book in defence of that belief, and of -subjecting witches to capital punishment; and when <i>Reginald -Scott</i>, the first of our countrymen who ventured to dissent -froth the popular creed and write on the other side of the -question, published his book, his majesty ordered it to be -<i>burnt</i> by the common hangman. The whole nation -approved of the royal and <a name="page743"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 743</span>magnanimous deed, and poor Scott -passed for a notorious heretic.—It is not a little -mortifying and humiliating to the dignity and pride of man, that -the same stupid and absurd notions about witchcraft were among -the articles of the creed of the great lord <i>Bacon</i> and his -most enlightened contemporaries, as well as of their wise -sovereign, and the whole body of the mobility or national -rabblement. The poor witches, of course, had then almost -terrible time of it; as much so, probably, to the full, as in the -darkest days of popery.</p> -<p>Under Charles I, the Common-wealth, and succeeding reigns, the -public opinion on this subject continued unchanged, and the -judicial proceedings against witches went on as before. If -they exceeded at any particular period, we presume it must have -been under the <i>Common-wealth</i>, when the witch-finders -appear to have been in full employment, and at the height of -their prosperity. But we can hardly give credit to the -account which Dr. Zachary Grey said he had seen, of between 3 and -4000 persons who suffered death, in the British dominions, for -witchcraft, from the year 1640 to 1660. The spirit which -then predominated and reigned, was certainly violent enough, and -bore cruelly hard on the poor creatures who were accused of -witchcraft: but such a number of victims in so short a space of -time, is surely too excessive and extravagant to be -credited. It is however greatly to be regretted that the -leaders of that interesting period adhered in this particular to -the creed of their ancestors, and were so stupidly in the dark as -they appear to have been on this and some other subjects.</p> -<p><a name="page744"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 744</span>It -does not appear, as far as the present writer has discovered, -that any of the <i>judges</i>, till after the revolution, shewed -the least inclination to discountenance the prosecution of -reputed witches, or the prevailing and popular notions about -witchcraft. Even <i>Sir Matthew Hale</i> went with the -stream of public opinion, and was among those oracles of the law -who passed, without hesitation, the sentence of death on those -whom the verdict of a jury pronounced guilty of that reputed -crime. <i>Sir John Holt</i> and <i>Sir John Powel</i>, to -their immortal honour, appear to have been the first of our -English judges who viewed this pretended offence with minds -superior to vulgar prejudice. The conduct of the former, on -a certain trial for that offence, is said to have been such as -put an end to all similar prosecutions in that part of the -country, and even throughout the kingdom. <a -name="citation744"></a><a href="#footnote744" -class="citation">[744]</a> But the law was not repealed or -altered in his time.</p> -<p><a name="page745"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 745</span>As to -the latter, (Judge Powel,) we hear of two different trials for -this offence before him. At one of them, a witness gave -evidence that the prisoner at the bar could <i>fly</i>: on which -the judge asked the poor woman, if it really was so, and she -answered in the affirmative; <a name="page746"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 746</span>when the judge, with a promptitude -of expression which evinced the superiority of his understanding, -told her, so she might if she would; he knew of no law against -it. How this trial ended we are not told; but we may be -very sure that his lordship did all he could to get the prisoner -acquitted. The other trial for witchcraft before him was -that of <i>Jane Wenham</i>, at Hertford, March 4. 1712. The -prisoner was charged with having bewitched several persons, and -had the weakness, it seems, sometime before the trial, to confess -herself guilty of the alleged crime: and though she afterwards -accounted for this confession, as arising from terror, it appears -to have had considerable influence on the minds of the jury, in -spite of the endeavours of the humane judge to explain and -invalidate the evidence brought against her. She was -accordingly brought in guilty; but the judge reprieved her, and -the queen soon after pardoned her.</p> -<p>One of the principal witnesses against the prisoner on this -trial, as well as one of the principal writers in the controversy -to which it gave rise, was Mr. Bragge, vicar of Hitchin. -This gentlemen, in his evidence on the trial, declared, on -“the faith of a clergyman,” that “he believed -the prisoner to be a witch:” whereupon the judge told him, -that, therefore, “on the Truth of a Judge, he took him to -be no conjurer.” After she was pardoned, a gentleman -in the country provided her an apartment over his stables, sent -her victuals from his table, and suffered her to attend on his -children: and we are informed that she was ever after looked upon -<a name="page747"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 747</span>by the -family as an honest, good natured woman. <a -name="citation747a"></a><a href="#footnote747a" -class="citation">[747a]</a> Here we will venture to add -that the conduct of the judge and the queen was as just and -commendable as that of the prosecutors and the jury was vile and -infamous.</p> -<p>In 1716, about four years after the above trial, came on at -Huntingdon, for the same offence, before judge <i>Wilmot</i>, the -trial of <i>Mary Hicks</i> and <i>Elizabeth</i> her daughter, -<i>nine</i> years of age. They were, it seems, the wife and -favourite child of a substantial farmer, who had them -apprehended, and became himself, most unnaturally, the principal -prosecutor. The child had practised some silly illusions on -her father’s weakness, and the mother had had recourse to -the antiquated folly of killing her neighbours in effigy. -On this the suspicion of their being witches was founded. A -confession on their part, not only corroborated that suspicion, -but was taken as a full proof of their guilt: “and judge -Wilmot suffered them to be hanged, upon that confession, four -years (says Mr. Gough,) after his wiser brother, (judge Powel,) -ventured his own life to save that of the old woman at -Hertford.”</p> -<p>About twenty years after the date of this disgraceful and -tragical trial, the 9th. of Geo. II, the old laws which made -witchcraft a capital crime were happily repealed. How many -more of such prosecutions or executions took place within those -twenty years we are not able to say. <a -name="citation747b"></a><a href="#footnote747b" -class="citation">[747b]</a> But it does not appear that the -inhabitants <a name="page748"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -748</span>in general, or the lower orders of the community which -constitute the bulk of the nation, have ever yet been fully -satisfied with the repeal of those laws. Hence they have -been often ready to take the business into their own hands and -proceed in a summary and very savage way against those whom they -have thought proper to deem or denominate witches. A -shocking case of this kind occurred at <i>Fring</i> in -<i>Hertfordshire</i> as lately as 1751, when one <i>Ruth -Osborn</i>, a reputed witch, fell a victim to the stupid -credulity and abominable prejudice of a frantic mob: and though -several of the ringleaders in that bloody and brutal transaction -were afterwards hanged, yet the blind and superstitious belief -that produced it remained still in the country, and is, even now, -in many, if not in most parts of the kingdom as strong as -ever.</p> -<p>But little more than two years ago, as was observed before, -one <i>Ann Izzard</i>, a poor, honest, industrious woman, of -Great Paxton in Huntingdonshire, was very near meeting the same -fate with the above Ruth Osborn. Two or three young women -in the neighbourhood having fits, some people there gave out, -that they were bewitched, and the suspicion fell upon Ann Izzard: -a loaded cart sometime after, oversetting on its return from St. -Neot’s market, while the same woman was in company, that -accident was ascribed to her witchery. This confirmed and -established the public opinion of her being actually a witch, and -immediately set the whole parish in an uproar: “She has -just overturned a loaded cart with as much ease as if it had <a -name="page749"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 749</span>been a -spinning wheel,” was echoed from one end of it to the -other. Men, women, and children raised their voices and -exclaimed, “we have now sufficient proof of her -guilt—this last act in open day speaks for itself—she -is the person that does all the mischief; and if something is not -done to put a stop to her baseness there will be no living in the -place.”—Nor did this fit of phrensy terminate till -they had made two attacks upon her, which, atrocious as they -appeared to rational and enlightened people, where considered, by -themselves as not only justifiable but highly meritorious. -They were proceeding to still greater atrocities, which she -escaped through the interposition of some of her more humane -neighbours, who took her under their protection, and had the -offenders prosecuted. <a name="citation749"></a><a -href="#footnote749" class="citation">[749]</a></p> -<p><a name="page750"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 750</span>But -let us not suppose that it is only in <i>Hertfordshire</i> and -<i>Huntingdonshire</i> that this stupid belief in the existence -of witches still maintains its ground among us: there every -reason to conclude, for all our boasted advancement in knowledge, -that a large majority of our population is still subject to this -stupidity, and strong in the faith of witchcraft. It is -much to be wished we could here make an exception in favour of -<i>Norfolk</i>, and particularly of <i>Lynn</i>. But it -cannot be done. A great part of this county is known to be -exceedingly dark and heathenish; and the vicinity of this town -may be said to be much in the same predicament. Even of the -town itself the majority of the population appear to be in a -miserable low estate, in point of moral as well as religious -cultivation. It is therefore not to be wondered at if a -belief in such things as witchcraft and conjuration should be -here still very common and prevalent.</p> -<p><a name="page751"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 751</span>The -author presumes that there is no need to apologize for the length -of these historical strictures on witchcraft; the belief of it -being, even now, so general among us. As he deems it a -vulgar error, or popular delusion of a most disgraceful -character, and pernicious tendency, he wished to expose it with -effect, which he thought he could not do more briefly. He -has long observed, with regret, how tenaciously a large -proportion of the population of this town and country still -adhere to their old blind prejudices; and he would gladly -contribute, as far as he can, towards weakening that -adherence. The success, indeed, of all efforts in this way -seems almost hopeless; our countrymen’s progress here, from -darkness to light, having been hitherto so exceedingly slow and -sluggish. A belief in the existence or reality of -conjuration and witchcraft, and in the almost boundless power and -dominion of a malignant being, called the <i>devil</i>, is yet, -even now in the nineteenth century, among our deep-rooted -delusions. That it is really so, might be exemplified and -proved from many undeniable facts, as well as some very recent -and striking occurrences. <a name="citation751"></a><a -href="#footnote751" class="citation">[751]</a> But we will -<a name="page752"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 752</span>now -dismiss the subject, and proceed to another division of the work, -where new scenes will present themselves to our view.</p> -<h3><a name="page753"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -753</span>CHAP. IV.</h3> -<p class="gutsumm">History of Lynn, from the meeting of the long -parliament, and the commencement of the civil war, to the -Restoration.</p> -<p>The long parliament, during the first years of its existence, -exhibited, perhaps, a body of national representatives, the most -respectable in point of talents and integrity, that this country -could ever boast of, or has at any time produced. Between -the patriotism of that assembly and the despotism of the court; -there was certainly a most visible and striking contrast. -The difference between these patriots and the government, arose -from the oppressive proceedings of the latter, and their flagrant -encroachments upon the rights and liberties of the people. -The patriots heartily espoused the people’s cause; but as -their oppressors would not listen to reason, or cease from their -tyranny, and give security for their future good behaviour, an -appeal was made to the sword, which produced the civil war, of -which, together with its memorable effects or consequences, <a -name="page754"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 754</span>especially -as they affected, or related to this town, we shall now proceed -to lay before the reader a brief account, which will enable him -to form some idea of the principal occurrences of that -period.</p> -<h4><span class="smcap">Section</span> I.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>Hints relating to some occurrences -here</i>, <i>anterior to the breaking out of the war—Lynn -declares for the king—its previous conduct charged with -duplicity—siege and surrender of the town—subsequent -events</i>.</p> -<p>Among the arbitrary measures of the government, which affected -this town previously to the commencement of the war, was the -levying of <i>Ship-money</i>. In 1634, the town is said to -have been assessed towards a ship of 800 tons, with 260 men; but -it does not appear what was the amount of the assessment. -Two years after, however, (Nov. 6. 1637,) we learn, from the -corporation books, that “the town was assessed 200<i>l.</i> -for a ship of war.” This sum may be supposed nearly, -if not quite equal to 2000<i>l.</i> of our money. We mean -not to say that it was excessive or exorbitant: it was certainly -arbitrary, and therefore illegal and objectionable. But by -the heads of the town, if we may judge by their subsequent -conduct, it was not deemed a serious grievance, or perhaps any -grievance at all; for they declared for the court, and against -the party which opposed those lawless exactions.</p> -<p><a name="page755"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 755</span>In -the succeeding years, previously to the commencement of the war, -the town appears to have been closely and carefully guarded, so -that none were allowed to enter without permission: hence we find -in 1639, the mayor appointing “two warders for the day -time, one to stand at the South, and the other the -East-Gate;” and the same to continue, “so long as he -shall think fitting these dangerous times.” In 1640 -and 1641, the town may be supposed guarded no less vigilantly; in -the beginning of 1642, it was, it seems, further fortified, and -furnished with seven pieces of brass cannon from London. In -the early part of the same year, captain <i>Sherwood</i> of -Norwich, at the head of a troop of dragoons, came close under -<i>St. Catherine’s Wall</i>, by the East-Gate, and demanded -admittance, but was denied, says Mackerel, “by the mayor -and townsmen”—but we presume it must have been rather -by the <i>governor</i>; who, at that time, if we are not -mistaken, was <i>Sir Hamon L’Estrange</i>, the father of -the afterwards famous <i>Sir Roger</i>.</p> -<p>The three gates were now furnished with draw-bridges, and the -town, from its situation and the repairs bestowed on its -fortifications, must have been pretty strong. The -parliament also thought it a place of no small consequence, and -therefore it was besieged and taken at an early stage of the war, -by the earl of Manchester, one of their commanders, at the head -of a very respectable and formidable force, well supplied with -artillery. The town held out near three weeks; for the -siege began on August 28. and the place surrendered <a -name="page756"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 756</span>on the -16th. of September. Of this memorable siege and surrender, -the following account is extracted from Rushworth’s -Historical Collections, vol. 5. p. 283, which it is hoped will -not prove unacceptable to the reader.</p> -<blockquote><p>“The town of Lynn Regis (says Rushworth,) -advantageously situated on an arm of the sea, had for a long -while fortified itself, on pretence of <i>neutrality</i>, and for -their own defence; but afterwards shewed themselves <i>wholly for -the king</i>: wherefore the earl of Manchester being made the -parliament’s major-general, for the associated counties of -Norfolk, Suffolk, &c. resolved to reduce it; and in order -thereunto, seized the town of <i>Old Lynn</i>, and there planted -ordnance, which much annoyed them in the other town. And -two approaches were made, one by the causeway that leads to the -<i>South</i>, and the other to the <i>East-gate</i>.” -[Against the latter,] “The besieged made a brisk sally, and -at once fired two houses in Gauwood, [Gaywood] intending to have -destroyed the whole town, that the enemy might not have quarters -there. But that party were beaten in, and the rest of the -houses preserved. The besiegers summoned in pioneers, from -all the neighbouring parts, and by degrees brought their -approaches within half musket shot: and had begun from a battery -on a hill, near to the end of the town, next the sea, and -resolved upon storming the town, both by land and water, having -provided many boats and ladders for that purpose. But then -received a letter from the town, intimating their willingness to -capitulate: <a name="page757"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -757</span>and so a treaty was agreed on, to be had by eight -persons of a side. Those for the earl of Manchester were, -<i>Sir John Pargrave</i>, <i>Col. Russel</i>, <i>Col. Walton</i>, -<i>Mr. Philip Calthorpe</i>, <i>Mr. John Pickering</i>, <i>Mr. -Gregory Gosset</i>, <i>Mr. John Spilman</i>, and <i>Mr. William -Goodz</i>. For the town <i>Sir Hamon L’Estrange</i>, -<i>Sir Richard Hovell</i>, <i>Mr. Clinch</i>, <i>Mr. Dereham</i>, -<i>Mr. Pallet</i> their <i>recorder</i>, <i>Mr. Hudson</i> the -<i>mayor elect</i>, <i>Mr. Leek</i>, and <i>Mr. Kirby</i>: -Between whom, after a long debate, it was agreed to this -effect,—1. That the town, with the ordnance, arms, and -ammunition be delivered to the earl, and he to enter the -town.—2. That the gentlemen strangers in the town, shall -have liberty to depart, with every man a horse, sword and -pistols.—3. That the townsmen shall enjoy all rights and -privileges appertaining to them, with free trading as far as may -consist with law.—4. All prisoners on both sides to be set -at liberty.—5. That the desires of the town touching -certain of their ships taken by the parliament frigates, shall be -represented by the earl, to the parliament and the earl of -<i>Warwick</i>.—6. That neither the persons nor estates, of -any inhabitants or strangers now resident in Lynn, shall be -molested for any thing past, or done by them since the earl of -Manchester’s coming into these parts.—7. That, for -preventing of plundering, the town shall raise and pay <i>ten -shillings a man</i>, to all <i>private soldiers</i> under the -earl’s command, and a <i>fortnight’s pay</i> to the -<i>officers</i>.—8. and lastly, That <i>Sir Hamon -L’Estrange</i>, <i>Sir Richard Hovell</i>, <i>Capt. -Clinch</i>, <i>Mr. Recorder</i>, <i>Mr. Dereham</i>, and <i>Mr. -Leek</i>, remain as hostages, until the conditions be -performed.”</p> -<p><a name="page758"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -758</span>“The same night, part of the Earl’s forces -took possession of the town; and the next morning his lordship -made his entry, and sent 500 men to <i>Hull</i>. Soon after -be withdrew the rest of his forces into Lincolnshire, leaving -Col. <i>Walton</i> governor of Lynn.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Here it may be observed, that the forces that besieged and -took Lynn, consisted solely of infantry: the cavalry attached to -this army had remained in Lincolnshire, under the command of -<i>Cromwell</i>, who was now beginning to distinguish himself as -a soldier. But neither he nor his cavalry, were present at -this siege, though some people have thought otherwise, for no -better reason, seemingly, than the idle presumption that Cromwell -must have been concerned in all the notable transactions of that -memorable period.</p> -<p>Among the remarkable occurrences which took place here during -this siege, the following has been found in a certain MS. account -of the town—</p> -<blockquote><p>“On Sunday the 3rd of September, in the -afternoon, and in the middle of the sermon, came a shot of 18lb -weight in at the window over the west door of St. -Margaret’s church, and took the middle pillar a great part -off, and broke it in many hundred pieces, dispersing them in all -directions, all over the church. One piece of the stone, -fell into a seat at the lower end of the church, where five men -set, [sat,] and split the board before them, on which they laid -their books; but no harm was done to them. The preacher, a -reverend divine, named <i>Mr. Hinson</i>, left his sermon and -came out of the church, and all the people departed in a most -confused manner; <a name="citation759a"></a><a -href="#footnote759a" class="citation">[759a]</a> <a -name="page759"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 759</span>some -leaving their hatts, some their books, and some their scarves; -but, praised be God, no further hurt was done to any -person.” <a name="citation759b"></a><a href="#footnote759b" -class="citation">[759b]</a></p> -</blockquote> -<p>Near three months after the surrender of Lynn, the following -order of both houses was issued, bearing date December 9th -1643—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Forasmuch as the Earl of Manchester, in his -articles of agreement with the town of king’s Lynn, -remitted the offence in reference to himself and his array while -they lay before the town; but touched upon no private injuries -done by the malignants to the well-affected: it is this day -ordered by the Lords and Commons that such persons as did take -any of the goods of the well-affected, by themselves or such as -they appointed, or did any damage to their houses or mills, or -any other ways, shall make restitution to all such well-affected -persons as have been damnified, according to the greatness of -their losses. And that <i>Col. Walton</i>, governor of -King’s Lynn, <i>Mr. Percival</i> and <i>Mr. Toll</i>, -members of the House of Commons, [for that town,] shall examine -what damage hath been done to the well-affected, and appoint such -as have done them injury to make them reparation accordingly: and -if any of them shall refuse to make such reparation, that the -said governor, Mr. Percival, and Mr. Toll, shall <a -name="page760"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 760</span>have power -to sequester so much of the estates of such malignants as will -make the reparation, and assign it to those that have been -damnified.” <a name="citation760a"></a><a -href="#footnote760a" class="citation">[760a]</a></p> -</blockquote> -<p>Hence it appears, that the town was then divided into two -great political parties, the most powerful of which approving, -and even admiring the corruptions and insanities of the Court: -how far the case is similar or dissimilar at present, we need not -say.</p> -<p>Sometime after the above order was issued by the two Houses, a -party of royalists, at the head of which was young -<i>L’Estrange</i>, afterwards the noted Sir <i>Roger</i>, -formed a plan for surprising the town and recovering it for the -king, who had granted him a commission, constituting him its -governor, in case of success. But the design was betrayed -by two of his confederates, though both bound by an oath of -secrecy: which shews what trusty and choice hands they -were. L’Estrange was consequently seized, tried by a -court-martial, and condemned to die as a traitor. The -sentence however was not executed. He remained in prison -from 1644 till 1648, when he luckily escaped, and sometime after -got out of the kingdom, where he remained, as was said before, <a -name="citation760b"></a><a href="#footnote760b" -class="citation">[760b]</a> till the autumn of 1653, when he -succeeded in making his peace with the Protector: after which he -lived in this country unmolested to the day of his death, when he -was at a very advanced age.</p> -<p>About two years after L’Estrange’s adventure, we -find the following notice taken of this town in a Public <a -name="page761"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 761</span>Paper, -called “The Weekly Account,” of Wednesday May 6. -1646—It is an order of Parliament dated April 31. and thus -worded—“Whereas the town of Lynn Regis hath suffered -very much by the <i>Lord Paulet</i>, It is ordered that -reparation should be made to the said town, <i>according to their -Petition</i>, out of his estate.”—The <i>Weekly -account</i> was a quarto news-paper, of one sheet, -“containing certain special and remarkable passages from -both Houses of Parliament, and collections of several Letters -from the armies.”—We no where else meet with any -account or intimation of damages sustained by Lynn from <i>Lord -Paulet</i>: but the fact cannot be doubted. The town, it -appears, had complained to Parliament, and <i>petitioned</i> on -the occasion. Could that petition be found, it would, no -doubt, cast some light upon this dark part of our history.</p> -<p>It is very certain that this town was no small sufferer during -that revolutionary period, as appears from the Journal of the -House of Commons in Rushworth’s Historical Collections, -Vol. 7. p. 1217, where we find the following -passage—“Saturday, August 5, 1648. The House -was informed that the town of <i>Lynn Regis</i> did want much -repair, being ruined by these times of war. The House -ordered 2000 oaks for reparation thereof.” This -conduct of the parliament, or <i>then</i> House of Commons looked -well, as it indicated some regard for <i>justice</i>. We -seldom, if ever, meet with similar instances in the conduct of -the other, or opposite party. It is not very usual with -crowned heads, or <a name="page762"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -762</span>their minions, to think much of making reparation for -injuries, much and devoutly as it is to be wished, that it always -formed a prominent and essential part of their character.</p> -<p>For the remaining years, down to the restoration, this town -appears to have remained tranquil, and pretty loyal to the -constituted authorities, or new order of things. It seems -also to have soon surmounted its former sufferings, <a -name="citation762a"></a><a href="#footnote762a" -class="citation">[762a]</a> and to have fast advanced in wealth -and prosperity. We discover no particular symptoms of -disaffection here within those years, unless it was about 1650, -when there was an insurrection of the royalists in this county, -and a <i>major Saul</i>, a worthy gentleman, as an old MS. says, -was hanged here in the Tuesday market place, for being concerned, -it seems, in that affair.</p> -<p>About the same time, or within the same year, one <i>Dorothy -Floyd</i>, (or <i>Lloyd</i>,) also was hanged here, as the same -old MS. says, for <i>Witchcraft</i>: which we now just mention, -as we had overlooked it before, in our account of those who -unhappily suffered at Lynn for that reputed or imaginary crime. -<a name="citation762b"></a><a href="#footnote762b" -class="citation">[762b]</a></p> -<h4><a name="page763"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -763</span><span class="smcap">Section</span> II.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>Cromwell in much request at Lynn about the -commencement of this period—the reason of it -conjectured—his visit here</i>, <i>and that of -Fairfax—character or quality of the then parliamentary -representatives of the town—how chosen—paid by their -constituents—demur on that score—payment enforced by -parliament</i>: <i>&c.</i></p> -<p>The reputation and influence of Cromwell appear to have been -very considerable in these parts before the breaking out of the -war. In his native county of Huntingdon, and that of -Cambridge, he was evidently well respected; and especially in the -Isle and Fens and parts adjacent. In the direction and -management of the drainage and other affairs of the Fens his -interest appeared scarcely inferior to that of the earl of -Bedford, if it did not sometimes exceed it. He appears to -have been at the head of the opposition to that nobleman, to -which party this town then belonged, as well as that of -Cambridge, which Cromwell represented in parliament. The -service which he had rendered to his party must have procured him -their good opinion: and this, together with his general -reputation, might be the reason of his being treated here with -uncommon distinction.</p> -<p>In the spring of 1643, and but a few months before the Siege -we find him invited here by the mayor and corporation; and the -following order is still extant in their books—“March -20th. ordered a free entertainment at the town charge, by Thomas -Gurling Esq. mayor, for Col. Cromwell and those gentlemen of his -equipage, according to the invitation of Mr. Mayor, in answer to -a Letter he received from Col. Cromwell.”—In the <a -name="page764"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 764</span>same books, -a few weeks after, was inserted the following -memorandum—“April 17. Mr. Mayor was allowed -5<i>l.</i> for his preparations for the entertainment of Col. -Cromwell.” <a name="citation764"></a><a href="#footnote764" -class="citation">[764]</a> This was at an early period of -the war, before the town had ventured to declare for the king, -and when they appeared desirous of keeping fair with the -parliament, or being treated on the footing of neutrality. -But whatever might be its policy, it was a very undignified -conduct, as must always be the case where duplicity or hypocrisy -forms the leading feature. The event shews that a different -conduct would have answered better:—agreeable to the old -adage or maxim, that “Honesty is the best -Policy.”</p> -<p>The burgesses or representatives sent by this town to the -<i>short</i> parliament, which met in the spring of 1640, as well -as those sent to the <i>long</i> parliament, which met the -ensuing autumn or winter, were chosen from among its principal -and responsible inhabitants; which seems to have been strictly -proper and unexceptionable.—The representatives in the -former or <i>short</i> parliament were <i>Mr. Wm. Doughty</i> and -<i>Mr. Tho. Gurlyn</i>, the two <i>senior aldermen</i>; those in -the latter, or <i>long</i> parliament, were <i>Mr. John -Percival</i> and <i>Mr. Tho. Toll</i>; who were also chosen from -among the aldermen. To each of those representatives their -constituents allowed <i>five shillings a day</i> for their -trouble, while they attended <a name="page765"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 765</span>their duty in parliament. With -this trifling allowance, while it was paid, the recipients appear -to have been quite satisfied. But their constituents soon -grew tired of it, and withheld it from them, which occasioned the -interference of parliament, as appears by the following -order.</p> -<blockquote><p>“October 15. 1642—It is this day -ordered by the Commons, now assembled in parliament, that the -mayor, aldermen, and common counsell of the town of King’s -Lynn, in the county of Norfolk, shall pay and allow, out of the -town stock, as formerly, unto John Percevall <a -name="citation765a"></a><a href="#footnote765a" -class="citation">[765a]</a> and Tho. Toll, their burgesses for -this present parliament, as large an allowance, per diem, as they -have hitherto <a name="citation765b"></a><a href="#footnote765b" -class="citation">[765b]</a> allowed any of their aldermen that -have been burgesses in parliament for that towne, notwithstanding -the <i>freemen</i> <a name="citation765c"></a><a -href="#footnote765c" class="citation">[765c]</a> of that town -<i>had their voyces</i> in the choice of the said John Percevall -and Tho. Toll to be their burgesses in the present -parliament. If the mayor of Lynn can shew any cause to the -contrary wee shall be ready to hear him.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>The Corporation appear to have been pretty much at a loss how -to act in this affair. No public notice appears <a -name="page766"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 766</span>to have -been taken of it from the middle of October till the beginning of -January. On the 2nd. of that month the Corporation had a -meeting on the occasion, when the above order was taken under -consideration. On the next day they met again, when it was -resolved and ordered that the following Letter or address should -be presented to the House of Commons, by way of answer.</p> -<blockquote><p>“We the Mayor, Aldermen, and Comon Councel, -whose names are hereunto subscribed, doe in all humbleness -represent unto your grave wisdoms, That as heretofore no -parliamentary wages have been paid before the parliament -<i>ended</i>, <a name="citation766"></a><a href="#footnote766" -class="citation">[766]</a> nor then out of the town stock, but by -the <i>Freemen</i> and <i>Inhabitants</i>, saving that of late -time, meerly of bounty not of dutye, the burgesses were diversely -rewarded by the representative body, so in like humbleness we -represent the now impossibility of performance of the said order, -in respect wee have not at present (nor had at any time since -notice of the said order) any Town-Stock at all, nor are likely -to have any for many years to come, for that our revenues are not -sufficient to defray the necessary charges wee annually disburse -for the ordinary maintenance of the town, whereunto wee are tyed, -besides the extraordinary expences which unavoidably do and will -daily fall upon us for the safety of our town in especiall, and -of the kingdom in generall, all which wee humbly refer to your -high Justice and Honorable Consideration.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="page767"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 767</span>As -this address was a mere shuffle, it was not likely to impose upon -parliament, or prove ultimately of any avail to the -corporation. They affected however, to be still desirous of -keeping fair with that body; and accordingly treated Cromwell and -his company, when they visited the town, two or three months -after, with marks of most respectful attention. <a -name="citation767"></a><a href="#footnote767" -class="citation">[767]</a> But that was probably a piece of -downright finesse on their part, to gain time and bring the plot -which they were forming, or their plan of future resistance to -greater ripeness and a fairer chance of success. Even their -withholding from their two members the usual allowance for their -attendance in parliament may be naturally supposed to have -resulted from the design of declaring for the king and against -the parliament: and this design was put in execution the ensuing -summer, which brought on the siege and other events already -noticed.</p> -<p>The Corporation evaded the payment of the said daily allowance -to their two members for a whole year or more: but it was not -forgotten by the parliament, who sometime after the siege, appear -to have put them again in mind of it. Accordingly we find -that the following memorandum stands yet in the -corporation-books—“Nov. 24. (1643,) ordered that -<i>five shillings per diem</i> be paid to John Percevall and Tho. -Toll, burgesses in this parliament, from the time they went to -parliament to this day.” Thus the affair ended; and -our representatives, it is presumed, continued to receive the -like <a name="page768"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -768</span>allowance afterwards, till the restoration. But -it does not appear, or is at all likely to have been the case any -longer, as to this town, though it might elsewhere. <a -name="citation768"></a><a href="#footnote768" -class="citation">[768]</a> At the period of which we are -speaking, it was, probably, pretty general. Had it been -universal, and so continued to this day, it would, no doubt, have -been a very happy circumstance for these kingdoms. Our -House of Commons, in that case, would have felt more for the -country than it has generally done in these latter times: not to -say that the people too had been then more careful in the choice -of their representatives.</p> -<p>As to the two last <i>elections</i>, already glanced at, that -for the <i>short</i> and that for the succeeding <i>long</i> -parliament, they appear to have differed from each other in this, -that the former was the act or deed of the <i>corporation -alone</i>, and the latter that of the <i>whole body of -freemen</i>, as is the case (at least <i>nominally</i>) at -present. Succeeding elections seem to have exhibited -similar diversity. In Cromwell’s <i>first</i> -parliament, that of 1653, it does not appear that Lynn had any -representatives. It is therefore likely that there was here -then no previous election. In the <i>second</i> protectoral -parliament, which met in 1654, this town was represented as -usual; but how the election was conducted does not seem very -clear, though it appears most probable that the freemen at large -had no share in it, as may perhaps be concluded from the -following memorandum in the town-books—</p> -<blockquote><p>“1654 July 21. Ordered that 4<i>l.</i> -15<i>s.</i> expended by <a name="page769"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 769</span>Mr. Mayor on the day of the election -of the burgesses to serve in parliament <i>for this -corporation</i> be paid by the chamberlain.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>That the election for the members sent to the 3rd protectoral -parliament (that of 1656,) was managed by the corporation -<i>solely</i> seems pretty evident from the following note in the -town books—</p> -<blockquote><p>“1656. August 18th. This day -general John Desborow and major general Philip Skippon are chosen -<i>in this house</i> to serve as burgesses for this borough in -his Highness next parliament upon the 17th September next, -according to a precept directed to Mr Mayor from the Sherife, and -ordered that <i>their charges be paid by this -House</i>.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>In the election of the members who represented Lynn in the -protector <i>Richard’s</i> parliament the -<i>corporation</i> appear to have exercised the same arbitrary -power as before, of being <i>sole electors</i>. Several of -the other freemen at the same time desired permission to poll, -but were not allowed. At the election which took place in -April 1660 the freemen again applied for permission to vote -which, after some hesitation, was acceded to, and the members -were then chosen by the <i>general body</i> of free burgesses. <a -name="citation769"></a><a href="#footnote769" -class="citation">[769]</a></p> -<p><a name="page770"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 770</span>Thus -we see how things formerly stood in this town, as to the state of -political liberty, or the freedom of election. Former times -appear not to have been very <a name="page771"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 771</span>pure in those respects, any more -than the present. In looking to our ancestors for much -political rectitude or public virtue, we are often most sadly -disappointed. It is now frequently made a subject of -complaint or reflection, that our present members are chosen, in -fact, by two or three individuals; but the same seems to have -been almost always the case ever since the reformation, and -revolution, as well as before. The freemen at large are -indeed <i>said</i> to have a <i>voice</i> in the election of our -members; but it is all a joke, while freedom of acting, or voting -without constraint or control is totally out of the -question. It is well known at what risk most of our -pretended <i>freemen</i> would vote freely at our elections, <a -name="page772"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 772</span>and how -much it has cost some of them before now for presuming so to -do. All this however must be very wrong, if our -constitution ought to be in practice what is it in theory.</p> -<h4><span class="smcap">Section</span> III.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>Maintenance of the clergy—state of -the public morals and manners—mode and progress of -reformation at Lynn</i>, <i>under the Common-wealth and -Protectorate</i>.</p> -<p>Of the Lynn clergy during this period Dr. <i>Arrowsmith</i> -and Mr. <i>Horn</i> appear to have been by much the most -eminent. The former we think was one of the ministers of -St. Margaret’s parish. That his character, as a -divine, stood very high, appears from his being appointed one of -the Assembly of Divines, which was convened in 1643, and which -appointment put an end probably to his residence here. He -became afterwards Master of Peter-House in Cambridge. Mr. -Horn must have settled here after the departure of Dr. -Arrowsmith; not as his successor, however; for he was the -minister of <i>South Lynn</i>, and held that situation till after -the restoration, when we find him among those <i>two thousand</i> -worthies, commonly called the “Ejected -Ministers.” As minister of Alhallows or South Lynn, -he laid his income at 80<i>l.</i> a year, a sum equal to 5 or -600<i>l.</i> at <a name="page773"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -773</span>least, of our money. This comfortable situation -and ample income he gave up, to preserve a good conscience; an -instance and a proof of integrity which must endear his memory to -all honest and good men.</p> -<p>The clergy of St. Margaret’s parish had probably as good -an income as their brother of Alhallows, but the exact amount of -theirs we have not the means of ascertaining. But in the -town-books there is the following memorandum dated December 18. -1637 “Lionell Gatford minister to have 50<i>l.</i> yearly -and a dwelling house, provided he agree not to meddle in the -election of church wardens or parish clark.”—This -50<i>l.</i> was equal to 3 or 400 of our pounds, so that the -liberality of the corporation to their minister at that period -must have far exceeded what we understand it to be at -present. As the said 50<i>l.</i> was over and above, or -exclusive of the vicarial dues, and what we call surplice fees, -the minister’s income must have been what may be called -very decent and handsome at the period of which we are now -treating.</p> -<p>After this town had been reduced under the dominion of the -parliament it soon began to put on a religious and puritanical -appearance. The publicans and those who frequented their -houses were now obliged to be very particularly upon their guard, -and at their peril to observe a decency of behaviour. Those -who were guilty of <i>tippling</i> were fined, as were also the -<i>occupiers</i> of the public houses where those offences were -committed. <i>Profane swearing</i> was also punished in -like manner, as well as <a name="page774"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 774</span><i>loitering</i> in the time of -divine service on the Lord’s day. <a -name="citation774a"></a><a href="#footnote774a" -class="citation">[774a]</a> A strict attention to these -matters began to be paid by the magistrates very shortly after -the reduction of the town; and they appear to have pursued the -same course pretty regularly thenceforward till the -restoration. The town accordingly, soon assumed a decorous -and respectable appearance. It was no longer disgraced as -before by drunkenness, riot, or profane swearing. In fact, -it was in a manner regenerated; and might with a good deal of -propriety be denominated a <i>christian town</i>. The -<i>Lord’s Day</i> was observed with remarkable decorum and -solemnity; and on the <i>Thursdays</i>, in <i>lecture time</i>, -the <i>shops</i> were kept <i>shut up</i>, to the end the people -and their servants might the better attend the hearing the word -of God. <a name="citation774b"></a><a href="#footnote774b" -class="citation">[774b]</a> On the whole, this town appears -to have been for the greatest part of this period as well -governed as at any one time either before or afterwards.</p> -<p><a name="page775"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 775</span>The -love of <i>tippling</i> appears to have been then in Lynn one of -the greatest obstacles to the reformation of the people. -The town was full of petty pot-houses, a great many of which were -private and unlicensed. Even as late as 1657 we find no -less than 40 or 50 of these private and unlawful places of resort -heavily fined by the magistrates. This was, at the time, -complained of, as a grievous oppression, and is so still -represented in some of the existing MS. accounts of that period; -which shews how unwilling the people were to forsake their -immoralities, tho’ their rulers obliged them to do so -outwardly. The restoration followed soon after, and we need -not wonder that the profaneness and profligacy, then introduced -and <i>restored</i>, proved highly acceptable and pleasing to the -majority of the Lynn people, who now found themselves pretty well -freed from most of the former troublesome checks upon immorality -and licentiousness.</p> -<p>Of the persevering exertions of our magistrates, during this -period, to check the prevailing propensity of the lower orders to -tippling, profane swearing, and the like irregularities, many -instances occur in our old records. Of several of those -instances, in 1644, some notice has been taken already. -Others are recorded as having occurred in 1645, <a -name="citation775"></a><a href="#footnote775" -class="citation">[775]</a> but a far greater number in the -following <a name="page776"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -776</span>year, (1646,) <a name="citation776"></a><a -href="#footnote776" class="citation">[776]</a> which seems to -indicate the uncommon zeal and vigilance of the then chief -magistrate, or chief magistrates, for they seem to have occurred -<a name="page777"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 777</span>partly -in the mayoralty of <i>Edward Robinson</i>, and partly (but -chiefly) in that of <i>Thomas Toll</i>, one of the members for -the town, who appears to have stood high here then in the public -estimation.</p> -<p>In some of the succeeding years the attention of our -magistrates appears to have been no less engaged in these -corrective measures. 1651 was one of those years. -<i>Bartholemew Wormell</i> was then mayor; at least for the first -nine months of it; and he seems to have trod pretty much in the -steps of his brother <i>Toll</i>. The offences that came -under his cognisance seem to have exceeded in number rather than -fallen short of those committed during the mayoralty of the -latter. They were of various sorts; such as -<i>swearing</i>, <i>tippling</i>, <i>excessive drinking</i>, -<i>keeping unlicensed alehouses</i>, <i>travelling on the -Lord’s day</i>, <i>&c.</i> By the distance -between one and another of the years of remarkable delinquency -and coercion, it would seem that the irregularities were checked -for a time, but would afterwards break out afresh, with -increasing force, like water pent up, or impeded in its course by -a dam. At the distance of five or six years the vigorous -interference of the magistrates appears always to have become -necessary. 1645, 1651, and 1657, were the most remarkable -years for the interposition of the municipal power to correct the -existing abuses.</p> -<p><a name="page778"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 778</span>The -last of those years (1657) was exceedingly remarkable for the -number of petty pot-houses, or private drinking places then -discovered in the town. They amounted seemingly to <i>near -fifty</i>, for such a number of persons appear to have been then -fined, “for selling beer without licence.” Vice -seems to have then skulked into those places of private resort, -and no longer cared to shew its face in public. Most of our -misdoings appear to have been then confined to those petty and -private pot-houses, and but one misdeed occurs within that year -which would seem to have been committed elsewhere; and the same -is recorded in these words—“Received of Mr. James -Davey, which he levied upon an offender for prophaneing the -Lord’s day, 10<i>s.</i>”—In short, one cannot -help concluding that the town was then, in point of outward -decency, much superior to what it is in the present day. We -are not quite sure that there were then any <i>common -breweries</i> here: and if there were, it is not probable that -they were the <i>property of magistrates</i>.</p> -<p>Nor did the improvement which then took place in the town -consist merely in the outward deportment or appearance of the -inhabitants, but it seems to have also extended to the temper and -disposition of a great many of them; as appears from the numerous -acts of humanity and deeds of charity which are found to have -been then promoted and performed here, beyond any preceding or -subsequent period that we know of. The sufferings and -distresses of their fellow creatures, far and near, at home and -abroad, were then viewed, or listened to, at Lynn <a -name="page779"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 779</span>with -sympathetic and commiserating attention, as is evinced by the -numerous collections which then took place here for the relief of -such sufferers and objects of distress and misery. The -statement below in reference <i>chiefly</i> to the years 1653 and -1654, will give the reader some idea of the good character of our -ancestors at the time of which we are treating. <a -name="citation779"></a><a href="#footnote779" -class="citation">[779]</a>—In short, we know <a -name="page780"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 780</span>not of any -period when Lynn abounded more than it did then, in acts of -charity and humanity, in works of mercy and fruits of -righteousness; or when it made, on the whole, a more -christian-like appearance: notwithstanding the immoral -propensities of many of the inhabitants, and the adherence of not -a few of the rest to superstitious or fanatical delusions.</p> -<h4><span class="smcap">Section</span> IV.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>Miscellaneous remarks</i>, <i>or a cursory -view of divers other matters relating to this town</i>, -<i>within</i>, <i>or about the same period</i>.</p> -<p>Nothing, perhaps, exhibits more strikingly the wide difference -between that time and the present, than the then defective state -of <i>postage</i>, or letter-carriage, between this town and -London. Had any one then foretold that we should ever have -a mail-coach or mail-cart, or any other conveyance to bring -letters from London, or carry them thither <i>daily</i>, it would -have passed as an idle tale, no more credible or probable than -bishop Wilkins’ notion or supposition of the probability of -future intercourse between our world and the moon. The -former fact, <a name="page781"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -781</span>however, has been realized. But at the period of -which we are speaking Letters used to arrive here from London or -were conveyed thither from this town <i>once a week</i>, and that -by a foot messenger.</p> -<p>Accordingly we have the following article, or memorandum in -the corporation books, No. 8. under the year 1638, -9—“Feb. 11th. Richard Harrison and Richard Smith are -chosen to be two <i>foot posts</i> for this town of Lynn to -London interchangeably by turns every week, and to have -30<i>s.</i> each, from the town, per annum.” From the -then mode of carrying on trade one may easily conceive that the -intercourse between the two places was very small, and the -letters conveyed to and fro very few, compared to what is the -case at present. But the wages or salary of these postmen -is not a little remarkable:—<i>sixty shillings</i> a year -for going afoot every week to London! Neither the -generosity nor even the justice of the town seems to shine -here. Who would undertake such a service now for <i>sixty -guineas</i> a year? Yet we are not sure that the -<i>shilling</i> of that time was altogether as valuable as our -<i>guinea</i>. It must however have been pretty nearly so: -and within our own memory, even in this best of reigns, the -<i>guinea’s value</i> has been reduced to <i>seven -shillings</i>, if not lower. But on this subject we need -not to enlarge.</p> -<p>In 1642 a measure was adopted, in the <i>Hall</i>, which must -needs be creditable to the memory of its then members. The -affair is thus expressed in the corporation books, under that -year, or rather in the <i>book of Extracts</i> <a -name="page782"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 782</span>before -mentioned—“October 9th. Ordered that the -<i>Charters</i> shall be read by the town-clerk, <i>in -English</i>, that <i>those of this House</i> may the <i>better -understand what they are sworn to maintain</i>.” This -seems very reasonable and very right, and indicates something -like an earnest wish in the body corporate to avoid -<i>perjury</i>, and to act conscientiously and honorably in their -official capacities, or as municipal functionaries. How -expedient it might be <i>at this present time</i> to have a -motion made in the Hall to the same effect, or to have a similar -measure adopted there, it is not for us to determine. But -we cannot help suspecting that some, if not the majority of our -present corporate body are to the full as ignorant of the -contents of their charters, and of what they are <i>sworn to -maintain</i>, as ever their predecessors were, who adapted the -measure, or passed the order in question.</p> -<p>Our body corporate at the period of which we are treating, and -long after, entertained very different ideas on some points from -those of their successors of the present day: and that difference -was not, perhaps, more remarkable on any point than on the course -to be taken with such of their own members, or brethren, who -<i>ceased to be residents</i> in the town, or became -<i>absentees</i>. Formerly the <i>non-residence</i> of -members was on no account allowed, or connived at. -<i>Aldermen</i>, <i>common-council-men</i>, and even the -<i>recorder</i>, as well as town-clerk and chamberlain, were -required to be all residents: and whenever they ceased to be so, -or happened to become absentees, they were always forthwith -discharged, or cut off, as rotten and useless members. The -necessity <a name="page783"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -783</span>of this our corporation used formerly to insist upon, -as what a due regard for the good government and prosperity of -the town, as well as the very nature of their respective oaths -and offices rendered indispensible. In short, it seemed to -be their unanimous and invariable opinion that the nonresidence -of any one of their fraternity was insufferable, and inconsistent -with both honour and honesty, and of course with the character of -a <i>gentleman</i>.</p> -<p>Their successors of the present time view the subject in -another and a very different light. Our absentees are now -very numerous, and seem to be daily on the increase. They -consist already of several <i>aldermen</i> and <i>common council -men</i>, with the <i>recorder</i> himself at their head—<a -name="citation783"></a><a href="#footnote783" -class="citation">[783]</a> all <i>honourable men</i>, no doubt: -though we cannot help suspecting that their predecessors, of -other times, would have bestowed upon them another and a somewhat -more degrading appellation, and especially upon <i>the rest of -the brotherhood</i> who quietly suffer their nonresidence, or -allow them to retain their membership <a name="page784"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 784</span>while they remain absentees. -It is now a common complaint, that, owing to these absentees, the -corporation business is much obstructed, so that it is often very -difficult, and sometimes impossible to get what is called <i>a -Hall</i>: yet no one, it seems, has the honesty, or the courage -to move for the expulsion of those worse than useless members, as -would always have been the case heretofore. This obvious -symptom of declension and depravity in this corporation, may -serve, perhaps, to illustrate what is said to be also actually -the case on our great national theatre, or throughout the -empire.</p> -<p>How these matters, or this case, stood formerly will appear -from the following samples, out of the corporation -books—“February 17th (1644, 5) This day it is -agreed by order of this House, that Gregory Turnall, late one of -the common-councell here, by reason of his <i>absenting -himself</i> from the Hall (tho’ he hath often been -required) be <i>discharged</i> our -society.”—again—“1647, February. -14. This day it is agreed upon, that for that Mr. Richard -Davy, late one of the common-councel of this House, is now gone -to live at Yarmouth, therefore this House doe discharge him of -the same place.” again—“March 16th. -1659. Nathaniel Atwood <i>discharged</i> from the office of -a common-councell-man, having long <i>absented himselfe</i>, and -being <i>employed in the -navy</i>.”—again—“1661, October 25. -Forasmuch as Mr. William Keeling, <i>one of the aldermen</i> of -this burgh, hath a long time <i>absented himselfe</i> from this -burgh, and from attending the service as alderman of this burgh, -although he hath been thereto often requested, and is <a -name="page785"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 785</span>now at -present absent out of the town, whereby the service of this burgh -is very much impeded, to the great damage of the said burgh; it -is thereupon this day ordered, that the said Wm. Keeling be -<i>discharged</i> from being an alderman of this -burgh.”—again—“November 28. 1673. -This day Mr. Giles Alden (by reason of his being very much -<i>absent</i> from this society, whereby the business of this -corporation is much impeded and neglected) is by the mayor and -aldermen <i>discharged</i> from being one of the common-councell -of this burgh.”—again,—“September 29. -1728. Ordered that Robert Britiffe Esq. <i>Recorder</i> of -this burgh, be <i>discharged</i> of his attendance as Recorder, -for his neglect of duty and -<i>nonresidence</i>.”—These extracts plainly shew -what was the practice of our corporation formerly, in regard to -such of their members as happened to become nonresidents or -absentees, and how very different that practice was from that -which prevails at present. The reader is now left to judge -which is the most proper or reasonable, the former or the present -practice.</p> -<p>At the period we are now reviewing, a roasted <i>swan</i> -seems to have been in great request at our Lynn entertainments: -hence we read under the date of Sept. 24. -1649—“Granted to John Bird, a lease for seven years -of three ferry rights, at 10<i>l.</i> per annum, and a brace of -swans well fatted to the mayor.” But the ferryman, -probably, found it difficult sometimes to get, or to fatten those -large birds; in which case the mayor might be expected to -condescend to accept of an equivalent. Something <a -name="page786"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 786</span>like this -accordingly occurs under the date of March 15. 1657, -“Ordered that the chamberlain pay to the mayor for the time -being 40<i>s.</i> on the 1st of January yearly, in liew of a -brace of fatted Swanns usually delivered to the mayor by the -person who hired the Ferry rights.”—The taste of our -countrymen has undergone a great change since; and the Swan no -longer appears upon our tables.</p> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p786b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"South Gate Lynn. J Sellett del. Jukes & Sargent fecit" -title= -"South Gate Lynn. J Sellett del. Jukes & Sargent fecit" - src="images/p786s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>At the beginning of this period there were here no more than -<i>six corn-meters</i>, but on the 14th. November 1653 they -were increased to <i>ten</i>, which seems to indicate our trade, -and particularly the corn trade, as well as the agriculture of -the country to have been then in a state of -progression.—The town seems also to have had then a greater -intercourse with the country on its <i>eastern</i> than on its -<i>southern</i> side; which we may infer from the following -article in the corporation books, dated April 4. 1653: -“Ordered that Henry Bloye, the <i>Southgate</i> porter, -shall have the Tolls of that Gate at 1<i>l.</i> 5<i>s.</i> a -year; and James Browne, the porter at the <i>East-gate</i>, shall -pay for the Tolls of that Gate 1<i>l.</i> 15<i>s.</i> a year, -during the pleasure of this House.”—The East gate is -supposed still to retain a similar superiority.—It is -somewhat remarkable that in those days the town-clerks of Lynn, -as well as the recorders, were regular barristers: accordingly we -find it noted in the corporation records, “December 6. -1652—This day Thomas Ulber Esq. councellor at Law is chosen -Town-clerk, in the room of John Williamson Esq. councellor at -Law, discharged.”—Our corporation must have been then -<a name="page787"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 787</span>well -furnished with legal knowledge. In later times all our -town-clerks were below the degree of barristers. <a -name="citation787"></a><a href="#footnote787" -class="citation">[787]</a></p> -<p>On the 3rd of July 1657 the tolls of the East and South Gates, -(as appears from the town-books,) were let for 15<i>l.</i> a -year, which seems to shew that they were now much more productive -than in 1653, when they were let for only 3<i>l.</i> a -year. It is very natural to infer from this, that the trade -of the town, or its intercourse with the country had much -increased during those years.—On the 18th of July in the -next year, (1658, as we learn from the same source) St. -James’ church yard was ordered to be a burying place for -the parish of St. Margaret’s, <i>for one year</i>, -“there not being <i>room</i> in St. Margaret’s -church-yard:”—but it seems rather unaccountable how -making St. James’ church yard the parish burying-place for -<i>one year</i> could materially alter the case as to the want of -room in St. Margaret’s church-yard, or furnish more room -there for burying at the end of that term than there was at the -beginning of it. It might however be here suggested by way -of query, if it would not have been quite as well, on a recent -occasion, and far better in point of expense, to have made use -again of St. James’ church <a name="page788"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 788</span>yard (including the south side) -instead of forming the new burying ground?—at least, till -the times proved more favourable; which, it is to be hoped, will -be the case in the next reign, if not sooner.</p> -<p>The period we are now reviewing, and the review of which we -are now about to conclude, was perhaps the most remarkable of any -in the history of this town, as well as that of England and of -Britain. Nor does it seem to have been more remarkable for -any thing than for the exertions then made to reform the morals -and manners of the great mass of the people. But those -exertions were generally too rough and violent, and therefore -more calculated to make hypocrites than sincere converts, as must -always be the case when such works are carried on by coercive -means, rather than by rational persuasion, or upon right -christian principles. Accordingly our reforming -magistrates, by way of reclaiming their townsmen from their -tippling propensities, and bringing them from drunkenness to -sobriety, had recourse to <i>fines and imprisonment</i>, which as -was before observed, fell sometimes very heavy upon the -publicans, no less than <i>six and thirty</i> of whom were -imprisoned in the course of one year, as we learn from one of our -old MS. accounts. These measures excited a violent -prejudice against our reformers, and against the reformation -itself. Fining was called <i>plundering</i>, and -imprisonment, passed for persecution and tyranny. But the -restoration brought things back into the old channel, and -relieved our publicans and tipplers from these hardships.</p> -<h3><a name="page789"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -789</span>CHAP. V.</h3> -<p class="gutsumm">History of Lynn from the Restoration to the -Revolution.</p> -<p>Between the period which we have been last reviewing and that -which we are now entering upon there was confessedly a very wide -and glaring dissimilarity: no two periods could well exhibit a -more obvious and striking contrast. The spirit of -puritanism predominated in the former, and that of libertinism, -or, in other words, of licentiousness and profligacy in the -latter. The rulers of the nation, in the former period, -were men of sobriety and gravity, in the latter they were -dissipated and dissolute. The former appeared to have for -their aim the amendment or improvement of the national manners -and morals, the latter the very reverse, for they were actually -the promoters and patrons of all manner of depravity, of every -thing that was vile, profligate, or flagitious. The two -brothers, Charles and James, and their ministers, were certainly -some of the <a name="page790"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -790</span>vilest wretches that providence ever sent to punish and -plague and curse a sinful nation.</p> -<p>As to Cromwell, it is pretty much the fashion to decry and -vilify him, as a dissembling villain, a base hypocritical knave -and usurper: but no one need to envy the discernment, -penetration, or sagacity of those men who cannot perceive that -his moral character was not below that of either the first or -second Charles, and that his character as a statesman, and his -talents for government, were infinitely superior to those of -either of them, or of any of their kindred. No proof has -ever been produced that he was a greater dissembler, or a more -unprincipled wretch than those two princes; and it might perhaps -without much difficulty be shewn, that, <i>in comparison with -either of them</i>, he was really an honest, virtuous, great and -good man.—As to what is deemed his greatest crime, that of -compassing the king’s death, the great law of -self-preservation will certainly plead much in extenuation of -that act; for it is now very well known that Cromwell was -previously in possession of good and absolute proof that it was -the king’s intention to sacrifice him, in case he could -bring the treaty then on foot between him and the parliament to a -successful termination. The intercepted Letter to the queen -convinced Oliver that he had no chance for his life, if the king -reascended the throne. He therefore resolved to prevent -that, and save his own life by sacrificing that of the king. <a -name="citation790"></a><a href="#footnote790" -class="citation">[790]</a> This was very natural, and few -men would have done otherwise.</p> -<h4><a name="page791"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -791</span><span class="smcap">Section</span> I.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>Cursory remarks on the -Restoration—its memorable effects—great joy -manifested here on the occasion—several remarkable -rejoicings at Lynn in the course of this period</i>.</p> -<p>The Restoration was one of those revolutionary events which -occur in the history of this country. It was effected, says -one of our historians, “without any effusion of -blood.” But what is more to be wondered at, is, that -whereas so much blood had been spilt to compel <i>Charles I.</i> -to come to terms with his people, towards which it is certain he -at last made large concessions, <i>Charles II.</i> should be -received without any conditions at all. Upon this bishop -Burnet, in the <i>History of his own times</i>, observes, that -<i>Hale</i>, afterwards lord chief justice, did move that a -Committee might be appointed to look into the propositions that -had been made, and the concessions that had been offered by the -late king, and from thence digest such propositions as they -should think fit to be sent over to the king. As such a -motion was foreseen, <i>Monk</i> was instructed how to answer [or -overrule] it. He accordingly told the House, that he had -information of such numbers of incendiaries still in the kingdom, -that if any delay was put to the sending for the king, he could -not answer for the peace either of the nation or army: and as the -king was to bring neither army nor treasure with him, either to -fright or corrupt them, propositions might be as well offered to -him when he should come over; so moved for sending commissioners -immediately. This was echoed with such a shout all over the -House, that <a name="page792"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -792</span><i>Hale’s</i> motion was no more insisted -on. To the King’s coming without conditions, says the -bishop, may well be imputed all the errors of his reign. <a -name="citation792a"></a><a href="#footnote792a" -class="citation">[792a]</a> To allow him so to return and -ascend the throne was certainly a flagrant proof of the folly and -pusillanimity of the convention parliament, and of the baseness -of that spirit which then predominated among out ancestors.</p> -<p>Such a tide of extravagant joy overspread the nation upon the -king’s arrival, as in the end very much hurt and debased -the morals of the people, and introduced an almost universal -dissoluteness of manners, which was encouraged and propagated by -the ill example of the king and the court. From the -enthusiasm and fanaticism, which prevailed in the former period, -the nation fell now into the opposite extreme of licentiousness -and immorality; one or the other of which extremes being always -the consequence of men’s not governing themselves by -reason. <a name="citation792b"></a><a href="#footnote792b" -class="citation">[792b]</a> Thus the country had no great -cause to congratulate itself on the blessed effects of the -restoration of royalty, or the revival of the old order of -things. No nation in Europe could be more depraved and -licentious than the English in the reign of Charles the -second.</p> -<p>Much pains were taken, before his majesty’s arrival, to -represent his character in the most favourable and respectable -light. Though the first born of profligacy and -scoundrelism, he was reported, by his faithful and thorough-paced -agents, as the very mirror of wisdom, of virtue, and of -piety. These reports were not more <a -name="page793"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -793</span>industriously or artfully circulated than they were -readily and generally believed, so that we need not wonder if the -country in general looked upon the arrival of Charles as the -commencement of the golden age, or of the reign of a heaven-born -prince. Such seems to have been actually the case. -The confidence the people had in the king, says Kimber, from the -extraordinary good opinion they had been prepossessed with in his -favour, and their transports of joy at being delivered from the -late confusions and distractions, by means of his restoration, -will account for the excessive complaisance that was shewn to the -court at the beginning of this great event, so that the -parliament could scarce deny the king any thing. To the ill -use made of this confidence is to be imputed the opposition which -the court met with afterwards.</p> -<p>Our ecclesiastical historian <i>Neal</i>, speaking of the -restoration, says,</p> -<blockquote><p>“Here was an end of those distracted times -which our historians have loaded with all the infamy and reproach -that the wit of man could invent. The puritan ministers -have been decried, as ignorant mechanicks, canting preachers, -enemies to learning, and no better than public robbers. The -universities were said to be reduced to a meer Munster, and that -if the <i>Goths</i> and <i>Vandals</i>, and even the -<i>Turks</i>, had overrun the nation they could not have done -more to introduce barbarism, disloyalty, and ignorance. Yet -in these times, and by the men who then filled the university -chairs, were educated the most learned divines <a -name="page794"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 794</span>and -eloquent preachers, such as the <i>Stillingfleets</i>, -<i>Tillotsons</i>, <i>Bulls</i>, <i>Barrows</i>, <i>Whitbys</i>, -and others, who retained a high veneration for their learned -tutors after they were ejected and displaced. The religious -part of the common people have been stigmatized with the -character of <i>hypocrites</i>, their looks, their dress and -behaviour, have been represented in the most odious colours; and -yet one may venture to challenge these declaimers to produce any -period of time since the reformation, wherein there was less open -profaneness and impiety, and more of the spirit as well as the -appearance of religion. Perhaps there was too much rigour -and preciseness in indifferent matters; but the lusts of men were -laid under a visible restraint; and though the legal constitution -was unhappily broken, and men were governed by false politicks, -yet better laws were never made against vice, or more rigorously -executed. The dress and conversation of people was sober -and virtuous, and their manner of living remarkably frugal. -There was hardly a single bankruptcy to be heard of in a year, -and in such a case the bankrupt had a mark of infamy upon him -that he could never wipe off. Drunkenness fornication, -profane swearing, and every kind of debauchery, were justly -deemed infamous, and universally discountenanced. The -clergy were laborious to excess in preaching and praying, and -catechising youth and visiting their parishes. The -magistrates did their duty in suppressing all kinds of games, -stage-plays, and abuses in publick-houses. There was not a -play acted on any theatre in England for almost twenty -years. The Lord’s day was observed with unusual -reverence; <a name="page795"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -795</span>and there were a set of as learned and pious youths -training up in the university as had ever been known. So -that if such a reformation of manners had been obtained under a -legal administration they would have deserved the character of -the best of times.”</p> -<p>“But when the legal constitution was restored, there -returned with it a torrent of debauchery and wickedness. -The times which followed the restoration were the reverse of -those that preceded it; for the laws which had been enacted -against vice for the last twenty years being declared null, and -the magistrates changed, men set no bounds to their -licentiousness. A proclamation indeed was published against -those loose and riotous cavaliers, whose loyalty consisted in -drinking health and railing at those who would not revel with -them: but in reality the king was at the head of these disorders, -being devoted to his pleasures, and having given himself up to an -avowed course of lewdness; his bishops and chaplains said, that -he usually came from his mistresses apartments to church, even on -sacrament days.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Yet he was, on earth, the supreme head of the church, and that -church the best constituted in the world. It must need, -surely, be well, extremely well constituted (and so must any -body) not to be contaminated, disordered, or distracted with, or -by such a head.</p> -<blockquote><p>“Nothing was to be seen at court but -feasting, hard drinking, revelling, and amorous intrigues, which -engendered the most enormous vices. From court the -contagion spread like wild fire among the people, in so <a -name="page796"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 796</span>much that -men threw off the very profession of virtue and piety, under -colour of drinking the king’s health: all kinds of <i>old -cavalier rioting</i> and debauchery revived; the appearances of -religion which remained with some, furnished matters of ridicule -to libertines and scoffers. Some, who had been concerned in -the former changes, thought they could not redeem their credit -better than by deriding all religion, and telling or making -stories to render their former party ridiculous. To appear -serious, or make conscience either of words or actions, was the -way to be accounted a schismatick, a fanatick, or a sectarian; -though if there was any real religion during the course of this -reign, it was chiefly among those people. They who did not -applaud the new ceremonies were marked out for -<i>presbyterians</i>, and every presbyterian was a -<i>rebel</i>. The old clergy who had been sequestered for -scandal, having taken possession of their livings, were -intoxicated with their new felicity, and threw off all the -restraints of <i>their order</i>.—Such was the general -dissoluteness of manners that attended the deluge of joy which -overflowed the nation upon his majesties restoration.” <a -name="citation796a"></a><a href="#footnote796a" -class="citation">[796a]</a></p> -</blockquote> -<p>As to Lynn, at and subsequently to the restoration, it appears -to have largely shared the general joy and other effects produced -by that memorable event. When we consider the extreme -rigour of the former government or governors of this town, <a -name="citation796b"></a><a href="#footnote796b" -class="citation">[796b]</a> in attempting fines and <a -name="page797"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -797</span>imprisonment to restrain the tippling and other vicious -and licentious propensities of the inhabitants, we cannot much -wonder at the excessive joy which the restoration excited here, -as it was very natural to expect that that event would -effectually remove those severities, and introduce a more lax and -indulgent system. How long the first transports of joy -lasted we are not able exactly to ascertain; but that they were -at their height on the first royal birth day, the 29th of May -1660, we may very reasonably presume. On that day the town -was all festivity and triumph. Among the curiosities that -graced that memorable carnival were 300 young maids, or lasses of -the town, dressed all in white, and parading through the -principal streets. <a name="citation797"></a><a -href="#footnote797" class="citation">[797]</a> Whether this -may, or may not be considered as an emblem of the predilection of -the sex for Charles, or that of Charles for the sex, we will not -take upon us to say. That it was a whimsical contrivance -seems very evident; and that it was peculiar to this town appears -more than probable, as we do not recollect having heard of any -thing like it elsewhere on that day, or on that occasion.</p> -<p><a name="page798"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 798</span>This -was certainly one of the most gladsome seasons that Lynn ever -witnessed: but it was not the only season of that description -that occurred here during the period now under review. -There are others of the same kind that ought here not to pass -unnoticed. One of these was in the spring of 1680, on -account of the arrival of the duke of York from Scotland, and the -discomfiture of the <i>Whigs</i> or petitioners, (or the -king’s rejection of the petitions of the people for the -assembling of parliament,) and, of course, the success and -triumph of the <i>Tories</i> or court party, then called -<i>Abhorrers</i>, as they professed to abhor such petitioning, -and approve of the king’s governing without -parliaments. On these interesting accounts there was much -rejoicing at Lynn; and</p> -<blockquote><p>“on the 30th of April that year, the -following Address was read in the Hall, and signed the same day -by every one of that House: and the mayor, (Giles Bridgeman) was -desired to commend the same to the hands of the right honorable -the Earl of Yarmouth (Lord Lieutenant of the County) to be -presented by him to his Majesties.”</p> -<p style="text-align: center">“To the King’s most -excellent Majestie,</p> -<p>Dread Sir,—Wee your Majesties Dutifull and Loyall -Subjects, the Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen, and Common-Councell of -your Majesties ancient burgh of Lenn Regis, on behalf of -ourselves and other the free Burgesses and principal inhabitants -here doe in all humility prostrate ourselves at the feet of your -most sacred Majestie, and in all duty acknowledge the infinite -benefits wee of this burgh, with all other, the liedge people <a -name="page799"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 799</span>of this -your Majesties Kingdom of England by your happy government and -royall conduct next under God enjoye, and more particularly wee -give your Majestie an oblation of our duty and thankfullness in -your <i>pious</i> and resolute support and maintenance of the -religion established by the Lawes of this kingdome in the Church -of England in your couragious conserving the Regalities of your -Crowne <i>against insolent petitions</i>, and protecting the -lawfull liberties and freedoms of your subjects. And -<i>with our souls we bless Almighty God in the return of your -royall brother</i>, <i>the Duke of Yorke</i>, <i>to your -Majesties most Gracious presence</i>, and doe cheerfully profess -to maintaine and defend your Majesties most Royall person your -Heirs and lawfull successors in your and their just rights,</p> -<p style="text-align: center">May it please your Majestie</p> -<p style="text-align: right">Your natural Liegemen.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>In this remarkable and curious Address to the Throne, what -choice matter of joy, thankfulness, congratulation, and triumph -is exhibited on the part of the Addressers! The King -appeared resolved to govern despotically, or without a -parliament. Many of his subjects had petitioned and prayed -him to call or assemble a parliament. He had rejected those -petitions and prayers with disdain. The Lynn Corporation -address him on the occasion, congratulating, praising and -extolling him to the skies for acting the despot and turning a -deaf ear to the prayers and supplications of <a -name="page800"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 800</span>his -aggrieved subjects. For such royal doings, and for the -arrival and presence of the Duke of York at court, which presence -had always been a curse to the nation, the corporation of Lynn -congratulated their profligate sovereign, and offered to stand by -him at all events. Moreover, they exhibit, all the while, a -most sanctimonious appearance, and profess <i>with all their -souls to bless Almighty God</i> for what was one of the greatest -curses of their oppressed country.—So much for this royal -and notable Address from Lynn. <a name="citation800"></a><a -href="#footnote800" class="citation">[800]</a></p> -<p><a name="page801"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 801</span>As to -the accession of James to the throne, it appears to have been -contemplated at Lynn with no small pleasure and satisfaction, and -the day on which that memorable event was announced here to have -been a day of uncommon rejoicing. We accordingly find the -following note in the Town Books, “Febr. 10th. (1685) King -James II. proclaimed with all due solemnities and signalls of Joy -and Gladness.” Four days after was “ordered an -<i>Address</i> to the King’s Majestie.” But -having never seen a copy of this Address the present writer -cannot give a particular account of its contents. He cannot -however doubt but it was in the usual style of Lynn Addresses to -that monarch.</p> -<p>Another season of extraordinary festivity and exultation at -Lynn occurred in 1686. It was on no less interesting an -occasion than the erecting of the statue of the sovereign in the -Tuesday Market place. We accordingly read, in -<i>Mackerell’s</i> “Chronological Account” of -the town, of “great rejoicings here that year, at the -setting up of the statue of king James II.” His -majesty (as well as king John) seems to have been long the object -of the admiration of the Lynn people. They admired him -while Duke of York, and after his accession to the throne they -never rested till they had set up his image or statue in the most -public and conspicuous part of their town. Of this royal -and memorable affair Mackerell has given the following -information in another part of his work—</p> -<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">“<i>An account of -</i><span class="smcap"><i>King James</i></span><i> IId’s -statue</i>, <i>and the Rejoicings at the setting up of -the</i>” [<i>same</i>.]</p> -<p><a name="page802"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -802</span>“On the 13th day of <i>April</i> 1686. which was -the anniversary of their majesties coronation, the same was kept -with all due solemnity; the mayor, aldermen, and the rest of the -body, meeting in their formalities in the <i>Guild-Hall</i>, -after Divine Service at the church, proceeded from thence -attended with musick, to the great Market-place; in the middle -whereof, by the Gentlemen and other Loyal Inhabitants of the -corporation, was then erected the Effigies of his Sacred Majesty -upon a Pedestal, with several carvings and embellishments, -inclosed with a Pallisade of Iron, under inscribed,</p> -<p style="text-align: center"><i>Non Immemor</i><br /> -<i>Quantum Divinis Invictiss. Principis</i><br /> -<span class="smcap"><i>Jacobi</i></span><i> II</i>.<br /> -<i>Virtutibus debeat</i><br /> -<i>Hanc Regiæ Majestatis Effigiem</i><br /> -<i>Æternum Fidei et Obsequii</i><br /> -<i>Monumentum</i>, <i>Erexit</i><br /> -<i>S. P. Q. L.</i><br /> -<i>Anno Salutis</i> 1686.</p> -</blockquote> -<p>In English</p> -<blockquote><p>“Not forgetting how much is due to the -<i>Divine Virtues</i> of the <i>Victorious</i> King <span -class="smcap">James</span> <i>the Second</i>, the Senate and -People of Lynn, as a <i>lasting Monument</i> of their -<i>Faith</i> and <i>Loyalty</i>, have erected this Statue of his -Royal Majesty, in the year of our Lord One Thousand Six Hundred -and Eighty six.</p> -<p><a name="page803"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -803</span>“N.B. The King, Queen, and the rest of the Royal -Family’s Healths were drank; and the Day was concluded with -Ringing of Bells, Bonfires, all sorts of loud Musick, Fire works, -discharging the Great Guns, with all other Demonstrations of Joy -and Loyalty.” <a name="citation803"></a><a -href="#footnote803" class="citation">[803]</a></p> -</blockquote> -<p>Such is Mackerell’s account of the extraordinary -festivities and rejoicings at Lynn on this great and important -occasion. It was, no doubt, worth recording, and it may -still be worth preserving here, if it were only for this special -reason, that it may help to give us just ideas of the general -character of corporations, and of their proceedings. Here -is a <i>Statue</i> erected to one of the vilest of human beings; -and here are <i>virtues</i>, and even <i>Divine Virtues</i>! -ascribed to one who was as devoid of every thing of that kind as -the very devil: and here is an <i>Inscription</i> denominating -the erection of the Statue a <i>Lasting Monument</i> of -<i>Faith</i> and <i>Loyalty</i>; and yet this boasted -<i>faith</i> and <i>loyalty</i>, and <i>lasting Monument</i>, -lasted only about <i>three</i> or <i>four</i> years. The -Statue was pulled down mutilated, decollated, disfigured, -dismembered, and buried in dirt and rubbish, where it remains to -this day.</p> -<p>There was here also a remarkable exhibition of joy and -gratitude, as well as loyalty, in 1687, excited, it seems, by his -majesty’s royal and memorable Declaration, and the -consciousness of its being the duty of every member of the Church -of England to defend and support him with their <i>lives</i> and -<i>fortunes</i>.—The following Address to the Throne was -accordingly agreed <a name="page804"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -804</span>upon and ordered to be sealed with the common Seal, -September 19. 1687.—</p> -<blockquote><p>“<span class="smcap">Great -Sir</span>,—The known principles of the Church of England -being such as oblige every member thereof with their Lives and -Fortunes to defend and maintain your Majestie Your Royall -Prerogative with all other rights belonging to your Majesties -Imperiall Crown, makes us at this time humbly to begg your -Majesty to receive this further attestation, not in the least -doubting of the peaceable enjoyment of our religion under Your -Majesties most sacred protection, returning our most hearty and -humble thanks for Your Majesties late repeated Assurance thereof, -expressed in Your Majesties late gracious Declaration.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Such was the Address which was sent at that time from -Lynn. But his sacred majesty soon found that the boasted -principles of the Church of England were not sufficient to secure -to him the attachment of his subjects and the quiet possessions -of his throne, unless he relinquished those favourite projects of -his which appeared hostile to that church. For the very -next year a very alarming defection took place, and the majority -of those of that communion became inimical to his -government. Even the <i>Life and fortune men</i> forsook -him, and beheld his downfal without concern or -commiseration. So false did that description of his -subjects prove to him, and so unavailing also in the end did he -find even the great orthodox doctrine of <i>passive obedience</i> -and <i>nonresistance</i>, which had been the favourite doctrine -of the Church of England during the whole of his brother’s -reign.</p> -<p><a name="page805"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 805</span>A few -months after the last mentioned affair took place in January -1688, a fresh occasion of rejoicing was presented to the Lynn -people. This was the annunication of the queen’s -pregnancy; which proved not a little satisfactory and gratifying -to our corporation, as appears from the following note in their -books:</p> -<blockquote><p>“January 26. Ordered and agreed that -Sunday the 29th Instant being appointed by his Majestie a day of -Thanksgiving for her Majesties being happily with child, the -several members of this House doe attend Mr. Mayor (Robert -Sparrow Esq.) in their formalitys at morning and evening service, -to render thanksgiving to Almighty God for so signall a blessing, -and after evening service to repair to the Custom House to drink -the king’s health with a Bonefire.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>On the 2nd. of the following July, the Gentlemen and good -people of Lynn were furnished with matter of still higher -gratification, by the knowledge of her majesty’s safe -delivery, and the birth of a <i>prince</i> <a -name="citation805"></a><a href="#footnote805" -class="citation">[805]</a> who would be likely to inherit his -royal sire’s faith, piety, sapience, and sublime -virtues. This important intelligence, as might be expected, -was very joyfully received, and occasioned the immediate -assembling of the corporation. In that assembly, or -meeting, was proposed and voted an Address to his Majesty, of -which the following is a copy:</p> -<blockquote><p>“<span class="smcap">Great -Sir</span>—Wee Your Majesties Dutifull Subjects crave leave -of Your Majesty and your Royall <a name="page806"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 806</span>Consort that we join with Your -Majestie in offering our most humble and hearty thanks to God -Almighty in sending Your Majestie a Sonn and a Prince, and -farther we begg of your Sacred Majestie to accept our Cordial -thanks for your Majesties late favor to the body of this -Corporation, <a name="citation806"></a><a href="#footnote806" -class="citation">[806]</a> and also for your Princely -condescension and affection by both your gracious Declarations, -not only extending to the Church of England but to all other your -peaceable and loyall Subjects, Assuring us by Your royall word -you will stand by us, whereby we are not only obliged but -resolved, when your Majestie shall think fitt to call a -Parliament, wee will endeavour to elect such members as shall -make your Majesty happie and Your Subjects easie, and shall pray -for Your Majestie’s long and peaceable reigne over -us. In witness whereof we have fixed our Town Seale the 2nd -of July in the 4th year of your most gracious reign, Anno Domini -1688.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>In conclusion, it is presumed that we are fully warranted to -affirm, that Lynn has never been more attached to any of our -sovereigns than to King <i>John</i> and King <i>James</i> the -second; and that even his present majesty, with all his shining -virtues, is not more, if so much beloved here as those two -monarchs were. It may perhaps be difficult to account for -it, yet it seems unquestionably to be the fact, that of all the -princes that ever <a name="page807"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -807</span>swayed the British Sceptre, none ever shared more -largely in the affection admiration, and veneration of the good -people of this town than those three potentates. Nor have -there been any other reigns under which our townsmen seemed more -ready to congratulate themselves on the superior happiness they -enjoyed, or the transcendent benefits and blessings they derived -from the throne.</p> -<h4><span class="smcap">Section</span> II.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>Brief account of divers other remarkable -circumstances relating to Lynn during this same -period—decay of trade—increase of poor—Anmer -coal</i>, <i>&c.</i></p> -<p>After Charles’ restoration, or accession to the throne, -it was not to be expected that he should remain long unaddressed -by this town. Accordingly we find that within the very -first month of his actual reign, (June 16. 1660,) a -congratulatory Address to him was voted and ordered in the Hall; -and moreover, “that the Fee farm rents formerly paid from -this town to the Crown, and lately purchased by the mayor and -burgesses, amounting to 41<i>l.</i> 6<i>s.</i> 2<i>d.</i> be -restored to his majestie.” Having never seen this -Address, or any copy of it, we can give no particular account of -its contents; but we need not to doubt but it teemed with -servility, or was in no small degree of a fawning, crouching or -cringing cast. As to the <i>Feefarm rents</i> which -belonged to the <a name="page808"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -808</span>Crown, but had been lately purchased by the Mayor and -burgesses, and were now restored to his majesty, they appear to -require no comment, or farther elucidation in this place. -The restoring of them to his majesty was a matter not of choice -but of necessity: and in purchasing them the Corporation -evidently <i>gained a loss</i>; but to what amount we cannot say, -having never learnt how much was paid for them.</p> -<p>A week after, (on the 23rd of the same month,) our Corporation -agreed and ordered, that <i>Oliver’s Charter</i> confirming -the priviledges [of the town] be <i>cancelled</i>. This -also appears to have been a matter of absolute necessity; but -whether so or not, that charter would be of no further use to the -body corporate. Oliver’s day was now past, and -whatever had sprung from him, if it did not actually disgrace the -character of the holder or owner, yet was no longer held in any -manner of estimation. That there is a copy now extant of -this Charter of his we have not learnt.</p> -<p>Soon after the restoration this town began to suffer -considerably from the decay of trade and consequent increase of -the poor, which did not seem very well to accord with the -excessive rejoicings that had then taken place. Within two -years after that event those effects had made so alarming a -progress, and the complaints of the sufferers had become so loud, -that the body corporate found it necessary to take the affair -into their immediate and most serious consideration, in order to -check as much as possible the growing evil, and alleviate <a -name="page809"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 809</span>in some -degree the sufferings of the poor inhabitants. The truth of -this statement, and the mode of proceeding adopted then in the -Hall in order to relieve or mitigate the distresses of the poor -will appear by the following extract from the Corporation -books.</p> -<blockquote><p>“May 12. 1662. Forasmuch as the Poor -of this Burgh thro’ <i>great losses</i> and <i>decay of -trade</i> are grown very numerous, and the charge of them greater -than can be well born by the inhabitants, and a great part of the -coal trade carried on by Strangers and Foreigners, which bring -their coals hither to sell in Ships and Vessells belonging to -other Ports, who tho’ they reap a profit bear not the least -part of the burthen, to the great discouragement of the -Navigation belonging to this town and the impoverishing of the -inhabitants thereof, It is thereupon [at the earnest request of -the most considerable freemen Burgesses and Inhabitants of this -town] this day ordered that every freeman or burgess of this -burgh that shall from henceforth buy or cause to be bought of any -stranger or foreign person not being free of this burgh any coals -called Newcastle, Sunderland or Sea-water being lading or freight -in any Ship or Vessell belonging to any such Stranger or outward -Port whether the same be to sell again or for there (their) own -expense shall pay for every chalder of coals so bought as -aforesaid to the use of the mayor and burgesses of this burgh and -their successors the sum of 12<i>d.</i> to be employed for and -towards the necessary reliefe and maintenance of the poor of the -said borough, the <a name="page810"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -810</span>same to be levyed of every such freeman or burgess so -buying the same as aforesaid by distress and sale of their Goods, -or by such other ways and means as shall be thought most fitt and -meete—And it is further ordered that no burgess or -inhabitant of this burgh shall take any such coals out of any -such strangers’ Ship or Vessel with intent to sell the same -again untill the end of three working days next after the -arrivall of such Strangers’ Ship within this Port, to the -end the inhabitants of this town may be served with coales in -that time for their own firing, according to severall former -orders made to that purpose, and publication of this order to be -made by the bellman.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>How long this law remained in force, or this impost continued -to be paid does not appear; but it is not very likely that it -ceased, or was discontinued till the arrival of better times, and -the removal of those evils which led to its adoption. -<i>Fourpence</i> a chalder, if we are not mistaken, is still -charged on the coals brought by strangers, and applied in like -manner to the relief of the poor. Why should it be no more, -when thrice as much was charged so long ago? and a shilling then -was worth a great deal more of our money. Surely the -present pressure of the poor rates, which so large a proportion -of the householders so severely feel, would justify the adoption -of such a measure now, if it be allowable.</p> -<p>Towards the close of the year when the above transaction took -place this town was visited by Lord Townshend, Sir John Tracy, -Sir Edward Walpole, John <a name="page811"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 811</span>Spelman and Roger Spelman Esqrs. as -commissioners under a late act of parliament for the -well-governing and regulating of Corporations. This act -seems to have sprung from the narrow and arbitrary policy of the -Stuart princes, who aimed at having corporations as much as -possible under their direction and management, or subject to -their immediate and absolute power and control. These -commissioners were entertained here at the expense of the mayor -and burgesses. They were, it seems, invested with large -powers, so as to be authorized to displace any they happened to -dislike of our municipal functionaries, and put others whom they -thought better of in their room. In this town they expelled -<i>alderman</i> Robert Thorogood and appointed one Lawrence -Withers in his stead. A few weeks before “Mr. Fr. -Rolfe was discharged from his office and place of Town-clerk, and -Mr. Owen Barnes was elected in his room.”—This is -said to have been done by the <i>mayor and aldermen</i>; but it -is probable that the Commissioners were privy to it, and that it -was a step taken in compliance with an intimation from them, for -the time of their visit had been previously fixed. Those -appear to have been the only changes which then took place in the -Hall.</p> -<p>Under 1663 a circumstance has been recorded which casts some -light on the ideas or sentiments which the Lynn people then -entertained of their parliamentary representatives; and though -they no longer allowed them daily wages, as formerly, yet they -evidently considered the honest and diligent discharge of their -trust or service <a name="page812"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -812</span>as entitled to more than mere thanks. Had they on -the other hand failed in the performance of their delegated -functions, their constituents undoubtedly would have deemed that -failure censurable.—The circumstance alluded to is -explained in the following extract from the Hall books: -“June 13. 1663, It is this day ordered that the -Chamberlaine remitt to London 40<i>l.</i> to buy two pieces of -Plate, of the value of 20<i>1.</i> each, to be presented as a -gratuity from this House to Sir Edward Walpole and Sir William -Howell (Hovell) <a name="citation812"></a><a href="#footnote812" -class="citation">[812]</a> burgesses in parliament for this -burgh, for their faithfull services in behalf of this -burgh.” What were those services in behalf of this -burgh, which are here glanced at, and were deemed so meritorious, -we are not told; but it is very clear that these representatives -had acquitted themselves entirely to the satisfaction of their -constituents. It is much to be wished that the same could -be said of all our present national representatives.</p> -<p>Under the same year an occurrence is mentioned in one of our -MSS, which leaves a foul stain on the memory of our ancestors of -that period, and shews how much they were then the slaves of -bigotry and intolerance. This was the persecution and -imprisonment of several members of that pacific and respectable -sect called <i>Quakers</i>, which seems to have been the only -description of <a name="page813"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -813</span>sectaries, except the <i>Presbyterians</i>, that had -then attempted to introduce themselves into this town. But -they were bitterly opposed here, as they were then also -throughout the nation; and their sufferings were very great and -grievous during almost the whole reign of <i>Charles</i> and -<i>James</i> the second, to the lasting disgrace of a pretended -christian and protestant government. It is to -<i>William</i> and the <i>Revolution</i> that we owe, under -providence, the adoption of a wiser policy and the enjoyment of -better times.</p> -<p>In 1664 the high price of coals was severely felt here. -That commodity advanced that year from 17<i>s.</i> a chalder to -30<i>s.</i> and upwards. This seems to have been owing to -the late impost of 1<i>s.</i> a chalder laid by the Corporation -on all coals brought by <i>strangers</i>, who consequently -discontinued their visits. It seems rather probable that -that impost or tax was now abolished, for we are told that the -coal afterward, <i>by reason of strangers’ resort</i>, came -again to the old price. It may therefore be concluded that -the Lynn ships alone were not sufficient at that time to supply -the town and all the inland country with that article. The -same would probably be still the case, if this port was not -frequented by any coal ships but such as belonged to the -town. We are therefore, probably, much more indebted to -strangers for our plentiful supplies of fuel than we are apt to -imagine.</p> -<p>In 1665 Lynn was visited by that grievous scourge the Plague, -which made great ravages here. “Wardsmen were -appointed, one at the East and the other at <a -name="page814"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 814</span>the -South-gate to keep out all Mackerell Carts from coming into the -town:” the communication with the county was cut off; no -Mart was kept that year, and the very markets were for sometime -discontinued.—In the Summer of the very next year, 1666, -which was a hundred and forty five years ago, a cart, (as is -recorded in one of our manuscripts,) came hither from -<i>Anmer</i>, loaded with <i>coals</i>, which were <i>here sold -by the mett</i> or <i>bushell</i>. It seems therefore that -there is coal somewhere about Anmer; but to what extent we cannot -pretend to say. Nor does it appear what search or trial was -there made for it, or why the attempt was given up. A good -Coal-mine in that part of the country would, no doubt, be very -desirable.</p> -<p>We know of no very remarkable event that occurred here -afterward till 1670, when the town was honoured with a visit from -the <i>duke of Richmond and Lenox</i>, of which the following -notices are extracted from the Hall books—“July -23. It is this day ordered that his Grace the Duke of -Richmond and Lenox upon his request shall have his Freedome of -this Burgh gratis: and hereupon his Grace the said duke of -Richmond and Lenox did this day come into this House and did take -the Oathes of Aledgiance and of a Free Burgess; Mr. Thomas Greene -and Mr. Benjamin Holly being his -Suretyes.”—again—“July 28th. -Ordered that the Chamberlain pay Mr. Mayor’s bill of -Disbursements for the entertainment of the duke of Richmond and -lord Townshend, 21<i>l.</i> 6<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> and 13<i>s.</i> -4<i>d.</i> for his Cook, and for a hogshead of French Wine sent -aboard the duke’s Vessell.”—<a -name="page815"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 815</span>Hence it -appears that the duke came and departed by water. But the -Sum of 22<i>l.</i> would go then much further than it would at -present. It would go now but a very little way in -entertaining brace of peers, with their retinue, and purchasing a -hogshead of French wine.</p> -<p>Towards the latter part of this year the Corporation was -presented with a plan or map of their town, as appears from the -following note in the Hall-books—“October 14. 1670, -This day alderman Edmund Abbott brought into this House a -Topographical Draught of the town of King’s Lynn, which was -given to the town by Sir Algernoon Payton; and Henry Bell Esq. -mayor, is desired to peruse the said draught, to be mended and -put into a Frame, for the use of the mayor and -burgesses.” The same, we presume, was done -accordingly; but we are not quite sure that this draught is still -in existence: if it be, a sight of it might help towards forming -a pretty just idea of the then state or lineaments of the -place. The principal Streets and Lanes, however, must have -been then much in the same situation as at present. In -other respects the town must be now very widely different from -what it was then.</p> -<p>In the same year we find Lynn to be in a great measure a -<i>manufacturing</i> town, especially in the <i>worstead</i> -line, and to have many hands employed in that branch; as appears -from the following note in the Hall-books. “December -2. 1670, The worstead weavers petition to procure an Act of -Parliament for the liberty of a Dyer <a name="page816"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 816</span>and Callender to live in the town -for the better [or the benefit of the] trade.” Those -weavers must have been pretty numerous, and their trade hopeful -and promising, to warrant or justify such an application. -Still it must seem rather odd that they should think the -obtaining of their object required the aid of an act of -parliament. It does not appear, however, that an -application was actually made to the legislature on this -occasion.</p> -<h4><span class="smcap">Section</span> III.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>Account of the king’s intended visit -to Lynn</i>, <i>in</i> 1671, <i>with divers other occurrences -relating to this town</i>, <i>in that and some of the subsequent -years</i>.</p> -<p>The king, who used frequently to visit Newmarket, where he had -it royal Lodge or Palace, purposed in the autumn of 1671 to make -an excursion into Norfolk, and to visit Lynn in the course of his -tour. This appears from the following Note from the -Hall-books—“1671, August 11. Ordered that -100<i>l.</i> be paid into the Chamberlain’s hands for -defraying disbursements on account of his Majesties -entertainment, who Sir Robert Stewart writes intends to visit -Lynn next month, in his progress.”—Great preparations -were accordingly made by our Corporation for the reception and -entertainment of their sovereign. But it so happened that -our good townsmen were disappointed at last, for his majesty <a -name="page817"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 817</span>never came; -so that the great expense they had been at, in preparing for his -reception was, in a manner, all thrown away.</p> -<p>It is not said what it was that prevented his majesty’s -coming, or frustrated his royal intention of visiting his Lynn -subjects at that time. But it seems most probable that the -very foul weather which happened in that month, and the terrible -inundation which then overwhelmed the country about Lynn, were -the principal, if not the sole causes of the relinquishment of -his purpose. The tide rose so high on the 17th. of -September, as we learn from one of our MSS. that the country -about Lynn was all under water, “the haycocks swam about -the fields to the first house in Gaywood, and several boats were -rowed from the East Gate to that Village, many Ships were lost, -Marshland was all overflowed, great numbers of sheep perished, -and an immense loss sustained.” In short, it seems to -have been here such another disastrous flood as that which lately -devastated the Lincolnshire Coast. The roads must, in many -places, have been broken up, so that the approaches to the town -must have been rendered difficult, if not impracticable. On -the whole, therefore, we cannot wonder that this royal visit was -given up. As to the whole of the provisions and dainties -that had been prepared for the intended august visitor, it does -not appear how it was disposed of at last; but as to what had -been procured from the Metropolis, its final disposal is plainly -enough suggested by the following Note from the Hall -books:—<a name="page818"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -818</span>“November 10, 1671. Ordered that the mayor -have the whole banquet lately sent from London, he paying tenn -pounds.”—So much for this intended royal feast at -Lynn.</p> -<p>In the same year, we find Lord Townshend tampering with the -Corporation, with a view to the introduction of one of his -friends to be chosen one of the Lynn representatives in -parliament: hence we find it thus noted in the Hall -books—“1671. August 7. Whereas Lord -Townshend hath by his Letters to this House recommended Sir -Francis North knight, his Majesties Sollicitor General, as a -person of great worth and honor, and upon all occasions fitt to -be usefull to this burgh in their most important concernments: It -is therefore this day ordered, that the said Sir Francis North -Knight, shall have his freedom of this Burgh gratis.” -He soon after became, as had been previously projected, one of -our parliamentary delegates.</p> -<p>Early in 1672 an order was issued from the Hall, which shews -that the occupiers of houses in the Tuesday Market-place were not -then allowed to let their shops during the Mart, unless they paid -rent for the same to the mayor and burgesses. The following -note in the Hall books will serve to elucidate this -circumstance—“January 19. Whereas severall -persons (who have usually lett their shops in the Tuesday -market-place during the time of the Mart, and have therefor paid -a rent for the same to the mayor and burgesses) have of late -refused to pay the accustomed rent, it is this day ordered <a -name="page819"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 819</span>that the -chamberlains doe demand the arrears, and in case of refusal to -cause blinds or bootes to be built up against the -Shops.” Such appears to have been the case formerly; -but this claim, we apprehend, is no longer made. We have -not learnt, however, how it came to be relinquished.</p> -<p>In July 1675 Mr. <i>John Turner</i> was admitted or chosen -into the Hall, as common-council-man. Of him it is said -that “he was chosen common-council-man, alderman, new-elect -mayor, parliament-man, and captain of the trainbands, all in the -course of two years.” From him sprung the family of -that name which afterwards bore great sway in this town for a -whole century. It is no disparagement to this family that -it arose from a low origin; for where is that great family that -has not so arisen? The noble, the royal, and the imperial -not excepted. Many of whom are known to have sprung from -and owed their rise to desperate Adventurers, captains of bands -of robbers and ruffians, men, or rather demons, who defiled -themselves with the foulest deeds, and made their way to power -and greatness in defiance of all laws human and divine. To -the founder of the Turner family no infamy has been -imputed. Report has said that he was originally a waiter at -an Inn at Cambridge, which cannot justly be considered as any -disgrace to his descendants.</p> -<p>In 1676, according to one of the MSS. were first erected the -new buildings, in Broad Street, designed for an Almshouse for -twelve poor men, “at the cost and <a -name="page820"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 820</span>charge of -one John <i>Heathcote</i> of Lynn.” Mackerell calls -this person <i>Helcote</i>. Whatever his right name was, it -is now almost forgotten, while that of <i>Framingham</i> is in -everybody’s mouth: and yet the poor men owe, perhaps, as -much to the memory of the former as they do to that of the -latter, who has engrossed all the praise and credit of this -charity. For had not this Helcote or Heathcote erected -these buildings it is very doubtful if Framingham, rich as he -was, had ever thought of endowing an almshouse. He was a -man of low birth, <a name="citation820"></a><a -href="#footnote820" class="citation">[820]</a> and became -afterwards rich and ostentatious. The death of the founder -gave him an opportunity to become the endower of this almshouse, -and transmit his name to posterity, which he took care to ensure -by having his Will publickly read, and a commemorative Sermon -preached annually. Upon the whole, it is highly probable -that vanity and ostentation had a larger share than charity, or -pure benevolence, in the endowment of these Almshouses. -That, however, cannot lessen the comfort or enjoyment of the poor -men there admitted. The endowment does them as much good as -if it had sprung from the worthiest motive, or most virtuous -principle.</p> -<p>“On the 29th of August, 1677, Ben. Holly Esq. one of the -aldermen, was fined 40<i>l.</i> for refusing to accept of the -mayoralty, being thereunto chosen.” The reason of -this refusal is not mentioned; but the alderman was not poorer, -probably, at the end of the year than he <a -name="page821"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 821</span>would have -been had he accepted the office.—About the close of the -same year, (or early, in the next, as we reckon,) a step was here -taken, the result of which the present writer has often wished to -ascertain, but without success. The step or circumstance -alluded to is thus expressed in the volume of extracts from the -Hall books so often referred to in this -work—“February 4th.” (1677, 8) “Ordered -that a Letter be wrott to Th. Goddard, Son to Guybon Goddard Esq. -late Recorder of this Burgh, to confer his Father’s labours -about the antiquities and antient priviledges of this -Corporation, and that he have a gratuity of -21<i>l.</i>” This shews that Mr. Guybon Goddard had -collected materials for a history of Lynn: the same has been also -affirmed by his brother-in-law, Sir William Dugdale, in some part -of his works; so that the fact is beyond all doubt. But the -question is, what became of those materials? If our -Corporation obtained them, they seem to have been lost long -ago. No one now in the Hall, it seems, not even the -town-clerk himself, knows any thing about them. It is -probable Mr. Th: Goddard did not choose to part with them. -What became of them after his time, or whether they are now in -existence or not, there is perhaps very little chance of -discovering. Had they fallen in the present writer’s -way, there can be no doubt, from the known character of Guybon -Goddard, but he would have found them of considerable use in this -undertaking.</p> -<p>In the autumn of 1678 a pretty strong antipathy to popery -appears to have been prevalent in this town, and measures were -adopted to secure the inhabitants from <a -name="page822"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 822</span>such -dangers as might arise from that quarter. Accordingly we -learn from the Hall books, that it was ordered on the 11th of -November that year, to have “a watch kept every night to -prevent dangers from Popish Recusants.” This seems to -indicate that the Corporation and people of Lynn were now -inclined to side with the patriots or Whigs against the Court; -which appears somewhat corroborated by their resolving sometime -after to elect two of their own townsmen, in preference to court -candidates, to represent them in the ensuing parliament; as is -evinced by the following document from the Hall -books—“January 29th (1678, 9.) This day upon -reading in this House a Letter from Robert Wright Esq. late one -of the burgesses in parliament for this town, intimating his -desire of being again elected here, it is ordered that thanks be -returned for services received, and to acquaint him that this -House taking notice of the generall averseness of this -corporation to choose any other than an inhabitant of this town, -and two of the Society having declared themselves to stand, this -House cannot with any assurance incourage his coming down for -that purpose. But that they doe and shall retain a true -sense and opinion of his former performances.” The -candidates they now returned were Messrs. Turner and Taylor, -afterwards Sir John Turner and Sir Simon Taylor. How -patriotically they discharged their respective duties we are -unable to say.</p> -<p>On the 28th of the following April, 1679, an occurrence took -place here which is well worth recording. It did so much -credit to the moral feelings of one of the <a -name="page823"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 823</span>then -members of the Hall, and does so little to those of certain -members of it in more recent times, (namely, the -<i>absentees</i>, or <i>nonresidents</i> above noticed,) that it -ought by no means to be here passed over in silence. The -person first alluded to was one of the <i>aldermen</i>, and he -was also a <i>physician</i>. He perceived, upon serious -reflection, that the duties attached to the office of an alderman -were incompatible with those that belonged to the exercise of the -medical profession; and as he was not disposed to relinquish the -latter, he felt himself bound in <i>conscience</i> to withdraw -from the Hall and resign his municipal function. This -occurrence is thus noticed in the volume of Extracts from the -Hall or Town Books—“April 18th. 1678, William Bassett -having sent a Letter insinuating the inconsistence of his place -in this House with his Profession of a Physician, and how that he -is necessarily compelled to be criminal in the one whilst he -endeavours to discharge his duty in the other, begs most heartily -to be discharged,—[this House] doe consent that he be -discharged, &c.”—This singular transaction gives -us a very favourable idea of the character of this alderman, or -<i>doctor Bassett</i>: it certainly deserves to be remembered; -and it is now earnestly recommended to the serious consideration -of the present members of the Hall, and especially the -<i>absentees</i>, whose nonresidence must be more incompatible -with their municipal duties than that gentleman’s medical -profession was with his. If there be really any municipal -factions or duties, that are any way useful or interesting to the -community, attached to the appointment <a -name="page824"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 824</span>of -common-council-man, or alderman of Lynn, the due discharge of -them, without all doubt, must be utterly incompatible with the -absence or nonresidence of such functionaries.—These hints, -it is hoped will not fail to have their due weight with those -individuals to whom they are applicable.</p> -<h4><span class="smcap">Section</span> IV.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>Danger incurred by the corporation on -account of the issuing of farthings—third part of the duty -levied on coals brought by strangers and landed in South -Lynn</i>, <i>allowed to the South-Lynnians—difference and -great lawsuit between them and the corporation about the -Long-Bridge—the consequence</i>, <i>&c.</i></p> -<p>Towards the close of 1670 our corporation appeared in no small -fear of danger from their gracious sovereign’s displeasure, -on account of their having issued farthings, which was deemed an -encroachment on the royal prerogative. They accordingly -took measures forthwith towards appeasing the Monarch’s -wrath and obtaining his forgiveness. This memorable affair -is thus stated in the Town books,—“November 4th 1670, -Forasmuch as Mr. Mayor, (Henry Bell Esq.) did this day present to -this House two Letters, the one from Mr. Recorder, the other from -Mr. Wright, for and about the danger the Town is lyable too, (to) -for and concerning their putting out of Farthings, Mr. Mayor is -desired to answer the said Letters and let them know this House -doe <a name="page825"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -825</span>desire that they would both effectually take care to -use all means to prevent the Quo-ranto (Quo warranto) issuing out -against the Town, and to petition his Majesties pardon, and to -doe whatsoever else they shall judge necessary to prevent any -trouble that may fall on the corporation for the putting out of -these farthings which are out on the corporation -account.”</p> -<p>The recorder therefore and the other gentleman, (who was also -another great lawyer and one of the members for the town) appear -to have exerted themselves faithfully and successfully on this -occasion. We accordingly find that his sacred -majesty’s pardon was actually obtained; but it seems to -have taken up a long time, no less than two years, to effect -this. It may be supposed to have cost a large sum of money, -and we may presume that our corporation did not deem that money -ill spent, though it might far exceed all the profits they had -derived from their coinage. Both king and courtiers might -deem it good policy to seem to be in great wrath for sometime, -which would make the corporation the more ready to part with -their cash. The successful termination of this business is -thus noticed in the Town-books—“November 2nd. 1672, -Ordered the Town Seal to be fixed to an instrument acknowledging -his Majesties grace and favour in pardoning the Corporation for -making of farthings.”</p> -<p>How many of these farthing coinages were undertaken by this -corporation, it does not seem very easy to ascertain; <a -name="page826"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 826</span>nor are we -able to discover when this measure was here first resorted to, or -adopted. The present writer is in possession of several -Lynn farthings, but they appear to have been all issued either in -1668, or in 1669. Whether or not any have been issued here -before 1668 he is not able to say. He has seen farthings of -other towns of a much earlier date, and has himself a -<i>Bristol</i> farthing of 1652, which is the earliest of these -town tokens he remembers to have met with. It is likely -that Lynn was led into this coining adventure by the example of -other places, and especially Norwich, which may be presumed to -have been previously concerned in this business. <a -name="citation826"></a><a href="#footnote826" -class="citation">[826]</a> The same offence had been -committed earlier, oftener, and later, by many, if not by most of -its neighbours, so that it must be somewhat odd that the -resentment of the court should appear so bitter towards this -town, beyond what it seems to have been towards other offending -places.—<i>Norwich</i>, <i>Yarmouth</i>, <i>Diss</i>, -<i>Thetford</i>, <i>Bury</i>, <i>Ipswich</i>, <i>Lowestoft</i>, -and other towns, all, if we are not mistaken, coined and issued -farthings, and Wisbeach <i>halfpence</i>; yet we do not find that -they were brought into any mighty trouble, or alarm, like Lynn, -on that account. However this might be, these private -coinages seem to have been discontinued every where soon after -1670, and never more resumed till within these last twenty or -thirty years, when they became again very general, in consequence -of the example of the Paris-mountain copper Company, in the Isle -<a name="page827"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 827</span>of -Anglesey, who issued large penny pieces, which were for some -years very common, and in extensive circulation. They have -been latterly suppressed, with all the others to which they had -given rise. Government seem resolved to prevent or -discourage any thing of the kind being again attempted; for which -we impute to them no blame, and sincerely wish we had no greater -grievance to complain of.</p> -<p>Between the borough, or corporation of Lynn, and the parish of -Allhallows, or Allsaints, alias South Lynn, there has been for -ages, at times, no very good understanding. That parish has -been too often treated like a younger brother, or a weaker -neighbour, though we know not that it ever appears to have -advanced any unreasonable claims. About the year 1672, some -difference seems to have arisen between the two parties, about -the participation or distribution of the benefit derived from the -duty of 12<i>d.</i> in the chalder upon coals brought by -strangers and delivered <i>in South-Lynn parish</i>. The -borough, or great parish of St. Margaret, claimed the whole, as -their exclusive right, but affected to condescend, at last, to -allow a <i>third part</i> of the same to the South-Lynnians, as -an act of generosity. The latter, by their agent, Tho. -Hugins, consented to this, in consideration that their poor rates -were moderate and easy, compared with those of Saint -Margaret’s parish, which were said, even then, to be very -heavy.</p> -<p>The South-Lynnians, however, as appears by their old -Parish-book, considered that there was here some <a -name="page828"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -828</span>over-reaching, or foul play, on the part of the mayor -and burgesses, and that their agent, Hugins, had been taken in on -this occasion. So they really appear to have viewed this -business. But the mayor and corporation viewed it -differently; and the following is their representation of it, as -given in the Hall-books—“October 17. 1672: Whereas -there is due unto the mayor and burgesses, from Mr. Thomas Hugins -and others of South Lynn, divers sums of money, arising upon the -duty of coales bought by them of strangers, and whereas they have -earnestly requested, forasmuch as the said duty doth arise for -coales landed or sold within the said parish of South Lynn, that -a third part of the said moneys may be allowed unto the said -parish of South Lynn for the benefite of the same parish, to be -employed by the paritioners according to the meaning of the order -for that purpose, in regard of their present great charges. -Thereupon this House doe think fitt to order that the same be -allowed accordingly.” Thus we see that the -corporation did not appear disposed to acknowledge that their -South Lynn neighbours had any direct right to this allowance.</p> -<p>The mayor and corporation were very culpable, not only in -granting their neighbours of South-Lynn, with such ill grace, a -third part of the duty on coals delivered there by strangers, but -also in refusing to accede to any such measure till now; which -appears to have been really the case. To have been a little -more neighbourly and accommodating would have been much more to -their credit and their interest. But nothing better, <a -name="page829"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 829</span>perhaps, -could be expected from them, as things then stood. Could -they have foreseen the humiliating and mortifying condition, into -which their illtreated neighbours would bring them in the course -of a few months after, there is reason to believe they would have -used them with a greater degree of gentleness and -condescension. The fact is, they had been at bitter -variance with them for several years, about the obligation of -keeping up and repairing the <i>Long Bridge</i>, which they would -fain throw entirely upon them. But that they were not able -to effect, though they actually went to law with them for that -very purpose. This memorable law-suit forms a prominent -feature in the history of Lynn at that period: an account of it -has been preserved in the old Parish-book of South Lynn, and is -given as follows—</p> -<blockquote><p>“<span class="smcap">South Lynn -Allhallowes</span>, <i>March</i> 25 1674.—<i>At a -Congregation met and assembled to take the report of Tho. Hugins -concerning Long Bridge and other business treated about and -considered of by him with the mayor and burgesses of Lynn Regis -as followeth hereunder</i>.”—</p> -<p>“<i>Memorandum</i>: That whereas the bridge commonly -called Long Bridge, standing over Sandringham Ea, (alias White -Friars Fleet,) is and hath been long time in great decay, and -contest hath long time been between the mayor and burgesses of -King’s Lynn, and the inhabitants of South Lynn, which of -them should repair it: We the inhabitants of South Lynn taking it -into consideration and not being very willing to contest with the -said mayor and burgesses, if that by a way of treaty <a -name="page830"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 830</span>with them -the difference might be composed, did, upon the 13th of April -1669. make our request to Samuel Barron Esq. Thomas Spencely -gentleman, and Thomas Hugins, inhabitants of this parish, that -they would treat with the mayor and burgesses concerning the -premisses: what they, or any two of them did agree concerning the -same we would condescend unto, as it is recorded in this book the -said 13. April 1669.</p> -<p>“Now this daie one of the said Committee, named Thomas -Hugins, (the other two being lately dead,) doth make report unto -us, that notwithstanding they oft made request unto the mayor and -burgesses to treat about the same, they commonly did refuse to -meet, and the bridge being much in decay the country did indyte -the mayor and burgesses and inhabitants of South Lynn at the -country Quarter Sessions held in Lynn 16. January 1671. We -traversed it against the mayor and burgesses, and then and there -by verdict of the Jury the mayor and burgesses, were found -guilty, and the court did set but a small fine upon them of -3<i>l.</i> expecting they would forthwith repair it. But -they still continued refractory, and said they would try it at -the assizes: Whereupon we prepared for tryal, and I Thomas Hugins -did attend at the next assizes held at Thetford, 12. March 1671, -2; with five witnesses, and did retain three counsels, and was at -the charge of two copies of the charter of K. Edward VI. and one -of Q. Mary to the mayor and burgesses: and notwithstanding their -former word, that they would try it there, and Henry Bell -alderman, and Mr. Farrow their recorder, and <a -name="page831"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 831</span>Mr. Francis -Rolph (Rolfe) their town-clark were there, they did then refuse -to try it, nor did not but put us and themselves to further cost -and charges; The Bridge being more and more in decay, the country -did still complain, and in the month of July, 1672, the mayor and -burgesses did appoint a committee to treat with us, and we did -meet at the house of Mr Samuel Barron, but still they did wholly -refuse to be at any cost or charge, notwithstanding we did offer -them that if a rate were made for the repair thereof through the -whole borough, of which we are part, that we of this parish would -willingly have paid our proportion, which would have been a -fourth part, if not more; and this they would not accept of -neither: And then it was proposed to refer it to four men in the -country, two for them and two for us; and when they had nominated -two for them and accepted of by us, all the gentlemen in the -country would not afford two for us that they would accept of; -but they had always something or other to object against them: so -jealous were they of the men, and indeed of their cause.</p> -<p>“So nothing [being] done, and the assizes at Thetford -drawing towards, I Thomas Hugins, by request of the above-said -Samuel Barron and Thomas Spencely, (they not being in health, nor -in capacity to go abroad) did make address to Mr Seth Hawley, -mayor, desiring him to use his interest that his committee would -once again meet and treat with us, to see if it might not be -determined between us. The said mayor did acquaint <a -name="page832"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 832</span>the Hall -with it, and then they added Mr <i>Farrow</i>, their -<i>recorder</i>, to the committee, but after that no meeting; for -the mayor did once in place where I was present desire the said -Mr Farrow, that he would meet and treat with us: he did -peremptory reply to the mayor, he would not meet, and said to the -mayor, it was but spending of 20<i>l.</i> at the assizes, and -there would be an end of it; and so it fell out [as] to the end, -tho’ not the end as he dreamt of: for at the assizes held -at Thetford the 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7th. of March 1672 <a -name="citation832a"></a><a href="#footnote832a" -class="citation">[832a]</a> it was there tried, and the mayor and -burgesses were found guilty; which trial was after this -manner”—<a name="citation832b"></a><a -href="#footnote832b" class="citation">[832b]</a></p> -<p>“Messrs. Farrow and Rolfe, recorder and town-clerk, -retained three counsels to plead for them. The South -Lynnians, by their attorney, Jacob Wrag, retained also three -counsels and a serjeant at Law. When they came to the -indictment, it lay against the inhabitants of King’s Lynn -and those of South Lynn. But <i>lord Chief Justice -Hale</i>, [before whom this cause was tried,] understanding by -our attorney and counsel, that it was the mayor and burgesses we -complained of, and producing to my lord the true copies of the -aforesaid charters, whereby it appeared that Edw. VI. had granted -lands and tenements in King’s Lynn and South Lynn, -amounting to the value of several 100<i>l.</i> a year, for the -purpose of their maintaining of <i>bridges</i>, and jetties -against floods, &c, Q. Mary’s charter also concurred -with this; as did likewise the verdict of the jury in 1671, which -was then also produced.</p> -<p><a name="page833"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -833</span>“His lordship taking these things into -consideration, and regarding the obstinacy of the mayor and -burgesses, notwithstanding the former verdict; and he having then -in court advised the bridge being repaired by a rate through the -whole town, [as the South Lynnians had before proposed] which -they [of the opposite party] there in court refused:—His -lordship then said, if we and they would join issue to traverse -it, he would know who ought to repair it, and he would take such -course in the recording that it should never come before a judge -of assize again to determine it. After some discourse [the -cause went on.] But one witness for the mayor and -burgesses, Thomas Williamson, carpenter, who swore that he had -done some repairs to the bridge in 1654 with his master Robert -Hart, and were paid by two of the inhabitants of South Lynn: but -they appeared to be tenants of the mayor and burgesses, and had -got the money from them to pay the carpenters, as far as -Williamson knew.” [His evidence therefore could be of -no avail; and he seems to have been the principal and only -witness on the side of the corporation.]</p> -<p>“Thus [adds the MS.] the proud were infatuated in their -own wisdom by their book, paper, and witness! that we of the poor -parish of South Lynn had not one witness examined; the court -thinking it needed not: for their charters, the verdict as -aforesaid, their own books and papers, and their witness there -was enough. Upon which judge Hale said to the jury, they -must bring in their verdict in <i>three</i> parts; for they must -answer <a name="page834"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -834</span>him three questions he should ask them. The jury -went out, and when they came in again, his lordship asked them, -Whether the inhabitants of King’s Lynn were guilty, or not -guilty? They answered, <i>not guilty</i>. <i>Record -that</i>, said my lord. He queried 2ndly, Whether the -inhabitants of South Lynn were guilty, or not guilty? They -answered, <i>not guilty</i>. <i>Record that</i> saith my -lord. He asked 3rdly, Whether the <i>mayor and -burgesses</i> were guilty, or not guilty? They answered, -<i>guilty</i>. <i>Record that</i>, saith my lord. -Then he asked the jury, Why they found the mayor and burgesses -guilty? and they said, for that the mayor and burgesses had many -lands and tenements, the gift of K. Edward VI. to the yearly -value of some 100<i>l.</i> given to them for that end and -purpose. <i>Record that also</i>, said his lordship.” -<a name="citation834"></a><a href="#footnote834" -class="citation">[834]</a></p> -</blockquote> -<p>Thus was this vexatious dispute put to rest and settled beyond -the possibility of being ever after litigated. The mayor -and burgesses appear on the occasion in a very unfavourable and -unamiable light. That great and good man, and most upright -and eminent judge, Sir Matthew Hale, before whom this cause was -tried, must have thought, and evidently did think very -indifferently <a name="page835"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -835</span>of them, as no better than a nest of oppressors and -tyrants. Who but they would have run the risk of being -thought ill of by such a man? But corporations are seldom -deterred from evil by the fear of disgrace, for they consider the -odium of their misdoings as greatly diminished, if not quite -annihilated, by being shared among so many: and when a member is -reproached for any corporate or municipal misdeed, he generally -contrives to excuse himself and lay the whole blame upon others -of the brotherhood, whom however he will seldom condescend to -name.</p> -<h4><span class="smcap">Section</span> V.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>History of Lynn continued from</i> 1680 -<i>to</i> 1688—<i>Addresses to the throne—Quo -Warranto proceedings—surrender and restoration of the -charters—the revolution</i>.</p> -<p>The years 1680 and 1681 (or 1682) were distinguished here by -two notable addresses to the throne. Of that of the former -year an account has been given already at pages <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page788">788</a></span> and <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page789">789</a></span>, and a rare -piece of curiosity it certainly was. Of the address of 1681 -(or 1682) we cannot speak so positively, having never met with a -copy of it; but there is great reason to presume that it was -pretty much of a kin, or not at all dissimilar to the -former. Relating to this memorable document the following -article has been extracted from the Town-Books—<a -name="page836"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -836</span>“March 2. 1681, 2; Ordered that Mr. Recorder -(Henry Ferrour Esq.) be desired to draw up an Humble Address to -his Majestie in abhorrence and detestation of that late designed -traiterous <i>association</i> lately produced at the Old -Baly.” This evidently alludes to a circumstance that -transpired in the course of the proceedings that had then lately -been carried on against the earl of <i>Shaftsbury</i>, at the -instigation, it seems, of the sovereign, of which an account has -been given by Rapin, Burnet, and other historians.</p> -<blockquote><p>“The king (says <i>Rapin</i>,) passionately -wished to be revenged of this lord, who for sometime had shown -him little regard: To this end he granted a special commission of -Oyer and Terminer to all the judges of the kingdom to sit, the -24th of November, with the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, at the Old -Baily, on the Earl’s trial. Eight witnesses were -heard against him, who deposed upon oath many things from his own -mouth, which discovered pernicious designs against the -king’s person. But the greatest crime objected -against him was, the copy (or plan) of an <i>Assosiation</i> -(found in his study) against the enemies of the king, of the -protestant religion, and of their country. But -notwithstanding the hopes conceived by the Court, of being freed -from this enemy, the Grand Jury, consisting of one and twenty of -the principal citizens of London, considering that the paper -containing the association was only a copy, and not writ in the -earl of Shaftsbury’s hand, and observing very great -improbabilities in the depositions of the witnesses, found no -sufficient ground for the Bill, and returned <a -name="page837"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 837</span>it -<i>Ignoramus</i>. Immediately the whole city testified -their joy for the earl’s deliverance, by bonfires in all -the Streets, and other marks of satisfaction; and the witnesses -against him were in great danger of being torn in pieces by the -mob.” <a name="citation837"></a><a href="#footnote837" -class="citation">[837]</a></p> -</blockquote> -<p>Arbitrary and vindictive as these proceedings of the Court -were, they appear to have been entirely approved of by our -corporation. Of the conduct and principles of Shaftsbury -and the country party they evidently had no opinion. They -were ready to condemn them without hesitation and without mercy: -and as to the very idea of an <i>association</i> to counteract or -check the tyrannical measures of the Court, it was looked upon by -them as truly horrid and detestable. Yet it was to -something of that kind, a few years after, that we owed our -glorious revolution, our deliverance from popish superstition and -despotism, and the establishment of civil <a -name="page838"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 838</span>and -religious liberty. <a name="citation838"></a><a -href="#footnote838" class="citation">[838]</a> This -Corporation afterwards seemed no less pleased with the -proceedings of William and the revolutionists than they had been -before with those of Charles and his cabal, or of James and his -popish counsellors: and had the pretender succeeded in 1715, or -in 1745, they would probably have been as joyful on that, as they -had been on any former occasion, and addressed the new sovereign -with a zeal no way inferior to what they had expressed or -manifested towards the most favoured and patriotic of his -predecessors. In short, like most corporations, their -conduct would have been regulated by circumstances or self -interest, rather than by truth or genuine patriotism.</p> -<p>Great and notorious as had been the obsequiousness and -devotedness of this corporation to the two last of the Stuart -princes, it did not give them entire satisfaction. They -wanted to have this, and all other corporations that sent members -to parliament, completely in their own power, so as to have their -parliament-men to consist solely of such as they should please to -appoint; that is, of the tools or minions of the court; which -would bid fair always, to insure a parliamentary majority. -To accomplish this, it was necessary to abolish, or disannul all -the Charters, and grant new ones on such terms as would enable -his majesty to appoint all the leading men or municipal -functionaries, and remove at any time all such as he should find -unfit for his purpose, and replace them with such as would prove -perfectly ductile and manageable. This, no doubt, was -deemed by many a <a name="page839"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -839</span>deep and well-laid scheme, which entitled its -projectors to the reputation of being endowed with uncommon -sagacity. But they never could bring it to bear, so as to -realize the hopes they had conceived from it; and it was at last -abandoned: when the former charters were restored, and things -reverted again into their old channels. Of the process or -trial of this notable experiment here, the following, it is -presumed, is a fair and correct representation.</p> -<p>Lynn had not the honour of being the first of our corporations -that was made to experience this mode or description of the -<i>royal touch</i>. The precedence, as on other occasions, -was given to the corporation of London, against which a <i>Quo -Warranto</i> was issued in 1683; in the event of which the judges -of the court of King’s Bench declared, that the liberties -and privileges of the city of London were forfeited, and might be -seized into the king’s hands. It was not till the -following year that it came to the turn of Lynn to be questioned -on a similar account. Accordingly we find the following -notice of it in the Town-Books—“May 26. 1684. -This day the mayor, (Benj. Keen Esq.) aldermen, and common -councell of this Burgh, <i>with one assent and consent</i>, have -ordered, consented, and agreed, that all and singular the powers, -franchises, liberties, priviledges and authorities whatsoever and -howsoever granted to the mayor and burgesses, or to be used or -exercised by or under them, by virtue of any charters, letters -patents, custome or prescriptions now <a name="page840"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 840</span>in force, of or concerning electing, -nominating, or appointing any person or persons into any the -offices of magistracy or places of trust within this Burgh, Be -<i>fully and freely surrendered</i> unto the King’s most -excellent Majestie, and that an Instrument for that purpose be -forthwith drawn and prepared to be sealed with the common Seale -of this Burgh at the next Hall: and it is ordered that a -committee be appointed and empowered, as deputies and attorneys -for the mayor and burgesses, to attend the King’s Majestie, -with the instrument of surrender aforesaid, as <i>the act and -deed of the mayor and burgesses</i>.—May 29. This day -the Letter from Lord Townshend, High Steward, resigning his -Patent, being read, was delivered to Mr. Mayor till the same be -further considered.—This day the Instrument of surrender -was sealed.—June 9. This day the Instrument of -deputation to surrender the Charter and Liberties was signed; and -the deputies are ordered and authorized to petition his Majestie -to regrant, renew, and confirm such liberties, franchises, and -powers as his Majestie in his princely wisdom shall think proper -for his service, and the good government, profit and interest of -this burgh. <a name="citation840"></a><a href="#footnote840" -class="citation">[840]</a>—July 24. This day the -charter <a name="page841"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -841</span>of our most gracious Lord and King, renewed and -confirmed to the mayor and burgesses, dated 9th. instant, was -read in the outward open Hall. <a name="citation841"></a><a -href="#footnote841" class="citation">[841]</a>—August -6th. The Duke of Norfolk by his Majesties Charter being -appointed High Steward, 10<i>l</i>, the ancient annual Fee, is -ordered to be paid at Christmas yearly.”</p> -<p>Such a change was now effected here as thoroughly corresponded -with the royal policy. Our Corporation <a -name="page842"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 842</span>continued -subject to this new order of things afterwards, for several -years; even till within a few weeks of the Revolution. The -king, dying a few months after he had granted his second Charter, -had little opportunity to act much upon it, or give it its full -operation. All that was left for his brother and successor -<i>James</i>, who took special care that it should be rendered -sufficiently operative. He, accordingly, in the Summer of -1688, thought proper to set it in motion, and play it on our body -corporate with full and terrible effect. <i>Fifteen</i> of -that body, not thought well of by his majesty, and including the -<i>mayor</i> himself, the Town-Clerk and <i>five aldermen</i>, -were then expelled the Hall in one day, and replaced by others -who were more to their sovereign’s liking. Of this -memorable event there are the following memoranda in the -Hall-Books.—</p> -<blockquote><p>“June 11th. (1688) Whereas by order of -Councell at White-Hall, dated 1st. June 1688, for the -discharging severall members from their respective places in this -Corporation, those words following—“By the -King’s most excellent majestie, and the Lords of his most -honorable Privy Councell, whereas by the Charter lately granted -to the town of Lynn Regis in the county of Norfolk <i>a power is -reserved to his Majesty</i>, by his order in Councell, <i>to -remove from their employments any officers in the said town</i>, -His Majestie in Councell is this day pleased to order, and it is -hereby ordered that Robert Sparrow, mayor and alderman, Sir John -Turner, Benj. Holly, Willm. Hadfield, Robt. Pain, Giles -Bridgeman, aldermen; Hen. Bell, Wm. Holly, <a -name="page843"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 843</span>Chas. -Turner, Hen. Pope, Sam. Bridgeman, Ja: Greene, Tim. Priest, and -John Bradfield, Common Councell, and Edmd. Rolfe, Town-Clerke, -and Mayor’s Clerk, and Clerk of Guild-Hall Courts, and -Courts of Sessions, Court Leet, and Court of Pyepouder, Be, and -they are hereby removed and displaced from their said offices in -the said Town of Lynn Regis.</p> -<p style="text-align: right"><i>John Nicholas</i>.</p> -<p>[Then it immediately follows] “And the said severall -persons in the said order mentioned were and are by the Hall this -day accordingly displaced and discharged.” [Next -after which it is added.] “June 11th. Att a -further congregation the same day, before Sir Symon Tayler Kt. -Th. Robinson, John Kidd, Benj: Keen, Th. Lemon, Edwd: Hooke, -Edwd. Bodham. A mandate under his Majesties Hand and Seale -read before the members above mentioned to remove severall -therein mentioned, and to require to elect John Davy to be mayor, -Wm. Linstead, Cyp. Anderson, Hen: Framingham, Charles Peast, Wm. -Blyth, to be aldermen; and Th. Buckingham, Sym: Tayler, John -Hall, Wm. Thompson, John Tidd, Pet: Busby, Seel Peast, and St: -Tayler to be Common Councell, and Math: Oufande to be Town-clerk, -without administering to them any Oaths but for the execution of -their respective offices, with which wee are pleased to dispense -in their behalfe. <a name="citation843"></a><a -href="#footnote843" class="citation">[843]</a>—By his -Majesties Command.</p> -<p style="text-align: right"><i>Sunderland</i>.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="page844"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 844</span>The -king appeared now bent upon persevering in these arbitrary -measures; and in the following month of September, he issued his -royal mandate for continuing as chief magistrate, during another -year, the above mentioned <i>John Davy</i>, who seems to have -been highly thought of by his sovereign, and, but for the -revolution, might, perhaps, have been appointed mayor of Lynn for -life. Of the said royal mandate the following notice is -taken in the Hall-Books.—“Sept. 29. 1688. This -day a madat [mandate] under his Majesties hand and seal was read, -to elect and continue John Davy mayor for the ensuing year, -without administring any oaths but of office.” Then -it is added—“This day John Davy Esq. is elected mayor -for the next year, by the common councell.”</p> -<p>Dark and humiliating as was the aspect of this new order of -things, it continued only between four and five <a -name="page845"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -845</span>years. The last charter which reduced the -corporation to so degrading a condition was granted in June 1684; -and it was cancelled, in effect, or disannulled in the autumn of -1688, when the old Charters were again restored and the former -order of things reestablished. Of these events the -Hall-Books contain the following memoranda—“October -20. 1688: This day his Majesties Royal Proclamation for restoring -Corporations to their antient Charters, Liberties, Rights and -Franchises bearing date 17th. October being read in this House, -and thereupon the several members of this Corporation being -members at the time of the late surrender made of the Priviledges -of this Burgh being now assembled did proceed, viz.—The -Common Councell have elected Ed: Hooke, Robt. Sparrow, and -Cyprian Anderson, aldermen; and chosen Cyprian Anderson, -alderman, mayor till Michaelmas next.—Oct. 26. the Duke of -Norfolk is elected and confirmed Lord High Steward of this -Burgh.”—Under the same date the following memorandum -is inserted—“In pursuance of an order from the office -of Ordnance, signifying his Majesties Commands to send all the -Guns to Hull, it is agreed to remove the same accordingly.” -<a name="citation845a"></a><a href="#footnote845a" -class="citation">[845a]</a>—“Nov. 2. Ordered the Seal -to be affixed to the Patent for the Duke of Norfolk being High -Steward. <a name="citation845b"></a><a href="#footnote845b" -class="citation">[845b]</a>—Also the Seal to one Letter <a -name="page846"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 846</span>of Attorney -giving authority to sundry persons therein named to receive from -his Majesties attorney general the late Instrument or Deed of -Surrender of divers franchises <a name="page847"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 847</span>and liberties.”—While -things were going on thus at Lynn, the prince of Orange arrived; -which brings us to the happy era of the Revolution, and to the -close of this chapter.</p> -<h3><a name="page848"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -848</span>CHAP. VI.</h3> -<p class="gutsumm">History of Lynn from the Revolution to the -present time.</p> -<p>The change which took place at the accession of William and -Mary we denominate, by way of eminence, <i>The Revolution</i>, -and sometimes, <i>The glorious Revolution</i>. It was -certainly a most happy change for this nation, and very different -from that which took place at the restoration of Charles -II. The nation behaved now like people in their senses; but -they behaved then like madmen, and were accessary to all the -enormities of that detestable reign, and of the whole period from -the restoration to the revolution. Had the people, or their -leaders, done their duty at the Restoration, neither Charles nor -James would have found it so easy a matter as they did to -tyrannize over their subjects, and enslave their country. -They were placed on the throne, like all other despots, not only -without any terms or stipulation in favour of the people, but -even with those <a name="page849"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -849</span>lofty notions which they inherited from their -predecessors, and in which they were confirmed by their priests -and courtiers, and other sycophants, that they were -<i>absolute</i> princes, who ruled by right divine, and so were -not amenable to any human tribunal, or accountable to any earthly -being for any of their actions. With such notions we need -not wonder at the arbitrary measures they pursued, or at their -wishing to be as absolute or uncontrolled here as their cousin, -Lewis XIV, was in France, or the grand Seignior in Turkey. -It was very natural for such men as they to be or to do so, and -for their fawning and time-serving courtiers to encourage them in -it: but for the whole church and priesthood to act herein as -abettors, till James, rather impoliticly, proceeded to take some -undue liberties with the hierarchy, is somewhat more -remarkable. As to <i>Charles</i>, he took special care to -keep fair with the prelates and mother church, and play into -their hands to their utmost wishes, which enabled him to rule as -despotically as he pleased, with or without a parliament: they on -the other hand complimented him, by calling him <i>most sacred -majesty</i>, and telling, even the Almighty, that he was <i>a -most religious king</i>. But <i>James</i> departed from -this wise policy of his brother, by presuming to encroach upon -the sacred prerogatives of the church, and order the very bishops -to read, and cause their clergy also, in all the churches, -publickly to read his <i>Declaration of Liberty of Conscience to -all his subjects</i>; which, certainly, was, in itself, no very -unreasonable demand. Yet this was the rock on which he -split, and the occurrence <a name="page850"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 850</span>which most of all contributed to -facilitate and hasten the Revolution. For it caused such an -accession to the patriotic party as rendered it predominant and -irresistible.</p> -<h4><span class="smcap">Section</span> I.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>A sketch of the Revolution</i>, <i>or brief -observations on that memorable and interesting event</i>.</p> -<p>The English Hierarchy, or national priesthood, is that body, -of all others, which it most behoves a tyrant king to secure its -attachment and cooperation. Nor will he find this attended -with much difficulty, provided he take care not to encroach on -the ecclesiastical department, and let the ecclesiastics -tyrannize as much as they please in their own province. -<i>Charles</i> II understood this subject well, and by that means -could act the tyrant with perfect safety throughout his whole -reign. The alliance between church and state was by him -preserved inviolate; and consequently none of the enormities of -his vile government were able to shake, or endanger his -throne. But <i>James</i>, by violating that alliance, -deprived himself of his chief support and bulwark, and lost every -thing. Had he kept fair with the church, or the -ecclesiastics, he might venture to play the despot, persecute the -nonconformists, and other descriptions of his subjects, as much, -and as cruelly as he pleased: they would once have remonstrated -<a name="page851"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 851</span>against -that sort of conduct. But being himself a non-conformist, -and assuming a <i>dispensing power</i>, and issuing a Declaration -for <i>liberty of conscience</i>, and withal, interfering with -the <i>dignities</i> and <i>revenues</i> of the <i>church</i> and -<i>universities</i>, they were alarmed beyond measure, and all at -once forgot, even their favourite doctrines of passive obedience -and nonresistance, for which they had so long contended, and the -disbelievers of which they had so often represented as vile -miscreants, unentitled to the common comforts of society, or the -natural rights of men. While the nonconformists and the -laity were the only sufferers from the oppressions of government, -they blamed them for complaining, and preached up passive -obedience and nonresistance, and the divine right of kingship; <a -name="citation851a"></a><a href="#footnote851a" -class="citation">[851a]</a> but when those oppressions began to -affect them, they immediately changed their tone, and appeared -among the foremost to complain, and even to disobey and -resist.—Such was the character of the English clergy, -before and at the Revolution; and it deserves to be noted and -remembered.</p> -<p>In imprisoning the bishops, James filled up the measure of his -folly and infatuation. It converted a large majority of his -subjects into enemies, and hastened that crisis which blasted all -his prospects, and transferred his kingdom to another family.</p> -<blockquote><p>“The imprisonment and trial of the seven -bishops, (says an excellent historian, <a -name="citation851b"></a><a href="#footnote851b" -class="citation">[851b]</a>) were the last measures of -infatuation that remained. When a second indulgence was -issued, and ordained to be read in the church, the bishops -petitioned <a name="page852"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -852</span>against an order calculated to reduce the clergy, on -their compliance, to the contempt and reproach of becoming -accessary to their own destruction; or to subject the disobedient -to the penalties recently inflicted by the high commission. -The whole nation was agitated at the imprisonment of the fathers -of the church. The same violent agitation was excited by -their trial; but their acquittal resounded through the capital, -and was received with tumultuous joy by the whole kingdom, as a -religious and even a national triumph over the sovereign. -From the public ferment, which was not likely to subside, that -dangerous crisis had at length arrived, to which despotism and -bigotry conducted James.</p> -<p>“The eyes and expectations of men had been long fixed on -his nephew, the prince of Orange, whose marriage with his eldest -daughter had opened a near prospect of obtaining the crown. -Religion, as well as interest, had connected William with the -popular party, as alike adverse to the ambition of France, and -impatient for a protestant successor to the English throne. -The discontented found a secure asylum in Holland, and an -honourable or secret reception at his court; and his connexion -with every party was preserved and enlarged by their -correspondence with their friends.</p> -<p>“While the chance of a protestant succession remained, -the prince was averse to a premature rupture, and the nation was -desirous to await the natural course of events. But the -birth of a son, during the ferment excited by the imprisonment of -the bishops, consoled James with <a name="page853"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 853</span>the prospect of a catholic heir, and -accelerated every preparation for his ruin. The most -injurious surmises had been entertained of the queen’s -conception; and from some mysterious circumstances, the report of -a supposititious child, however improbable at present, was -eagerly propagated and implicitly believed. From the -prospect of an hereditary religious despotism the invitation of -the prince of Orange was no longer deferred. The whigs, who -had urged the exclusion, were indifferent to the hereditary line -of succession, from which the tories, who had no view beyond a -parliament, were unwilling to deviate. But as every -political and religious party deposited their animosities during -the common danger, a secret conspiracy was formed by their -coalition, the most extensive perhaps, and the best concerted -which history has preserved.</p> -<p>“The secret, although entrusted to many thousands, -transpired only from the preparations of the prince of -Orange. Although his declaration announced that he was -invited over by divers of the temporal and spiritual lords, the -king was unable to discover the lines of conspiracy with which he -was surrounded at home. The declaration issued on the -embarkation of the prince, enumerated the grievances of the three -kingdoms, the suspicious birth of the prince of Wales, and the -necessity of interposing to establish the religion and liberties -of the people on a secure foundation. Terrified at the -approaching danger from abroad, and at the contempt and hatred -which he had incurred at home, the king endeavoured, when too -late, to retract his former illegal <a name="page854"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 854</span>measures; but when the Dutch fleet -was dispersed, and driven back by a storm to Holland, his -confidence in the protection of heaven revived. But the -expedition was renewed in a few days. While the English -fleet was confined to its station off Harwich, the prince, with -six hundred transports and ships of war, passed with an east wind -through the Straits of Dover, in the presence of wondering -multitudes, who gazed at the sublime spectacle from either coast; -and disembarking at Torbay, afforded a signal proof to the -nation, that its navy will not always prevent an invasion, nor a -standing army ensure stability to the throne.</p> -<p>“For a few days the prince of Orange was joined by none; -but when the first example was given, the extent of the -confederacy was announced by a rapid and universal defection from -the king. The gentlemen of Somerset and Devon hastened to -the prince, who had advanced to Exeter, and entered eagerly into -an <i>association</i> for his support. The earl of Bath -admitted his fleet into Plymouth. The earl of Devonshire -and the gentlemen of Derby and Nottingham declared for the prince -and a free parliament. Lord Delamer took arms in Cheshire; -and in the northern counties lord Danby and his associates -surprised Newcastle, York, and Hull. Cornbury, the earl of -Clarendon’s son, was among the first to desert; but when a -petition for a free parliament, signed by nineteen peers and -prelates, was evaded, he was followed by Churchill, Kirk, -Trelauny, Drumlanrig, the dukes of Ormond and Grafton, prince -George of Denmark, the king’s Son in law, while a <a -name="page855"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 855</span>greater -number of inferior officers refused to fight against the prince -of Orange.</p> -<p>“The king, who had arrived at Salisbury to give battle -to the prince, was overwhelmed with misfortunes. All -England appeared in commotion. The capital was full of -discontent; the very fleet declared for a free parliament; and -surrounded, as he believed, by a disaffected army, he knew not in -whom to confide. He withdrew his army, and retired to -London; but when informed of his daughter the princess -Anne’s escape, “God help me,” cried he, with -tears of anguish, “my own children have deserted -me.” Every new disaster increased his -perturbation. He summoned a council of peers; issued writs -for new parliament; dispatched commissioners to propose a treaty: -but as the prince, amidst the acclamations of all ranks, -continued to advance, he was bereft of all fortitude and strength -of mind. His conduct was irresolute, pusillanimous, absurd; -and unable to submit to necessity, yet incapable of a single -effort of generous despair, he sunk, without dignity, beneath his -misfortunes. His father’s execution was still present -to his desponding thoughts; and he listened credulously to every -suggestion of personal danger, without reflecting either on the -difference of the characters or of the times. His terrors -were flattered as the result of political wisdom, and he was -easily persuaded that his departure would produce a scene of -anarchy to accelerate the recovery of absolute power. His -hopes were absurdly placed on the public confusion, <a -name="page856"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 856</span>to increase -which he recalled and burnt the writs for a new parliament; -directed Feversham to disband the army; threw the great seal into -the Thames; and with a single attendant, embarked in a small -vessel at midnight for France, whither the queen and his son had -before been secretly conveyed. When he was intercepted at -Feversham and brought back to Whitehall, the returning affections -of the city might have convinced him that the nation was not yet -lost. In this delicate extremity he attempted to resume his -authority by an indiscreet proclamation against the late -excesses; <a name="citation856"></a><a href="#footnote856" -class="citation">[856]</a> but was required at midnight to remove -from the palace, and permitted to retire to Rochester, with an -obvious design to connive at his escape. He was convinced -himself that his departure would prove acceptable to the prince; -and the few friends who adhered in adversity to his fortunes, -urged him to remain. But the despair of life -returned. An expression of his father’s was -remembered—that ‘short is the distance between the -prison and the grave of kings:’ and by the desertion of his -kingdom, which he was destined never to revisit, he left his -rival an unbloody victory, and a vacant throne.—The -revolution was accomplished in Scotland with the same ease and -success.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>A convention was assembled in each kingdom, to manage their -respective concerns, and settle their future government. In -England the revolution was accomplished <a -name="page857"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 857</span>by a -coalition of whig and tory; but in Scotland, where the same -distinctions prevailed under different names, the parties kept -separate and opposed to each other; the episcopalians siding with -James, and the presbyterians with William. The latter, -however, in the end prevailed, and the convention adopted a plan, -prepared by a committee, for the settlement of the crown.</p> -<p>The deliberations had degenerated in the English convention -into verbal disputes between the two houses, whether the late -king had deserted or abdicated the vacant throne. In -Scotland there was neither the same necessity to gratify the -tories, nor the same propriety in declaring that the king had -abdicated the government, by the desertion of a country wherein -he did not reside. But the opposite genius of the two -nations was never more conspicuous than in the result of their -deliberations on that important event. The <i>English</i> -convention declared that James II. having endeavoured to subvert -the constitution, by breaking the original contract between the -king and people, and having violated the fundamental laws, and -withdrawn from the kingdom, had <i>abdicated</i> <a -name="citation857"></a><a href="#footnote857" -class="citation">[857]</a> the government, and that the throne -was thereby vacant. The <i>Scots</i>, on the other hand, -instead of <a name="page858"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -858</span>attempting by an ambiguous fiction to reconcile -hereditary right with a change in the succession, placed the -vacancy of the throne on its true basis, the religion and -mal-administration of James. The same oppression which the -English apprehended while yet distant, they had long -endured. Their loyal attachment to the Stewarts, which -survived the civil wars, had been effaced by their sufferings -since the restoration. From the same national ardour which -rendered the reformation so complete, or destructive in Scotland, -they proposed and passed a bold and decisive vote, that James had -forfaulted [<i>forfeited</i>] the crown by his misconduct and -crimes.</p> -<p>When the throne was declared vacant, the convention, of both -nations, resolved that the crown should be tendered to William -and Mary, as joint sovereigns. The prince in an agreeable -and obliging manner accepted of the crown in the name of them -both; and the same day, (Feb. 13. 1689,) they were proclaimed -king and queen by the named of William and Mary, at which a -general joy appeared among the people. On the 11th. of -April the new sovereigns were crowned in London, and proclaimed -in Scotland on the same day. From the latter Argyle and -others were deputed by the three temporal estates to present the -crown, and administer the oath to the king and queen. The -instrument of government and the grievances were first read; to -which an Address to turn the convention into a parliament, was -subjoined. When the coronation Oath was administered to -William, at the obligation to <i>root </i><a -name="page859"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 859</span><i>out -heretics</i>, he paused, and declared that he did <i>not mean to -become a persecutor</i>; and on the assurance of the -commissioners that such was not its import, protested that in -that sense only he took the Oath. This must be extremely -honourable to William’s memory, and is a rare instance of -princely virtue, wisdom, and patriotism. If all kings were -of his sort the objections to monarchical government would lose -most of their strength. With this sketch of the British -Revolution, so much talked of, and so ill understood by most, the -reader, it is hoped, will not be displeased. <a -name="citation859"></a><a href="#footnote859" -class="citation">[859]</a></p> -<h4><span class="smcap">Section</span> II.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>History of Lynn continued to the accession -of Q. Anne—example of William and the revolutionists did -not liberalize our townsmen—persecution of nonconformists -here within this period—stocking trade</i>, <i>and -complaints of the hosiers—petitions to -parliament—addresses to the -throne—law-suits—water-works—affair of the -coal-meters—and of the noblemen</i>, <i>knights</i>, -<i>esquires</i>, <i>clergy</i>, <i>&c.</i></p> -<p>William’s ideas of civil and religious liberty, though -perhaps, not perfectly correct or unexceptionable, were yet far -more so than what was generally entertained by our countrymen at -that period—and probably, even what is generally -entertained among us at this time: <a name="page860"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 860</span>for civil and religious liberty -seems not to have been of late years among our favourite -studies. William and his consort would gladly have placed -the liberty of protestant Dissenters on a broad and liberal -footing, but it was not approved by the majority of the two -houses of parliament. They however readily passed an Act, -in the summer of 1689, for <i>exempting their Majesties -Protestant Subjects dissenting from the Church of England from -the Penalties of certain Laws</i>; which is commonly called the -<i>Act of Toleration</i>. But <i>toleration</i> is a word -not to be applied to honest and virtuous men, in a land of -liberty; for it implies some unworthiness in the objects, or -their being unentitled to what is granted, and that the -magistrate grants it by way of favour, indulgence, or connivance; -whereas religious liberty is the natural and inalienable -inheritance of every human being, and should be claimed as a -right, and not as a boon or favour. The Toleration Act -received the royal assent May 24. 1689, and the protestant -dissenters have sat under the shade of it, mostly, but not always -unmolested, ever since. Tories and high churchmen have -often attempted to disturb them, but by this law they have been -in a great measure protected. Had it not passed in the -reign of William, it is doubtful if it had passed at any -subsequent period. Even at this time some great men are -proposing to have it revised, as being too comprehensive, and -requiring certain restrictions. What the event will be, -time will shew: but it will be a sad thing if the rights of -conscience, or the enjoyment of religious liberty should be -curtailed, now in the 19th century.</p> -<p><a name="page861"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 861</span>Lynn -is a notable instance of a town declaring for the revolution, -without entering at all into the spirit of it: for it continued -still as bigoted and intolerant as before. This was -remarkably exemplified in the bitter and violent persecution that -broke out here about 1690, against a society of protestant -dissenters of the Baptist denomination, and especially against -<i>James Marham</i>, their minister. He appears to have -been a very worthy man, zealous and diligent in propagating that -sort of religious knowledge which he thought most useful and -interesting to his fellow-creatures. Some of the great -ones, or heads of the town became his chief persecutors. -What they affected to take most umbrage at was, the denomination -to which he belonged. They pretended that it was a -<i>new</i> religion; and they would not suffer it to be -disseminated in the town, but were resolved to break up the -meeting. They first proceeded against him under the -Conventicle Act, and employed two men, named <i>Robert -Whitehead</i> and <i>Henry Oseincraft</i>, as <i>informers</i>; -who having been at the meeting, laid their information before the -justices, or aldermen, <a name="citation861"></a><a -href="#footnote861" class="citation">[861]</a> who forthwith -issued their warrants to levy 20<i>l.</i> on the <i>house</i>, -20<i>l.</i> on the <i>preacher</i>, and 5<i>s.</i> on each of the -<i>hearers</i>. Marham owned that he hired the -meeting-house, but produced <a name="page862"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 862</span>the licence, or certificate, which -shewed it to have been regularly registered as a place of -worship, according to the Toleration Act; but that they -over-ruled, and caused their levy to be executed, both upon him -and others. And finding afterwards that he persisted in -continuing the meeting, they resolved to ruin him, by charging -him with some heinous crime, which the account does not -specify. They got one person to swear against him, -intending then to commit him to prison; but the witness could not -substantiate the charge; so that they were obliged to drop the -proceeding. Marham now getting a copy of their levy, found -that the informers had sworn, that when they were at the -meeting-house one <i>John</i> Marham was <i>preaching</i>; -whereas there was no preacher of that name. The preacher -that was speaking when they were at the meeting was a minister -from London, whose name was <i>Wm. Lang</i>, but he was only -<i>praying</i>, and not preaching, at the time. They had -also sworn, that one <i>Francis Robinson</i> was then at the -meeting, which was not true. Having made these discoveries -Marham was advised to proceed against them at common Law, which -he accordingly did; and the two informers were put into the crown -office. The great men now interfered, and prevailed with -Marham’s attorney to desist from further prosecution, -“as he would answer it, (says the account) in the hands or -<i>custody of a messenger</i>.” <a -name="citation862"></a><a href="#footnote862" -class="citation">[862]</a> These threats inducing the -attorney <a name="page863"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -863</span>to stay the proceedings for a time, the informers, -advised by their patrons or employers, took advantage of that to -remove the cause from common law to chancery. A notice or -subpœna was then served upon Marham to answer their bill of -complaint, which bill consisted of 31 sheets. “Though -the substance of it, (our account says) <i>will be proved utterly -false</i>, yet it will cost more money by far than Marham is able -to disburse, without <i>evident ruin</i>.” An appeal -was therefore made to the whole denomination for assistance; and -they are thought to have come forward pretty liberally on the -occasion, the <i>particular</i> as well as the <i>general</i> -baptists, to the latter of which Marham belonged. He was up -in London and gave in his answer in February 1693; but when or -how the affair ended does not appear, for our account was -published before it was brought to its final issue. As a -chancery cause it might remain long undetermined, perhaps for -some years. But how or whensoever it ended, here is enough -to shew very clearly with what illiberality, intolerance, -tyranny, and villany, the gentry or chief men of Lynn were -capable of acting at that period. Much of the same spirit -continued here very long after, even down to the memory of the -present writer.</p> -<p><a name="page864"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 864</span>About -the beginning of 1690 (or 1689–90) the <i>hosiers</i> of -this town appeared much concerned and alarmed, (as had indeed -been the case for some time before, <a name="citation864"></a><a -href="#footnote864" class="citation">[864]</a>) at the prevalence -of the <i>weaving</i> method, by which that of <i>knitting</i> -was much discouraged and fallen off, to the great injury of vast -numbers of the poor, who were consequently left without -employment. They therefore now petitioned the Hall to have -the case brought before parliament, which was readily acceded -to. This affair is thus memorized in the -Town-Books.—“Jan. 17. (1689–90) On -petition of the Hosiers of this Town in behalf of the poore, -against the new invention of <i>weaving</i> worstead hose; -whereby many thousands of the poor are destitute of employment; -It is ordered and agreed that a Petition from this House to the -Honorable House of Commons representing that grievance, now read, -be sealed with the common seal of this burgh.”</p> -<p>It may therefore be presumed that this petition was actually -presented to the House of Commons, but what was there made of it, -or what reception it met does not appear. It must, however, -have indicated a very contracted idea of trade, or the rights of -manufacturing adventurers. Near seven years after a -different sort of petition was presented by this town to the same -house; of which the <a name="page865"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 865</span>following notice occurs in the Hall -or Town-Books—“Oct. 26. 1696; Mr Mayor, Mr Recorder, -Sir Henry Hobart baronet, Sir John Turner knight, Sir Charles -Turner knight, Robert Walpole, Maurice Kendall, Esquires, Mr. -Bell, Mr. Holly, Mr. Turner, or any five of them, to manage and -present a petition to the parliament to remove obstructions, and -for preserving navigation—[and] for removing the Dam and -Sluices near Salters load.”—The obtaining the object -of this petition might probably have proved very beneficial to -the country; but it does not appear that the application -succeeded.</p> -<p>Our corporation, as might be expected, did not neglect during -this reign to send some loyal <i>addresses</i> to the -throne. How many they actually did send we have not the -means of ascertaining. One was probably sent upon their -majesties accession, though we have not met with any particular -account of it. We are indeed informed in our extracts from -the Hall-Books, that Thursday, the 11th of April 1689, the day of -the coronation of King William and Queen Mary, was appointed -<i>to be kept here with all due solemnity</i>: whence one might -pretty safely infer, that an Address did soon after follow. -Such was the case, we presume, with all the rest of our -corporations.</p> -<p>Another address was sent from Lynn in 1696, occasioned by the -discovery of the <i>assassination plot</i>, and the intended -French <i>invasion</i>. One of our historians <a -name="citation865"></a><a href="#footnote865" -class="citation">[865]</a> <a name="page866"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 866</span>speaking of that horrid plot, thus -adds—“At the same time there was to be an invasion -from France, for which purpose king <i>James</i> was come to -<i>Calais</i>, and the troops, artillery, and stores, were -immediately ordered to be embarked; but by the news of the -assassination plot having miscarried, and the speedy sending of a -formidable fleet under admiral <i>Russell</i>, this other part of -the design was frustrated; and Calais was not long after -bombarded by the English. The king on February 21. -acquainted parliament with the discovery of the plot; upon which -both Houses addressed his majesty to congratulate him on his -happy preservation: and the House of Commons drew up and -subscribed an <i>association</i> to stand by one another in -defence of his majesty’s sacred person and government, -against the late king James and all his adherents. The -Lords also agreed to the same association; and the example of the -two Houses was followed by all the corporations in the -kingdom.”—The part which Lynn took in this memorable -business is thus noticed in the book of extracts from the Hall -records—“March 11th. (1695–6) sign’d an -Address to his Majestie in the nature of ane Association to stand -by and assist his Majesty against all his Ennemys -whatsomever.”—We have seen no copy of this -address.</p> -<p>On the king’s return from the continent, in the autumn -of 1697, another address went to him from this town, of which the -following is a copy—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Great Sir. Wee your Majesties most -dutifull and loyall subjects, the mayor, aldermen, and -common-councell, and chiefe inhabitants of the burgh of -King’s Lynn in the <a name="page867"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 867</span>county of Norfolk, crave leave to -prostate ourselves at your Royall feet, with sincerest joye and -most devout thankfulness adoreing the Divine Goodness for -watching over your pretious life (in all the Dangers it has been -exposed to by sea and land) upon the safety whereof the fate of -so many nations did depend. The comfort is too bigg for us -to express, To behold your sacred person with happyness and honor -retorned to these your dominions after the vast toyles of a war -ingaged in for the security of your realms and the tranquillity -of Europe. For no sooner had your princely tenderness -secured to us the inestimable blessings of Lawe, Liberty, and -Religion, but injured and ruined provinces abroad implored your -ayd. Then it was you awakened the slumbering genius of this -warlike people, and with matchless conduct, courage, vigilance, -you led forth the British forces to fame and great atchievements -in forreign lands. Let other chiefes and potentates of your -allyance have their deserved praise; but it is your majesties -right for what by your councell and armes has been done in -accomplishing the great worke to remain possest of the brightest -share of the glory that attends it, will outweigh the pomp of all -other triumphs to be the chosen instrument of Providence to calm -a stormy world, to make wars and desolation to cease, and to -restore repose and peace to christendome. May the same -propitious providence make these blessings durable and -perpetuall, may your sacred Majestie be still the charge of the -Life Guards of Heaven, may your royall cares be sweetened, though -they can never be requited, by the constant loyalty and duty of a -gratefull people; may your days be <a name="page868"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 868</span>long and prosperous, and your -renoune increase; may your Realms flourish in virtue, union, -plenty and peace; and when you shall be called to a heavenly -crowne may generations to come rise up and call you -blessed.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>This Address, no doubt, was drawn up by one of our first -orators and ablest hands of that day, and in his very best -manner. But our augustan age does not appear to have -commenced till after the accession of Q. Anne. Our -addresses to the throne became then long and frequent; and they -were all penned in so striking a style of eloquence as clearly -evinced the abundant confidence the compilers had in their own -parts and powers.</p> -<p>In 1697 our corporation had a law-suit with one <i>Hulton</i>, -before Lord Chief Justice Holt, which by the following hint in -the Hall-Books they appear to have gained—“March 29. -1697, Recovered, on a tryall before Lord Chief Justice Holt, of -Leonard Holton a Quitt rent of 23<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> per annum, -and arrears for 38 years to Michaelmas 1694, on his house, late -Th: Toll Esq: and also a rent charge of 6<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> per -annum.”—In the same year they had also a suit in the -court of Exchequer, with one <i>Vinckeson</i>, of which the -following notice occurs in the Hall-books—“June -16. Ordered that Hubert Vinckeson be prosecuted in the -court of Exchequer for the duty of Lastage of great quantities of -corn and graine belonging to fforreigners and strangers to the -liberties of this burgh, which have been unjustly coloured and -own’d by him, contrary to his aath of -ffreedome.”—It does not appear that there was any -thing unjustifiable in this prosecution.</p> -<p><a name="page869"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 869</span>About -this same period our <i>water-works</i> appear to have been a -losing concern to our corporation; which they seem to have felt -so far as to have the following notice of it inserted in their -books—“April 20. 1696. It is reported that the -charges and disbursements of maintaining the water-rents for ten -10 years last past, as per particulars is 1427<i>l.</i> -7<i>s.</i> <a name="citation869"></a><a href="#footnote869" -class="citation">[869]</a> 8<i>d.</i> the rents and profits -thereof for the sametime is 1338<i>l.</i> 14<i>s.</i> -2<i>d.</i>—Lost by the water account in ten years -288<i>l.</i> 13<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> which divided by ten years is -28<i>l.</i> 17<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> per annum.”—How -this concern turned out afterwards, or how it stands at present, -we have not had hitherto the means of ascertaining.</p> -<p>At this period which we are now reviewing the whole body of -our <i>coal-meters</i> and <i>head-porters</i> brought themselves -into most sad disgrace, by certain dishonest and fraudulent -doings. The customhouse complained against them and had -them all turned out at once:—but some weeks after, on -profession of contrition or promise of amendment, they were again -restored. Of this unpleasant affair, so disreputable and -humiliating to these meters and porters, our Corporation have -preserved the following memorial in their books—“July -11th. 1701; Upon Information this day made to this House by the -chief officers of his Majesties Customes of this Port against the -whole body of the Company of Head Porters and Metters of the Port -and Burgh, that they have severally received deputations and -instructions from the Right Honorable the Lords Commissioners, <a -name="page870"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 870</span>as metters, -weighers, and measurers, in pursuance of an act for granting to -his Majesty severall duties upon coales and culme, have every one -of them taken and received bribes, and made short and false -certificates and retornes, and been guilty of other corrupt ill -practices contrary to the said trust and the oath and duty of -their offices of Head Porters and Metters, and to the defrauding -his Majestie of the said Duties; which upon examination they have -this day severally confest: it is therefore this day ordered that -all and every of them be and stand discharged from the said -offices of Head Porters and Metters of this burgh and -port.”—Then we read as follows—“August -13. Upon the humble application and submission of divers of -the corne and coale metters, head porters, this House hath -reestablished them, and ordere’d that beside the accustomed -oath they give security by bond with one surety in 20<i>l.</i> -for the just performance, and so to continue for the -future.”—This regulation is probably still in -force.</p> -<p>About the same time our corporation appeared to claim kindred -and fall passionately in love with gentility and high life, or -the titled classes of the community, as contradistinguished from -the unprivileged orders or swinish multitude; which is evinced by -the conclusion of the following passage in the Hall-Books, on the -regulation of Tolls,—“Nov. 24. 1701; Ordered that the -present Tables of Petty Tolls, taken by water and at the gates, -be regulated according to the alterations now made, and such as -are now marked be exchanged, and that new tables thereof be made -to be hung up at the <a name="page871"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 871</span>gates, and delivered to the -wharfinger; and that <i>all Noblemen</i>, <i>Knights</i>, -<i>Esquires</i>, and <i>Clergymen be from henceforth exempted -from all Tolls for goods bought by them</i>.” One can -perceive in this neither justice nor charity; and it was probably -the offspring of mere caprice.</p> -<p>At the period now under review our clergy were, seemingly, -treated, or provided for by the corporation more liberally and -handsomely than they are at present. In 1702 the minister -and lecturer had their Stipends augmented to 100<i>l.</i> a year -each; which must have been equal to 3 or 400<i>l.</i> at least, -of our money. Before that time they had but 50<i>l.</i> -each, as appears by the following articles in the -Hall-Books—“Aug. 29, 1701; Ordered that Mr. Th: Pile -be appointed minister or preacher at St. Nicholas Chaple to -preach once every Sunday, and to read divine Service once every -day in the week, except Sundayes, at St. Margarets Church, and he -shall be allowed 50<i>l.</i> per -annum.”—again—“March 18. 1701; Dr. Th: -Little chosen Lecturer at St. Margarets Church, in the room of -Mr. Fysh deceased, and to have 50<i>l.</i> per -annum.”—again—“Nov. 20. 1702; Mr. Th: -Pyle and Dr. Little’s stypends <i>augmented more</i> -50<i>l.</i> <i>per annum each</i>, on Mr Jaggard’s -decease.”—If we are not mistaken, there has not been -afterwards any further augmentation for 60 or 70 years; when -50<i>l.</i> more were added to the minister or vicar: and the -same has been added lately.—Being now brought to the close -of William’s reign, and the accession of Anne, we shall -here finish this section.</p> -<h4><a name="page872"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -872</span><span class="smcap">Section</span> III.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>History of Lynn from the death of William -to that of Anne—her majesty’s accession—address -to her from Lynn—dangerous state of the Boale or -World’s End</i>, <i>and measures adopted for its -preservation—the great storm in</i> 1703, <i>and its -effects on this town—address to the throne in</i> -1704—<i>petitions to parliament the same year</i>, <i>from -the counties of Bedford and Huntingdon</i>, <i>against -unreasonable and exorbitant exactions at Lynn—constructive -disloyalty of our corporation—minister’s house in -Webster’s Row</i>.</p> -<p>On the death of King William, Anne, the younger sister of his -late queen, succeeded to the throne, by virtue of the <i>act of -settlement</i>, which had passed in the preceding reign. -She was proclaimed on March 8, 1701–2, a few hours after -the king’s death; and her accession gave entire -satisfaction to all her protestant subjects. Those of this -town appeared on that occasion very conspicuous, as they were -actually among those who addressed the throne within that -selfsame month. We have never seen a copy of this address, but -have learnt from our book of Extracts that it was dated March 30, -1702. Whether it was long or short, we know not; but there -can be no doubt of its being very loyal: and, in point of style -or diction we may take it for granted that it bore no small -resemblance to those of succeeding years, of which we shall not -fail by and by to exhibit some fair specimens.</p> -<p>About the time of which we are now speaking, Lynn was thought -to be in some danger from the encroachment of the tide upon that -point called the Boale, or world’s end; and the most -effectual means that could <a name="page873"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 873</span>be thought of were therefore adopted -for the safety of the town.—This affair is thus noticed in -the Hall books:—“Sept. 24. 1708; In pursuance of a -late order wee have considered Robert Elsden’s Petition to -us referred, and taken a view of the ground called the Boale or -World’s End, and the lands and houses on either side, and -are of opinion, that there is an absolute necessity that the said -ground as it now is be preserved from being lost to sea, and for -that purpose that some present meanes be considered by Jettys and -Counter-shores to repell the flow and reflow the sea, without -which the houses on the north side of the Mill ffleet, and -consequently the town will be in great danger of ruin; and -considering how necessary it is that present care be taken of the -defence of the town so incumbent upon this House, which the said -Elsden is in no wise able to performe, and also considering the -advantage it will be to this corporation to have the duties of -wharfage and groundage, stakes, mooreage and other dutys claimed -and long enjoyed the owners of that ground united and made entire -to this port, Wee have treated and contracted with the said -Robert Elsden for the absolute purchase of the said ground and -all profits and advantages thereunto belonging for the sum of -130<i>l.</i> and 20<i>l.</i> more at the end of five years if the -said ground shall continue so long preserved from sea without -considerable diminution.”—Then it is -added—“Said Report and Articles are read and well -approved by this House.” This was, no doubt, an -advantageous bargain to the corporation; and as might be -expected, they <a name="page874"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -874</span>now set themselves in good earnest about effectually -preserving their new purchase. They laid out upon it a good -deal of money; of which the following memoranda occur in their -books—“Sept. 29. 1704: Ordered 100<i>l.</i> to be -taken up for reimbursing the chamberlain’s charges about -the Jetties and defences against the sea at the Boale, or -World’s End.”—again—“Jan. 12 -1704–5: Ordered that Mr. Hainsworth chamberlain’s -account audited at 347<i>l.</i> 8<i>s.</i> 9<i>d.</i> relating to -the Boale be allowed, and that he have 10<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i> -for his extraordinary trouble.”—This spot, we -presume, has been ever since the property of the corporation, -which we cannot find to have been ever the case before.</p> -<p>About this same time happened that dreadful national calamity, -commonly called <i>the great storm</i>, the most tremendous and -most disastrous, perhaps, ever experienced in this kingdom. -It continued for several days but was at the highest on the 27th -of November 1703. No place escaped its fury, but in some -places it was most awfully terrible and destructive. It -blew from the <i>west</i>, and therefore could not so much affect -this coast; and at Lynn the loss it occasioned was comparatively -inconsiderable; amounting to seven or eight ships, twenty or -thirty hands, and damage to the houses, or buildings, computed at -about 1000<i>l.</i> and the whole including the shipping to about -3000<i>l</i>, <a name="citation874"></a><a href="#footnote874" -class="citation">[874]</a> which was but a <a -name="page875"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 875</span>trifle, -compared to the losses which some other places had then -sustained.</p> -<p>On the western coast the ravages of this storm far exceeded -what they were in these eastern parts. At <i>Bristol</i> it -occasioned so high a tide as did above a 100,000<i>l.</i> damage -to the merchants goods only. It also caused the -<i>Severn</i> to break down its banks, and overflow a vast tract -of land, by which 15000 sheep, besides other cattle were -drowned. The famous <i>Eddystone</i> Lighthouse also, which -had borne several storms unmoved, was not able to stand -this. It was swept off on the tremendous night of the 27th. -and nothing was to be seen the next morning but the bare -rock. <i>Winstanley</i> too, its ingenious projector and -constructor, who happened then to be there, perished with the -rest. <a name="citation875"></a><a href="#footnote875" -class="citation">[875]</a> Soon after, on that very night, -the <i>Winchelsea</i>, a homeward bound Virginia-man, split on -the same rock, and most of its hands were lost.</p> -<p>It was computed that no less than 300 sail of ships, some of -them belonging to the royal navy, were lost <a -name="page876"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 876</span>on -different parts of out coasts, and that there were drowned then -in rivers and at sea, at least 8000 persons. Between one -and two hundred lost their lives by the fall of houses, chimneys, -&c. and a still greater number were grievously bruised and -hurt from the same causes. More than 800 dwelling houses -were blown down, and barns and outhouses without number. -Above 400 wind-mills were overset and destroyed; upwards of one -hundred churches were uncovered, and the lead from some of their -roofs blown to an incredible distance: many of their steeples and -battlements were also demolished. In addition to all which, -above 250,000 trees were said to be then torn up by the -roots. In short the whole country for sometime after -exhibited the appearance of dejection, dismay, and -desolation.</p> -<p>The public feelings being greatly affected by this national -calamity, we need not be surprized that a general <i>fast</i> was -soon after solemnly proclaimed and devoutly observed throughout -the kingdom; and though we may not very readily fall in, or -coincide with every idea suggested in the royal proclamation, <a -name="citation876"></a><a href="#footnote876" -class="citation">[876]</a> yet we cannot <a -name="page877"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 877</span>help -looking upon that fast as much more proper and justifiable than -most of those that have been observed by our countrymen ever -since.—After all, what were the deplorable ravages of that -great and mighty storm, compared with those of a single campaign -in some of our modern wars, when myriads of human beings have -miserably perished, entire provinces cruelly laid waste, and -whole nations involved in utter ruin? Yet these most -calamitous scenes are seldom looked upon by governments and -nations as the judgments of Heaven, or what ought to lead men to -serious reflection, religious humiliation, and repentance.</p> -<p>In the course of the following year, (1704) our national -feelings were very differently affected. The dejection of -the preceding year was no longer felt, and the public mind became -suddenly elated in a wonderful manner, and to an extraordinary -degree. This was occasioned by the battle of -<i>Hochstet</i>, or <i>Blenheim</i>, as we most commonly call -it. That surprising victory filled the nation with such -vainglorious triumph as to throw it almost into a state of -atheistical intoxication. Addresses <a -name="page878"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 878</span>to the -throne came in thick now from all quarters, and our corporation -appeared conspicuous among those memorable addressers. Our -address was not a little remarkable; but whether most so for its -piety, good sense, and elegance, or for its loyalty, adulation, -and fustian, or bombastry, may be left for the reader to judge. -<a name="citation878"></a><a href="#footnote878" -class="citation">[878]</a></p> -<p><a name="page879"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 879</span>But -however loyal or patriotic we seemed at this period, and elated -with the idea of our military successes and national glory, we -yet lay at the same time under some very unfavourable and -disreputable imputations from some of our neighbours, on the -score of extortion, or unwarrantable and exorbitant exactions in -our commercial dealings. Nor is it at all clear that the -charge was absolutely or entirely groundless.—These -circumstances appear from the following document in the -Hall-books.—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Jan. 12th. 1704–5. Whereas -Petitions have been lately exhibited to the Honourable House of -Commons in Parliament by the Deputy Leuftenants, Justices of the -Peace, Gentlemen and Inhabitants of the Countys of Bedford and -Huntingdon, complaining of great duties and payments exacted by -this town of Lynn by force of pretended By-Laws on all such sea -coales brought into this port as are not consumed in this town, -and for that under a pretence of a certain custome of <i>Foreign -bought and foreign sold</i> all masters of ships and others not -free of this corporation who bring in coales are compelled to lye -three market days after arrival before they are permitted to sell -their coales to any person whatsoever; and after they have layn -such time yet they are permitted to sell to non but Freemen and -<a name="page880"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -880</span>inhabitants of the burgh at their own prices, whereby -all other traders in Sea coales are discouraged, that trade -monopolised there, and the prices raised to an excessive rate, -and that the freemen and inhabitants thereby make exorbitant -gains to themselves, to the great oppression of the petitioners -and diminution of the queen’s revenue, which custom and -practices are contrary to divers laws and statutes, viz. 9th of -Ed. 3 and 25th. Ed. 3. and 11th. Rd. 2. and therefore pray to be -relieved against them.—And whereas the matters in said -petition are referr’d to a private committee it is ordered -that Councell be taken in said case, and that such concession and -disclaims <a name="citation880a"></a><a href="#footnote880a" -class="citation">[880a]</a> be made before the committee or -otherwise as by our Burgesses in Parliament with advice of such -Councell shall be thought reasonable touching the duty of -8<i>d.</i> per Chalder and compelling Strangers ships to lye 3 -days mentioned in the said case, and to act farther therein as -they shall see cause, <i>saving</i> to this corporation the -ancient <i>custome of fforeign bought of foreign sold</i>, and -the <i>duty</i> 4<i>d.</i> <i>per chalder</i> time out of mind -received and injoyed.” <a name="citation880b"></a><a -href="#footnote880b" class="citation">[880b]</a></p> -</blockquote> -<p>How this affair terminated we have not been able to -ascertain.</p> -<p>Soon after the affair just now mentioned another circumstance -transpired which had a still more serious aspect on our -corporation, as it seemed to involve them <a -name="page881"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 881</span>in a kind -of dispute with the crown itself, and to threaten them with a -repetition of former alarming regal procedures, or another -deprivation of their charters and municipal franchises. A -process was accordingly commenced against them on the part of -their sovereign, for the embezzlement, or non-payment of certain -royal dues; and it is thus noticed in their own -records—“June 13th. 1705; upon reading a writt -directed to the sheriffe of this county, for seizing into Her -Majesties hands the liberties of this Burgh, for default of -entering claims, and answering and accounting for the debts, -fines, and forfeitures due to Her Majestie arising within this -Burgh. It is this day ordered that the Town Clerke -forthwith take care to cause appearance to the said writt, and -such other matters be performed as are incumbent on the mayor and -burgesses.”—It is not said what was the result, but -it may be supposed to have ended favourably, though, probably, -not without absolute submission and great expense. But for -any disloyalty that might be alleged against them in this -instance, they seem to have made ample amends by their memorable -address to the throne in 1706, which shall be given in the next -section.</p> -<p>Among the advantages enjoyed formerly by the minister of the -town, or the vicar of St. Margaret’s parish, was that of a -<i>parsonage house</i> for his habitation. This house was -situated in <i>Webster’s row</i>, or Broad street. -For sometime before the period of which we are now speaking there -seems to have been some doubt, whether <a -name="page882"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 882</span>this house -belonged to the corporation, or to the Dean and Chapter of -Norwich. But now, during the deanship of the celebrated -<i>Dr. Prideaux</i>, the Dean and Chapter expressly relinquished -their claim in favour of the corporation. But this is -supposed to have proved to succeeding ministers an unfortunate -relinquishment: for it does not seem that they had any longer an -appropriate mansion in the town, but were obliged to shift for -themselves, and procure a dwelling as they could, like the rest -of the inhabitants. How the corporation came to deprive the -minister of his parsonage house we have not learnt.—Of this -affair the following notice occurs in the Hall-Books; -“August 29. 1705; It appeareth by old deeds that the -minister’s house in Webster’s Row belongeth to the -mayor and burgesses, and Dr. Prideaux, Dean of Norwich, by his -Letter produced doth disclaim the same, as never in possession of -the Dean and Chapter of Norwich.”</p> -<h4><span class="smcap">Section</span> IV.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>State of Lynn under Q. Anne -continued—pompous address to the throne in</i> -1706—<i>cut made the same year from Kettlewell to Gannock -gate—state of the Middleton river and -water-mills—another notable address to the -throne—execution of two children—state of the -harbour—Dr. Hepburne and other doctors—the medical as -well as clerical profession supposed to be more highly esteemed -here formerly than at present—reasons for that -supposition—law-suit—Walpole’s -expulsion—death of Anne and accession of George I</i>.</p> -<p><a name="page883"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 883</span>In -the summer of 1706, our corporation distinguished themselves by -another most elaborate and pompous address to the throne, which -might well compensate for all that constructive disloyalty, or -treasonable delinquency which seemed imputable to them the -preceding year. Indeed, as far as words could do it, this -address must have placed them among the most loyal, most zealous, -and most devoted of all her majesty’s subjects. -Whether she herself deemed it to have completely white washed -them from their former foulness, or not, we are unable to -say. But if she did really condescend to bestow upon it any -thought at all, she could hardly avoid considering it as an -extraordinary production: and the reader will probably view it in -much the same light. <a name="citation883"></a><a -href="#footnote883" class="citation">[883]</a></p> -<p><a name="page884"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 884</span>In -the self-same year, and soon after the date of the said addresses -to the throne, there was here no small stir made about the corn -water-mills, which were situated close by the present Lancastrian -school. From those mills the fleet from thence to the -harbour was called mill-fleet, and the lane adjoining had the -name of mill-lane. Those corn water-mills appear to have -been here long noted, and of great use to the town. But -about <a name="page885"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -885</span>the time of which we are now speaking they were falling -into decay, and so continued till they were at length entirely -laid aside, and every vestige of them has long ago -disappeared. The wind-mills now supply their place and do -their work, at least so much of it as is wanted to be done here; -for the chief of the meal and flour consumed in the town is -brought from other parts. When Lynn depended for its bread -entirely, or almost so, on its water-mills, they must have been -of great consequence, and the laying of them by must have been -much felt by the inhabitants. At present our situation is -very different, and we perceive and feel no need of water-mills. -<a name="citation885"></a><a href="#footnote885" -class="citation">[885]</a></p> -<p><a name="page886"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 886</span>In -the spring of the very next year (1707) another flaming address -to the throne went from Lynn; and as it is not inferior to the -former in point of eloquence and sublimity, it may be desirable -to have it preserved, for the entertainment of the rising -generation.—It was dated April 25.—The following is a -correct copy of it, as it stands in our volume of -extracts—</p> -<blockquote><p>“May it please your Majestie, Nothing could -ever equal your Victories in the field but your Councells in the -cabinet: thus happily in spite of all the Jesuiticall -contrivances of your and our Ennemys to vanquish nationall and -hereditary prejudices, to reconcile so many jarring and different -pretensions, and to unite England and Scotland into one kingdome -and interest, hitherto by all in vain attempted, will together -with the Blenheim and Ramilies remain everlasting monuments of -your Majesties glory.—Our Protestant succession is hereby -extended thro’ the British Isle, Our Legislature, Trade, -and Interest one, and all Jealousies and differences being -removed, that <a name="page887"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -887</span>strength which has often been a weakening to us, to the -mutual endangering our constitution and safety, is now become a -real security to both, and formidable to our enemies. Thus -the hopes of our divisions, fomented by a popish Pretender and -his heedless abettors, will be now extinguished, and wee shall -always think it our dutie, as what is most agreeable to your -Majestie and beneficiall to ourselves, to be unanimous with one -another, and to pay a friendly regard to our united Neibours, as -becomes fellow protestants and fellow subjects.—May your -Majestie, seated on the throne of your united Britannia, long -hold the ballance and arbitrate the peace and safely of Europe, -and be as great and happy here, as your memory will be immortall -and glorious hereafter.” <a name="citation887"></a><a -href="#footnote887" class="citation">[887]</a></p> -</blockquote> -<p>We now take our leave of the Lynn Addresses. This and -the two former are probably to be classed among the prime -productions of our augustan age. Our volume of Extracts -contains no more copies of addresses to the throne; which seems -to indicate that a great tailing off took place afterwards in -their style and composition, so that the succeeding ones were not -worth preserving. However that was, these samples have been -here inserted upon the supposition that they <a -name="page888"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 888</span>were some -of the best written and most eloquent that any of our sovereigns -ever received from this borough: and it is in that view chiefly -they are now recommended to the perusal and consideration of the -reader.</p> -<p>In 1708, according to one of our MS. accounts of that time, -two children were hanged here for felony, one <i>eleven</i>, and -the other but <i>seven</i> years of age; which if true, must -indicate very early and shocking depravity in the sufferers, as -well as unusual and excessive vigour on the part of the -magistrates in the infliction of capital punishment. <a -name="citation888a"></a><a href="#footnote888a" -class="citation">[888a]</a>—In that also and the succeeding -year, the wretched state of the <i>harbour</i> appears to have -occasioned considerable disquietude and alarm in the town; and -the most effectual means that could be thought of were adopted to -remedy the growing evil, and tranquillize the minds of the -inhabitants. <a name="citation888b"></a><a href="#footnote888b" -class="citation">[888b]</a></p> -<p><a name="page889"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 889</span>At -the time now under review, two of the most prominent characters -in this town were the elder <i>Pyle</i> and <i>Dr. -Hepburne</i>. Of the former some account may be expected -hereafter. The latter was a North-Briton, and of the -medical profession. At what time he settled here does not -very distinctly appear; but it is supposed to have been about the -latter part of king William’s reign. Be that as it -might, he soon became eminent as a physician, so as to stand at -the head of the profession, in all this part of the kingdom, for -near half a century. Walpole, with our principal nobility -and gentry, held him in high estimation, and his practice became -in time so very extensive that he was seldom to be found at home, -so that the town was obliged then to have recourse for medical -advice solely to <i>Browne</i> and <i>Lidderdale</i> the two -other physicians.</p> -<p>On the 3rd. of February 1709, the Hall voted Dr. Hepburne the -freedom of the town <i>gratis</i>; and he took up that freedom on -the 12th. of the next ensuing August. <i>Browne</i> is -supposed to have had the same compliment <a -name="page890"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 890</span>paid him: -so had <i>Lidderdale</i> on the 29th. of August 1737. so also had -<i>Tayler</i> on the same day of the same month, ten years -after. The last of our physicians, if we are not mistaken, -who have been thought worthy of the honour of being made free of -this ancient and renowned borough, was the late Dr. -<i>Hamilton</i>. He was not, like Paul, <i>free-born</i>, -nor did he, like most of his predecessors, become free -<i>gratis</i>; but might say with the Roman chief captain, -“With a great sum obtained I this freedom,” for it -cost him at least 30<i>l.</i> which was a great deal more than it -was worth to a mere medical man, fifty years ago. His being -obliged to purchase it, and so dearly too, seems a pretty plain -indication that a change of disposition towards the physicians -had then taken place in the Hall, and that they were actually -sinking in the estimation of that worshipful body. That -same body is supposed to have been no less determined ever since, -even from the commencement of this jubilee reign, against making -any more of the physicians <i>free</i>, than his majesty is said -to be against making any more of his subjects <i>Dukes</i>, -except those of his own family. So remarkable a coincidence -between the humour of our corporation and that of their beloved -sovereign must, no doubt, be very curious to contemplate. -As to the two physicians that are now, and have long been -resident here, the present writer positively disavows any -knowledge or suspicion of either of them being in the least -uneasy in their state of villanage, or at all desirous of -obtaining their freedom. On the contrary, he supposes them -to be perfectly indifferent about that matter; even as much so as -he is himself, who has not the least idea <a -name="page891"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 891</span>that the -freedom of Lynn, or of any other town, would be worth to him a -single <i>groat</i>, or what would afford the smallest -gratification.</p> -<p>Not only the <i>medical</i> profession, but even the -<i>clerical</i> also seems to be in lower estimation here now -than what it was a hundred years ago. The heads of both -professions were then, and long after, we presume, invariably -admitted to their freedom, which is not the case now. The -very <i>Lecturer</i>, if we are rightly informed, is at present -<i>unfree</i>, as well as the physicians. The Vicar also, -as was before noted, had here then a parsonage-house, which he -has not now. Nor is his present stipend, or income, any way -equal to what it was at that period. Yet for all this -seemingly declining credit of these two learned professions among -us, it is more than probable, that both physic and divinity are -as well understood, and as rightly and judiciously administered -here now, as ever they were in the days of Thomas Pyle and George -Hepburne.</p> -<p>In 1713 our corporation, in conjunction with some others, -engaged in a law-suit about Sir Thomas White’s benefaction, -<a name="citation891"></a><a href="#footnote891" -class="citation">[891]</a> but it does not appear how it -terminated.—About the same time, and somewhat earlier, Lynn -must have been much agitated by the affair of Walpole, who was -one of its parliamentary representatives. Because he would -not join with the new ministry, they resolved <a -name="page892"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 892</span>to be -revenged, by accusing him of a breach of trust and -corruption. They finally succeeded, though by small -majorities, and had him committed to the Tower and expelled the -House. Lynn re-elected him, but it was declared null and -void: so he was kept out of parliament till after its -dissolution, which took place on the 8th. of August 1713. -Lynn then again re-elected him, and he sat in the new parliament -which met on the 16th. of February 1714. The queen died a -few months after, and was succeeded by George I. which opened the -way and was the prelude to Walpole’s future elevation and -prosperity.</p> -<h4><span class="smcap">Section</span> V.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>State of Lynn under George I.—sketch -of his character—attachment and wishes of the people -divided between him and the son of James II commonly called the -Pretender—our accounts of this town</i>, <i>during this -reign</i>, <i>very barren of interesting or memorable -incidents—enumeration of some of the most -remarkable—the king dies and his son succeeds</i>.</p> -<p>No prince, says Coxe, ever ascended a throne under more -critical circumstances, and with less appearances of a quiet -reign, than George the First; whether we consider the state of -the European powers, the situation of parties in Great Britain, -or his own character. As to the latter, he was ill -calculated by nature, disposition, and habit to reconcile the -then jarring parties, and <a name="page893"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 893</span>remove the unfavourable impressions -which it was natural for all people to entertain of a foreigner, -destined to rule over them. He was already fifty-four years -of age, and had been long habituated to a court of a very -different description from that of England, and to manners and -customs wholly repugnant to those of his new subjects. He -was easy and familiar only in his hours of relaxation, and to -those alone who formed his usual society; not fond of attracting -notice, phlegmatic and grave in his public deportment, hating the -splendour of majesty, shunning crowds, and fatigued even with the -first acclamations of the multitude. This natural reserve -was heightened by his ignorance of the language, of the first -principles of the English constitution, and of the spirit and -temper of the people.</p> -<p>It was currently reported, before his arrival, that measures -were preparing to evade the laws which excluded foreigners from -honours and employments. He had several mistresses, of whom -two the most favoured were expected to accompany him to England, -with a numerous train of Hanoverian followers, eager to share the -spoils of the <i>promised land</i>; to set up a court within a -court, and an interest opposite to the true interest of -England. It was also maliciously circulated that he was -indifferent to his own succession, and scarcely willing to -stretch out a hand to grasp the crown within his reach. -“But, adds the same writer, he had excellent qualities for -a sovereign, plainness of manners, simplicity of character, and -benignity of temper; great application to business, extreme -exactness in distributing <a name="page894"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 894</span>his time, the strictest economy in -regulating his revenue; and, notwithstanding his military skill -and tried valour, <i>a love of peace</i>; virtues, however, which -required time before they were appreciated, and not of that -specious cast to captivate the multitude, or raise the tide of -popularity.”—Such was our first sovereign of the -present family. <a name="citation894"></a><a href="#footnote894" -class="citation">[894]</a></p> -<p>A great part of the nation was hostile to the Hanover -succession; but it was a divided party, and could never be -brought to act in concert, or with whiggish energy. The -<i>Tories</i> were then a very powerful body, and mostly in -favour of the Pretender, but not so decidedly as the -<i>Jacobites</i>, who were to a man violent for his -restoration. These two parties were then more numerous and -powerful than the <i>Whigs</i>, or adherents of the House of -Hanover and the protestant succession. But they wanted the -talents, the unanimity, and the decision of the latter, and -therefore proved unable to gain their point, or introduce the -pretender and place him on the throne. An attempt, however, -was made, chiefly in Scotland, to bring him in, in 1715, and -again in 1745; but they both miscarried, so that the present -family in the end got firm and undisputed possession of the -sovereignty of these realms; and the pretending or rival family -is now extinct. Considering the many adverse appearances, -at and before the queen’s death, George’s quiet -accession was not a little remarkable and surprising. His -success, it has been thought, “was principally owing to the -abilities, prudence, activity, <a name="page895"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 895</span>and foresight of the great Whigs, -and to the precautions which they had always taken, and now took -to promote the succession in the protestant line, with whom the -Hanoverian agents in London concerted their mode of conduct, and -to whom George, from the first news he received of the -queen’s death, wholly resigned himself and his -cause.” In nothing did he discover so much discretion -and wisdom, as in acting under the guidance of such able and -trusty adherents.</p> -<p>The history of Lynn during this reign, seems remarkably barren -of interesting, or very memorable incidents. Scarce any -thing that we know of, relating to this town, occurred within -that time that is worth recording. The town no doubt, or at -least the members of the corporation, derived many good things -from the high station then occupied by Walpole, their great -patron and representative; and this circumstance would hardly -fail to render Lynn the envy of most other corporations, who -would naturally be desirous of obtaining so powerful a -patronage. But upon this subject we will not here -enlarge.</p> -<p>Among the principal objects that engaged the attention of our -corporation during this reign, was an inquiry into the extent and -limits of the estates in Dunham and East Lexham, belonging to the -Gaywood Hospital, of which they were the trustees or -guardians. This inquiry commenced as early as -1710–11. as appears from the following note or hint in our -volume of Extracts—“March 23. 1710–11; St. Mary -Magdalen <a name="page896"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -896</span>estate to be surveyed and new -buttal’d.”—Afterwards, under the year 1715, we -read as follows; “July 27. upon reading the report of the -Comittee, ordered to inspect the Estate in East Lexham and -Dunham, belonging to Gaywood Hospital, It is ordered that a -Letter be sent to Edmd. Wodehouse, Esq. to request and demand a -new particular and abuttals of the lands there late in his -possession, and that the Town Clerk attend the persons employed -to new abuttal the same, as occasion shall require.”</p> -<p>This work appears to have been attended with considerable -difficulty, and therefore to have made for a great while but very -slow progress; but our gentlemen still persevered, and seemed -fully determined to effect their purpose, in spite of all -obstacles. Accordingly the affair is thus further noticed -under 1718: “April 7th. Ordered a Letter be wrott to Edmd. -Wodehouse, Esq. to desire new abuttals of the lands in Dunham and -East Lexham, belonging to St. Mary Magdalen’s Hospitall, -which he and his predecessors have holden 99 years by lease -lately expired.”—A month after (i.e. May 7. 1718.) it -was further “ordered that <i>Mr. Mayor</i>, (Ja: Boardman -Esq.) Mr. Turner, Mr. Berney, Mr. Bagge, Mr. Rolfe, -<i>Aldermen</i>; Mr. Robotham, Wm. Allen, Tho. Allen, Town Clerk, -and Chamberlains, be a Comittee to inspect the Hospitall lands -belonging to St. Mary Magdalen, at Dunham and East Lexham, and -settle the schedules, and treat for a new Lease thereof; likewise -to consider of the regaining the foldcourse at Dunham.”</p> -<p><a name="page897"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -897</span>Somewhat more than a year and half after the last date, -we find the same business still employing the attention of our -gentlemen. Hence, in our volume of Extracts, the following -passage occurs.—“December 23rd. 1710. -Order’d that alderman Bagg, with the town clerk, be desired -to wait upon Mr. Wodehouse at Lexham, and endeavour to ascertain -the lands late in his lease from St. Mary Magdalen’s -Hospitall, and enquire after what other lands there are in Dunham -and East Lexham for which no rent is paid.” <a -name="citation897"></a><a href="#footnote897" -class="citation">[897]</a> How they succeeded, or how the -inquiry finally turned out, does not appear. But it is -pretty certain that the Hospital and poor pensioners there, have -never owed much obligation to the Wodehouse family; and but for -the interference of the corporation, this charity, in all -probability, had long ago been alienated and lost. Let this -therefore stand on record among the good and worthy deeds of our -body corporate.</p> -<p>The origin of the appointment of <i>Watchmen</i> for this -town, is a circumstance that seems to be very little known here: -but from the following hint in our volume of Extracts, it seems -to be now of near 90 years standing.—“Feb. 3. -1719–20, Order’d that a Letter be sent to the members -of parliament, to gett a clause incerted in the act now about -passing for night watches for the city of <i>Westminster</i>, in -favour of this corporation <a name="page898"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 898</span>to have the like -regulation.” It seems probable therefore, that Lynn -had its night watchmen as early as the city of Westminster, and -of course earlier probably, than most other places in the -kingdom. Somewhat more than two months after the last date, -the following circumstance is memorized in our book of -Extracts—“April 6. 1720, Mr. John Cary junr. is -elected Master of the Writting School, and aldermen Berney and -Scarlet, governors and inspectors of the said -schoole.” This school still exists; but who are its -present governors and inspectors we have not learnt. They -may be supposed to be expert <i>penmen</i>, or good judges of -penmanship. On the 23rd. of the following December, it was -“ordered that a book be prepared to register all the Acts -of our Common Councell that pass the seale.”—This -book of <i>the Acts of our Common Council</i>, though not quite -so interesting as the book of <i>the Acts of the Apostles</i>, -may nevertheless contain some very curious passages, which might -be very useful for this work, could we have been favoured with a -sight of it. But it is supposed to be a book of -<i>secrets</i>, and so not accessible to the uninitiated and -unprivileged. Containing now the acts of near 90 years, it -may be presumed to be, by this time, rather bulky.</p> -<p>In the spring of 1722, our book of Extracts speaks of the -Blockhouse being let on lease to one Quash. The reason of -noticing this here, is, because the passage alluded to shews that -one of the gates of the town anciently stood there, and bore the -name of <i>St. Agnes</i>.—The passage reads thus:</p> -<blockquote><p>“April 4th. 1722, Ordered <a -name="page899"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 899</span>that a -lease be made to Wm. Quash, mariner, of the messuage called the -Blockhouse, in North End, being formerly <i>St. Agness Gates</i>, -for the terme of 99 years, at 10<i>s.</i> per annum, from Lady -Day last, he putting the same into repair, and so keeping it as a -dwelling house during the said terme, and leaving the same in -tennantable repair at the expiration, excepting to this -corporation the common way and passages as usual through the -same.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>On the 23rd. of the following November, according to the Hall -Books, it was “ordered that the tolls for the carriage of -goods through the two gates be suspended for one year, from Lady -Day next.” This shews that toll was formerly paid for -the passage of goods through our gates; but we have not learnt -the reason of the suspension of that payment now for one -year. It was a measure, no doubt, which some circumstances -were thought to render necessary, at least by way of -experiment. Its country and commercial connections had long -given Lynn a bad name, for its extortioning spirit, and -exorbitant exactions; and it is probable that the town had -suffered on that account: this might therefore be an expedient -used, along with others, for the purpose of retrieving its -character. Whether it promoted that object in any degree, -or proved of any material benefit to the town, we have not been -able to discover.—Under the date of March 1. 1722–3, -(or 1723, as we reckon) the following short note or hint occurs -in our book of Extracts—“Market Tolls declared to be -the Mayor’s.” By which it would seem that there -were <a name="page900"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -900</span>before some doubts entertained here upon this subject, -and that it had never been fully settled, till now, to whom those -tolls belonged.</p> -<p>In the following August, the resentment of the Hall, was -excited in a very high degree against Dr. Browne the physician, -for having set up, on some occasion, a kind of competition for -precedence with the very Mayor himself. This daring deed is -thus memorized in our book of Extracts—“August 29. -1723, Ordered that a Letter be written by the Town Clerke to Dr. -Wm. Browne, to acquaint him with the resentment of this -corporation of his affront to the mayor (Richd. Harwich Esq.) -justices and gentlemen of this corporation, by an undue -precedence he assumed and persisted in, on Monday -last.” [also] “that the Letter now written by -the Town Clerke, on that occasion, be sent to Doctor -Browne.”—Things must have been then queerly situated -at Lynn; especially between the mayor and Dr. Browne. What -effect the Town clerk’s Letter had upon the doctor, we have -not been able to discover. But we have always understood -that there was never any great cordiality between him and the -corporation. He resided here long after this, and -afterwards removed to London, where he received the honour of -<i>knighthood</i>, and became <i>president of the Royal College -of Physicians</i>, to the no small gratification of his vanity, -of which he had a most enormous portion. He has been spoken -of as a good physician, but beyond that, or out of the line of -his profession, he is not known to have acquired much -respectability. In one thing he seemed <a -name="page901"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 901</span>more -fortunate than his contemporary Hepburne; for he died -<i>rich</i>, and the other <i>poor</i>. Hepburne’s -numerous patients were, it seems, more liberal in <i>feasting</i> -than in <i>feeing</i> him; whereas Browne would not have been -satisfied with that sort of liberality. He was the -grandfather of our present parliamentary representative, Sir -Martin Browne Folkes, baronet. <a name="citation901a"></a><a -href="#footnote901a" class="citation">[901a]</a></p> -<p>In 1724 and 1725, the decayed, unsafe, and dangerous state of -the river and harbour, which had been much complained of for many -years before, continued still to engage the attention of our -rulers, as appears by the following memoranda in the Hall -records—“August 3. 1724; this day <i>Col. -Armstrong’s</i> Report concerning the river, with severall -maps, &c. were brought into this House.” -again—“Jan. 4th. 1724–5; To apply to Parliament -for reviving the Extinct Powers for Commissioners concerning the -navigation of the river Ouze.” -again—“Febr. 3. appointed a Comittee to state, -settle, and consider of proper ways and means, by tonnage upon -goods imported, to raise 2500<i>l.</i> per annum, stipulated to -be employed in amending and restoring the navigation of this -harbor.”—again <a name="citation901b"></a><a -href="#footnote901b" -class="citation">[901b]</a>—“June <a -name="page902"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 902</span>7th. 1725; -Ordered that <i>Mr. Badslade</i> be paid 20<i>l.</i> for his -disbursements for printing the severall schemes, cases, and -answers, relating to this navigation.”</p> -<p>In the latter part of 1726, an affair came on between the -corporation and one <i>Henry Southwell</i>, a freeman, which -ended rather disgracefully to the former. They seized a -quantity of coals belonging to him, under pretence of their being -foreign bought and foreign sold; for which he brought an action -against the Town Clerk, which the corporation defended. -They proceeded further, and actually disfranchised -Southwell. Upon which he procured a mandamus, and obliged -them to restore him to his freedom. This must have been not -a little mortifying to them. They thought they had him -entirely in their power, and could master him; whereas the -mastery, in fact, belonged to him, and it so turned out that they -were in his power: so that like the Irishman, <a -name="citation902"></a><a href="#footnote902" -class="citation">[902]</a> they <i>caught a Tartar</i>, and -thereby brought <a name="page903"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -903</span>themselves into a most humiliating dilemma, and exposed -themselves to the ridicule and derision of the whole -country. The Hall-records notice and memorizet his affair -as follows: “Nov. 16th. 1726; ordered that the suit brought -by Henry Southwell, a freeman, against Edw. Bradfield, -Town-clerk, for seizing a parcell of coales, fforeign bought and -fforeign sold, which came into this port in a ship, Wm. -Coverdale, master, a foreigner, for Wm. Taylor, fforeigner, be -defended, at the publick charge—and that Hen: Southwell be -disfranchised for his collouring bargains and sales, contrary to -his Oath of ffreedom, and using opprobious words (in his Letters) -to the corporation, unless he shews good cause to the contrary, -upon due notice to him for that purpose to be -given.”—again—“Febr. 3rd. -1726–7. Ordered that Mr. Hen: Southwell, appearing -and shewing no sufficient cause to the contrary, be disfranchised -the freedom of this burgh, and he is disfranchised -accordingly.”—again—“April 29th. -1728. <i>Ordered that the former order</i>, <i>made for -discharging Hen</i>: <i>Southwell of the freedom of this -burgh</i>, <i>be made void</i>, <i>and that he be restored -again</i>, according to the direction of a peremptory mandamus, -issued out of his majesty’s court of King’s Bench, to -the mayor, aldermen, and common councell for that purpose -directed: and the said Hen: Southwell appearing, was sworn, and -found pledges.”—This might have taught our -corporation a very useful lesson, and been a standing warning to -them never more to act in so arbitrary a manner, or attempt to -extend their power beyond its due bounds.</p> -<p><a name="page904"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 904</span>Being -now come to the close of this reign, it may be proper here just -to mention some of the principal events by which it was -distinguished. Among them the first in order of time was -the <i>rebellion</i> in 1715, in favour of the pretender; which, -though it was suppressed early in the ensuing year, was far from -being eradicated from the minds of the people. The -malcontents were long after very numerous in the kingdom, and -ever busy in forming new plots against the government, of which -that wherein bishop <i>Atterbury</i> was concerned seems to have -been the most formidable. The seasonable discovery of it -prevented its being productive of much mischief, except to the -conspirators themselves, some of whom paid very dear for the -share they had in it; particularly Layer and Atterbury. The -former was hanged and quartered, and the latter banished his -country for ever.</p> -<p>But of all the occurrences of this reign the South Sea scheme, -or grand bubble, as it is sometimes called, was that which proved -most disastrous and calamitous to the nation. This -memorable scheme was laid before the House of Commons by the -South Sea Company, along with another from the Bank of England, -in 1719, for reducing all the public Funds into one, in order to -discharge the national debt, on some valuable consideration to be -granted them, &c. After much debate and contest, it was -determined in favour of the South Sea Company, and their -proposals were accepted on Feb. 1. 1719–20. An Act -afterwards passed both Houses for that purpose, which received -the royal assent in April following. Upon the proposals -being accepted, stock rose gradually <a name="page905"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 905</span>to a prodigious height; to 310 per -cent. even before the bill received the royal assent; in a few -days to 340, then to 400, and before the end of May to 500. -In short, what by the artifices of the managers, and the -credulity of the people, eager to grasp the riches now held out -to them, by the 2nd. of June it got up to 890, and continued -rising and falling till it amounted to above 1000. Nothing -was now minded but the business of stock-jobbing. Exchange -Alley, where these affairs were transacted, was in a continual -hurry, and thither crowds of all ranks and qualities daily -resorted. The desperate, who ventured first, were generally -gainers, whilst the more wary, who came in later, were many of -them great sufferers: so that the <i>wrongheads</i>, (as the -saying then was,) had the better of the <i>longheads</i>. A -spirit of gaming thus prevailing in the nation, many projects -were set on foot, which obtained the name of <i>bubbles</i>, and -were evidently the progeny of the grand bubble. They were -near 100 in number, and it was reckoned that almost a million and -half was won and lost in them. A proclamation was issued -against them on the 11th. of June, and they were soon after -entirely suppressed by order of the Lords Justices.</p> -<p>As to the South-Sea Stock, it continued to rise till about the -end of August. It then began to fall, and fell faster than -it rose; so that by Michaelmas-day it sunk to 150. In -December it underwent a parliamentary enquiry, which induced -<i>Knight</i>, the South-Sea Company’s treasurer to -abscond. In the end, parliament <a name="page906"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 906</span>applied to the relief of the -sufferers the estates of the sub-governor, deputy-governor, -directors, &c. And also that of the Chancellor of the -Exchequer, <i>Aislabie</i>. They were also incapacitated -from sitting or voting in either House of Parliament, or holding -any office or place of trust under his Majesty, his heirs, or -successors. The following Summer an Act against the -directors received the royal assent, and shortly after another -<i>for restoring the public credit</i>. The share -<i>Walpole</i> had in settling this distracted affair, and -restoring public credit, brought him into great favour at court, -and facilitated his promotion. He was now made chancellor -of the Exchequer, and first Commissioner of the Treasury, and -continued prime minister to the end of this reign, and fifteen -years after; to the no small benefit, no doubt, of many Lynn -freemen, whatever may be said of the nation at large.</p> -<p>This reign was also distinguished by those memorable religious -controversies which sprung from the novel or unfashionable -opinions advanced and maintained by Clarke, Whiston, Peirce, -Hoadly, and others, and which wrought a considerable revolution -in the minds of a great many, both in the church and among the -dissenters. The athanasian trinity was given up by numbers -of our most learned countrymen; the nature of the kingdom of -Christ, with the measure and extent of the obedience due to the -civil magistrate, became better understood; the injustice and -iniquity of imposing human creeds, or articles of faith, were -more fully evinced; in short, the English nation is supposed to -have <a name="page907"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -907</span>been thenceforth more generally and accurately -acquainted with the principles of civil and religious liberty, -the claims of conscience, and rights of man, than at any former -period. Of late years, however, we are thought to have made -no advances on these grounds, but rather to have been moving in a -retrogressive direction; so that our favourite word -<i>liberty</i> itself would seem to be in danger of losing its -wonted meaning, and becoming a vague, or rather an obsolete term -in our language. Nor will the violent hubbub lately raised, -by Lord Sidmouth’s illiberal, illconditioned, illfeatured, -illdigested, and deservedly reprobated bill, be sufficient to -invalidate this opinion.</p> -<p>The effects of the above-mentioned controversies extended even -to this town; and the elder <i>Pyle</i>, who was then at the head -of our established clergy, as well as the elder <i>Rastrick</i>, -who was at the head of the dissenting interest here, were both -actually brought over to what was deemed the heterodox side of -the question. They were men of considerable eminence and -learning, and had been both educated at Cambridge; for Rastrick -was originally one of the established clergy, and had been for -sometime vicar of Kirkton near Boston, before he left the church -and joined the dissenters. But we will say no more of them -here, as we shall have occasion to bring them forward again in -our biographical sketches. The king died suddenly, at -Osnaburgh in his German dominions, on the 11th of June 1727, and -was succeeded by his only son, George prince of Wales, which -brings us to the end of this section.</p> -<h4><a name="page908"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -908</span><span class="smcap">Section</span> VI.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>A view of the state of things in this town -during the reign of George II.—his accession attended with -no inauspicious circumstances</i>; <i>and his reign</i>, <i>on -the whole</i>, <i>happy and prosperous—recital of some of -the most notable and prominent acts of our municipality in the -earlier part of it—account of certain subsequent -proceedings and occurrences</i>.</p> -<p>The reign of George II. commenced upon the arrival of the news -of his father’s demise, which was very shortly, and within -a few days after that event had taken place. He was -proclaimed in London on the 15th of June, and at Edinburgh and -Dublin on the 19th of the same month. His accession was -attended by none of those untoward appearances which beclouded -that of his predecessor. All the lords and others, the late -king’s privy councellors, were sworn of his privy council, -the former ministry retained their places, and Walpole held the -premiership for fifteen years longer; nor was he displaced at -last through any dislike or prejudice which the king had imbibed -against him or his service, but by the persevering and prevailing -exertions of the opposition party, headed by <i>Pulteney</i>, who -forced him to resign, contrary to the desire or inclination of -the sovereign. His administration has been much censured, -for its systematic corruption. But that corruption never -extended so far as that of certain heaven-born ministers of more -recent times; and it was certainly employed for much better -purposes. His aversion to war, and constant endeavours to -avoid it, cover a multitude of his sins: and it was probably not -so often as most people imagine that this country has been -favoured with better ministers than Sir Robert Walpole.</p> -<p><a name="page909"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 909</span>The -reign of George II. may safely be pronounced, on the whole, one -of the most happy and prosperous in the annals of this -country. The principles of civil and religious liberty were -then favoured at court, and recognized by the sovereign, as what -had seated his family on the throne. Protestant Dissenters -he considered as some of his best friends and most faithful -subjects; nor did his ministers and courtiers ever presume to -treat them with coolness and disrespect, or pretend to entertain -any doubt or suspicion of their loyalty, or their attachment to -the king and constitution, according to the principles laid down -at the revolution. In short, this reign will be -contemplated with no small pleasure by the sons of freedom, as a -period when an open attachment to civil and religious liberty, or -the real rights of man, subjected no one to the suspicion, or -imputation, of being a traitor to his king and country. How -far the same may be said of our situation for the last twenty -years, is a question of which we shall not at present enter upon -the discussion.</p> -<p>One of the first notable acts of our municipality, after the -commencement of this reign, may be presumed to be that of -addressing the throne, by way both of condolence and -congratulation; the former on the death of the late sovereign, -and the latter on the happy accession of his successor. But -as no copy of this address has fallen in our way, we cannot form -any judgment of its tenor or merit: only we are informed that our -cities and boroughs, in general, did then actually send up such -addresses; and it is not to be supposed that the same was <a -name="page910"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 910</span>neglected -or omitted at Lynn, especially as the prime minister himself was -one of its representatives. This address, no doubt, was -sufficiently loyal, but whether or not so eloquent and sublime as -those sent up in the reign of queen Anne, must now be left among -the uncertainties, or, perhaps, even among the inscrutables.</p> -<p>Not long after, or in the course of the autumn of that same -year, as it would seem, the mayor, (Mr. Tho. Allen) according to -one of our manuscript narratives, issued <i>an order to prohibit -the barbers to shave on Sundays</i>; for which we may be pretty -sure his worship had not many thanks from that fraternity. -How far this order was obeyed, or did contribute to the -reformation and benefit of the town, we have not been able to -discover. The wisdom and utility of such measures appear -very questionable, and it is doubtful if they have ever answered -any very good purposes, as they seem to be ill, or not at all, -calculated to convince people of the evil of the conduct or -practices against which they are directed. Some of our -mayors, of more recent days, have taken upon them to issue -similar orders, at the commencement of their mayoralty, but they -have seldom, or never, thought it proper or expedient to enforce -them throughout, or to the end of the year.</p> -<p>Mr John Goodwin, the mayor of the ensuing year, (1728–,) -distinguished himself, according to the same narrative, in -another way, by setting down a stone-cistern at the end of the -Fish-Shambles, and also endowing one of the Almshouses in broad -Street for one poor <a name="page911"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 911</span>man with two shillings a -week.—His successor, Mr. Andrew Taylor, distinguished -himself still differently: for, as the same narrative words it, -“He did abundance of good, as he thought, by taking away -guns and killing of dogs; but was a friend to the Church, which -he seldom troubled.” That is, if we rightly -comprehend the meaning, he was, in talk, a mighty zealot for the -Church, though he seldom would condescend, or deem it worth his -while to honour it with his presence: which, to all thinking and -discerning people, was a sure sign and clear proof that all his -noisy zeal was nothing but mere pretence, to answer some -mercenary or hypocritical end; and but for which he in reality -cared no more for the church than the most heathenish or -irreligious of his neighbours.</p> -<p>How many such churchmen as this Andrew Taylor have been mayors -of this town since his time, it is impossible to say; but that -numbers of them have pretended to be very stanch and zealous for -the Church, while they seldom attended its stated service, or -public worship, is very certain. That there were none of -this description among the present members of the Hall seems much -to be wished; and especially that a truly and christian spirit -towards those of other denominations was more visible and -predominant among them; which yet is suspected not to have been -altogether the case at the formation or establishment of the -Lancastrian school, and in some subsequent circumstances relating -to that event. But this is not the proper place to make -these <a name="page912"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -912</span>matters the subjects of inquiry, investigation, or -animadversion. <a name="citation912"></a><a href="#footnote912" -class="citation">[912]</a></p> -<p>The successor of Taylor, Mr. Charles Harwick, who obtained the -mayoralty in 1730, had most painful scenes to engage his -attention, owing to the most shocking murder of a Mrs Ann Wright, -which had been perpetrated in the town that year, by one George -Smith, aided by Mary Taylor, Mrs Wright’s Servant, who had -let him into the house in the dead of the night. For this -black and horrid deed Mary Taylor was burnt alive in the -market-place, and Smith was hanged at the same time, on a gallows -erected, as Mackerell says, seventeen yards distant from the -stake. This happened, it seems, in 1731, the latter part of -Harwick’s mayoralty. The superlative atrociousness of -that bloody deed, and the dreadful abandonment, dereliction, or -depravity of mind which it discovered, called, undoubtedly, for -the most exemplary and terrible punishment, in order to deter -those of the like character from the <a name="page913"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 913</span>commission of similar crimes, as -nothing else can be expected to have much effect on such, in -restraining their flagitious propensities. A virtuous -principle, however, after all, is the most powerful and effectual -of all preventives against vicious or criminal excesses, and far -beyond all the terrors of penal laws, or punitive justice. -It is a great pity more care is not taken to instill this -principle as much as possible into the minds of the rising -generations</p> -<p>About the time last mentioned, one <i>John Rudkin</i>, a -member of our municipality, fell under the sore displeasure of -his brethren, and was eventually expelled from among them. -The affair is thus related in the Hall books—“April -26. 1731, Ordered that John Rudkin be discharged from the office -of common Councell man, unless, next Hall-day, he can shew cause -to the contrary; he having disclosed the councells of this -assembly, and the secrets of this corporation, and hath behaved -contemptuously towards the mayor (Charles Harwick Esq. <a -name="citation913"></a><a href="#footnote913" -class="citation">[913]</a>) and other members, justices of this -burgh, and charged some of them with -pyracy.”—again—“June 16. 1731, John -Rudkin’s answer being insufficent, he <a -name="page914"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 914</span>was -expelled and discharged from the office of a common -councell.” This shews that our corporation, as such, -have <i>counsels</i> and <i>secrets</i>, that are deemed very -improper and criminal to disclose; which seems to look somewhat -dark and suspicious; for if all their proceedings were fair and -just, honestly and solely directed for the public good, what need -could there be to care if the whole world knew all about them? <a -name="citation914"></a><a href="#footnote914" -class="citation">[914]</a>—Corporations might be beneficial -in their original institution, and in feudal times, to protect -the inhabitants from baronial domination and tyranny; but they -have become long ago (for the most part, at least,) grievous -nuisances, rather than real benefits, to the British public.</p> -<p>At the period we are now reviewing, Lynn was by no means in a -flourishing state, as may be pretty safely concluded from the -following passage in our book of Extracts—“Dec. 23. -1731; Ordered that a memorial be sent to the Representatives in -Parliament, touching the heavy burthen upon them, from the -Land-Tax Act, and from the decrease of traders among them, -praying reliefe.”—Things must have gotten to a sad -pass to <a name="page915"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -915</span>bring our high-minded corporation to so dejected and -supplicating a posture. For sometime previous and -subsequent to the date of the above extract, as the present <a -name="page916"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 916</span>writer has -heard from ancient people who remembered the time, the -<i>indigence</i> of Lynn was a matter of general notoriety; so -that <i>poor Lynn</i> used to be the common appellation of the -town, in the language of the country people. It seems now -to be the prevailing opinion that the late conduct of our rulers, -in subjecting the small houses to taxation, and otherwise so -unconscionably burdening the town, will soon bring things here -again to the same pass, and restore to us the humiliating name of -<i>poor Lynn</i> once more. Our many <i>empty houses</i> -would seem to corroborate this opinion; but we would fain hope -their number will soon decrease, and that some favourable events, -or happy turn of things will prevent such an opinion, or the -fears entertained on this head being realized.</p> -<p>In the times we are now exploring, our mayor was allowed to -confer the freedom of the town, on some one person whom he should -think proper to select for that purpose: hence such notices as -the following occur in our book of Extracts—“Dec. 8. -1732; Rd. Hawkins made ffree, as the mayor’s, John -Farthing’s ffreeman.”—<a -name="page917"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -917</span>again—“May 8. 1733; Wm. Langley, mariner, -made ffree, upon Andrew Taylor’s recommendation, not having -had a ffreeman chosen for his mayoralty, as -accustomed.”—again—“May 23. 1733; Edmd. -Harwick, of Wiggenhall St. Maries, to have his ffreedom upon -recommendation of alderman John Goodwin, he not having had a -ffreeman chosen for his last mayoralty as hath been -accustomed.”—About three months after, however, our -Hall suddenly resolved to discontinue this custom, as appears -from the following passage among our Extracts—“Aug. -29. 1733; Saml. Browne chosen mayor, and to have 150<i>l.</i> -viz. 50<i>l.</i> for the better carrying on the mayoralty; -50<i>l.</i> for the entertainment on Michaelmas Day; and -50<i>l.</i> on St. John’s Day”—Then it is -added—“And that <i>no succeeding mayor have the -liberty of naming</i>, <i>or making a ffreeman</i>, <i>as his -ffreeman</i>, <i>for the future</i>.” But they did -not long adhere to this order, or resolution, or persist in so -self-denying a course, as we find by another note among the same -Extracts, which is expressed thus—“May 22. 1739; The -revd. Mr. Edmd. Keene had his ffreedom gratis, <i>as his -father’s ffreeman</i>.” <a name="citation917"></a><a -href="#footnote917" class="citation">[917]</a> Whether or -not it was very wise to discontinue this custom, or afterwards to -revive it, after it had been so expressly and formally abolished, -we will not now stop to inquire, but shall here close this -section.</p> -<h4><a name="page918"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -918</span><span class="smcap">Section</span> VII.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>Great chancery suit here about</i> -1738—<i>violent storm or hurricane in</i> 1741—<i>its -effects here and in the adjacent country—the damages here -repaired—perilous state then of the river and -harbour—rebellion breaking out in</i> 1745—<i>its -effects in this town—its progress—suppressed after -the battle of Culloden—reflections thereon—subsequent -events relating to Lynn to the end of that reign—state of -the nation—accession of George III</i>.</p> -<p>About the time of which we have been speaking, our Corporation -had a great suit in Chancery with one of their own principal -members; and however justifiable or unjustifiable it might be, a -falling out among brethren must be allowed to be, at any time and -on any occasion, a very unpleasant occurrence. Our -knowledge of this unlovely affair is derived from the following -luminous passage in our book of Extracts—“Dec. 22. -1738; Whereas there was lately a suit depending in Chancery -between the mayor and burgesses and Robt. Britiffe Esq. their -trustee, against alderman Thomas Allen, (which was the 7th. -Octr. 1738, agreed that Mr. Serjeant Urlin, Chas. Clarke Esq. and -Mr. Tho. Nutting be appointed Referees to arbitrate) for the -recovery of the ancient customary payment of 1<i>d.</i> per -quarter for corn sold by the said Tho. Allen, upon contracts made -by him with other merchants, not being freemen, for shipping such -corn at a price certain, clear of all charges. Said Mr. -Allen hath agreed to pay not only all the arrears for all corn he -shipped off out of this port, where the same was not really his -own risque and adventure, but in all future times to pay the said -<a name="page919"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 919</span>dues for -all corn which he shall contract for and sell to any persons not -being freemen of the said borough, which shall be exported out of -the said borough by water.” In this suit the -corporation evidently got the better of their opponent; but this -is far from having been invariably the case in all their -law-suits, as has before appeared in the course of this work.</p> -<p>The year 1741 was rendered very remarkable and memorable in -this town and country, on account of a violent storm, or -hurricane, which then happened, and did great damage to the -churches and other buildings. It arose on the 8th of -September O. S. and blew down the spires of St. Nicholas’ -chapel, and St. Margaret’s Church, and demolished a great -part of the body of the latter. The following memoranda, -written at that period, will further describe the awful effects -of this disastrous visitation. Among our Extracts, so often -quoted, it is noted as follows under the date of Sept. 9. 1741; -“The Hurrycane yesterday blew down the spire and body of -St. Margaret’s Church; also the spire of St. -Nicholas’s Chappell.” And in another place, but -of the same date, it is thus noted—“That whereas the -Hurricane yesterday blew down St. Margaret’s spire and part -of the Church, application be made to Sir Robert Walpole to -procure ane act of parliament for rebuilding the -same.” But a more particular account of the effects -of this furious tempest we have found written on a blank leaf, at -the end of a copy of the history of the great storm in -1703. It is in the handwriting of a Mr. <a -name="page920"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 920</span><i>Tho. -Peirson</i>, a clergyman, if we are not mistaken, whose property -the book probably was, and it runs as follows—</p> -<blockquote><p>“M E M. That on Tuesday 8. Sept. 1741, -about 20 minutes after 12 at noon, was a most violent storm of -wind and rain, which blew down St. Margarett’s Church -Steeple and St. Nicholas at Lynn Regis, with the Weather-cock, -&c. of All-Hallows Church in South Lynn, <a -name="citation920"></a><a href="#footnote920" -class="citation">[920]</a> Norfolk. Also the great West -gabble-end, with a very large stack of chimneys, and the -Weather-Hand of Middleton-Hall—And a great barn belonging -to Henry Whiteman’s Farm at Tilney, with a small barn -belonging to Thos. Cricks Farm at Outwell, in the Isle of -Ely, the property of Me.—Besides divers other buildings in -Marshland; and great damage was done to the Timber and others -Trees in the country about Lynn and Downham.</p> -<p style="text-align: right"><i>Ita Testor</i>. <i>Tho: -Peirson</i>.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>The damages sustained here from this storm were all in time -repaired: those of St. Margaret’s Church, it seems, by -virtue of an act of parliament. One of our MS. narratives -informs us that the rebuilding of that church was begun in 1742, -during the mayoralty of Edward Everard, and completed in 1747, -during that of Walter Robertson; so that it appears to have been -<a name="page921"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 921</span>about -five years in rebuilding. But the new, or present church, -like Ezra and Nehemiah’s new temple at Jerusalem, is said -to be much inferior to the former, in point of dimension, as well -as beauty and magnificence. It may be supposed however, -that the <i>pardons</i> or <i>indulgences</i> offered to the -contributors towards the old edifice, procured ampler funds for -its completion than the <i>act of parliament</i> that was -obtained for completing the new.</p> -<p>It would seem as if our very river and harbour had not -entirely escaped the effects of that storm, and even that it did, -or occasioned some very material damage to them; at least, there -were great complaints made just after, of the bad and very -perilous state to which they were then reduced. This will -appear from the following passage, extracted from the Town -Records—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Sept. 9. 1741 agreed that the defences in -sundry places of the Harbour are become insufficient to confine -the fflux and reflux of the Tide, so that the Port and Harbour -will soon be lost—That the two points of land on the east -and west side of the river about a mile below the town are worn -away by the rage of the sea, so that Marshland on one hand, and -Gaywood and Wooton and all the low-lands thereabouts on the -other, are in danger of being swallowed up by the sea—That, -to guard against the flux and reflux, Piers are conceived to be -absolutely necessary to be placed both above and below Lynn, for -the preservation of the Town as well as the Port and -Harbour.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="page922"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -922</span>Shortly after another meeting was held at the Hall on -the same occasion; which is thus noticed in the same -Extracts—“Octr. 15. 1741, Sir John Turner, bart. is -desired to write to Sir Robert Walpole, to recommend a Surveyor -to view the Harbour, and to draw a report thereof, in order to -have the same laid before parliament.”—Three weeks -after, the result of this application to the minister is thus -announced—“Nov. 5th. Sir John Turner acquainted -that he had received a Letter from Sir Robt. Walpole, -recommending Mr. Roswell, then at Hull, to survey the Harbour; -and he is accepted and approved of to be Surveyor, and B. Nuthall -Esq. or his Deputy, Mr. Recorder, aldermen Goodwin, Allen, -Farthing, Bagge—Mr. Hulton, Everard, Langley, or any five -or more to be a committee to prepare instructions for -him.”—again—“Dec. 14. 1741; Ordered -21<i>l.</i> to be presented to Mr. Rodwell [<i>so the name is -spelt here</i>:] for his trouble and advice in matters relating -to the Harbour and South -Marsh.”—Furthermore—“Febr. 24 -1741–2;—Mr. Wm. Reynolds presented his report -touching his survey of the Harbour, together with ane estimate of -the charges in the erecting of two Piers which he proposes for -the restoration and preservation thereof, which is approved -off.”</p> -<p>Afterwards we hear no more of this business, for nine months -or more. Then we find it further noticed as -follows—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Novr. 29th. 1742; Ordered that application -be made to parliament for the preservation of the channel and -harbour of this Port and Borough, which are in danger of being -lost.—The schemes of Mr Rosewell <a -name="page923"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 923</span>and Mr. -Reynolds being read and approved of, it is agreed that the same -be carryed into execution, and this House hath agreed to resolve -itselfe into a Committee of the whole House, to consider of ways -and means for raising moneys, by laying such rates and duties on -goods and merchandizes imported into, and exported out of this -Port, or by such other ways as they shall think proper for the -effectuall carrying those schemes into execution, for preserving -the channel and harbour aforesaid and rendring the same usefull -and safe for navigation.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>What beneficial effects resulted from the above measures we -have not been able to discover. Nor do our Extracts afford -us any further information relating to the subject, except what -is suggested in the following passage—“Dec. 19. 1744; -A Committee [was appointed] to view the state of the banks, in -Gaywood and Wooton, lying against the sea—and to view the -breach made in the South Marsh bank, by the rageing tides, and -enquire if the corporation may desert the lands lying upon the -banks, and whether by such desertion the corporation will be -discharged from the repairing said banks.”—This -passage discovers more selfishness than public spirit. They -seemed disposed to let the banks remain unrepaired, and take no -further care of them, whatever might be the consequence to the -country, provided they could be sure it might be done with -perfect safety, or without any pecuniary risk to -themselves. This is in the true corporation character.</p> -<p><a name="page924"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 924</span>The -next year (1745) was very memorably distinguished by the -rebellion, which then broke out in Scotland in favour of the -pretender, or the son of James II.</p> -<blockquote><p>“On the 6th of August this year some notices -having been communicated to the government of such an attempt, -aided by the French Court, a proclamation was published, offering -a reward of 30,000<i>l.</i> for apprehending and securing the -eldest son of the pretender, in case he should land, or attempt -to land, in any of his majesty’s dominions. On the -17th. an account arrived, that several persons had landed between -the islands of <i>Mull</i> and <i>Skie</i>, one of whom it was -supposed was the pretender’s Son. On September 5, his -majesty sent notice to the lord mayor of London, that the -pretender’s eldest son had landed in Scotland, and that -several persons had assembled there and broke out into open -rebellion.</p> -<p>“Soon after advice arrived, that the rebels had marched -Southward. On the 13th. they passed the Forth, five miles -above Stirling, and on the 17th. took possession of the city of -Edinburgh. By that time general <i>Cope</i> with his army -landed at Dunbar, and began to march towards that capital. -The rebels did not wait to be attacked by him, but came out to -meet him, and on the 21st. at daybreak, they attacked him at -<i>Preston Pans</i>, seven miles east of Edinburgh, and totally -defeated him, making most of his infantry prisoners. The -dragoons made their escape to <i>Berwick</i>, with little loss, -save that of the brave <i>Colonel Gardiner</i>. These -advantages on the side of the rebels spread a general <a -name="page925"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -925</span>consternation throughout the kingdom; but all ranks and -orders, as we are told, vied with each other in displaying their -loyalty, and abhorrence of this unnatural rebellion.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Many associations were now entered into for the support of his -majesty’s crown and dignity, and the constitution in church -and state. A large body of <i>British</i>, <i>Dutch</i>, -and <i>Hessian</i> troops were brought over from Flanders: and -the success of the rebellion, and dread of a threatened invasion -from France, having caused a great run upon the Bank, 1100 -merchants and eminent tradesmen met, and subscribed their names -to an agreement, not to refuse bank-notes in any payment to be -made to them.—On Oct. 18. the duke of Cumberland arrived -from Flanders, and set out on Nov. 26. to take upon him the -command of the army, then on its march into Lancashire. For -the rebels, having increased to 8,000, had left <i>Edinburgh</i>, -on October 26, and on November 15. the city of <i>Carlisle</i> -was surrendered to them. On the 24th. without any -molestation, they arrived at <i>Lancaster</i>, and on the 29th. -took possession of <i>Manchester</i>, where they formed into a -regiment those who had joined them in England. In the -beginning of December they left <i>Manchester</i> and advanced to -<i>Congleton</i>, as if they intended to meet and engage the Duke -of Cumberland, whose advanced guard was then at -<i>Newcastle-under-Line</i>. But they suddenly turned off -to the left, and marched into <i>Derbyshire</i>, seeming to have -an intention to slip by the duke, and take their way directly to -London.</p> -<p><a name="page926"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 926</span>When -this news reached the metropolis it occasioned the greatest -consternation imaginable; the run upon the Bank and depression of -the public Funds became very great and alarming; but recourse was -immediately had to such measures as were thought most proper -towards remedying those evils, and frustrating the supposed -intention of the dreaded enemy. On the 4th. of December, -the rebels entered the town of <i>Derby</i>, and soon, after -contrary to expectation, began to retreat northward by the rout -they came. Such was the panic with which the nation was -then seized, that it was thought if they had proceeded straight -to London, they might have entered and mastered it with little or -no opposition. There were then no bands of armed citizens, -as at some other periods; and the troops stationed there and -thereabout, were now ordered to march and form a camp upon -<i>Finchley-common</i>: but had the rebels appeared, they would -probably have behaved no better than their brethren had done at -<i>Preston Pans and Falkirk</i>.</p> -<p>In the meantime, the general panic and alarm, as might be -supposed, extended even to Lynn, and produced here very -remarkable and whimsical effects. No sooner was it known -that the rebels were at <i>Derby</i>, than it was concluded, by -our wise men, that they certainly meant to visit this town, in -their way to the metropolis. And as it was judged that they -would attempt to enter at the South-Gate, or that the town was -most vulnerable on that side, it was deemed necessary to -strengthen that part by constructing there some new -outworks. In <a name="page927"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -927</span>this service great numbers of the inhabitants -cheerfully engaged. The late Mr. <i>Philip Case</i> was -then mayor. His worship and the whole corporate body turned -out on this occasion, and took their places among the numerous -workmen, with spades, shovels, and pickaxes in their hands, -assisting with all their might towards the completion of what was -supposed so necessary a measure for the effectual defence and -preservation of the town.</p> -<p>But these extraordinary exertions of our patriotic townsmen -did not long continue, being soon rendered unnecessary, by the -arrival of undoubted intelligence, that the rebels had no -immediate design upon these parts, and were actually in full -retreat towards Scotland. All our fear and consternation -now vanished, of course; the project for fortifying the town was -instantly relinquished; every thing, in short, reverted to its -usual channel, and resumed its former undisturbed and tranquil -appearance. But, if our traditional information may be -relied upon, there occurred here, during the bustling and -alarming interval, some very queer and ludicrous incidents, which -some of our ancient townsmen often relate, with much pleasantry -and good humour, as what would seem less creditable to the -wisdom, the sagacity, and the fortitude of their good forefathers -of that period, than to their loyalty, or their patriotism. <a -name="citation927"></a><a href="#footnote927" -class="citation">[927]</a></p> -<p><a name="page928"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 928</span>The -rebellion existed for several months after its dread had ceased -to be felt in this town. As soon as the duke got notice of -the retreat of the rebels, he set out in pursuit of them, with -all the horse in his army, and about a thousand foot soldiers -mounted on horseback. Marshal <i>Wade</i> also, who -commanded a separate corps, detached a considerable body of -cavalry, under general <i>Oglethorpe</i> for the same -purpose. On December 18th. the duke came up with the rear -of the rebels at <i>Clifton</i>, in Northumberland, where he -obtained some advantage over them. On the 30th. he retook -<i>Carlisle</i>, after a siege of nine days, making the garrison -prisoners. Their main army had by that time reached -Scotland, to which kingdom the rebellion was thenceforth entirely -confined till its final suppression after the battle of -<i>Culloden</i>.</p> -<p>On Jan. 5, 1746, the duke returned to St. James’s; and -on the 17th. of that month, the rebels defeated the king’s -forces commanded by general <i>Hawley</i>, near <a -name="page929"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -929</span><i>Falkirk</i>, though the latter were much superior in -numbers. Upon this misfortune, it was thought expedient the -duke should take upon him the command of the army in -Scotland. He accordingly left London for that purpose, and -arrived at Edinburgh on the 30th. of that month. The -rebels, who had laid siege to the castle of <i>Stirling</i>, then -retreated, and the duke followed them, as fast as the severity of -the season and badness of the roads would permit, and arrived at -<i>Aberdeen</i> on the 27th of February. Meantime the -rebels reduced the Castle of <i>Inverness</i> and Fort -<i>Augustus</i>, and laid siege also to Fort <i>William</i>, and -<i>Blair</i> Castle, of Athol, but failed in both those -attempts. On the 8th. of April the duke left -<i>Aberdeen</i>, and on the 14th. arrived at <i>Nairn</i>; and -being there assured that the rebels were encamped at -<i>Culloden</i> House, near <i>Inverness</i>, he rested the whole -of the 15th. at <i>Nairn</i>, to refresh his men. That -night the rebels marched, with intent to attack him before -daylight; but failed, through some mismanagement; whereupon they -returned to <i>Culloden</i>, resolving, in that station, to wait -for their pursuers.</p> -<p>The duke, on the 16th. left <i>Nairn</i>, between 4 and 5 in -the morning; and at two in the afternoon the engagement -began. The rebels obtained some advantage at first, but -were soon thrown into confusion and totally defeated, with great -slaughter, and circumstances of unusual barbarity, which exposed -the duke to much censure, especially from our northern -countrymen, and procured him the reproachful appellation of the -<i>bloody butcher</i>. <a name="page930"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 930</span>Others, however, hailed him as the -saviour of the country, and a pattern of every patriotic and -princely excellence; and he ever after possessed, especially in -these southern parts, great and unrivalled popularity. The -battle of Culloden put an end to every chance or hope of -restoring the Stuart family, and the evils of rebellion and civil -war have never since been experienced in this island.</p> -<p>Of the numerous prisoners taken in the course of the -rebellion, some were pardoned, and a considerable number -executed, but a far greater number of them were transported to -America, where they largely contributed, by their sobriety and -industry, to the increasing population and prosperity of that -country. The duke continued in Scotland sometime after the -battle of <i>Culloden</i>, when some further severities were -exercised, but whether just and wholesome, or not, we will not -now take upon us to pronounce. Agreeably with those -severities, an act passed that same year for <i>disarming</i> the -Highlanders, and restraining the use of the Highland -<i>dress</i>; which must have reduced those people to a must -humiliating and degrading situation. A more liberal and -enlightened policy, towards that country, was adopted by our -government some years after, under the administration of the -elder <i>Pitt</i>: since which time the Scots have ranked -invariably among the most loyal and zealous of the adherents or -subjects of the House of Hanover. A similar policy adopted -towards <i>Ireland</i> would, no doubt, produce similar effects -there, and place that whole nation among the most estimable -subject of the <a name="page931"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -931</span>British empire. But it is to be feared that we -shall not be very soon blessed with a ministry endowed with so -much virtue, or so much wisdom.</p> -<p>From the termination of the rebellion to the time of the -king’s death, the affairs of the nation went on -prosperously, as did also those of this town. The years -1747 and 1748 were here much distinguished by the uncommon number -of persons who were then made free <i>gratis</i>—Such as -Joseph Tayler M.D. John Wilson Esq. Chas. Townshend -Esq. Rd. Hammond Esq. Rev. Wm. Everard; Rev. Dr. Edm. -Pyle; Rev. Robt. Hammond; Robt. Hammond Esq. John Nuthall -Esq. Chas: Cooper Morely; John Partridge gent. John -Davis Esq. Rev. John Daville, and Rev. Chas. -Phelps.—Such a batch of new burgesses must, no doubt, have -greatly augmented the consequence and respectability of the -town.</p> -<p>The year 1749, or, at least, the mayoralty that began that -year, exhibited here a most sad catastrophe, attended with most -shocking circumstances. It was the condemnation and -execution of one <i>Charles Holditch</i>, for burglary in his own -father’s house, and an attempt to murder the old man in his -bed, which he was prevented from perpetrating by a child, who was -then in bed with the old man. This was certainly an -instance of enormous and almost unexampled depravity; and may, -perhaps, be considered as an indication of the wretched state of -morals then in this town among the common people. The -clergy, as it is too often the case, cared, probably, little or -nothing about instructing the <a name="page932"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 932</span>lower orders; and there were here -then but few dissenters to supply the lack of service, or -deficiencies of the established ministry.</p> -<p>In 1751, or during the mayoralty which then commenced, another -shocking scene occurred here, which is thus related in one of our -MS. narratives—“This year <i>Wm. Chaplain</i> was -hang’d on a gibbet upon South-Lynn Common, for the -murdering of <i>Mary Gafferson</i>—being the first ever -known to be hung in chains in this town.” This seems -to corroborate what was said before, of the wretched state of -morals here then among the lower orders of the community. -And the present writer can easily conceive, and is very confident -that such must have been then the case, from what he knows it to -have been somewhat more than twenty years after, (or 35 years -ago,) when he first came to reside here. In point of -morals, manners, and outward decency, the town is much improved -since that period; and yet there is much room still for further -improvement. The change for the better which has already -taken place, and which is hoped to be still in its progress, must -be ascribed partly to the superior character of the church -ministry here of late years, and partly to the unwearied -exertions of the methodists and our other dissenters: <a -name="citation932"></a><a href="#footnote932" -class="citation">[932]</a> and as the numbers of those who have -<a name="page933"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 933</span>been -reformed and converted from their former rudeness and heathenism -have already much increased, and are still increasing, it may be -hoped that the influence of their example will also increase in -equal proportion, till our whole population becomes thoroughly -reformed, civilized, and enlightened.</p> -<p>Among the most memorable and important of the recorded acts of -our municipality in 1751, are to be reckoned the choosing of -<i>Dr. Joseph Tayler</i>, a <i>physician</i>, into the -common-council, and enrolling the name of our respected townsman, -<i>Thomas Day Esq.</i> among our free burgesses. From that -time nothing worth notice occurs till 1755, when the following -passage is noted among our Extracts—“1755, July -7th. Ordered that his Majesties grant 8th May 1755, to -Henry Partridge Esq. Recorder, in trust for the Mayor and -Burgesses, of the fourth part of the Tollbooth and Tolls in the -Village and Port of Lynn, and the Tolls for weighing Wool, -mensuration, and Love Copp, and also the Water of Wiggenhall and -office of Bailif there, with the profits of Courts, &c. and -also the office of gauger in the Village and Port afforesaid, and -the profits of the fyshery of the said waters, &c. to hold -for 31 years from Lady Day 1755, and expires at Lady Day 1786, to -be laid up in the Treasury.”—These advantages seem to -have been conferred by the corporation on the Recorder of that -day, in consideration of the slenderness of the Salary annexed to -his office. Whether there be <a name="page934"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 934</span>any similar appendage to the Salary -of the present Recorder, we are unable to say.—Under the -same year the following note occurs—“August 27. -The Mayor’s Sallary to be 100<i>l.</i> from Michaelmas -next.” It seems to have been before unfixed. It -surely ought to be now 300<i>l.</i> at least. Yet we cannot -find that to be the case.</p> -<p>Nothing of any consequence appear to have occurred here during -the remainder of this reign. The last recorded acts of our -municipality before the expiration of this period, as far as we -can find, are the following—“August 29. 1760, Mr. Th. -Day chosen Common-Councell-man—Honourable Geo. Townshend -ffree gratis.”—again—“Sept. 29. The -Mayor for the time being to be indemnifyed from all charges, -&c. occasioned thro’ any neglects of the Goaler or -Serjeants at Mace.” The king died on the 25th. of -October that same year, at Kensington, in the 77th. year of his -age, and the 34th. of his reign, the close of which was -distinguished by what has been generally deemed very glorious -events, and a most happy harmony among his subjects.</p> -<p>Before we close this section and take our final leave of -George II, some notice may and ought to be taken of a -circumstance, the most important and interesting, perhaps, in its -effects, or consequences, of any that occurred in that reign: and -that is, the <i>origin of methodism</i>, or of that popular -religious sect, whose votaries or constituents are denominated -<i>methodists</i>, and which is now become the most numerous body -of protestant dissenters in the British dominions. Their -numbers and their influence <a name="page935"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 935</span>are now so great, and so rapidly -increasing, as to have evidently excited no small alarm among our -higher powers, in church and state, and even among the -<i>Wilberforce party</i>, or that class of churchmen which -assumes or bears the name of <i>evangelical</i>; <a -name="citation935"></a><a href="#footnote935" -class="citation">[935]</a> as we learn from the late memorable -Bill of Lord <i>Sidmouth</i>, together with certain circumstances -which it was the means of bringing to light.</p> -<p>This Sect, like most others, sprang from a small -beginning. Its founders were a few young men of the -university of Oxford, of the names of Morgan, John and Charles -Wesley, Kirkman, Ingham, James Harvey, George Whitefield, -&c. A young gentleman of <i>Christ Church</i> named -them <i>methodists</i>, in allusion to some ancient physicians, -so called. Others denominated them the <i>Holy Club</i>; -but this name soon died away; whereas the other remained, and -became permanent; and the sect is known and distinguished by it -to this day. Oxford could not long contain, or retain these -birds of paradise. They soon got out of the shell, quitted -the nest and flew abroad; and by the time of the birth of our -present sovereign, their voice was heard, and much listened to, -in London, and a great many other places. Since that time -they have been ever on the increase, more or less; <a -name="page936"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 936</span>and of late -years prodigiously so; which may account for the doubts and fears -entertained in certain quarters, as to the consequence.</p> -<p><i>John Wesley</i> and <i>George Whitefield</i> being by far -the most active and eloquent of the original methodists, soon -came to be looked upon as the oracles, or proper chiefs and -leaders of the sect. They went on harmoniously for -sometime; but, after a while, these extraordinary men imbibed -opposite opinions, and became attached to different creeds. -Wesley declared himself an <i>arminian</i>, and Whitefield a -<i>calvinist</i>; which occasioned a separation among their -followers, and produced two distinct sects, under the expressive -denominations of <i>Wesleyan</i> or <i>arminian methodists</i>, -<a name="citation936"></a><a href="#footnote936" -class="citation">[936]</a> and <i>Whitefieldian</i> or -<i>calvinian methodistis</i>. But the worst of it was, that -from being warm and sworn friends, they now became bitter and -deadly foes, and declared open war against each other, which was -carried on with unabated rancour for many years, to the no small -amusement and gratification of the enemies of both parties, and -the just and lasting reproach of their own arrogant pretensions -to superior goodness and sanctity.</p> -<p>Nothing could be more uncharitable, illiberal, and unchristian -than the behaviour of these two sister sects, for many years, -towards each other. The champions <a -name="page937"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 937</span>on both -sides generally treated their opponents as the vilest miscreants -and reprobates; and such enemies of God and man as had scarcely -any chance of salvation while they retained their professed and -respective principles. At length their bitter animosities -subsided, and the fierce contest ceased: a sort of alliance took -place between them; and ever since the utmost efforts of their -malevolence, and whole energy of their intolerance have been -employed in calumniating and persecuting other religionists, -called <i>unitarians</i>, <i>universalists</i>, &c. whom they -now treat in a manner much like that in which they formerly -treated each other. This is a remarkable circumstance, -which we ought not to lose sight of, as it will enable us to form -a proper estimate of the respect that is due to the hostile and -clamorous conduct of these domineering sects towards those -illfated religionists who are, at this present time, the chief -objects of their jealousy, their malevolence, and their -opposition.</p> -<p>At the commencement of the present reign this sect was become -very considerable among the religious denominations of this -kingdom; and it has been ever since rapidly increasing, so as to -cause no small alarm in some quarters. At present, it seems -to be the prevailing opinion that methodism will soon acquire -unrivalled preponderance among us, and perhaps become, at last, -and at no very distant period, the established religion of -England. <a name="citation937"></a><a href="#footnote937" -class="citation">[937]</a> Should it so happen, it is to be -hoped <a name="page938"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -938</span>that it will previously undergo a kind of -<i>regeneration</i>, so as to prove (among other things) less -illiberal and intolerant than it is at present; otherwise neither -the dissenting sects, nor the nation at large will have any -mighty cause to congratulate themselves on the -occasion.—But we will dwell no longer upon this subject at -present, as we may have occasion to resume it in another part of -the work.—Having now made our way to the year 1760 and the -commencement of the present reign, we shall here close this long -section.</p> -<h4><span class="smcap">Section</span> VIII.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>Accession of George III—flattering -aspect of British affairs at that period—general -expectation then of the commencement or approach of halcyon days -and a golden age—those expectations have not been yet -realized—on the contrary</i>, <i>the nation has witnessed -and experienced a very different order or state of -things</i>—<i>Views of the affairs of Lynn for the first -twenty years of this reign</i>.</p> -<p>Upon the demise of the late king, he was succeeded by his -grandson the prince of Wales, under the name of <a -name="page939"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 939</span><i>George -the third</i>; who was immediately proclaimed, with the usual -ceremonies, when he made a most gracious declaration to his -privy-council, which gave great satisfaction, and was much -applauded. On the 8th of September 1761 he was married to -the princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg Strelitz, and on the 22nd. -of the same month their majesties were crowned at Westminster -Abbey. The issue of this marriage is more numerous than -that of any of our former sovereigns; at least, for many ages -past; so that it is not likely that there will happen here soon -any dispute about the regal succession.</p> -<p>No prince ever ascended the throne of these realms more with -the approbation, or to the satisfaction of the nation at large -than did George III; nor do we know of any other of our -sovereigns at whose accession there was so fair and bright a -prospect of a happy and glorious reign. The people -universally expected it, and thought they had a right so to do, -on account of that proud and unrivalled preeminence which the -nation had lately acquired among the powers of Europe, and of the -world. In this expectation, however, we have been -disappointed; for those fond and sanguine hopes which were once -so confidently entertained and cherished have never yet been -realized; and it is not very likely now that they ever -will. We live at a most eventful period, so that it is no -great wonder that our disasters and disappointments were not -foreseen fifty years ago.</p> -<p>Our miscarriages have been so numerous, and the -wrongheadedness of our Statesmen and public functionaries <a -name="page940"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 940</span>so -notorious, as to give no small countenance, if not entirely to -justify, the opinion of those who assert that the Evil Genius of -Britain has presided in its councils, and has had the sole -direction of its affairs, with very few exceptions, for the last -fifty years, at least. Strong symptoms of political -wrongheadedness and ministerial depravity appeared as early as -the time when the machine of government was committed to the -management of lord Bute, with his coadjutors and -underlings. The affair of general warrants, and the project -for taxing America, rendered those symptoms still more visible -and alarming, while our persisting in our dispute with the -Colonists, and undertaking to answer their arguments and silence -their complaints by the mouth of our cannon, demonstrated our -despotic character and boundless infatuation, and prepared the -world to behold, without surprise, the folly and insanity of our -subsequent projects and undertakings.</p> -<p>It was hoped by many that the disastrous result of the -American war would have brought us to our senses. But it -did not so happen. Our subsequent conduct has been for the -most part as unwise and senseless as ever it was during our -dispute and war with America. Had we been capable of -serious reflection, the American war would, doubtless, have -brought us to it. Dear-bought experience is said to have -been of great use to some people; but it has been in this case -quite useless to us; though experience has seldom been more -dearly bought than that which Britain has acquired by the -American war. In fact, it does not seem that experience is -of so <a name="page941"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -941</span>much use to mankind, as is generally supposed; not -because it is useless in itself, or incapable of making us wiser, -but because most people are no way disposed to avail themselves -of its aid, and choose to follow their passions rather than their -reason. They seemingly hate to look back and recollect -former mischances, or to profit by past experience. Both -the past and the future appear to be by them equally -disregarded. The present employs all their thoughts; and -whatsoever errors they may have committed, or inconvenience -experienced on that account, little care is generally taken to -guard against their repetition or recurrence. Such is the -case with nations as well as individuals. So the world -goes: and thus, in spite of past experience, every age performs -its own folly, and re-acts or repeats the absurdities and crimes -of its predecessors.</p> -<p>Sometimes the national errors and follies of one age appear to -exceed those of the preceding age, and even of many preceding -ages. This has been thought applicable to the present -period. Our domestic grievances from different -administrations, for the last fifty years, our treatment of the -<i>Caribbs of St. Vincent</i>, <a name="citation941"></a><a -href="#footnote941" class="citation">[941]</a> together with our -American and subsequent wars, and also the affair of the -<i>Spanish frigates</i>, and of <i>Copenhagen</i>, seem to exceed -<i>tenfold</i> all our internal grievances and public ministerial -enormities for the preceding fifty, or even <i>seventy</i> -years. What addition will be made to this catalogue during -the remainder of this reign, it is impossible to foresee; but it -is to be hoped that things ere <a name="page942"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 942</span>long will take a more favourable -turn, as it is surely high time they should.</p> -<p>These observations we shall now conclude, in the words of one -of the historians of this reign—“In comparing (says -he) the brilliant and auspicious commencement of the reign of the -present monarch with the dark and dreadful scenes which ensued -(and, it is painful to add, with those which at [this] advanced -period seem yet impending) the imagination is led forcibly to -advert to the sublime symbolical representations introduced by a -poet of the highest order, Mr. Gray, in his celebrated Ode of -<i>The Bard</i>, in allusion to the catastrophe terminating the -reign of Richard II. in the splendor of its opening dawn, and its -subsequent <i>fatal indiscretions</i>, bearing no very distant -analogy to the present. <a name="citation942"></a><a -href="#footnote942" class="citation">[942]</a></p> -<blockquote><p> “Fair laughs the morn, and -soft the Zephyr blows;<br /> - While proudly riding o’er the azure realm<br -/> - In gallant trim the gilded vessel goes;<br /> - Youth at the prow, and Pleasure at the helm;<br /> - Regardless of the sweeping whirlwind’s -sway.<br /> -That hush’d in grim repose expects his evening -prey.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Of the transactions and occurrences that constitute the -history of Lynn for the first twenty years of this reign we know -of none that can be deemed very interesting or important. -Some of them, however, are no less so than many of those that -have been already related, and therefore cannot be silently -passed over, or omitted, without departing from the plan which -has been hitherto pursued. In regard to this period, as -well as the preceding ones, it is much to be wished we could -throw some <a name="page943"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -943</span>further light on the internal state of the town, or -what relates to the domestic character, social habits, or lives -and manners of the inhabitants. Here, however, our -materials have always proved very scanty; and the same has been -generally the case with other historical writers. This -work, accordingly, often appears as a history of the -<i>corporation</i>; rather than of the town at large, or of the -whole community; because our materials relate chiefly to that -chartered body, placing all the rest far in the back ground, and -often quite out of sight. This is to be regretted.</p> -<p>Among the memorable events which took place at Lynn about, or -soon after the commencement of this reign, was the falling of the -tower or steeple of South Lynn church. This happened, -according to one of our MS. narratives, during the second -mayoralty of Walter Robertson, which commenced at Michaelmas -1761. This is said to have been a strong square tower, -about 82 feet high, with stone battlements; having thereon a -shaft and vane 30 feet high. It had in it also, as Parkin -says, five tuneable bells: and it appears to have in its fall -demolished a good part of the west end of the church. The -damage, as to the church, was soon repaired, but the tower was -never afterwards rebuilt. South Lynn makes now a much -humbler appearance than it did in former days, when it was -adorned with two lofty towers; that which we have now mentioned, -and that of the Carmelite convent, which stood a little way off, -adjoining to that convent, in what is now <a -name="page944"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 944</span>called -<i>The Friars</i>. This tower is said to have fallen in -1690: so that the tower of the parish Church stood above 130 -years longer; owing, perhaps, to its being kept in better repair; -though it may be supposed to have been, like the other, neglected -afterwards.</p> -<p>Much about the time of which we have been speaking, another -remarkable event occurred within our municipal or admiralty -jurisdiction. This was the taking of a large <i>whale</i>, -near <i>Beverley creek</i>, according to one account, or near -<i>Darsingham</i>, according to the <i>Norfolk Remembrancer</i>; -which further says, that it was 56 feet 9 inches long, and 34 -feet 4 inches in girth; and moreover, that it was taken on the -27th. of March 1762. If we are not mistaken there was some -dispute about it between our mayor of that time and Mr. Styleman, -or some other gentleman of the vicinity of the place where it was -taken. But we believe that the former’s right to it -was, in the end, established. There have been other -instances of whales being taken on this coast, though it happens -but rarely.</p> -<p>On December 2nd. 1763, a dreadful high wind and tide made -great ravages here: many ships were wrecked on the coast, and an -incredible number of cattle and sheep were drowned in Marshland, -&c. Among other sufferers, a Mr. Barrell and a Mr. -Corfe, of Snettisham, lost 800 sheep each, as we find in the -<i>Norfolk Remembrancer</i>.—In the following year, during -the second mayoralty of Philip Case, the town, according to one -of our MS. narratives, was served a trick which <a -name="page945"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 945</span>could not -possibly redound to the credit of our rulers. -“Purfleet Fleet was then cleaned, from the bridge to the -clough adjoining to Kettle Mills river; and the filth and mud -carried away by boats into the haven, to the great annoyance of -the harbour and the forming of a bar there.” This was -certainly bad enough, but the worst is still behind. The -charge of scouring or cleaning the Fleets, it seems, belonged to -the corporation: but, in this instance, it was contrived to throw -it on the inhabitants, who were accordingly subjected to an -assessment, or tax, which amounted to a sum of no less than -2000<i>l.</i> This, to say the least of it, seems to have -been a very shabby affair; but some will think it much less so -than our famous <i>paving jobb</i>.</p> -<p>In the third mayoralty of John Cary senior, which commenced in -1765, a shocking murder was committed here by one John Rudderham, -(commonly and ironically called <i>honest John</i>) for which -bloody and horrid deed he was soon after tried, condemned, and -executed. Such, it has been said, was the deplorable -depravity and ignorance of this unhappy wretch, that he appeared -not to have any sense of moral evil, or any idea of the existence -of a Supreme Being, and of a future state. Though born and -brought up in a christian country, and even deemed a member of a -christian church, yet he was utterly ignorant of every thing -belonging to christianity, as appeared from the first -conversation he had with a person who attended him while under -sentence of death. Being asked by that person, if he had <a -name="page946"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 946</span><i>ever -heard of the Lord Jesus Christ</i>? He seriously answered -that he could not positively say whether he had or not: -“and yet (said he) I do rather think that I have really -heard something of <i>such a gentleman</i>, though I cannot now -remember what it was.” It is to be feared there were -a great many more here at the same time in a similar predicament, -or equally ignorant. Yet, if we are not misinformed, a -motion made, about that period, to establish here a school for -the instruction of poor children, was actually negatived, as a -needless and useless measure, and what might prove inimical to -social order, and destructive of all intellectual distinction -between rich and poor, gentlemen and plebeians. It is -pleasing to contemplate that our higher powers were actuated by -better and nobler ideas latterly, when the Lancasterian school -was proposed and established. May this prove the dawn of a -more liberal and brighter day.</p> -<p>In 1768, during the mayoralty of Charles Turner, which -commenced the preceding year, the town was much agitated by a -very violent contested election, chiefly between Sir John Turner -bart. and Crisp Molineaux Esq; for the honourable Thomas Walpole -Esq. the other candidate, was apparently pretty sure of gaining -his election. He was accordingly returned, and Sir John -along with him, owing, as one of our MS. narratives suggests, to -the bribing exertions of a certain eminent merchant, who expended -7000<i>l.</i> and upwards on the occasion. It was, however, -the last time Sir John was returned for this town: Molineaux was -returned along with Walpole at the next general election. -After <a name="page947"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -947</span>all, it seems to have been a very foolish business; for -this same candidate does not appear to have been a person of any -character, or who was endowed with such talents or qualifications -as could recommend him for a senator in preference to -Turner. Such has been, however, too often the case in our -contested elections.</p> -<p>This is supposed to have been the greatest of all our -Contested Elections, except that very memorable one in 1747, -which probably far exceeded every thing of the kind ever known -here. As the particulars of it were little known to the -present writer, till his observations on the preceding reign had -been printed off, he hopes the reader will excuse his giving some -account of it here, though somewhat out of place. The -opposition was chiefly aimed against Sir John Turner, the same, -seemingly, that was opposed in the last mentioned contest, and -father of the present Lady Folkes. His opponent was William -Folkes Esq. father of the present Sir Martin. He is said to -have been a very respectable man, though he was charged on this -occasion with breach of a promise made to Lord Orford, not to -stand candidate at that time for this town. What foundation -there was for such a charge, or how the case really stood, it may -be now difficult, or, perhaps, impossible to determine.</p> -<p>Though the prejudice against Turner was strong and extensive, -and the opposition fierce and violent, yet he gained his -election; but he was thought to owe it less to his own interest -and management than to the favour <a name="page948"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 948</span>and influence of the Walpoles, who -were supposed to have greatly befriended him in that -instance. At the close of the poll the numbers -were—for <i>Walpole</i> 199; for <i>Turner</i> 184; for -<i>Folkes</i> 131. The following Extract of a Letter -written at that very time by a person of much wit and shrewdness, -and who was an eye witness of the whole scene, will give the -reader a striking, and we presume a just idea of the state of -this town during that turbulent contest. Whether or not we -are still capable of the like excesses, or extravagances, is a -question that may not be unworthy of very serious -consideration. It is to be wished it might he answered in -the <i>negative</i>.</p> -<blockquote><p>“Since you left us,” (says the -Letter-writer alluded to,) “we’ve had a Contested -Election, and perhaps as violent an one as any in England where -the affair was not carried to bloodshed. I will be very -particular in my account of it because ’twill amuse -you.—The sudden bringing on the Elections all over England -was a wise thing. As soon as ’twas known here that -members were to be elected in about 3 weeks time, people of the -lower sort got together in the Evenings in clusters, talking, how -little good *** did to the town, &c.—This set a spirit -agoing, and in 2 or 3 nights, they met about xxxv of ’em, -at an alehouse, with C— P—t drunk at the head of -them, whom they would fain have for a m—r of -p—t. C—s treated the company, and the next -morning gave them a whet, met ’em again in the evening, and -the next evening, and then had shewn spite enough to *** whom he -hates, to make it necessary for <a name="page949"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 949</span>them to look about ’em. -But where should they look? *** was in Gl—rshire with -his wife, who was every moment expecting to cry out, and had sent -a Letter, hoping to be chosen without coming at all. -L—d O. was at H—n and his cousin H—’s son -being the person that was to stand with S—r J—, my -L—d was applied to, by our gentlemen, to let him know that -the people grew rude and clamorous, and that unless somebody -appeared, and care was taken of them, they feared Mr. F—s -might be induced to give ’em some trouble, by becoming a -candidate. My L—d told them there was no fear of -that, for he had a Letter from Mr. F—s the post before, -utterly disclaiming any design of that sort, which Letter he -shewed them. So they all came away satisfied. -Notwithstanding their satisfaction, and the good grounds any body -would have thought they had for it, within 4 days after this -F—s came down, and was introduced by A. T—, Dr. -B—, H. F—, J. F—, J—n M—r, and -several more, in coaches, chaises, &c. several 100 horsemen, -Flags, Guns, Drums, and all the Racket that could possibly be -made. Neither T— nor W— were here, and all were -in distraction. Expresses were sent. L—d O. got -here that night. S— J— could not possibly get -here of two days and half. So on the Saturday night he -came, and the Election was to be on the Monday. From the -time of F—s setting out from London, the Public Houses were -opened, and continued so; so that here was nothing but men and -women and children drunk, old women especially, wallowing about -the streets, and half of ’em with their backsides exposed -to public view, and fellows a clapping of ’em.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="page950"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 950</span>By -this time every one must clearly see what a Bedlam of a place -Lynn was, during this electioneering bustle. Our -Letter-writer, no doubt, gives a pretty faithful and correct -picture of what then occurred; on which account some of our -readers will be desirous of hearing him further: but as his -description now occasionally becomes somewhat coarse, if not -indelicate, we shall place the remainder of the extract below, -that those who wish to see more of it may have an opportunity to -gratify themselves. <a name="citation950"></a><a -href="#footnote950" class="citation">[950]</a> We shall now -return from this digression, and resume the thread of our -history.</p> -<p><a name="page951"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -951</span>Though Sir John Turner gained his election, as one of -our parliamentary representatives, in his contest with Molineaux, -and was sometime after chosen mayor of <a -name="page952"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 952</span>this town; -yet his influence here soon appeared to be fast declining. -His friends in the Hall resigned and withdrew, one after another, -till the interest of that family became at last quite -annihilated, after having been very great, and almost unrivalled, -for a whole century. But there is nothing strange or -wonderful in this. It is the usual course of things in this -world. Families, as well as nations and empires, have their -day, beyond which they cannot extend their power, or their -greatness.</p> -<p>About the year 1769 our corporation had a great lawsuit with a -Mr. Carr of Massingham, father of our late merchant of that -name. But they lost their cause; owing, as it has been -suggested, to the perjury <a name="page953"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 953</span>of one of Carr’s principal -witnesses. The suit is said to have been brought on to -oblige the corporation to open and scour the Fleet from -Salter’s Sluice to Littleport-bridge, which was necessary -for the accommodation of the plaintiff, who had granaries -contiguous to that fleet. The corporation, on their part, -pleaded that the flood-door of the bridge had been put down a -hundred years before, and therefore that the requisition could -not be binding upon them. But the said witness, who was -only 56 years old, swore that he had in his youth, for the sake -of robbing an orchard, swam over, near Salter’s clough, -when the water there was ten feet deep. This satisfied the -jury, and determined them to give their verdict against the -corporation. They were consequently obliged to clear and -open the said fleet; and it has been kept so ever since; which -seems very proper and necessary. But supposing it really -true, that the work had been neglected, and the fleet suffered to -silt and fill up for a whole century; still, even that very -neglect must have been the fault of the corporation, who are -bound to keep the fleets open; so that they could not be -justified in resisting Mr. Carr’s requisition. To -have removed the nuisance, at once, instead of going to law, had -been far more creditable.</p> -<p>About the year 1770, a very unusual and marvellous phenomenon -appeared here; which was no other than a violent patriotic -spirit, or what in more recent times, or modern cant, would have -been denominated <i>Jacobinism</i>. Our Gentlemen seemed -then, all of a sudden, <a name="page954"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 954</span>to have become mighty admirers of -liberty, and of <i>John Wilkes</i>. That redoubted champion -of freedom was soon invited to this town, and actually honoured -it with his patriotic presence in February 1771, to the no small -joy of our body corporate, who received him with open arms, -entertained him most sumptuously, and conferred upon him the -freedom of this ancient borough. All this was very -well. We do not mean to blame them for it. But it was -very different from the treatment, or reception, which another -patriot, of no less virtue and respectability, met with here at a -subsequent period. We mean <i>Thelwall</i>, who visited us -some years ago, for the purpose of promulgating the principles of -political liberty and genuine patriotism. But those -principles, by that time, were become so very unfashionable and -disreputable here, that the patriotic lecturer could get no -hearing; and he was glad to escape with a whole skin and unbroken -bones. The politicks of <i>William Pitt</i> had now -completely superseded those of <i>John Wilkes</i>. So the -world goes: what is sound doctrine, at one time, is heresy and -sedition, and even blasphemy and treason, at another.</p> -<p>At the time of which we have been last speaking, our dispute -with the American patriots had made considerable progress: and it -might be supposed that as this town appeared so decidedly and -warmly in favour of Wilkes, it would have appeared no less so in -favour of the Americans. But it happened far -otherwise. We eagerly caressed Wilkes, and openly espoused -his cause, but towards the oppressed and much injured Americans -<a name="page955"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 955</span>we -appeared very differently affected. During that long and -unhappy dispute, and the unjust and bloody war that ensued, no -measure was here adopted expressive of abhorrence, or even of -disapprobation of the course taken by our government; or yet of -concern and commiseration for the unmerited sufferings of our -transatlantic brethren. How much more honourable and -dignified had it been to have acted differently, and boldly borne -our testimony against the injustice and folly of our own -government, and in behalf of the reasonable and well-founded -claims of the colonists? How respectable, in that case, -would Lynn have now appeared among its sister boroughs, when the -whole reasonable and enlightened world, with one voice, is -reprobating that dispute, and that war, as the undoubted -offspring of the most tyrannic disposition, or the most perfect -insanity? <a name="citation955"></a><a href="#footnote955" -class="citation">[955]</a> Nor is it at all improbable that -impartial posterity will consider our subsequent wars, and not a -few of our public transactions, as having actually sprung from -the same parentage.</p> -<p>Soon after the commencement of the American War the great -maritime powers discovered a strong disposition to favour the -resistance of the colonists, which gave us no small offence; so -that by degrees things came to an open rupture between this -country and those powers. France, Spain, and Holland, -accordingly, became <a name="page956"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 956</span>parties in the contest; and the -northern armed neutrality, with the general aspect of all other -nations, pretty plainly shewed that there was scarcely a single -state throughout Christendom, but what decidedly and heartily -reprobated the part we were acting. It was therefore no -wonder that the American war did prove unsuccessful, and -eventually terminate in the discomfiture and disgrace of this -country; and even stamp upon our counsels indelible and eternal -infamy.</p> -<p>The effect of the war with America, and with the European -powers before mentioned, was severely felt at Lynn. Our -trade was much cramped, many of our ships were captured, our -sailors were reduced mostly to old men and lads, by those -guardians of the constitution, and demonstrators of the -unalienableness of our rights, and reality of our freedom, the -<i>press gangs</i>. These myrmidons, when any of our young -and best sailors fell in their way, if they did not tamely submit -to be taken, would pursue them like wild beasts, and, when they -came up with them, would knock them on the head, like dogs, with -their bludgeons, and then drag them with the utmost indignity to -the house of rendezvous, or on board the tender. There the -poor fellows were left to cool, and compose themselves: and the -very next day, perhaps, would be heard singing, in the house of -their captivity, “Rule Britannia;” and “Britons -never will be slaves.” It may be well for the nation, -or, at least, for its rulers, that the ideas of our sea-faring -people, respecting liberty and thraldom, are considerably -different from those of some other <a name="page957"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 957</span>people.—Being now come to the -end of the first twenty years of this reign, we shall here close -the present section.</p> -<h4><span class="smcap">Section</span> IX.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>Lynn armed Association—termination of -the American War—independence of the United States -acknowledged and confirmed—peace restored and established -among all the belligerent powers—King’s illness and -recovery</i>—<i>View of the state of this town from that -period to the present time</i>.</p> -<p>The situation of this country, engaged in a foolish, -fruitless, ruinous, and infamous war with its own colonies, at -the distance of more than a thousand leagues, and involved -afterwards in a desperate struggle with its great maritime -neighbours, became very critical, and excited considerable alarm -throughout the kingdom. Great fears were entertained of an -invasion, and means of defence against such an attempt were -resorted to. The Irish, deprived of the military force that -used to be stationed in their country, armed themselves for their -own protection, at their own expense. The like was done in -many parts of England; and Lynn adopted the same measure. -The Lynn Volunteers, or armed association, amounted to about 120, -<a name="citation957"></a><a href="#footnote957" -class="citation">[957]</a> and were commanded <a -name="page958"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 958</span>in chief by -<i>Captain Thomas Day</i>, whose name we have had occasion to -mention more than once in some of the preceding pages.</p> -<p>This gentleman’s military knowledge and talents were -generally allowed to be superior to those of any other of our -townsmen, and his unassuming demeanor, and conciliating manners -eminently fitted him for the chief command of this corps. -The officers and men, accordingly, became greatly attached to -him, and the utmost harmony subsisted among them, to the very -last. During the whole time they were imbodied, the -behaviour of the men, in the town, was very proper and -commendable, and quite to the satisfaction of the inhabitants; -which redounded much to the credit of the officers, and -particularly the commandant, whose orders and example would not -fail to contribute largely to the regularity or correctness of -their deportment. This respectable and memorable little -band was formed and organized in 1779, and continued till -sometime after the expiration of the war; for it was not -disbanded till 1785, when its constituents, relinquishing the -military character, mixed once more with the great mass of -unarmed citizens; conscious, it may be presumed, of having so -acquitted themselves as to merit the approbation and applause of -their contemporaries, and of posterity.—Of these -patriot-soldiers some further notice may be taken when we shall -have to notice our more recent and more numerous volunteer -armaments.</p> -<p><a name="page959"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 959</span>Peace -was restored among all the belligerent powers in 1783, when the -independence of the resisting colonies, now called the <i>United -States</i> of America, was acknowledged and confirmed. The -American war ended, as all such unjust wars ought to end, in the -disappointment and discomfiture of the aggressors. But had -our government, and our nation possessed a proper degree of -virtue, or conscience, they would certainly have expressed both -shame and remorse, after the contest was over, and when they had -time calmly to reflect upon the part they had acted in that most -unjustifiable and detestable business. Nothing however of -that kind did appear. On the contrary we sat down very -demurely and composedly, without the least apparent feeling of -contrition, sorrow, or self-reproach; like <i>Solomon’s -adulterous woman</i>, who eat, and wiped her mouth, and said, -“I have done no wickedness.” <a -name="citation959"></a><a href="#footnote959" -class="citation">[959]</a></p> -<p>The impenitent spirit which our government and nation -manifested at the close of the American war, could furnish no -reason to hope that it was the last scene of folly and iniquity -in which our rulers would engage: and if any did actually cherish -such a hope, they must long ago have been convinced that it was -altogether vain and groundless. All our subsequent wars, -state policy, and maxims of government have but too plainly -indicated that we have acted ever since, almost invariably, under -the guidance of that same Evil Genius that so eggregiously -misled, befooled, and governed us, during the whole American -dispute and war, and which <a name="page960"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 960</span>had before involved us in the guilt -of exterminating the poor hapless Caribbs, as well as in that of -other unjustifiable and criminal deeds previously to those -events.</p> -<p>Some of our pretended longsighted, as well as long-headed -politicians affected to foresee and foretell a very long season -of uninterrupted tranquillity succeeding the peace of 1783. -But it proved all a dream: for we have been most of the time -since at war; and such a war too as we never experienced -before. It has proved most miserably unsuccessful and -disastrous; and is now in a fair way of saddling upon us at last -an unexampled debt of <i>a thousand millions</i>! <a -name="citation960a"></a><a href="#footnote960a" -class="citation">[960a]</a>—Such an enormous sum as the -whole coinage of the universe could not discharge.—This is -a frightful prospect; but we will now turn to other -objects.—But before we quit the year 1783 we may just -observe that a most atrocious robbery was then committed on a Jew -lad, about 16 years old, of the name of <i>Isaac Levi</i>, on the -road between Lynn and Westwinch, by one <i>Robert Fox</i>, whoso -ill treated the poor Jew as to leave him apparently dead; for -which the robber was sometime after, (September 7th.) hanged on -Hardwick common, near the place where the villanous and shocking -deed had been perpetrated. <a name="citation960b"></a><a -href="#footnote960b" class="citation">[960b]</a></p> -<p><a name="page961"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 961</span>In -1784 we had here another contested Election, which, however, in -point of violence was much inferior to those of 1768 and -1747. Mr. Fountaine of Narford was now the new candidate, -whose character, certainly, was no way inferior to that of either -of his opponents. But he lost his election, though he had a -respectable number of voters, and the old members, Walpole and -Molineux were again returned, than whom no two men had perhaps -less distinguished themselves in the preceding parliament, or -appeared less worthy to be re-elected. But they suited the -taste and humour of the majority of their constituents, and -especially of some two or three or few men who had the chief -share or influence in their appointment. Our parliamentary -representation is a very fine thing in theory, but in practice it -is often found far otherwise.</p> -<p>But though this Election was conducted with decency and -moderation, in comparison with those of 1768 and 47, yet it was -attended with circumstances not a little disgraceful to the -dispositions and characters of some of the leading actors, -particularly on the victorious side. The aristocratic -spirit and malignant passions were but too apparent; and not a -few of the minor or unsuccessful party were made long to feel the -resentment and vindictiveness of their powerful opponents, who -were not much disposed to suffer the infallibility of their -judgment to be questioned, or allow any with impunity to -disapprove the objects of their choice or nomination. But -this intolerance, and especially resentment and <a -name="page962"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -962</span>vindictiveness, must, most assuredly, be highly -criminal and iniquitous on such occasions, since every voter, -even the very poorest, has an undoubted right to give his voice -freely for the candidate or candidates whom he deems most worthy -of his suffrage. Whoever deprives a freeman of this -privilege uses him worse than a highwayman.</p> -<p>Not only the electors of the poorer sort, who had voted for -Mr. Fountaine, and lived in the town, suffered in consequence of -having exercised their just rights on that occasion, but even the -richer ones did not entirely escape: for those of them who held -lands of the corporation were now deprived of the same, as well -as of every other privilege which lay in the power of their -revengeful opponents. This was carrying things with a high -hand. After all, it may be no great wonder that our -corporation should be still tenacious of having the -representatives of their town to be men of their own nomination -and choosing, considering that no one formerly, or till within -these 170 years, <i>except those of the Hall</i>, appear to have -had any share or concern in the appointment or election of those -who represented this borough in parliament. <a -name="citation962"></a><a href="#footnote962" -class="citation">[962]</a></p> -<p><a name="page963"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 963</span>It -is, indeed generally supposed that matters are now here on a much -fairer and more rational footing; but that, perhaps, will not -appear very clearly when we advert to the well known truth and -fact, that out modern members for the most part, owe their -senatorial honour and elevation solely to the will and pleasure, -or power and influence of some two or three families or -individuals. Such, however, is but two often the practical -character of our boasted system of parliamentary -representation.</p> -<p>That of 1784 was the last contested election that has taken -place here; though some faint attempt is said to have been made -for something of this kind a few years ago, in favour of one of -our military aldermen, who was supposed not to have been very -much taken with the compliment, or, at least, did not choose to -be very active in promoting his own election; not, however, that -he was at all incapable of great, and even extraordinary <a -name="page964"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -964</span>electioneering feats in behalf of his friends, of which -he is understood to have given, before now, unequivocal and -convincing proof. In short, it would seem as if he were, -(in cases of that kind especially,) more ready to serve other -people than himself; which, to say the least of it, is a conduct -not a little unusual in this degenerate and selfish age: and it -may serve as a proof that generosity and disinterestedness are -not yet become totally extinct among us.</p> -<p>From the year 1785, when our volunteers were disbanded, till -1788, we recollect no very remarkable event that related to this -town. <a name="citation964"></a><a href="#footnote964" -class="citation">[964]</a> In the last mentioned year, one -of the Annual Registers of that period relates a most singular -accident which then befel a captain <i>Cook</i>, master of one of -our greenland-ships. The account is as -follows—“August 1788: Friday last arrived at Lynn in -Norfolk, the Archangel, from Greenland, captain Cook, with two -fish. It was with much difficulty she got safe there, -having received a deal of damage in a gale of wind, which drove -her against a field of ice. When this ship was in -Greenland, captain Cook, the surgeon, and mate, went on shore, -when the captain was seized by a monstrous bear, which -immediately hugged him with his paws. The captain called to -the surgeon to fire at the creature, though at fifty yards -distance, which he did, and fortunately shot the <a -name="page965"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 965</span>bear -through the head, which instantly killed it, and captain Cook was -by this means saved from being torn in pieces.” <a -name="citation965"></a><a href="#footnote965" -class="citation">[965]</a> We cannot vouch for the absolute -correctness or authenticity of this anecdote, which certainly -savours somewhat of the marvellous. It is inserted here -entirely on the authority of the periodical work alluded -to. But it is certain that there was here a greenland -captain of the name of <i>Cook</i>, about that period.</p> -<p>The 5th. of November 1788 was observed at Lynn, in -commemoration of the landing of king William, and of the glorious -revolution that ensued, by a party of the friends of civil and -religious liberty, among whom were the late reverend and worthy -<i>William Warner</i>, and the writer of the present work. -The party spent the evening at one of the Inns, where they supped -together, and passed the time in the most perfect harmony and -conviviality, and no way unworthy of the occasion, or of the -great, glorious, and interesting event which they were then -commemorating. <i>Holkham</i>, the princely mansion of Mr. -Coke, was the only other place in West Norfolk, as far as the -present writer has ever understood, where the centenary of the -revolution was thought worth celebrating. That great event -was there celebrated by a grand fête, ball and supper, -display of fireworks, &c. All in a manner worthy of the -patriotic character, revolution principles, and noble munificence -of the renowned master of the mansion.</p> -<p>In the latter part of the autumn and the winter of 1788, the -good people of Lynn shared with the rest of their fellow <a -name="page966"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 966</span>subjects in -the general solicitude, perplexity, and dismay occasioned by the -sovereign’s alarming illness. His majesty’s -health had been for sometime gradually declining; which was then -ascribed to overmuch exercise, too severe a regimen, too rigid -abstemiousness, and too short intervals of rest, rather than to -the freedom of indulgence and the softness of luxury. As a -remedy for the symptoms that discovered themselves, the king -determined to visit the medical waters of Cheltenham, and -accordingly set out for that place immediately after the -prorogation of parliament, where he arrived in the afternoon of -the 13th. of July, being the next day after he had left -Windsor. He was accompanied by the queen, the princess -royal, princess Augusta, and princess Elizabeth: and in every -town through which he passed, he was received by vast crowds of -people, with every demonstration of affection and loyalty. -While at Cheltenham, he resided at lord Fauconberg’s lodge, -on an eminence, a quarter of a mile from the town, and about 300 -yards from the Spa. <a name="citation966"></a><a -href="#footnote966" class="citation">[966]</a></p> -<p><a name="page967"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 967</span>His -majesty’s stay at Cheltenham was about five weeks. He -returned to the metropolis on the 18th of August. But no -benefit answerable to the expectations that had been formed, -resulted from this excursion. His health was still in a -precarious state, and on the 22nd of October, symptoms <a -name="citation967"></a><a href="#footnote967" -class="citation">[967]</a> were observed by one of the royal -physicians, of that alienation of mind which was afterwards the -occasion of so many important and interesting transactions. -For some time it was thought proper to observe as much secrecy as -possible respecting the nature of the king’s -indisposition. His retreat at Windsor was favourable to -this purpose; and for several days an opinion was entertained by -the people in general, that his indisposition was a fever, and -that it had risen to so alarming a height as to threaten a speedy -dissolution. The real nature of the case however could not -long be suppressed. By the structure and practice of the -English constitution, almost every species of public business is -in some manner implicated with the royal prerogatives. The -administration of political government was by the present event -virtually suspended from its functions; and, notwithstanding the -critical situation of Europe, and the very active share we had -lately taken in its concerns, it was now deemed impracticable to -return any sort of answer to the dispatches of foreign courts, or -of our own ambassadors. In this situation the most <a -name="page968"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 968</span>natural -expedient was to suffer the two houses of parliament, which stood -prorogued to the 20th of November, to meet at that time, and -either adjourn for a short interval, or immediately proceed to -discuss the measures it would be proper to adopt at the present -crisis. Circular letters were accordingly addressed to the -members of the legislature on the 14th, signifying to them, that -the indisposition of the sovereign rendered it doubtful whether -there would be a possibility of receiving his commands for the -further prorogation of parliament. In that case the two -houses must of necessity assemble, and the attendance of the -different members was earnestly requested. <a -name="citation968a"></a><a href="#footnote968a" -class="citation">[968a]</a></p> -<p>Such was the outset of that memorable affair, which caused so -much anxiety and agitation, at that time, in this town and -throughout the kingdom. The right of the heir apparent to -assume the executive power, during the incapacity of the -sovereign, was denied by the minister, <a -name="citation968b"></a><a href="#footnote968b" -class="citation">[968b]</a> and by a large majority of both -houses of the English parliament. Nevertheless they -appointed him to exercise that power, under such restrictions as -would secure to the ministers the possession of their -places. The prince reluctantly acceded to the appointment, -and consented to act under those restrictions. -<i>Ireland</i> being then a separate kingdom, its parliament took -a very different course, admitting the prince’s right, <a -name="page969"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 969</span>and -resolving to offer him the regency without restrictions. -Having so done, a deputation was appointed to wait on the prince, -and give their resolutions their full effect. This -deputation actually arrived in London; but before they had -accomplished the end of their mission, symptoms began to appear -indicative of the sovereign’s speedy recovery; and on the -12th of February 1789 he was declared by his physicians to be in -a state of progressive amendment.</p> -<p>This put an end, of course, to all further proceeding in the -regency business, on the part of either the English or Irish -parliament, and filled all ranks of people with the utmost joy -and exultation. Nothing could exceed the gladness which was -then every where expressed; and Norfolk came not a whit behind -its most distinguished sister counties in the demonstration of -its joy, and display of its loyalty. Nor was there any -place in the county where this was more manifest than at -Lynn. The 18th of March, if we are not mistaken, was the -time when this was most strikingly and splendidly -demonstrated. We had then here a general illumination, and -other public rejoicings, with such other corresponding -exhibitions and grand doings as exceeded every thing that had -been known among us within the memory of the oldest -inhabitant. In short we had, in miniature at least, -something of almost every thing that the greatest cities, or even -the metropolis itself could then boast of.</p> -<p><a name="page970"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 970</span>Had -the regency then taken place it is impossible to ascertain -whether it would have proved a blessing to the nation, or -otherwise. The people seemed much in fear of the intended -regent, on the score of expensiveness and running in debt; but -there is no reason to suppose that his government would have been -more expensive, or more productive of additional taxes than that -which has existed in this country ever since. On the -contrary it is highly probable that it would have been much less -so, as it may be presumed that the prince would not have been -quite so fond of war as the ministers and party that have been -predominant for the last twenty years. As the 18th of March -was observed here as a day of <i>rejoicing</i> for the -king’s recovery, so was the 23rd. of April observed as a -day of <i>thanksgiving</i> on the same occasion, both here and -throughout the kingdom. Many years have been since added to -the sovereign’s life, and his reign has proved far longer -than that of any one of his predecessors, who was not an infant -or minor at the time of his accession. He has also lived to -witness greater changes in the state of Europe than had taken -place within the last thousand years:—and changes too which -the measures of the British cabinet had a principal share in -producing. But we will now dismiss these subjects.</p> -<p>From the time of the king’s recovery to the commencement -of the memorable coalition and grand crusade against -revolutionary France, nothing very remarkable occurred here, -except the dispute between this corporation and that of London, -about the right of <a name="page971"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -971</span>those who are free of the latter to an exemption from -the payment of tolls in this port; which terminated in the full -establishment of that right, and the disannulment of the -objections which this corporation had set up against it. -The persons on whose account this dispute originated, were the -<i>Dentons</i>, two of our merchants of that period, who obtained -the freedom of London, after having long solicited that of Lynn -in vain, and offered any sum for it which our gentlemen would -choose to demand. Being still required to pay toll, as -before, they made their complaint to the corporation of London, -which brought on a lawsuit between the two corporations. -The cause was first tried in the court of common pleas, where it -was given against Lynn, and if we mistake not, with considerable -damages; to escape which it was afterwards removed by writ of -error to the court of king’s bench: of the result the -following account is given in one of the periodical publications -of that time.—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Jan. 28. 1791, The case of the city of -London against the corporation of Lynn, came on to be argued in -the court of king’s bench. It was a writ of error -from the court of common pleas where a trial at bar was had on a -<i>de essendo quietum de theolonio</i> (of being quit of toll) -brought by the city of London, to assert the right of their -citizens being exempted from a toll on corn, demanded by the -corporation of Lynn. A verdict had been given for the city, -and the errors were assigned on the informality of the -declaration. After much argument by serjeant Le Blanc, for -Lynn, and sergeant Adair, for London, the court reversed the -judgment, on the ground that the declaration <a -name="page972"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 972</span>did not -state that the city of London had received such an injury on -which an action could be maintained, the corporation of Lynn -having demanded, but not having received, or distrained for the -tolls in question.” <a name="citation972"></a><a -href="#footnote972" class="citation">[972]</a></p> -</blockquote> -<p>Though our corporation, by this last decision, seem to have -been relieved from the payment of the heavy damages that would -have resulted from the first verdict, yet the whole affair must -have been attended with no light expence, which certain plans of -economy subsequently adopted, and other attendant appearances -pretty clearly evinced. How much wiser had it been to grant -those two gentlemen their freedom at once, to which they were so -clearly entitled by the great benefit which the town derived from -their extensive mercantile exertions. Indeed the refusal of -it was a piece of flagrant injustice, as persons who contributed -so much as they did to the increase of our trade ought to have -received in the town every possible encouragement. The -treatment they met with here, proves the defectiveness of our -corporation laws and borough charters, and how ill adapted they -are to the present state of society in this country. -Sheffield, Manchester, and Birmingham, where things are on a -different footing, sufficiently evince the inutility and folly of -our borough laws and establishments, and that they are, in fact, -grievances and nuisances rather than national benefits. -Their abolition seems therefore an object or event to be wished -rather than deprecated.</p> -<p><a name="page973"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 973</span>The -year 1792 has been rendered memorable by the <i>royal -proclamation</i>, issued on the 21st. of May, “for -preventing of tumultuous meetings and seditious writings;” -and by the formation of <i>Reeve’s Association</i>, on the -20th. of November, at the Crown and Anchor, “for preserving -Liberty and Property, against Republicans and -Levellers.” These sapient measures had the desired -effect, and operated mightily every where, as well as in this -town. Treasury or ministerial agents were appointed in -every town and district, and Lynn was not forgotten. Those -agents were to observe what publications were in circulation, and -to apprize the Treasury board of such as they were pleased to -deem of dangerous tendency. Not only the drift or scope of -political publications were objects of their observation and -watchfulness, but also the carriage, or conduct and conversation, -and even the social and convivial intercourse of all such -individuals as happened to disapprove of the politics of the -court, or of the accession of this country to the grand -confederacy and crusade against France.</p> -<p>A system of espionage was artfully formed and established, and -the whole country being filled with spies and informers, -exhibited a miserable scene of hypocrisy and dissimulation, -instead of the blunt sincerity, and the boasted uprightness and -downrightness of other and better times. This new order of -things was admirably calculated to bear down and overwhelm the -minister’s opponents. Some of the most eminent and -respectable men in the nation were accordingly marked out as -disaffected or suspicious characters, merely because they <a -name="page974"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 974</span>entertained -different views from the minister and his associates, and -endeavoured to prevent this country from joining the continental -crusade, and even wished to see the blessings of liberty extend -all over the world.</p> -<p>Most of the mobility as well as the nobility of the realm, and -a large majority of both houses of parliament, being decidedly in -favour of the minister, he carried every thing before him with a -high hand, ruled for years with a rod of iron, and his little -finger became heavier than the loins of any of his predecessors -since the revolution. A spirit was then by him awakened and -set to work, which had lain fast asleep ever since the days of -the Stuarts, and Lynn partook of it in no small measure. -The friends of peace and constitutional freedom, were here looked -upon and treated as ill-disposed persons, and unworthy -characters, scarcely entitled to the common rights of citizens, -or the lowest offices of humanity. Such were some of the -rare blessings we derived from the administration of the last -Pitt, who was at the same time hailed by multitudes as a heaven -born minister, the saviour of his country, and the wisest and -greatest of statesmen. Nothing more clearly evinces the -utter dissimilarity between his character and that of his -renowned father, than the insatiate vindictiveness of his -disposition towards those who opposed his measures; <a -name="citation974"></a><a href="#footnote974" -class="citation">[974]</a> of which there have been many very -glaring, and numerous instances.</p> -<p><a name="page975"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 975</span>His -reign terror was long and grievous. It lasted during nearly -the whole length of the late war. His successor, Addington -held the reins with a gentler hand, whatever may be said of his -ministerial talents or capacity. He also restored to us the -inestimable blessing of peace, which Pitt seemed incapable of -effecting. That peace however, proved of but short -duration, which yet might not be the fault of the minister. -We were not, it seems, sufficiently humbled, or really tired of -the horrid game of war, bloodshed and devastation: and so, -without taking time to breathe, we rushed headlong into a new -war, which has already lasted eight or nine years, and is likely -to prove the longest and most disastrous of any we have been -engaged in for many ages. God only knows when or how it -will terminate.</p> -<p>Great complaints having for sometime been made of the sad -state of fen-drainage in the parts above Lynn, much stir was made -on that account about the year 1794, and a Cut from Eaubrink to -Lynn-harbour was then proposed as a remedy for that growing -evil. The expediency of the measure being agreed upon, an -act of parliament was obtained in 1795 for its -accomplishment. <a name="page976"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 976</span>And though above fifteen years have -since elapsed, during most of which time a heavy tax has been -levied on the lands there, yet the projected cut, that was to -produce such vast benefits, is not yet begun: nor is it at all -certain, or even very probable at present, that it ever will, -notwithstanding the vast sums that have been collected, and are -still collecting for that purpose, from the respective -land-owners. <a name="citation976"></a><a href="#footnote976" -class="citation">[976]</a> The act of parliament that was -obtained, if not already renewed, must, it seems, be so soon, -because of this excessive procrastination. How many such -renewals must hereafter be resorted to before the work will -commence, it is impossible to say. The promoters of this -measure appear to have engaged in it before they were -sufficiently aware of the magnitude and arduousness of the -undertaking. <a name="page977"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -977</span>Their giving it up at last would therefore be no great -wonder.</p> -<p>In 1794 serious apprehensions of a French invasion began to be -pretty generally entertained in this kingdom; and in the summer -of that year a new body of volunteers was formed at Lynn, under -the command of alderman Edward Everard, junior. This was -more numerous than that which was formed here some years before, -and it continued embodied till the summer of 1802. The -present writer being most of that time out of town, cannot say -much from his own knowledge of the character of this corps, but -he believes it was very fair, and no way discommendable, or -discreditable to its worthy commandant: and this seems strongly -corroborated by a paragraph which appeared in the <i>Lynn -Packet</i> at the time when the corps was disbanded; <a -name="citation977"></a><a href="#footnote977" -class="citation">[977]</a> <a name="page978"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 978</span>which also records the very day when -that event took place.—Before we dismiss 1794, we may just -hint that we had here then a violent thunderstorm, when a young -girl was killed by the lightening. (See Norfolk -Remembrancer, p. 29.)</p> -<p>The year 1796 is rendered very memorable here by the fatal -disaster which happened then at the ferry in the mart time. -On the 23rd of February, about 6 o’clock in the evening, -many people, to the number of forty or more, got into the -ferry-boat; and though the boat-men remonstrated with them, as -being too many to be taken over at once, yet so anxious were they -to get over without further delay that none of them could be -persuaded to get out and wait for the return of the boat, it was -a calm evening, but the tide was coming in very strong. The -boat however proceeded safely till it had almost reached the -opposite shore, when passing across some ropes belonging to a -vessel lying there, it received a violent concussion which laid -it pretty much on one side: at that moment the passengers, -instead of keeping their places, rushed headlong to the lower -side, and thereby overset the boat in an instant. Eleven of -them lost their lives; among whom was a man and his wife and -daughter; also two young persons on the point of marriage, who -were afterwards found clasped in each others arms. It is -rather wonderful that so many of them were saved; but it was said -<a name="page979"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 979</span>to be -owing to several boats being then very near the spot, which came -almost instantly to their assistance, and succeeded in picking up -and saving most of them. Although the Lynn ferry be but an -awkward kind of passage, yet this seems to have been the only -very serious accident that has occurred there for a very great -length of time. Our ferry-men in general are somewhat more -civil and decent than their brethren in other parts, who have -often been classed among the most rude and brutish of all our -countrymen.</p> -<p>In 1797 a whale measuring 44 feet, (according to the Norfolk -Remembrancer,) was caught in Lynn channel. In the course of -the same year our farmers are said to have discovered cleansing -seed-wheat <i>by water only</i>, (fresh water we suppose,) to be -the best and most certain preservative against the smut or -brand. If it be really so, many have been at a great deal -of needless trouble and expense in preparing their -seed-wheat. But such an imputation is by no means peculiar -to our wheat growers. It is commonly the case in a progress -of investigation and experiment. Many a highly and -generally esteemed practice or usage, beside those that have -obtained in the preparation of seed-corn, have been afterwards -found far from deserving the high estimation they had acquired, -and in which they had been long held. <a -name="citation979"></a><a href="#footnote979" -class="citation">[979]</a></p> -<p><a name="page980"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 980</span>In -the course of the year 1798, the fear of an invasion from France -became very strong and general in this part of the kingdom; which -occasioned our armed associations to be considerably -multiplied. Among the new armed companies which sprung up, -or were formed that year in this country, we read of the Holkham -Yeomanry Cavalry, commanded by T. W. Coke Esq. and E. Rolfe -Esq. The Freebridge Smithdon Yeomanry Cavalry, commanded by -H. Styleman Esq. The Freebridge Lynn Yeomanry Cavalry, -commanded by Joseph Taylor Esq. and the Swaffham ditto, commanded -by J. Micklethwaite Esq. &c. &c. The very -<i>clergy</i> discovered a readiness and strong desire to learn -the use of arms, and one of them appears actually to have become -commandant of one of these new raised corps; for among the -military officers then enumerated <a name="page981"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 981</span>the name of the <i>revd. T. -Lloyd</i> appeared as captain of the <i>North Walsham Volunteer -company</i>. This clerical ardour for taking up arms was -said to be sometime after checked by episcopal authority, -otherwise we might have had before now a very great number of -<i>reverend</i> captains, and majors, and colonels. The -Freebridge Lynn Yeomanry Cavalry remain still undisbanded under -the orders of their original leader.—An Act passed this -year for draining &c. the lands and fen grounds in Outwell, -Stow Bardolph, Wimbotsham, and Downham; which it is to be hoped -has answered much better than the <i>Feltwell</i> new drainage -act, which we have already noticed.—On the 29th. of -December this same year, at 11 <span class="GutSmall">P.M.</span> -the thermometer was said to be at 3 below 0: a degree of cold -never before noticed in this island—if we may rely on the -authority of the <i>Norfolk Remembrancer</i>.</p> -<p>The year 1799 was rendered somewhat remarkable here by an -attempt to establish a Newspaper, under the name of the <i>Lynn -and Wisbech Packet</i>; but it did not finally succeed, though -persevered in for several years. Lynn seems not favourably -situated for the success of such an undertaking, placed as it is -in a corner of the country, and the adjacent parts well supplied -with provincial papers of established repute and extensive -circulation. It was therefore, perhaps, a rash and hopeless -attempt, so that its relinquishment at last need not to excite -any great surprise. The projector hoped, when he resolved -to try this experiment, that it would prove a source of much -gain, but he found in the end <a name="page982"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 982</span>that what he gained by it was only a -pretty heavy loss, which placed him in the list of unfortunate -adventurers. <a name="citation982"></a><a href="#footnote982" -class="citation">[982]</a></p> -<p>But what rendered this year still more remarkable and -memorable, both here and throughout the kingdom, was the -origination, introduction, and operation of the <i>income -tax</i>, which now took place and will not be soon -forgotten. In former times this odious tax would have been -very unwelcome in this country, and probably deemed intolerable -by the whole nation. The people would have thought -themselves degraded to the lowest degree, in being obliged to -appear before certain of their own neighbours, in the character -of commissioners, and there disclose upon oath the amount of -their property and means of subsistence, in order to empower the -tax-gatherers to take from them a tenth part of their yearly -income, for the purpose of supporting and pursuing measures which -many of them utterly disapproved. This vile impost was -indeed doubly detestable, as it not only sunk the subjects below -the rank of freemen, but also laid before them a strong -incitement to falshood and perjury, and was, in all probability, -the means of greatly increasing our national guilt and -depravity. But these were considerations that weighed <a -name="page983"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 983</span>but little -with the minister and his associates. An increasing revenue -was with them of infinitely greater importance.—On the 2nd. -of June this year, a pleasure boat going off from <i>Heacham</i> -to a vessel lying in Lynn channel overset, and out of fourteen -persons, who were on board, men women and children, twelve -unfortunately perished.—This year also, from continued -rains, the harvest was not got in, in some parts of Norfolk till -the beginning of November; and in some parts of the kingdom some -corn lay rotting in the fields at the beginning of December: a -like instance had not occurred before for 40 or 50 years.</p> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p983eastb.jpg"> -<img alt= -"East Gate Lynn: taken down in 1800" -title= -"East Gate Lynn: taken down in 1800" - src="images/p983easts.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>One of the most memorable of the Lynn occurrences in 1800, was -the taking down the <i>East-gates</i>, which had stood many -centuries, and made a somewhat venerable appearance. They -had been for sometime a subject of complaint on account of the -difficulty of entrance for highloaded waggons, by reason of the -lowness of the arch. This act of dilapidation therefore was -a case of necessity, and the removal of a nuisance, and it -rendered that entrance into the town much pleasanter than -before.—But an occurrence of this year which far more -affected the public mind, in this town, as well as throughout the -kingdom, was the regicide attempt of the maniac Hadfield on the -evening of the 15th. of May, at Drury Lane theatre. The -poor insane wretch fired a horse-pistol towards the king’s -box just as his majesty entered it, but fortunately missed him, -owing it seems to a person near him, with great presence of mind, -raising <a name="page984"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -984</span>his arm when in the act of firing, and so directing the -contents of the pistol to the roof of the house. This -shocking deed occasioned no small consternation in the house; but -it soon subsided, and the play went on to the entire satisfaction -and amusement of the whole company, the royal family not -excepted.</p> -<p>The news of this horrid attempt upon the king’s life, -and of his happy escape, deeply affected the minds of his Lynn -subjects, from whom no less than two addresses were soon after -presented to his majesty on the occasion; one from the mayor and -<i>corporation</i>, and the other from the mayor and the -<i>inhabitants</i>. <a name="citation984"></a><a -href="#footnote984" class="citation">[984]</a> Both of them -<a name="page985"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 985</span>were -penned in a language perfectly dutiful and loyal, which, without -doubt, was expressed with the utmost truth and sincerity. -The same may also be said of all the numerous addresses which -then reached the throne, from all quarters; which proves the -sovereign’s great popularity, and how high he stood in the -estimation of his addressing subjects. His successor it is -to be hoped will prove himself no less deserving of his -people’s attachment.</p> -<p>Since the year 1800, and the commencement of the present -century, nothing more remarkable is known to have occurred here -than what has been produced by the operation of new taxes and new -laws—especially our <i>poor</i> and <i>paving</i> laws. <a -name="citation985"></a><a href="#footnote985" -class="citation">[985]</a> These certainly have borne and -are still bearing hard upon a large portion of the industrious -inhabitants. Of these matters some notice has been taken -already, and they will probably be further noticed when we come -to give a view of the <i>present state</i> of the town. -Such remarkable occurrences as the author may be able to -recollect, or any one else may put him in mind of, as having been -overlooked in the preceding pages, shall be carefully inserted in -a <i>Chronological Table</i> at the end of the work.—Having -now brought this history down to <i>the present time</i>, we -shall here close this section.</p> -<h4><a name="page986"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -986</span><span class="smcap">Section</span> X.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>Biographical sketches of some of the most -eminent or distinguished personages among the natives or -inhabitants of Lynn</i>, <i>from the reformation to the present -day—Watts—Arrowsmith—Goodwin—Horne—Phelpes—Falkner—Goddard</i>.</p> -<p>In the list of persons of real note, or memorable distinction -who appeared since the reformation among the natives or -inhabitants of this town, the first place, in order of time, -seems to belong to <i>William Watts</i>, said to have been a -native of this borough, or its vicinity. The time of his -birth is not recorded, but is supposed to have been about the -close of the reign of Elizabeth. He probably received the -rudiments of his education in the Grammar school of this town, -which was from 1597 to 1608 under the care of <i>Mr. John -Man</i>, afterwards minister of South Lynn, and from 1608 to 1612 -or 13, under that of <i>Mr. Henry Allston</i>. He was -afterwards sent to Caius College in Cambridge, where he appears -to have made great proficiency, and to have finished his -academical education. He then went and made some stay at -Oxford; after which he travelled, as Anthony Wood says, into -several countries, and became master of divers languages. -In his travels he is supposed to have made his chief stay in -Holland, where he became acquainted with the celebrated <i>John -Gerard Vossius</i>, who entertained a very favourable and high -opinion of him, and spoke of him as <i>doctissimus et clarissimus -Watsius</i>, <i>qui optime de historia meruit</i>. At his -return, after the accession of Charles I, he was made one of the -king’s chaplains, and preferred successively to livings and -dignities in the church. Being, as might <a -name="page987"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 987</span>be -expected, a zealous royalist, and adhering firmly to the -king’s cause, he was sequestered, plundered, and left -without a shelter for his wife and children. He was carried -by his courage and resentment into the field with prince Rupert, -during the hardiest of his exploits; and died, in 1649, on board -his fleet, in the harbour of Kinsale. He had an especial -hand, says Wood, in Sir Henry Spelman’s Glossary; he edited -Matthew Paris, and, exclusively of other treatises, he published, -before the civil war of England began, several numbers of new -books, in the English tongue, (more than forty,) containing the -occurrences in the wars between the king of Sweden and the -Germans. When he returned from his travels, Newspapers were -very little known in this country. They had first appeared -in the reign of Elizabeth, under the sage direction of Burleigh; -but they were published only occasionally, and were all -extraordinary gazettes. They appeared frequently about the -time of the armada, and are supposed to have then answered very -important purposes. Being no longer deemed necessary when -that danger was past, they were discontinued. The public -curiosity having been much gratified by these publications, the -people would be no longer satisfied without a newspaper. It -was therefore not long before publications of that kind began to -make their appearance. They were at first occasional, and -afterwards weekly. “<i>Nathaniel Butter</i>, at the -Pyde-Bull, St. Augustin’s gate,” established a weekly -newspaper, in August 1622, entitled “The certain news of -the present week.” How long he continued his -hebdomadal intelligences does not appear. He is said <a -name="page988"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 988</span>to have -laid little before his readers, which could enlarge knowledge, or -excite risibility; though his battles may have surprised and -elevated, and his sieges may have alternately agitated the hopes -and fears of his countrymen. He had, however, competitors -and imitators. In February 1635–6 was first published -a fresh paper of Weekly Newes. The foreign intelligence of -May 22, was conveyed in number 13. This too was a small -quarto of 14 pages; and it was printed in London, for Mercurius -Britannicus; which proves sufficiently that that well known title -had a more early origin than has been generally supposed. -Similar papers were continued, though they assumed different -names. Butter, who appears to have been the most active and -enterprising newsmonger of his time, was influenced by his -interest to tell—</p> -<blockquote><p>“News, old news, and such news as you never -heard of.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>He was thus induced to convert his Weekly News into -<i>half-yearly news</i>, (two of which making a kind of <i>annual -register</i>) which shews that he was a person of no common -enterprize. In order to insure success to so novel an -undertaking, an able compiler seemed absolutely necessary; and -Butter very judiciously fixed upon Watts for that -department. He accordingly complied with the -projector’s proposal, and so became the precursor of -<i>Johnson</i>, <i>Burke</i>, <i>Kippis</i>, <i>Southey</i>, and -the rest of our distinguished literary characters, who have been -since employed in similar departments. How long he -continued thus employed we have not been able to discover; but it -is probably it might be till near the <a name="page989"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 989</span>commencement of the civil wars: and -as he was likely to have distinguished himself, in the mean time, -as a warm, and perhaps violent advocate for the measures of the -court, it may in some measure account for the hardship and -severity which he and his family afterwards experienced from the -opposite party, by the hands of the sequestrators. Be that -as it might, William Watts was certainly a person so -distinguished in his day, as to deserve to have his name -preserved among the most eminent characters that sprung up here -during the period we are now reviewing.</p> -<p>2. <i>John Arrowsmith</i> M.A. Fellow of Catherine Hall, -in Cambridge, afterwards D.D., Master of St. John’s -College, and member of the Westminster Assembly of Divines. -Where he was born we have not been able to learn; but he came to -this town about Michaelmas 1630, being then chosen minister of -St. Nicholas’ chapel, in which capacity he continued during -the whole time of his residence here, which was fourteen -years. The town allowed him a salary of 100<i>l.</i> a -year, which must have been equal to 6 or 700<i>l.</i> of our -money. He was also allowed a house to live in, or -5<i>l.</i> a year in lieu of it, which would pay a house-rent now -of between 30 and 40<i>l.</i> a year. It appears that he -was treated here, during the whole of his residence, with -singular and universal respect; from which it may be inferred -that he came well recommended, conducted himself with great -prudence and propriety, and that his ministerial labours were -highly acceptable. Yet Arrowsmith evidently belonged to the -puritans, a party <a name="page990"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -990</span>for which Lynn was never understood to entertain any -particular predilection. How far his ministry contributed -to prepare the town for the new order of things which took place -in consequence of the siege, and with which the generality of the -inhabitants appeared very compliable, we have not the means of -ascertaining. But whatever might be the political tendency -of his public labours here, their being highly acceptable to his -hearers seems very clear and undeniable. For though he and -the principal cotemporary minister of St. Margaret’s had -several assistants, <a name="citation990a"></a><a -href="#footnote990a" class="citation">[990a]</a> who performed -the parts assigned to them on Sundays and week days with good -acceptance, yet the present writer has in his hands sufficient -documents <a name="citation990b"></a><a href="#footnote990b" -class="citation">[990b]</a> to prove <a name="page991"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 991</span>that he stood above them all in the -public estimation. It is therefore presumed that we are -fully warranted in placing him among the most eminent of the -inhabitants <a name="page992"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -992</span>of this town during the said period. The -historian Neal speaks of him as a person “of -unexceptionable character for learning and piety;” and -further says, that “he was an accute disputant, and a -judicious divine, as appears by his <i>Tactica Sacra</i>, a book -of great reputation in those times.” He died before -the restoration, and therefore his name does not appear in -<i>Calamy</i> and <i>Rastrick’s lists of ejected -ministers</i>.</p> -<p>Before we take our final leave of Dr. Arrowsmith, it may not -be improper to apprize the reader of two persons <a -name="page993"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 993</span>whom the -town successively fixed upon to occupy the vacant place of -principal minister of St. Nicholas, immediately previous to their -making choice of him. These, as appears to the present -writer, were no other than the two <i>Goodwins</i>, <i>Thomas</i> -and <i>John</i>, who became so famous and distinguished -afterwards among the English nonconformists. In a document -or record above alluded to, and extracted probably from the -Hall-Books, the following passage occurs.—“1629, 12 -June; Mr. Mayor and Mr. Tho. Gurlyn, aldn. travel to Cambridge to -move Mr. Tho. Goodwin A.M. to come hither to (be) preacher in ys -town, and Mr. M. A. CC elected sd. Mr. G. if he will accept -thereof.” But he did not accept of their invitation, -owing probably to his having been previously chosen lecturer of -Trinity church in Cambridge, of which he afterwards became vicar. -<a name="citation993"></a><a href="#footnote993" -class="citation">[993]</a></p> -<p>Having failed in their application to him, their next choice -fell on John Goodwin, afterwards, if we are not mistaken, the -noted minister of Coleman street, and the far-famed champion of -arminianism and republicanism. He also was a Cambridge man, -and had been Fellow of Queen’s College ever since -1617. He and Tho. Goodwin were both Norfolk men, and also -near relations, if the present writer is not misinformed. -But surely no two <a name="page994"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -994</span>relations—not even Herbert Marsh and William -Frend, could be more unlike one another. Thomas was a high -supralapsarian Calvinist, and, of course, mortally hated -Arminianism: John, on the other hand, was a decided Arminian, and -one of its most redoubtable champions; and therefore held -Calvinism in the utmost abhorrence. His firm and successful -opposition to that system is said to have saved him at the -restoration from utter ruin, in which his antimonarchical and -republican productions would have inevitably involved him, when -one or more of his books, together with some of -<i>Milton’s</i>, were burnt by the common hangman:—a -poor way, by the bye, to refute their contents, or arguments.</p> -<p>3. <i>John Goodwin</i> when invited to Lynn held the -living of <i>Rainham</i> in the same county: yet he accepted that -invitation, took up his residence here, and became the successor -of Mr. Nic. Price, as chief minister of St. Nicholas’ -chapel. But his settlement here was not long, scarcely -exceeding one year; for he was chosen July 31. 1629—acceded -to that choice on the 10th of the next month, and within a year, -or very little more, from that period, he was, as the MS. says, -<i>inhibited for preaching here</i>, [by the <i>bishop</i> we -presume; but <i>on</i> what account does not appear;] and Dr. -Arrowsmith was appointed to succeed him, at the michaelmas -following, i.e. 1630, for further particulars concerning him, the -reader is referred to the historians of the succeeding period, -and to our general biographers. <a name="citation994"></a><a -href="#footnote994" class="citation">[994]</a> With all his -singularities <a name="page995"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -995</span>and imperfections, he must have been in his day a very -considerable and highly distinguished character.</p> -<p>4. <i>John Horne</i>—was another of our townsmen -of former times, whose name deserves to be rescued from oblivion, -and retained in the memory of the inhabitants. He was born -at <i>Long Sutton</i>, <i>Lincolnshire</i>, in 1615; and educated -at Trinity College in Cambridge, where he had Henry Hall B.D. for -his tutor. He probably went into orders before 1640; and we -are told that he <i>preached first at Sutton St. James</i>, in -his native neighbourhood. It has been also supposed that he -had afterwards a curacy at or near <i>Bullingbrook</i>, in the -same county, and it seems somewhat probable that he married -during his residence at that place. <a name="citation995"></a><a -href="#footnote995" class="citation">[995]</a> Be that as -<a name="page996"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 996</span>it -might, it is certain that his stay there was not very long, for -he took up his residence at Lynn in 1646, <a -name="citation996"></a><a href="#footnote996" -class="citation">[996]</a> where he continued ever after to the -day of his death, <a name="page997"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -997</span>which was full thirty years. His coming hither -was in consequence of having obtained the living or vicarage of -Allhallows, or All-saints, in South Lynn, where he succeeded Mr. -<i>John Man</i>, whom we noticed before, at p. <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page702">702</a></span> of this -work, and who had resided here, first as <i>usher</i>, then -<i>master</i> of the Grammar School, and afterwards as <i>vicar -of South Lynn</i>, for the long space of between 50 and 60 years. -<a name="citation997a"></a><a href="#footnote997a" -class="citation">[997a]</a></p> -<p>Having obtained the vicarage of South Lynn Allhallows, in -1646, Mr. H. continued in the faithful and diligent discharge of -his duty there till 1662, when the <i>act of uniformity</i>, -which took effect on <i>Bartholomew day</i> that year, <a -name="citation997b"></a><a href="#footnote997b" -class="citation">[997b]</a> rendered his situation there no -longer tenable. He was then ejected from his vicarage of -Allhallows in this town, as were also above 2000 worthy clergymen -in different parts of the kingdom, to the great discouragement of -integrity and piety, and the eternal disgrace of the rulers in -church and state. A very respectable biographer and -memorialist speaks of Mr. Horne as follows—“He was an -<i>Arminian</i> in the point of redemption, and contended -earnestly for the universality <a name="page998"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 998</span>of it; but did not either believe or -teach, that men may therefore live as they list, because Christ -died for them; but taught that Christ therefore ‘died for -all, that they which live should no longer live unto themselves, -but unto him that died for them and rose again.’ 2 Cor. v. -14, 15. He was a man of most exemplary and primitive piety, -and blameless conversation; very ready in the scriptures; -excellently skilled in the oriental tongues, and very laborious -in his private capacity after he was cast out of his -living. He went constantly to church, and yet preached -<i>thrice</i> at his own house every Lord’s day; first, in -the morning before sermon; then after dinner, before church-time; -and again in the evening. On the other days of the week, -beside lecture-sermons, he constantly expounded the scriptures in -order twice a day, to all that would come to hear him, as some -always did. <a name="citation998"></a><a href="#footnote998" -class="citation">[998]</a> He was a man of great charity, -commonly emptying his pocket of what money he had in it amongst -the poor, when he went into the town. He was of great -compassion and tenderheartedness towards such as were in any -affliction; a man of wonderfull meekness, patience, and -dispassionateness; and was generally very much honoured and -esteemed for his goodness, both in town and country.” -We need no further proof of his being held here in high and -general esteem, than that he was suffered to live in the town, -and exercise his ministry, for the whole fourteen years he -resided here after his ejection, and which was perhaps the very -worst <a name="page999"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -999</span>part of the persecuting and detestable reign of Charles -II. Some old people used to say some years ago, that his -lecturing or preaching place was in some obscure alley about -Black-goose Street. However that was, Mr. Horne may justly -be considered as the <i>father of the Lynn Dissenters</i>: nor -need they be ashamed to own him as such. Beside his other -labours, which were so very abundant, his labours as a -<i>writer</i> were by no means inconsiderable. Mr. -<i>Palmer</i> has preserved the titles of <i>near thirty -publications</i>, of different sizes, of which he was the author; -<a name="citation999"></a><a href="#footnote999" -class="citation">[999]</a> which shews how active he was in -employing his pen, as well as his tongue, in promoting what he -deemed useful and profitable instruction. On the whole, it -may be pretty safely concluded that such a union of -laboriousness, conscientiousness, and piety, as appeared in the -person of Mr. Horne, was scarce ever witnessed in any minister of -this town, either before or since his time. His memory -therefore ought to be very highly honoured. He died here on -the 14th of December 1676, aged 61. His wife survived him -near ten years. She died May 24. 1686, aged 73. <a -name="page1000"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1000</span>What -family they had we are unable to say. One Son, named -<i>Thomas</i>, died about two years before the father, at the age -of 28: and we are inclined to think there was another son, of -both the father’s names, who long survived his parents, and -that this son was no other than the afterwards famous master of -the Lynn grammar school, who may be justly called <i>the Dr. -Busby of this town</i>. That he exercised over his pupils -so severe a discipline as that of the celebrated master of -Westminster School, is what we will not take upon us to -affirm—nor yet that he educated an equal number of eminent -men; but in the assiduity with which he executed his charge there -must have been a strong resemblance, and especially in the length -of time he continued at the head of his seminary, for he held the -mastership of the Lynn grammar school upwards of fifty -years. He must therefore have been notable and eminent in -his day among the inhabitants of this town. On which -account, whether he was the son of the former John Horne, or not, -he is entitled to some notice in the present list.</p> -<p>5. <i>John Horne junr.</i> A.M. (of the University of -Cambridge, as it is supposed) was born in 1644. So that in -case he was the son of the former, he must have been born about -two years before his father settled in this town, which will very -well agree with the former supposition, of his being previously -married, while he resided at, or near Bullingbrook. After -he left the university, the subject of the present article was -for some time <i>usher</i> of the Grammar School at Norwich, <a -name="page1001"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1001</span>whence he -was invited to become <i>master</i> of that at Lynn. This -was in 1678: whereupon he removed hither, and continued at the -head of this school above 50 years; so that it may pretty safely -be concluded that he educated a far greater number of pupils than -any other master in this town. He died in 1732. aged 88, -and was buried in St. Nicholas’ chapel, close to the grave -of the other John Horne; which, together with his refraining from -going into orders, may corroborate the opinion of his being the -son of that worthy and memorable man. <a -name="citation1001a"></a><a href="#footnote1001a" -class="citation">[1001a]</a> However that was, he appears -to have been a person of a very respectable character, who -faithfully served his generation, and deserved well of his -cotemporaries and of posterity; <a name="citation1001b"></a><a -href="#footnote1001b" class="citation">[1001b]</a> which, it is -to be feared, is more than can be said of all, or every one of -his successors.</p> -<p>6. <i>Charles Phelpes</i>. In point of time he -ought to have been placed before the last, being his senior, by -near twenty years. But as the former was supposed to be the -son of the preceding, it was thought proper to let his name -immediately follow. The subject of this article, if not a -relation, was yet an intimate friend of the elder Horne, and -perhaps an occasional assistant to him in the ministry; but of -this there is no clear proof. Nor is it at all certain that -he afterwards ever <a name="page1002"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1002</span>officiated in the congregation as a -public teacher. <a name="citation1002a"></a><a -href="#footnote1002a" class="citation">[1002a]</a> All we -know of him is, that he was a person eminently distinguished here -in his day for his religious knowledge, his benevolence, and his -piety, which he strove unweariedly to promote by his example, his -conversation, and his writings. <a name="citation1002b"></a><a -href="#footnote1002b" class="citation">[1002b]</a> In -short, he was a blessing to the town, and one of that sort of men -that may not improperly be called the “salt of the -earth,” to whose benevolent and pious exertions we owe -almost every thing truly good and valuable that is to be found -amongst us. He was therefore clearly entitled to a place in -this list, or biographical sketch. He died on 3rd of -January 1711 in the 85th. year of his age, as we learn from his -grave stone to St. Nicholas’ Church yard, over against the -great South door, where it is said, and said truly no doubt, that -he was “a person of exemplary piety and -goodness.” We have heard that he was great uncle to -the late vicar of South Lynn of the same name, who, though of -inferior worth, was yet far from being one of the worst sort of -clergymen.</p> -<p><a name="page1003"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1003</span>7. <i>Guybon Goddard</i>. We hear of him -first as <i>Deputy Recorder</i> of this borough, in 1645, under -the memorable Miles Corbet, who had been chosen Recorder the -preceding year. Goddard continued his deputy till 1650, or -rather till the beginning of the ensuing year, when he succeeded -to the recordership, as appears from the following passage in the -Hall-books. “Jan. 31. 1650, 51; This day Mr. Mayor -and aldermen have elected and chosen in the place of Miles -Corbet, Esq. (called by the Parliament to the service of Ireland) -<i>Guybon Goddard</i> Esq. Recorder, provided always, that he, -accepting of the place, shall come and inhabit in this town, for -the better assistance of the succeeding mayors with his advice -and councell.” It may be supposed that he took up his -residence here accordingly. However that might be, it seems -he retained the place over after, and executed the duties, -attached to it with much credit to himself, and to the -satisfaction of the body corporate and the rest the -community. He was doubtless very good lawyer, but more -distinguished perhaps as an antiquary, to which pursuit he was -much devoted, in which his acquirements we supposed to have been -very considerable. His brother-in-law, <i>Sir William -Dugdale</i>, and <i>Parkin</i> also, make honourable mention of -his antiquarian attainments, <a name="citation1003"></a><a -href="#footnote1003" class="citation">[1003]</a> and is such a -case they <a name="page1004"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1004</span>must have been very competent judges. To -archaiological objects in the adjacent and surrounding country he -paid much attention, and still more to those that appertained to -this town, his collection for a history of which is supposed to -have been very complete, and excited for a long while very high -expectation among his cotemporaries. But they were all -sadly disappointed; for it was never suffered to see the light: -and though the corporation, after his decease, endeavoured to -procure it from his son, and offered for it what must have been -at that time a handsome gratuity; yet it does not appear that -they were able to obtain it. What became of it afterwards -no one can tell: but it is most probable that it has long ago -been irretrievably lost. Had it been preserved, and fallen -into the present writer’s hands, it might (as was hinted at -p. <span class="indexpageno"><a href="#page821">821</a></span>,) -have rendered this work far more worthy than it now is of the -public patronage. In Parkin’s History of Freebridge -(p. 293,) the death of Goddard is placed in 1671, which we -suspect to be a mistake for 1677, as the application to his son -was made about the beginning of the next year; and it is not -likely it would have been deferred for so long a time as seven -years. However that was Guybon Goddard seems clearly -entitled to have his name enrolled among the memorable men of -Lynn.</p> -<p>8. <i>William Falkner</i>, <i>D.D.</i>—He came to -this town in 1658, recommended by Dr. Arrowsmith and Dr. Tuckney, -and was engaged as an assistant to Mr. Hoogan, <a -name="page1005"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1005</span>who had -succeeded Dr. A. as senior or principal minister of St. -Nicholas’ Chapel. Falkner was then Fellow of -Peter-house in Cambridge; so that there is no reason to suppose -him the same as that <i>William Falconer</i>, <i>M.A. of -Aberdeen</i>, whom, according to <i>Granger</i>, <i>Wood</i> in -his Fasti mentions, under 1671, as incorporated into the -University of Oxford, and one of the first exhibitioners at -Baliol College. At the death or removal of Mr. Hoogan, F. -appears to have succeeded him as chief minister, and in that -situation he is supposed to have continued ever after; though, -considering the prominent appearance he made among his brethren, -it is not likely that he was left without other -preferments. His residence here was about 24 years. -He died April, 9. 1682: nor does it appear that he was then an -old man; about 50, perhaps, or very little more. We have -not been able to learn the character of his public ministry and -pastoral labours, or how far he therein resembled Horne, or -Arrowsmith. But, as a scholar and writer, he must have -stood high among the Lynn clergy, and even among those of the -whole diocese; for he was very learned, and his writings for the -most part, were well calculated to render him famous among his -brethren, and gain him the approbation and applause of the -highest dignitaries of the church, and the chief functionaries of -the state, or civil government. For passive obedience and -non-resistance, and the whole tory system, then the darling -doctrine of the clergy and the court, he was a warm and able -advocate. Nor was he less so for the church of England, -against the Romanists, on the one hand, <a -name="page1006"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1006</span>and our -protestant sectaries, on the other. How he would have -stood, had he lived a few years longer, or till the eve of the -revolution, it is impossible to say. But it is certain that -many, who were to the full as torified as he in the reign of -Charles, changed their minds and their tones greatly during that -of his successor, so as to caress as friends and brethren, those -very sectaries and schismatics, as they used to call them, whom -they had before endeavoured with all their might to distress and -crush. That Dr. F. would have done the same, had he lived -so long, is more than we are warranted to affirm, through we -would fain hope that such would have been the case.—Among -the books of which he was the author were several pieces of -divinity, which first perhaps appeared separately, but were in -1684, two years after his death, printed together in a quarto -volume. As it has never fallen in our way, we can say -nothing of its merits. But his principal publications seem -to be the following; 1. <i>Libertas Ecclesiastica</i>, an english -octavo volume, published in 1674, and spoken of, by Granger, as a -book of merit. 2. A <i>vindication of Liturgies</i>, or set -forms of prayer: printed in London in 1680. This was -animadverted upon and answered by the memorable <i>Dr. -Collinges</i> of Norwich, an eminent ejected Minister, -<i>first</i> in a piece entitled, “A reasonable account of -the judgment of nonconforming ministers, as to prescribed forms -of prayer; with a supplement in Answer to Dr. Falkner of -Liturgies;” and afterwards in another piece, entitled, -“The vindication of Liturgies, lately published by Dr. -Falkner, proved no vindication, &c.” 3. -<i>Christian Loyalty</i>: or a <a name="page1007"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1007</span>discourse, wherein is asserted that -just Royal Authority and Eminency which in this Church and Realm -of <i>England</i> is yielded to the <span -class="GutSmall">KING</span>. Especially concerning -<i>supremacy</i> in <i>Causes Ecclesiastical</i>. Together -with the disclaiming of all <i>Foreign Jurisdictions</i> and the -unlawfulness of Subjects <span class="GutSmall">TAKING -ARMS</span> against the <span class="smcap">King</span>. -This is a most notable production, and it seems not a little -unaccountable that it did not immediately procure him a -mitre. It is much in the way of Sir Robert Filmer, and the -rest of our great Tory-writers, and scarcely inferior to the very -best of them. It was printed in London in 1679, and again, -it seems, in 1684, which shews that it was well approved of and -sought for. Dr. Falkner dying, as was said, in 1682, was -succeeded at St. Nicholas’ by a <i>Mr. Killeingbeck</i>, of -whom we have heard nothing further.</p> -<h4><span class="smcap">Section</span> XI.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>Biographical Sketches -continued—Littel—Pyle—Hepburn—Rastrick—Browne—Keene—&c.</i></p> -<p>9. <i>Thomas Littel</i>, <i>D.D.</i> He is -supposed to have settled here, as one of our officiating clergy, -pretty soon after the revolution; but whether as vicar and -principal minister of the town, or as Lecturer, or in <a -name="page1008"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1008</span>an -inferior station as the Vicar’s curate, we cannot -positively say. It is certain however that he soon -succeeded as vicar or chief minister of the town, and continued -in that situation for a great many years. Though a Doctor -in Divinity, he is supposed not to have stood high among his -brethren and contemporaries as a scholar, a preacher, or as a -divine; but there were traits in his character that were of no -unamiable cast, especially in regard to his attention to the -edification of the common people. In more recent times he -would probably have been deemed a methodistical clergyman, which -is not mentioned here as dishonourable to his memory, but rather -the contrary, as it is the opinion of the present writer, that if -a <i>reasonable portion</i> of methodism were imbibed by the -clergy, it would render their ministry more popular, and prove of -material advantage to the lower orders of their auditors. -In Dr. Littel’s time, a great many of his hearers, of the -poorer classes, as it would seem, became desirous of improving -themselves in religious knowledge; and the course that appeared -to them most likely, or the best for attaining that object was to -establish private meetings for free discussion, or serious -conference. Whether they had been led to this from -something of the kind that existed among their dissenting -neighbours here, we are not able to say; but it is certain that -such exercises are much more common among dissenters than among -churchmen. However that was, it seems they were not -disposed to put the plan in practice without consulting Dr. -Littel, who was then vicar of St. Margaret’s and chief -minister of the town: and it does not appear that <a -name="page1009"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1009</span>he urged -any material objection, or gave them any serious -discouragement. But he was aware that it would not be safe -or proper for him to countenance such a measure without the -privity and permission of his diocesan. He accordingly -applied to <i>Dr. Moore</i>, who then filled the see of Norwich, -and who, in his answer, dated September 10. 1697, appeared no way -hostile to the measure, provided it were properly conducted; -though he said, however friendly he might be to the design, yet -he did not find he had any power by law to constitute and -authorize such assemblies. Nevertheless he consented to -allow the experiment to be here tried, under certain -regulations. This episcopal letter is on the whole a very -curious document, and not dishonourable to his lordship’s -memory; but it is too long for insertion here. He cautioned -them to avoid all discussions about state affairs, and whatever -might tend to give umbrage to government; and he advised them to -meet in small rather than large companies: which advice was -probably adhered to. However that was, the intended measure -was soon put in practice. For six or seven years the -meetings seem to have been kept in private houses, under certain -general regulations. But in 1704 the plan was further -matured, new rules of conference were drawn up, <a -name="citation1010"></a><a href="#footnote1010" -class="citation">[1010]</a> <a name="page1010"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1010</span>and the meetings afterwards were -generally if not constantly kept in the Vestry of St. -Margaret’s Church, till the death of Dr. Littel, which -happened in 1732. <a name="page1011"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1011</span>The Society then languished and -dwindled away, so that in the year 1744 it was reduced to six -members, whose names were Colins Banister, James Cowell, Joshua -Edwards <a name="page1012"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1012</span>senr. Adam Holditch, John Lee, and William Rayns: It -appears to have been dissolved soon after, having existed about -fifty years; and for a long time no memorial of it remained, -except in some old papers which fell into the present -writer’s hands accidentally. This Society had formed -a library, a catalogue of which it also in this writer’s -possession. What became of the books at last, does not -appear. We know of nothing more creditable to the memory of -Dr Littel, than the countenance he afforded to those serious -people. It is supposed that his successor in the Vicarage -of St. Margaret did not also succeed him as the patron of this -Institution.</p> -<p>10. <i>Thomas Pyle M.A.</i> Of the birth-place and -the early part of the life of the rev. T. Pyle, whose name is -still mentioned with veneration by the few who remember him as a -preacher, we have not been able to obtain any account. So -rapid is the neglect or the forgetfulness of oral -tradition! From his epitaph we learn indeed that he was -born in 1674. About the year 1698, he was examined for -ordination, at Norwich, by the celebrated and truly honest -William Whiston, at that time chaplain to bishop Moore, who has -stated in the interesting Memoirs of his Life, that Dr. Sydal and -Mr. Pyle were the best scholars among the many candidates whom it -was his office to examine. It is probable that he was -ordained upon the title of one of the curacies of St -Margaret’s parish, as he married, in <a -name="page1013"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1013</span>1701, a -Mrs Mary Rolfe of an affluent and respectable family in Lynn, and -in the same year he was appointed by the Corporation to be -minister or preacher of St. Nicholas’ Chapel. He -published some political Sermons in the years 1706, 1707. and -especially in the year 1715. In these discourses he -vindicated and enforced those principles to which we are indebted -for the expulsion of the Stuarts, and for the elevation of the -Brunswick family to the throne. About the same period he -became generally known as the author of a very useful Paraphrase -on the Historical Books of the Old Testament, and another on the -Acts, the Epistles and the Revelation of the New Testament. -Soon afterwards he enlisted himself as a writer in the Bangorian -Controversy, and was a strenuous and able advocate of the civil -and religious principles of Bp. Hoadly. He appears to have -been on terms of particular friendship with some of the greatest -and best men in the Church of England, such as Dr. Sam. Clarke, -Mr. Jackson of Leicester, Dr. Sykes, Bp. Hoadly, Dr. Herring, -afterwards abp. of Canterbury; and equally so with some eminent -dissenting ministers, particularly Dr. Sam. Chandler and Mr. -Rastrick of Lynn. Many years after his death his youngest -son, the rev. Philip Pyle, published several volumes of his -“Sermons on plain and practical Subjects.” His -writings are characterised by a perspicuity and manly sense, -rather than by any elevation of style, or by a graceful -negligence; and yet in the delivery of his sermons, so impressive -was his elocution, that both in the metropolis and in the -country, he was one of the most admired <a -name="page1014"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1014</span>preachers -of his time. The flowing lines were sent to him on his -Sermon preached at Lincoln’s Inn, May 4th. 1735, on Gen. -III, 19.</p> -<blockquote><p>What sounds are these! What energy -divine,<br /> -What master-strokes in every precept shine!<br /> -While from thy lips the warm expression breaks,<br /> -What heart but melteth as the preacher speaks!<br /> -Thy voice is nature, and thy diction clear,<br /> -It strikes like music on the listening ear.<br /> -—“Vain foolish man to murmur at thy fate,<br /> -The bounteous hand of heaven still leaves thee great;<br /> -Still makes thee first of beings here below,<br /> -Still gives thee more of happiness than woe.<br /> -To lazy indolence this world may seem<br /> -A barron wilderness; an idle dream;<br /> -Thistles and brambles to the slothful eye,<br /> -But roses to the hand of industry.<br /> -’Tis sordid avaries, with her sneaking train,<br /> -Ambition, who torments herself in vain,<br /> -Th’ unnumbered lusts that prey upon the mind,<br /> -Fix the primeval curse on human kind.<br /> -By their brow’s sweat their bread the labourers earn,<br /> -But then no passions in their bosoms burn:<br /> -Soon as the evening shade the day-light close,<br /> -Unbroken slumbers crown their soft repose;<br /> -And when the morning dawn salutes their eyes,<br /> -Anteus-like, with double vigour rise.<br /> -No stings of conscience! no remorse from sin!<br /> -They feel the noblest paradise within;<br /> -Content serene, that sunshine of the soul,<br /> -With her warm beam invigorates the whole;<br /> -Her blossom, health! her fruit, untainted joy!<br /> -Nor pain nor death her relish can destroy;<br /> -In unpolluted streams her pleasures flow,<br /> -No weedy passions in her bosom grow.”<br /> -—Thus faintly have I sketch’d thy glorious plan;<br -/> -Which fills, improves, adorns the inward man.<br /> -Still urge thy generous task, to cleanse the mind,<br /> -Till from the dregs of passion ’tis refin’d;<br /> -To prune each vice, each folly of the age,<br /> -Each wild excrescence of this earthly stage.<br /> -Tho’ old in goodness, to the world resign’d,<br /> -Still want thy heaven to give it to mankind.<br /> -<a name="page1015"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1015</span>Religion’s friend! and virtue’s strongest -guard!<br /> -That heaven alone such merit can reward,<br /> -Its joys approach no tongue but thine can tell;<br /> -Doubt not to taste what thou describ’st so well.</p> -</blockquote> -<p>With such talents, and with such connections, it cannot easily -be accounted for, that Mr. Pyle should remain during so long a -life in a situation of comparative obscurity. Sir Robert -Walpole was the member for Lynn; and both the political and -religious opinions of Mr. Pyle were calculated to recommend him -to queen Caroline, who then impartially dispensed the dignities -of the Church. Perhaps the spirit of the man was not -thought sufficiently accommodating for an introduction to a -court; or, like the late Dr. Ogden of Cambridge, from some -deficiency of external polish, he might be deemed not -producible. A passage in Abp. Herring’s -Correspondence with Mr. Duncombe seems to be decisive on this -point. “Tom Pyle is a learned and worthy, as well as -a lively and entertaining man. To be sure his success has -not been equal to his merit, which yet, perhaps, is in some -measure owing to himself; for that very impetuosity of spirit, -which, under proper government, renders him the agreeable -creature he is, has, in some circumstances of life, got the -better of him, and hurt his views.” <a -name="citation1015a"></a><a href="#footnote1015a" -class="citation">[1015a]</a> From whatever cause, <a -name="page1016"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1016</span>with the -exception of a Prebend of Salisbury, which he received from Bp. -Hoadly, he was only in succession Lecturer and Minister of Lynn -St. Margaret, and vicar of Lynn All-saints—all truly but a -poor and paltry pittance for such a man, and from a church which -had such immense abundance of good things to bestow; most of -which too were actually bestowed on far unworthier -objects.—The following Letters which passed between Mr. -Pyle and Abp. Herring are highly characteristic and -interesting.</p> -<blockquote><p>“My Lord,</p> -<p>In the universal acclamation of joy for your Grace’s -promotion to the Primacy of all England, may the feeble voice of -an old man be heard, the short remainder of whose life, will pass -off with a pleasure that nothing could have given, but seeing at -the head of the Church, a Prelate so affectionately attached to -the interests of Truth, Virtue, and Liberty.</p> -<p style="text-align: right">I am, my Lord, your Grace’s -most dutiful Servant.<br /> -<span class="smcap">Tho: Pyle</span>.”</p> -</blockquote> - -<div class="gapshortline"> </div> -<blockquote><p><a name="page1017"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1017</span>“Dear Sir,</p> -<p>Your kind wishes for me give me spirit, and make my heart -glad, for in good faith, I have been teazed and terrified with -this exaltation; and thus much I will venture to say for myself, -it sha’nt make me proud, it sha’nt make me covetous, -it sha’nt make me ungrateful or unmindful of my Friends, -but it frights me, and I fear has robbed me of the most precious -thing in life, which is Liberty, but I will assert as much of it -as I can, and not be for ever bound to the trammels of a long -tail and ceremony, which my soul abhors.</p> -<p>I saw S—. Ch—r the other day. I really -affect and honour the man, and wish with all my soul that the -Church of England had him, for his spirit and learning are -certainly of the first class; and I regard him the more because -he resembles you and your manner. You talk of age and all -that, but if I may judge from your letter, your eyes are good, -your hand is steady, and I am sure your heart is warm for your -friends, and those good things you mention, Truth, and Virtue, -and Liberty, but that sort of warmth will certainly go to the -grave with you and beyond it.</p> -<p style="text-align: right">I am, Dear Sir, your affectionate -Friend,<br /> -Tho: <span class="smcap">Cantuar</span>.” <a -name="citation1017"></a><a href="#footnote1017" -class="citation">[1017]</a></p> -<p>Kensington. 17. Dec. 1747.</p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="page1018"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1018</span>From the part which Mr. P. took in the Bangorian -Controversy, and the terms of particular friendship on which he -was known to live with Bp. Hoadly, we may be very sure that there -subsisted between them a frequent correspondence. Copies of -two of the letters that passed between them are now in the hands -of the present writer. He has no reason to suppose that -they ever have been published, or are likely to be so, unless -they appear on this occasion. Thinking it highly probable -that a sight of them cannot fail of gratifying many of his -readers, he takes the liberty without further ceremony to -introduce them in this place; not at all apprehensive that their -contents will any way disparage the memory of either of the -memorable personages by whom they were originally written,</p> -<blockquote><p>“My Lord,</p> -<p>You may remember that when by your kind aid the affair of -M—m was concluded in my Son’s favour, I presented <a -name="page1019"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1019</span>my humble -(and said it should be my last) petition to you, begging of you -to be pleased to bestow on him a living that might consist with -M—m, and that you were so good as to promise to give him -any living you had not then engaged to dispose of -otherways.—An incident has lately arisen of such a nature, -as, I am sure will excuse my repeating the above-named request to -your Lordship, with the utmost earnestness.—My Lord, Mrs. -Bilk the D. of N—ch’s W. with her husband’s -good liking, and out of the esteem she has long had for me and -mine, and especially for my son Ph—. has been pleased to -propose him as a H. for her niece, the only child of Mr. -Arrowsmith: such a proposal from one who can and will make a -considerable addition to the very good fortune that the young -lady’s father can give her, is a great proof of her esteem -for my son, who has been much with her from his childhood: and -what she requires on my part is that I use my interest in your -lordship, and mention her as joining with me to beg of you to -confer a handsome living on my Son. This will crown all the -instances of your beneficence towards me.—I want words to -express the joy with which a happy success in this affair would -carry me thro’ the small remainder of my life, and make me -yield it up to its bounteous Author; or to describe the tearing -anxiety that would accompany a disappointment from your refusing -what I humbly ask.—Wherefore I beg of your lordship to make -me feel the beginning of that satisfaction I have already in view -by such a reply to this petition as may be pleasing to the -excellent friends I am herein concerned with, and so highly -obliged to, and to the heart of an old servant who has loved you -all his life, and served you as well as he could (would to God it -had been better) & will love you till death and beyond -it. I am,</p> -<p style="text-align: right">my Lord, yours &c. T. -P.”</p> -</blockquote> - -<div class="gapshortline"> </div> -<blockquote><p>“Dear Sir,</p> -<p style="text-align: right">6. Feb. 1752,</p> -<p>You cannot rejoice more sincerely at any good that falls on -any part of your family than I do: tho’ you may feel it -more paternally. In answer to what you propose, I first <a -name="page1020"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1020</span>say that -I was 75 years old on the 14th of last November. What may -happen God only knows. But if it shd be both physically and -morally in my power to serve your Son, you may depend upon it -without the force of the strong expression you make use of. -For my own inclination will in such case do it. And the -regard I have for the D. of N—ch (and his lady, tho’ -unknown, only by report) and for Mr. Arrowsmith, to whose -faithful services and exemplary behaviour I was long ago a -witness at Stretham, will not at all abate but increase the -inclination. I cannot suppose that by what you say you can -mean such a living as would make void M—lksham which your -son told me was worth 250<i>l.</i> per ann. for that would be to -<a name="citation1020"></a><a href="#footnote1020" -class="citation">[1020]</a> . . . entirety a valuable living very -hardly obtained; but one that would be an handsome addition to -his income. And this must be one within the canonical -distance. Nor do I suppose that the chapter of Salisbury -will ever enter into measures for an exchange of Mlkshm -&c. I wish you would tell me freely what you understand -by an <i>handsome</i> living, assuring you of my sincere -disposition to do any thing in my power agreeable to <i>your -own</i> wishes. I have without doubt several good livings -in my patronage. But you must remember that when you -mentioned your request for your son Ph. first, I told you of -engagements, and I now tell you that since that, I have not had -one vacancy, as far as I can recollect, of a living in Wilts of -about 130<i>l.</i> per annum. I think myself obliged to -speak plainly, that nothing may be expected from me that I cannot -pretend to perform. I have, and have had, for some years, -two absolute engagements upon me for two of my best livings or -such of a secondary sort as will be accepted of till better -fall. And I am very sure, you are not the man that would -say a single word to me towards the immorality of falshood or -breach of promise. And I have the very same opinion of the -goodness of heart of those worthy persons who have entered into -this affair with you. As to actual vacancies, it is our -duty not to wish for any by death. And they are very -uncertain, <a name="page1021"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1021</span>and improbable to happen during the remainder of my -life, tho’ my health is surprisingly better than it was in -my younger days. With all these considerations of my age, -and the precarious condition of all human affairs, if you will -take my word, you will find me if alive, as sincere a Friend, as -you yourself can wish to find.</p> -<p style="text-align: right">Your affectionate &c. B. -W. <a name="citation1021"></a><a href="#footnote1021" -class="citation">[1021]</a></p> -</blockquote> -<p>Mr. Pyle, as was said before, obtained the lectureship, and -became the preacher at St. Nicholas’ chapel, and one of the -ministers of the town in 1701. In that situation he -continued till 1732, when he succeeded Dr. Littel as vicar of St. -Margaret’s. This situation he held till 1755, being -no longer capable of discharging the duties annexed to it. -He accordingly gave in his resignation, both to the Dean and -Chapter of Norwich, and also to the Mayor and corporation of -Lynn, early in the Summer of that year. How his resignation -to the former was worded we know not, but his resignation to the -latter, of which we have obtained a <a name="page1022"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1022</span>was expressed in the following -words: and addressed to the elder <i>Cary</i>, then in the second -year of his mayoralty.—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Sir, A long decline of life, and absolute -incapacity of attending on such a ministry as that of Lynn, calls -upon me to resign it to some hands able in due manner to -discharge it to the good-liking and satisfaction both of the Dean -and Chapter of Norwich and of the mayor and corporation of -Lynn. But I cannot nor ought to do this, without paying my -just and most grateful acknowledgements to yourself, Sir, with -the former magistrates, and the rest of the gentlemen of your -Body, for the favours they have, for a long tract of time -conferred upon me, and in particular for their tender and -generous indulgence towards me in these last years of my age and -infirmities. I request, Sir, you will please to make your -hand the conveyor of this only return left in my power of -thankfulness to them, accompanied with the sincerest wishes of -every kind of good that can finish the welfare and prosperity of -an ancient, generous, and loyal society; wishes from the heart of -yours and theirs most affectionate humble Servant</p> -<p style="text-align: right"><span class="smcap">Tho: -Pyle</span>.”</p> -<p>May 28th. 1755.</p> -</blockquote> -<p>This Letter is supposed to have been dated from -<i>Swaffham</i>, where, on account of its healthy situation, he -resided the two last years of his life; and where, if we are not -mistaken, he also died on the last day of the ensuing year. -He was buried in the Church of Lynn All-Saints, where a latin -epitaph honourable to their memories, is inscribed on the stone -that covers the <a name="page1023"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1023</span>remains of him and his wife. She died the 14th -of March 1748, aged 66: and he died the 31st. of December 1756, -aged 82. This was 58 years after the commencement of his -ministry. He was succeeded in his pastoral charge at Lynn -by the late <i>Charles Bagge D.D.</i> whose ministerial as well -as literary character must have been widely different from his; -and yet it does not seem to have made any mighty difference as to -the audience, who, it is presumed, went on much as before, -praising the successor in terms very similar to those they had -been wont to apply to his predecessor. Thus it often -happens after the departure of eminent men, both in the church -and in dissenting congregations.</p> -<p>11. <span class="smcap">Edmund Pyle</span> D.D. was the -eldest Son of the former, and a native of this town. In -piety and inflexible integrity he is supposed to have been much -inferior to his father; and the same was probably the case as to -literary attainments, theological knowledge, critical skill, and -ministerial talents: but he was certainly a man of no mean parts, -as many of his letters that are still extant sufficiently -evince. He was educated at Cambridge. When he went -into orders, or where he officiated immediately after, does not -appear; but in 1732, upon the death of Dr. Littel, and the -appointment of his father to be his successor, he then succeeded -to the vacant place, and became the lecturer, or assistant -preacher and minister of this town; which situation he held till -the year 1751, when he resigned in favour of the late Mr. Vann -Eyre, and became chaplain <a name="page1024"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1024</span>to <i>Bp. Hoadly</i>, and a -Prebendary of Winchester. After the Bp’s death, which -happened in 1761, he is supposed to have resided during the -remainder of his life at his prebendal house in that city, and to -have died there in 1776. At Lynn he was deemed proud and -unsociable, which character he, probably, might deserve, for we -have sufficient evidence that even the gentry of this town, for -the most part at least, stood so very low in his estimation as -not to deserve his associating, or holding any communication with -them but what was unavoidable: which to be sure was not -altogether commendable, considering that he stood to those very -people in the relation or character of <i>one of their -pastors</i>. But it is certain that he could at times -divest himself entirely of every appearance of superciliousness -and reservedness, and behave towards those whom he esteemed in a -very free, familiar, engaging and entertaining manner. Of -this his letters still extant are a very good proof, <a -name="citation1024"></a><a href="#footnote1024" -class="citation">[1024]</a> and the same is corroborated <a -name="page1025"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1025</span>by the -testimony of some of his contemporaries who long survived -him. His two brothers, <i>Thomas</i> and <a -name="page1026"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1026</span><i>Philip</i>, who were much younger than he and lived -long after him, though not inferior to him in point of piety and -moral worth, were yet thought to be much <a -name="page1027"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1027</span>so in -point of acumen, or quickness of intellect, and literature. -They had also three sisters, all well spoken of, and that is -supposed to have been all the family their father left.</p> -<p><a name="page1028"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1028</span>12. <i>George Hepburn</i> (<i>or Hepborne</i>) -<i>M.D.</i> He is supposed to have settled here about the -commencement of the last century, as a physician; in which -character he soon acquired high reputation, so as to be placed at -the head of the profession in this part of the kingdom for near -if not quite half a century. He was the favourite physician -of Sir Robert Walpole the then prime minster of this country, -with whom he spent much of his time at his princely seat at -<i>Houghton</i>: and he was also employed in the same capacity by -the principal nobility and gentry of this county. Very -striking and diverting anecdotes are related of him during his -long residence in these parts: but they are hardly proper to be -inserted in the present memoir. He was certainly a very -eminent and distinguished physician. <a -name="page1029"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1029</span>His -posthumous fame is not yet extinguished, as he is still -remembered and mentioned, with the utmost respect whenever the -conversation leads to the recollection of our eminent men of the -last century. His reputation in the latter part of his life -was become so very considerable that he was seldom to be found at -home, being almost always attending one or other of the great -families in the country. The town-practice consequently -devolved upon the two other physicians, <i>Browne</i> and -<i>Lidderdale</i>, both of whom were skilful and judicious -practitioners. But as he lived to a very advanced age, it -so happened that his eye sight gradually failed, and he became -quite blind some years before he died. Having a large -family to maintain, and being perhaps during his extensive -practice not very economical, he would towards the close of life -have been reduced to great difficulties, had it not been for two -pensions which he then very seasonably obtained; one from -<i>George</i> II, through the interest and friendship of Mr. -<i>Pelham</i>, of 100<i>l.</i> a year; and the other from Dr. -<i>Maxwell</i>, a rich relation of his own, of double that sum; -which placed him above want, and rendered his situation tolerably -easy and comfortable. In Walpole’s life time, and -during his long premiership, while Hepburn was at the height of -his fame, and in extensive practice, there might be no obvious or -urgent season for befriending him and making provision for him in -a similar way; otherwise it cannot well be supposed that that -minister would have neglected it. But now the case was -altered; the once celebrated and much sought physician was become -old and blind, and no longer capable of following his profession, -and gaining as theretofore <a name="page1030"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1030</span>the means of supporting himself and -family. Something therefore was to be done for him, or he -would sink into penury and want. It has been reported that -though his practice was extensive, yet his fees were but -moderate, considering the length and expence of his journeys, -with the great attendance often required by his patients. -So that his not dying wealthy was less owing to his improvidence -and want of economy or frugality, than to the ungenerous and -niggardly conduct of his patients or employers. -Correspondent with this is said to have been the experience of -others of our physicians since his time, particularly the late -Dr. Hamilton, who never could boast of the great liberality or -munificence of our opulent families, altho’ he was for some -time our only physician. In short, this writer does not -recollect having ever heard that any physician grew rich here by -his practice, however extensive, unless it was Sir W. Browne, and -it is generally understood and allowed that he really could do -things which most other people could not. Dr. Hepburn died -in 1759, at the very advanced age of ninety. He was a North -Briton, as were also many, if not most of our eminent -physicians. We have not been able to ascertain in what part -of North Britain he drew his first breath, but rather suppose it -to have been in East Lothian, and at, or near Haddington. <a -name="citation1030"></a><a href="#footnote1030" -class="citation">[1030]</a> Nor have we been able to -discover at <a name="page1031"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1031</span>what university he was educated, but think it most -probable it was that of Edinburgh, where so many eminent men of -the same profession have been since educated. Dr. H. was -twice married, first in 1693, to one of his own country-women, -who died in 1707, aged 30. There were several children by -this marriage. He afterwards married again, and his second -wife was a Lynn woman. By her also he had some children, -two of whom at least survived him. But they were remarkably -and vastly inferior, in point of genius and capacity, or -intellectual endowment, to those of the first marriage. His -eldest daughter married a Mr. Young, and was the mother of the -late Miss or Mrs. Dorothy Young, a lady of distinguished -intellectual and literary talents. Another daughter became -the wife of Dr. <i>Lidderdale</i> an eminent physician who -settled here in the early part of George the second’s -reign; and died here, in 1766, much regretted, as he is said to -have stood high in the public estimation. The other -daughter by the first wife lived single; but was a very -extraordinary character, and stood unrivalled all her life time -among the wits of this town. Her keen sayings, and stinging -repartees <a name="page1032"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1032</span>are still fresh in the recollection of her surviving -cotemporaries. Between her and her father’s daughters -by his last wife there was a most striking and humiliating -contrast: they being but little distant from idiocy.</p> -<p>13. <span class="smcap">William Browne</span> M.D. -afterwards Sir <i>William Browne</i>, <i>Knight</i>, F.R.S. and -<i>President of the Royal College of Physicians</i>. Though -he has been already noticed repeatedly in the course of this -work, yet as he made so conspicuous a figure here in his day, and -our materials relating to him not being yet exhausted, he seems -justly entitled to a place among these biographical -sketches. He was born about the beginning of the year -1692. The place of his birth we have not been able to -discover, but think it to be at some distance from this -town. We have understood that he was introduced here by the -means and under the patronage of the Turner family, to which he -became afterwards implacably hostile. His settlement here -must have taken place at an early period of his life; for his -name was enrolled among our free burgesses in February 1718; -which must have been some time, perhaps two or three years, after -he had first taken up his residence here. Yet he seems to -have previously resided and graduated both at Cambridge and -Oxford, for he denominated himself <i>M.D. of both -Universities</i>. However that was, he appears to have soon -got on fast in the way of his vocation, so as to obtain a large -share of popularity and practice, especially among the middling -and lower orders of the community, which he is said to have -turned to very good account. And he is understood to have -made much more of his <a name="page1033"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1033</span>patients, in the pecuniary way, -than Hepburn was able to make of his among the higher -orders. Having become the popular physician and favourite, -or what we may call the man of the people, he grew quite -regardless of the favour and good opinion of the gentry or higher -classes. As to the gentlemen of the corporation, he held -them very cheap, and treated them at times with the utmost -disdain, looking upon them as his inferiors, and taking -precedence of the very mayor himself, which gave no small -umbrage, as was observed before, at page <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page900">900</a></span>. This -took place as early as the year 1723: and this hostility to the -body corporate appears not to have undergone any abatement during -the remainder of his residence here.—Before we proceed -further we will beg leave here to subjoin the account given of -him in the <i>Encyclopedia Londinensis</i>, the substance of -which is as follows—</p> -<blockquote><p>“<span class="smcap">Browne</span> (<i>Sir -William</i>,) an eminent physician, settled originally at Lynn, -where he practised with great success and profit. Having -acquired a competency by his profession, he removed to Queen -Square, Ormond Street, London, where he resided till his death, -which happened March 10, 1774, at the age of eighty two. By -his will he left two prize medals to be annually contended for by -the Cambridge poets. By his lady, who died July 25, 1763, -in her 60th year, he had one daughter, mother to the present Sir -Martin Browne Folkes, bart. Sir William Browne was a very -facetious man, and the active part taken by him in the contest -with the licentiates, in 1768, occasioned his being brought on -the <a name="page1034"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1034</span>stage, in the farce of the Devil upon two -Sticks. Upon Foote’s exact representation, of him, in -this farce, with his identical wig and coat, tail figure, and -glass, stiffly applied to his eye, he sent him a card, -complimenting him in having so happily represented him; but, as -he had forgot his <i>muff</i>, he had sent him his own. He -used to frequent the annual ball at the ladies boarding school, -Queen square, merely as a neighbour, a good natured man, and one -fond of the company of sprightly young folkes. A dignitary -of the church being there one day to see his daughter dance, and -finding this upright figure stationed there, told him he believed -he was <i>Hermippus ridivivus</i>, who lived <i>anhelitu -puellarum</i>, ‘by the breath of girls.’ At the -age of eighty on St. Luke’s-day, 1771, he went to -Batson’s coffee-house, in a richly laced coat, embroidered -waistcoat and band, and fringed white gloves, to shew himself to -Mr. Crosby then lord Mayor. A gentleman present observing -that he looked very well, he replied, “he had neither wife -nor debts.” When he lived at Lynn, an extremely -censorious pamphlet was written against him, which he nailed up -against his house door, for the gratification of all who chose to -inspect it. A great number of lively essays, both in prose -and verse, the productions of his pen, were printed and -circulated among his friends, Among those written during his stay -in Lynn were, an Ode in imitation of Horace, ode 3, lib. iii, -addressed to Sir R. Walpole, on his ceasing to be minister. -The Pill Plot; to Dr. Ward, a quack of merry memory, then in the -town; written Nov. 30. 1734. He also translated from the -latin original, Dr. <a name="page1035"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1035</span>Gregory’s Elements of -Catoptrics and Dioptrics, to which he added 1. a method for -finding the foci of all Specula, as well as the Lenses -universally, as also magnifying or lessening a given object by a -given speculum, or lens, in any assigned proportion. 2. a -Solution of those Problems which Dr. Gregory has left -undemonstrated. 3. a particular account of Microscopes and -Telescopes, from Mr. Huygens; which was published at Lynn. -His other works are, 1. Opuscula varia utriusque Linguæ -Medicinam, 4to 1765—2. a Farewell Oration, 1768, -4to—3. Fragmentum Isaaci Hawkins Browne completum, 1769, -4to—4. Appendix ad Opuscula; six odes, 1770, 4to—5. A -proposal on our Coin, to remedy all present and prevent all -future disorders 1774, 4to—6. A New years Gift, -1772—7. Corrections in verse, from the father of the -College, 4to—8. Speech to the Royal Society, 1772—9. -An Eulogy and address, 1773—10. a Latin version of Job, -left unfinished, 4to.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>From the above sketch the reader will perceive that Sir -William Browne was a person of no common cast, or ordinary -genius. Men of his sort are not to be seen every day: and -when they do appear they are sure to attract observation, and are -apt to make a stir wherever they happen to fix their -residence. Sir William was at the head of the party which -opposed the ruling body here for most part of his long residence -in this town: and he appears to have acted his part with no small -skill and dexterity, and with considerable effect. When the -squabble assumed any thing of a literary aspect, <a -name="page1036"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1036</span>Dr. Pyle -seems to have been his chief opponent. At other times he -had the whole corporate body at him, and it must be said that he -generally defended himself and repelled the attacks of the whole -host of those philistines very stoutly and successfully. -There is great reason to believe that the opposition which he and -his friends so long maintained here, was often of real and not -small service to the town. At the contested election in, -1747, he bore a very conspicuous part, as appears from Dr. -Pyle’s Letter already quoted. The part he acted on -that occasion is supposed to have laid the foundation of that -intimacy between him and Mr. Folkes which issued in an alliance -between the two families, by the marriage of that gentleman with -Sir William’s only daughter and sole heiress. The -issue of that marriage is our present Sir Martin; and Sir -Martin’s Lady is the daughter of that same Sir John Turner, -between whom and Sir William Browne there was such inveterate and -sworn enmity. After the Church was rebuilt in 1747, great -complaints were made of the unfair disposal of pews, &c. so -as to exclude in a great measure the common people from the -privilege of sitting within hearing of the minister. Sir -William was one of those who set their faces against this -grievance. How far he and his coadjutors succeeded in -obtaining redress does not appear. But whether they -succeeded or not, the part they then acted was proper and -praise-worthy. Our worthy knight, no doubt, performed many -other deeds that were equally commendable, and others, it seems, -that were not so. Among the leading traits of his character -have been reckoned undaunted assurance <a -name="page1037"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1037</span>and -consummate vanity. <a name="citation1037"></a><a -href="#footnote1037" class="citation">[1037]</a> He died at -his house in Queen Square, whence his grandson, Sir Martin, had -his remains brought down to Hillington, and there buried in the -<a name="page1038"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1038</span>family -vault belonging to that gentleman’s ancestors. His -Epitaph, or monumental inscription he had prepared long before he -died, and had an elegant engraving of it set up conspicuously in -one of his own apartments. It was in latin. This -writer has seen a transcript of it long ago, but has not been -able to get a sight of it lately. According to a rough -draught of a translation of if, <a name="page1039"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1039</span>which he has now before him, he -understands that the beginning of it would read as follows, in -English.—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Sacred to the memory of Sir William Browne, -knight, President of the Royal College of Physicians, London, and -F.R.S. one who much pursued study and business, and by -God’s help surmounted the knowledge of Physic; and every -night and day, as his strength would allow, cheerful to give -health to mankind. Even that labour was pleasure to -him. Alas! to be beheld thus doing no more! Yet -asserting that he lived happily, well content, his time -fulfilled; as a guest fill’d with life he departed, being a -man who thought nothing belonging to mortals foreign from -him. He died the — day of — in the year — -aged —. He was born on the birth day of Cicero, the -3rd of January 1692—Country! O be perpetual! and -free! Let my soul be with Christosophists, viz. with -Newton, Boyle, Locke; far from mad-men, and from some sort of -wisemen — — —” <a -name="citation1039"></a><a href="#footnote1039" -class="citation">[1039]</a></p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="page1040"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1040</span>14. <i>Thomas Lidderdale</i> M.D. He is -said to have been an elegant and an accomplished scholar, as well -as an excellent physician. The land of his nativity, as -well as that of Dr. Hepburn, was North Britain; and it appears -that he was related to some of the first families in that -country: and such was the respectability of his character after -he removed to England, that he attracted the notice and obtained -the friendship of some of the first personages in this -kingdom. He was born in 1709, and settled as a physician in -this town about the year 1731, where he continued ever after to -the day of his death, which happened in 1766. As to his -descent, we learn that he was the “second son of David -Lidderdale of St. Mary’s Isle, by Eleonora the eldest -daughter of Sir James Dunbar of Mochrum, bart. by Isabella, 2nd. -daughter and coheiress of Sir Thomas Nicholson of Carnock, bart. -and Lady Margaret, eldest daughter of Alexander 2nd earl of -Linlithgow and Lady Mary Dowglass, daughter of William, tenth -earl of <i>Angus</i> or Dowglass.” This we have -learnt from his <i>Pedigree</i>, which is now in the possession -of a very respectable gentleman of this town, and which leads us -back, by a long line of ancestry, through the Dunbars of Mochrum -and Carnock, earls of Dunbar, of Murray, of March, heroes of the -Holy War, earls and princes of Northumberland, kings of Scotland, -&c. up even to the Saxon kings of England. So that in -this view it could be no disparagement to any family in England, -or out of it, to cultivate the acquaintance or friendship of Dr. -Lidderdale. But it is certain that he derived far more real -honour and dignity from his own personal worthiness, <a -name="page1041"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1041</span>or -respectability of character, than he could possibly do from his -whole long catalogue of illustrious ancestors: and that, no -doubt, was what raised him so high in the estimation of his -numerous acquaintance in this country. Like other younger -sons of respectable families, he appears not to have had much of -this world’s goods bestowed on him by his father, beyond -what was spent upon his education, which seems to have been -excellent, from the high reputation he sustained as a -scholar. The rudiments of learning he is supposed to have -received at one of the grammar-schools of his native country; at -one of whose universities he probably spent sometime afterwards; -but he finished his education, if we are not mistaken, at the -university of Rheims in France, where he received the degree of -M.D. which was also conferred upon him afterwards by the -university of St. Andrews. It is not very likely that he -had begun to practise before he came to England; for he arrived -in this town, and took up his residence here, as a physician, at -the early age of <i>twenty two</i>. His introduction here -he probably owed to his countryman, Dr. Hepburn, who was then -advancing in years, and on the verge of his grand climacteric, -though he lived near thirty years after. Our young -physician soon attracted the notice and esteem of the enlightened -and literary part of the public; and being patronized by Hepburn, -he presently came into good practice; but like that of his -patron, it seems to have been chiefly among those of the higher -class. It appears, from one of his letters, that he was -employed by <a name="page1042"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1042</span>the Townshend family from the very commencement of his -practice; and of that family he is known to have retained the -esteem and friendship to the very last. The Walpoles, -Cokes, and Bedingfelds, the Hares, the Hostes, and most of the -great families in these parts were numbered among his -friends. With such high connections, it might be expected -that he could not fail of being placed in easy, if not in -affluent circumstances. It did not however so turn -out. A sine cure office or place in the custom-house was -all he obtained from the favour and affection, the interest and -admiration of those honourable and noble personages, besides the -fees of attendance in the way of his profession, which appear -scarce ever to have corresponded with the length of his journeys, -and the time he was often required to spend in attending upon his -patients. But many beside him have found the smiles of the -great very unproductive of solid advantages.—About seven -years after he had fixed his residence here, he married Miss -Susan Hepburn, the third daughter, if we are not mistaken, of his -great friend and patron, Dr. Hepburn. He was then 29 years -old, and the lady some few years older. They lived together -about 28 years, when he left her a widow with one daughter, said -to have been an extremely amiable and accomplished lady, whom the -mother long survived; one dying in 1787, and the other in 1796, -at the very advanced age of 92.—How much the doctor felt -the unproductiveness of his practice, and the scantiness of his -income, some years before he died, and how anxiously he wished to -better his condition and be placed in easy circumstances, will -appear from the two <a name="page1043"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1043</span>following Letters, one written to -the right honourable Chas. Townshend, then secretary at war, and -the other to general Townshend, afterwards Marquis -Townshend. The first was dated at Lynn Oct. 10, 1762, and -worded as follows,</p> -<blockquote><p>“Sir,</p> -<p>Having been now upwards of thirty years a Norfolk Physician; -where my practice has been attended with greater reputation than -self-interest or money; it is no small mortification at last to -find myself totally neglected and forgotten, among the many -promotions and medical preferments which have been made for -sometime, and are still daily making—Greenwich Hospital, or -some Almshouse, I had reason to believe was intended for me, but -that is gone with other things—I now, Dear Sir, beg leave -to throw myself at your feet to dispose of me as you think -properest and best, whether in a Physical or Civil capacity, I -entirely submit to your determination and pleasure. Indeed -I am almost worn out in the service of this county, and am no -longer able to undergo the fatigue of winter journeys and -slavery; neither is the practice of physic, or manner of -residence in the country the same as when I had the honor of -prescribing for your truly noble grand-father and his family at -Rainham.—Your generous humanity, and known friendly -disposition towards me, will I hope plead my excuse for the -freedom of this Letter, and remind you of one who has long been, -with the most cordial affection and fidelity, Dear Sir, Your most -obedient and devoted humble Servant,</p> -<p style="text-align: right">T. L.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>The other Letter was dated April 19th, 1763, and expressed -thus,</p> -<blockquote><p>“Dear General,</p> -<p>It gave me real concern that my health would not allow me to -pay my personal respects at Cranmer, during your short stay in -Norfolk—Indeed I have now too much reason <a -name="page1044"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1044</span>to fear -that my constitution and age will not permit me long to undergo -the fatigue and slavery of business in the country, where I have -hitherto practised with more reputation than profit; I therefore -hope you’ll pardon my present solicitation for some -appointment (through your interest and favour) that may render -life less laborious to myself, and not useless to my -family. Having upwards of thirty years disclaimed any -application or pretensions but those of my connection, and long -endeavoured to be serviceable in this county, I rely upon your -friendship and favour to dispose of me as you shall think -properest and best, without any particular attachment to the -Profession of Physick, where so many, of a younger date and less -service, have been put over my head.</p> -<p>I am, with the utmost regard,</p> -<p style="text-align: center">Dear Sir, &c.</p> -<p style="text-align: right">T. L.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>The former Letter was not the first the Dr. addressed to that -correspondent on the same occasion. We have seen the copy -of another, of a prior date, which he wrote to him to the same -effect. But these applications or solicitations did not -succeed. The Townshends did nothing for him or his family -in his lifetime, whatever they did afterwards, though nothing -could exceed their professions of respect and esteem for -him. The place he got here in the customs was not obtained -by their interest, but by that of Lord Orford and Sir John -Turner: and he continued in vain to wish and hope for further -preferment to his dying day. But however unproductive his -practice had been, and much as he had felt on that account, his -death was said to be generally and deeply regretted; as appears -from the following paragraph in the public papers of that time, -drawn up, it seems, by a celebrated character, who was one of his -warm admirers—</p> -<blockquote><p><a name="page1045"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1045</span>“Lynn Regis Norfolk, April 18. 1766. On -Friday the 11th. instant died here extremely lamented by the -whole county, Doctor Thomas Lidderdale, a physician no less -eminent for his skill and happy penetration, than for his wit, -learning, and probity. His sudden sallies in conversation -were so equally fortunate with his premeditation in prescribing, -that his power over dulness, and disease, may be said to have -been alike irresistable.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Several Epitaphs, or monumental inscriptions, were also -composed for him about the same time, some in latin and some in -english, of which the following is one of the most -remarkable.</p> -<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">“Sacred to the -Memory<br /> -Of Thomas Lidderdale, a most eminent Physician,<br /> -in investigating the causes of diseases acutely sagacious,<br /> -in his practice as remarkably successful.<br /> -They to whom he restored health deservedly regret their loss,<br -/> -The sick will wish, but wish in vain, for a physician<br /> -of equal abilities.<br /> -He possessed a vein of polite wit, and inoffensive humour,<br /> -ever flowing, ever new.<br /> -His sentiments, conversation, and actions were all<br /> -highly becoming a man of probity and a gentleman.<br /> -His Friendship, his Advice, his best services<br /> -were wanting to none.<br /> -With such sentiments, heightened by such an<br /> -amiably moral character, it is little to be wondered<br /> -that his life should be dear, and his death afflicting<br /> -to all.<br /> -If polite literature is held in deserved estimation by men,<br /> -If piety, and the duties of humanity are regarded by God,<br /> -To his memory will be paid lasting honours<br /> -on Earth,<br /> -To himself will be given eternal rewards<br /> -in Heaven.<br /> -He died the 11th. of April 1766 Æt. 57.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Dr. Lidderdale could, as we have seen, boast not only of the -professed esteem and friendship of the great, but, as was before -hinted, could claim kindred with some of them, particularly the -<i>Stair</i> family, to which he is said to have been very nearly -related. The following paragraph on the death of the great -Lord Stair, being found among his papers, in his handwriting, was -probably drawn up by him—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Saturday May the 19th. 1747. This -night <a name="page1046"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1046</span>died in the 78th year of his age, at his lodging in -the Cannongate, the right honourable Field marshal Joan earl of -Stair, one of the sixteen peers for Scotland, knight of the most -ancient order of the Thistle, governor of Minorca, General of -Marines, Colonel of the royal regiment of Scots Grey Dragoons, -and one of his majesty’s most honourable Privy -Council—A nobleman of the most rare abilities, being -endowed with every virtue that could either accomplish the -Statesman, or adorn the Warrior.—The Court of Versailles -and States general will tell of his wisdom, and prudence, while -the plains of Ramillies, Oudenard, Malplaquet, and Dettingen will -continue lasting monuments of his bravery and conduct. -Where shall we begin his Encomium? How equally qualified -either for Camp or Court; how great without pride; now amiable -without vanity; how just without rigour; how wise without -arrogance, and bountiful without ostentation: supporting the -highest dignities with decency, humanity, and moderation, only to -be found among the truly great; being possessed of every talent -which can render man great in himself, and beneficial to his -friends and country.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>It is reported that Dr. Lidderdale had a genius for poetry, -and would sometimes amuse himself in writing verses, and -particularly epigrams, one of which is said to be the -following—</p> -<blockquote><p>“God and the Doctor men alike adore,<br /> -Just on the Brink of Danger—not before:<br /> -The Danger past, both are alike requited;<br /> -God is forgotten and the Doctor slighted.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>The following Copy of verses by the revd. Joseph Sympson, to -the memory of Miss Lidderdale, whose excellent character has been -already noticed, will not it is hoped be deemed an improper -conclusion to this article.</p> -<blockquote><p>In vain Maria, we the healing Art<br /> -Implor’d his balmy succours to impart:<br /> -The healing Art, despairing of his power<br /> -That well he knew diminish’d every hour,<br /> -With mournful visage from thy couch withdrew,<br /> -While hence to bliss thy gentle Spirit flew.<br /> - And sure, meek Saint, the just decree of -Heav’n<br /> -To thee no Indian Paradise has giv’n;<br /> -No verdant hill surrounded by the floods;<br /> -No flow’ry valley in the depth of woods;<br /> -Thou sought’st thy native place, the seats divine;<br /> -The native place of ev’ry soul like thine!<br /> -Had Angels on thy bosom fix’d their eyes<br /> -They ne’er had seen a faulty thought arise:<br /> -All there was guiltless as a Hermit’s dream,<br /> -<a name="page1047"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1047</span>All -mild as is the Sun’s departing beam:<br /> -No wayward passions with malignant strife<br /> -Disturb’d the peaceful current of thy life:<br /> -The soft affections, loving and belov’d<br /> -Alone its surface tremulously mov’d.<br /> -To live as Virtue bids is fame most high;<br /> -The second praise is virtuously to die;<br /> -And both to thee are due—as on the bed<br /> -Of tedious pain thou long reclin’d thy head,<br /> -Calm resignation ever smoothed thy face,<br /> -And unto sickness lent a languid grace;<br /> -While Hope and Faith, fair sister Seraphs near,<br /> -Still whisp’ring holy comfort in thine ear,<br /> -With radiant finger pointed out the way<br /> -That leads the good to everlasting day.<br /> -Tho’ thou among the bright ethereal choir<br /> -Again behold’st thy much regretted Sire,<br /> -No perfect bliss thy tender heart can know,<br /> -Reflecting pensive on thy Mother’s woe;<br /> -For ah! thy piercing glance still sees her mourn<br /> -In pious melancholy o’er thy urn,<br /> -Yet let not this invade thy breast with care;<br /> -For Hope and Faith, the same seraphic pair<br /> -That brought to all thy sufferings sweet relief,<br /> -Have stay’d below to mitigate her grief:<br /> -Ev’n now they kindly check the rising sigh<br /> -And close the opening sluices of her eye,<br /> -Nor will they quit her till from sorrow free,<br /> -She joins in Heav’n thy sainted Sire and thee.</p> -</blockquote> -<p>We may here further observe, that among the friends and -correspondents of Dr. Lidderdale are found the names of <i>Dr. -Heberden</i>, <i>Dr. R. Taylor</i>, and <i>Sir John -Pringle</i>. Between him and the latter however there was a -kind of relationship, by the marriage of a sister of his to Sir -John’s brother, the issue of which marriage was the late -<i>admiral Pringle</i>. Sir John used to correspond with -the family long after the death of Dr. Lidderdale, and so we -presume did also the admiral, <a name="page1048"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1048</span>as miss Lidderdale and he were so -nearly related. But we are not sure that that lady and her -mother received many favours or much assistance from that -quarter.</p> - -<div class="gapshortline"> </div> -<p>Some additional papers relating to Dr. Hepburn’s royal -pension having fallen into the author’s hands since that -article was printed off, he begs leave to take some notice of -them here, by way of postscript or supplement to that same -article.—It was there observed that the doctor had obtained -a royal pension by the interest and friendship of Mr. -Pelham. After the death of that minister a fresh -application for the continuance of the pension became necessary, -and this application was made to the succeeding minister, the -Duke of Newcastle, and through him to the sovereign. The -following is a copy of the Letter from the doctor on that -occasion, dated May 14. 1754.—</p> -<blockquote><p>“My Lord,</p> -<p>The grateful remembrance of my happy success in applying to -Mr. Pelham 4 years ago for his Majesty’s Bounty, soon -determined me to address your Grace for its continuance, in whose -congenial generous breast I was sure to find the same benevolent -disposition. But lest the prolixity of the -<i>Narrative</i>, by which it was proper to inform your Grace of -the present state of your petitioner, should possibly put a stop -to the timely inspection of the whole, I have thrown that apart, -to be considered whenever your Grace shall think proper. -Meantime confiding entirely in your Grace’s favour, I beg -the honour of being admitted, My Lord,</p> -<p>Your Grace’s most obedient and truly faithful humble -Servant</p> -<p style="text-align: right">G. H.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>The <i>Narrative</i>, above alluded to, was as -follows—</p> -<blockquote><p>“My sight has been declining for seven or -eight years past. But in the year 1750 (the 80th. of my -age) I became almost quite blind, as I have now for two years -past been altogether so. Having lost most of my business -with my sight, and as the distribution of my small fortune among -<i>six</i> daughters whilst I could see had left me but a poor -pittance to subsist on, I implored Mr. Pelham’s assistance -for his majesty’s Bounty, which he was pleased with great -alacrity to undertake: and with what zeal and address he -performed it does not obscurely appear from what he was pleased -to tell me at Holkham (where I had the honour to thank him Viva -Voce) viz. That he never knew his majesty grant a favour <a -name="page1049"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1049</span>with more -cheerfullness than he did this.—The Earl of Leicester has -annually done me the honour to receive this royal Bounty from Mr. -Pelham’s own hand; two noble securities for one hundred -pounds.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>To the above Letter an answer, of which the following is a -copy, was received from <i>James West Esq.</i> first Secretary of -the Treasury, dated May 16. 1754.—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Sir, I am directed by the Duke of Newcastle -to acquaint you that his Grace has received your Letter, and that -you may be assured his grace will be the means of the same royal -bounty being continued to you as was in Mr. Pelham’s -time.</p> -<p style="text-align: center">I am, Sir, Your most humble -Servant,</p> -<p style="text-align: right">J. West.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>To this Letter an answer was returned in the following words -(dated May 19. 1754)—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Sir, The honour his Grace the Duke of -Newcastle has done me, by your Letter of the 16th. instant, is -extremely obliging. But his Grace’s readiness to -oblige has enhanced these obligations beyond expression. I -must therefore humbly beg my noble friend’s assistance how -to acknowledge them as I would, as well as to receive, the royal -favour so frankly promised. Meantime I beg his Grace to -believe that my breast is full of all the gratitude that is -possible to be expressed.</p> -<p>I am with very great esteem, Sir,</p> -<p style="text-align: center">Your obedient humble Servant</p> -<p style="text-align: right">G. H.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>It may be here just added, that though Lidderdale could not -boast of the generosity or munificence of the Townshends, the -case was somewhat otherwise with Hepburn, as appears from the -following copy of a Letter dated July 11th. 1756, from him to the -then Lord Townshend. The copy, probably in the handwriting -of one of his daughters by the <i>last marriage</i>, is as -follows—</p> -<blockquote><p>“My Lord, The singular testimony of your -Lordships regard (which I lately had the honour to receive from -Mr. Case) has, like the Sunbeams <a name="page1050"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1050</span>of Summer to a decayed plant, -giveing (given) warmth and springly vigour to the winter of my -age. A warmth, my Lord, which has filled my breast with -greattitude (gratitude) that will last as long as blood -circulates in the veanns (veins) or the heart continues to beat -in the breast of,</p> -<p>My Lord, Your Lordship’s ever obliged, most -obedient,</p> -<p style="text-align: center">And most thankful humble -servant.</p> -<p style="text-align: right">G. H.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>When the kindness of Dr. <i>Maxwell</i>, in settling upon his -uncle Hepburn the very handsome annuity of 200<i>l.</i> a year, -was noticed above, it should have been also observed that the -nephew had very great obligations to the uncle, and owed perhaps -almost every thing to him in regard to his good fortune or -advancement in the world. The following Letter from Hepburn -to the Duke of Devonshire, then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, where -Maxwell was in the meantime stationed as a surgeon in the army, -may serve to throw some light upon that subject.—</p> -<blockquote><p>“My Lord, The honour I have had for many -years of being known to, and sometimes taken notice of by your -grace at Houghton in Norfolk, has fixed in me such a firm opinion -of your grace’s humane disposition, that it is without the -least diffidence I now presume to write to your Grace, in behalf -of Mr. Maxwell, a surgeon, the bearer. His near relation to -me, My Lord, claims indeed my endeavours to serve him; but much -more his own merit. However as consanguinity too often -occasions partiality, I choose, my Lord, and think it much more -equitable to leave him to produce vouchers for his character from -among the military officers of the best rank in Ireland, where he -has served near twenty years—Let this have the honour to -introduce him to your Grace, as my nephew. Let the merit of -whatever boon he may beg of your Grace (if any) depend upon the -voice of those Gens D’honneur who have been so long -constant witnesses of his behaviour and practice.—And now, -my Lord, as in full assurance of your Grace’s good nature I -have ventured upon this Letter, so ’tis in your -Grace’s Goodness, I only can hope for pardon, and beg leave -to subscribe myself, Lynn Jan. 12. 1739–40. My Lord, -Your Grace’s &c. G. H.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>15. <i>John Rastrick</i> M.A. In the order of -time, or seniority, his name in this list ought to have preceded -several of the former ones, as he was many years older than even -Pyle and Hepburn; and in point of learning and piety, or real -respectability of character, he was probably not inferior to any -one that has been yet named <a name="page1051"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1051</span>of the former inhabitants of this -town. He was born in 1649, at Heckington near Sleaford, in -Lincolnshire. Of the situation, or circumstances of his -parents we are uninformed. They probably ranked among the -reputable yeomanry of that place. Their son, being designed -for the ministry, may be supposed to be placed at a proper age at -one of those seminaries in the country where youth are prepared -for the university. Having acquired the rudiments of -classical learning, he was sent to Trinity College in Cambridge, -where he finished his academical education and obtained the -degree of M.A. He then went into orders; but when that was, -we have not learnt. He probably officiated afterwards as -curate for sometime; but that could not be long, for he became -vicar of Kirkton, near Boston, in 1674, when he was about 25 -years of age. No sooner had he settled at Kirkton than he -felt the arduousness of the charge he had undertaken. His -congregation was large, and the parish of great extent. How -much his mind was improved with these considerations, and how -anxious he was lest he should fail in the due execution of his -office, will appear from his own testimony on the subject, in a -Letter to a friend:</p> -<blockquote><p>“The number and distance of the inhabitants, -(says he) gave me a very sensible concern, and I was very uneasy -under the burden that lay upon me: I knew not what to do for so -many souls, that were also most of them so remote from my -dwelling, nor how to discharge my duty in a place, that (as a -learned, pious, and worthy clergyman, my friend told me) was as -large as some of the dioceses of the primitive church. -Catechising, and preaching to such as <a -name="page1052"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1052</span>would -come under them, was not all I had to do. But I could not -forbear being concerned with such as would bring their children -to baptism, or offer themselves to the Lord’s Table, how to -carry it, and answer the Church’s expectations, with -satisfaction to my mind, and fidelity to my highest trust. -In catechising and preaching, I could suit myself, my doctrine, -and discourse to the condition of the people; but (by the rules -and orders of my publick station) in administering sacraments and -applying the seals, (especially baptism) I saw I must treat them -all alike. Yet if catechising and preaching be to prepare -men for sacraments for themselves or theirs, it undeniably -supposeth, that the <i>latter</i> are not to be given to such in -whom the <i>former</i> hath no effect, nor to their -children. Qualifications for privileges I knew were -necessary, but where <i>those</i> were wanting, it was impossible -I should apply <i>these</i> without a relucting mind: and -therefore whatever I might have been in the capacity of a -lecturer, or bare preacher, yet as a <i>pastor</i> it could not -be, that I should be unconcerned in acts of discipline and -government, and in judging of my own ministerial performances of -that kind.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Such is his own account; and there is no reason to doubt of -its correctness.—Having carefully formed an idea of his -line of duty, he set himself in good earnest upon acting up to -it; but here he met with insuperable difficulties, which troubled -and plagued him exceedingly, and forced him at last, to resign -his living <a name="citation1052"></a><a href="#footnote1052" -class="citation">[1052]</a> and quit the church of which he had -been many <a name="page1053"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1053</span>years a minister, and which he would probably have -continued still to be, had he been permitted by his -ecclesiastical superiors to act with honesty and a good <a -name="page1054"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1054</span>conscience, which they however were no way disposed to -allow him to do. Thus was he forced to resign his vicarage -of Kirkton; after he had held it 14 years, while numbers of -sporting, fox hunting, and loose living incumbents were suffered -to retain their situations with impunity and without the least -check or remonstrance. But though he quitted the ministry, -he did not immediately withdraw from the communion of the -established church, for we find him communicating sometime after -at Frampton, where his friend <i>Ishmael Burroughs</i> was -curate, who himself afterwards left the church and became pastor -of a Presbyterian congregation at Wisbeach, where he continued -the remainder <a name="page1055"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1055</span>his days. We are not sure that either he or -Rastrick engaged in the ministry among the Dissenters, or even -actually joined them, till after the Revolution, when the -Toleration Act made it perfectly safe for them so to do. It -does not appear at what time Burroughs undertook his charge, or -entered upon his ministry at Wisbeach; but it appears that -Rastrick entered upon his ministry and took the charge of the -Presbyterian congregation at Lynn in 1701, <a -name="citation1055"></a><a href="#footnote1055" -class="citation">[1055]</a> for we find that he was minister here -26 years; and he died in 1727. The commencement of his -ministry here was therefore 14 years after he had resigned or -quitted Kirkton, and perhaps 30 years or more after the -commencement of his public ministry: so that at the time of his -death he had been in the ministry between 50 and 60 years. -How and where he spent his time during the interval between his -quitting Kirkton and his settling at Lynn, we have not been able -to discover. Wherever it was, he spent it no doubt, in a -manner worthy of himself, or of that integrity and goodness of -character which he so uniformly and so well sustained through -life. Old members of that congregation used to say, 30 -years ago, that he settled here as successor to a Mr. -<i>Williams</i>, who, as far as we can find, was the only -minister of that society during the 25 years, that intervened -between the death of Mr. Horne and the arrival of Mr. -Rastrick. Of this Mr. Williams we have not been able to -obtain any further information. Where he came <a -name="page1056"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1056</span>from, -what was his character, how long he was settled here, what became -of him, whether he died here or removed elsewhere, must of course -be all left among the uncertainties. When Mr. Rastrick came -to settle at Lynn, he had been 14 years in a state of separation -from the Church, and therefore a kind of dissenter. The -Presbyterian was the denomination he appeared most to approve, -and it was that which he afterwards joined: but he had too much -moderation, and too little of a sectarian spirit to be admired by -any existing party. Dissatisfied with many things in the -Church, he was far from approving of all things he saw among the -dissenters. This made him often think and say (as he tells -us) that, as things then stood in England, “he was neither -fit for Church nor Meeting.” That this unprejudiced -or unbiassed disposition of his should not insure to him the -admiration or esteem of his new friends or connection, but would -tend to lower rather than exalt him in their estimation, and so -prove prejudicial to his interest among them, must not be deemed -very strange or wonderful; especially as he was pretty free in -expressing his disapprobation of what he thought amiss. -That such was the case appears from his own testimony: “My -conscience beareth me witness, (says he) That in my more private -station in all the places where I have served, I have not been -sparing both in preaching and practice, to express myself, and -set myself against the corruptions and errors of Dissenters, -tho’ it has been so much to my hindrance and disadvantage -in outward or worldly respects.” In another place he -says, “In the mean time, I hope (in the <a -name="page1057"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1057</span>strength -of Christ) to abide in the true catholic and apostolic christian -faith and church, and in the true protestant reform’d -religion: and (as to the church of England so called) a <i>mere -nonconformist</i>, not addicting myself to any faction, sect, or -party of christians, as such, under what denomination -soever.” All this is very honourable to his memory: -and it may help in some measure to account for a person of his -learning and talents remaining all the residue of his days the -minister of a comparatively obscure and poor congregation, (as -this at Lynn, at best, certainly was,) while many respectable and -opulent congregations were in want of such pastors, or were -supplied by men of far inferior abilities and attainments. -The same may also help to account for those difficulties and -trials he afterwards experienced from his congregation, or from -certain individuals that composed a part of it. Such -troublers or disturbers a moderate, liberal-minded minister is -pretty sure of finding in most dissenting congregations. A -thorough-paced bigot, or sectary, has a far better chance of -escaping them, or at least of obtaining their countenance and -co-operation. Rastrick kept his mind open to conviction; as -appears from the change which took place in his sentiments in the -latter part of his life, when he embraced the opinions which -distinguished Clarke and Jackson among the churchmen, and Peirce -and Hallet and others among the Dissenters. It is somewhat -remarkable that both Pyle and he were then proselyted to those -opinions; so that the Church and the meeting here became equally -heterodox. This change in his sentiments appears to have <a -name="page1058"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1058</span>extended -further than what related to the athanasian trinity, and to have -soon divided the congregation into two parties, one approving and -the other disapproving of his ministry. <a -name="citation1058"></a><a href="#footnote1058" -class="citation">[1058]</a> It is probable that much, if -not most of his discomfort here sprung from this source. -This difference of opinion, however did not, in his time, produce -separation; for they all continued, as far as we can learn, to -attend on his ministry, while he lived, notwithstanding their -diversity of sentiments. The malcontents not only were -Athanasians, but appear to have been also strongly tinctured with -Calvinism, and even with Antinomianism; which indeed has been -thought to be little, or rather nothing more than -“Calvinism run to seed.” To them it is no great -wonder that Mr. R’s ministry proved unacceptable, or that -they should cause him some disquietude and unhappiness. -That such was really the case, may be inferred from his very -Epitaph; and it is further corroborated by oral tradition, as -well as by the contents the prefer to a MS. volume of his, left -by him ready for the press; though, for some reason, to us -unknown, it never was published; and it has been now many years -in the possession of the present writer. This volume was -certainly far more worthy of publication than thousands that have -been published since, and that are still daily publishing. -It is entitled, “Plain and Easy Principles of <a -name="page1059"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1059</span>Christian -Religion and Obedience; or, The Necessity of keeping -Christ’s Commandments, in order to our preserving an -Interest in his Favour, Demonstrated from John 15. 10. By -John Rastrick M.A. sometime vicar of Kirkton near Boston in -Lincolnshire, and now minister of the gospel at King’s Lyn -in Norfolk.” <a name="citation1059"></a><a -href="#footnote1059" class="citation">[1059]</a> It <a -name="page1060"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1060</span>is a -sensible and notable performance, and contains many striking and -curious thoughts, <a name="citation1060"></a><a -href="#footnote1060" class="citation">[1060]</a> especially in -the <i>appendix</i>, where the trinitarian controversy, and that -relating to the person of Christ are more particularly adverted -to and discussed. We are assured that he intended <a -name="page1061"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1061</span>to -publish this work himself; but being by some means prevented, he -left instructions at his death for his son to do it afterwards: -which yet he did not do, despairing <i>perhaps</i> of its -convincing, or having any good effect on the malcontents, and -fearing it might irritate them further, and so preclude the -possibility of re-union, or a restoration of harmony in the -congregation. But whatever consideration it was that -prevented the publication of this volume, it is certain that -harmony was never restored, or a re-union effected between these -two parties: the discontented or antinomian party went off -afterwards, in the son’s time, and formed a kind of -Independent Society, which after assuming various shapes, and -undergoing divers changes, produced the Baptist congregation -here, which now meets at the new chapel in Broad Street. -Mr. Rastrick died in 1727, at the advanced age of 78. <a -name="citation1061"></a><a href="#footnote1061" -class="citation">[1061]</a> He lived, as did also his son -afterwards, in that house in Spinner Lane, now occupied by Mr. -<i>Dennis</i>, behind which stood the chapel, both of which, if -we are not mistaken, were his own property. He left behind -him several things in MS. some of which, beside the volume above -noticed, are now in the possession of the present writer. -The whole is written <a name="page1062"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1062</span>in a very small hand, and with -singular neatness, for he, as well as his son, was an admirable -penman. He was doubtless an eminent scholar, and reckoned a -very good mathematician, which is not unlikely, as he was -cotemporary and of the same college with <i>Barrow</i>: nor is it -very probable that that generation of Dissenters had among them -many if any names of superior learning and respectability.</p> -<p><a name="page1063"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1063</span>Of -his writings not much went through the press, which we may -presume had not been the case had he lived in later times, or -under more auspicious circumstances. Of his printed works -the present writer has not heard of any except the following: 1. -“An Account of the Nonconformity of <i>John Rastrick</i>, -A.M. sometime vicar of <i>Kirkton</i>, near <i>Boston</i>, in -Lincolnshire; containing the occasion and circumstances of his -secession from that place. In a Letter to a -Friend.” [It was printed in London, in 1705; and the -friend to whom it was addressed was Dr. <i>Edmund -Calamy</i>.] 2. “A Sermon at the ordination of -Mr <i>Samuel Savage</i>, at St. Edmund’s Bury, April 22. -1714. With an exhortation to him at the -close.”—3. “Two letters to Mr. <i>Ralph -Thoresby</i> of <i>Leeds</i>, giving an account of a great number -of <i>Roman</i> coins found at <i>Flete</i> in Lincolnshire, and -other antiquities found at <i>Spalding</i>, &c. and printed -in the <i>Phil. Trans.</i> No. 279, p. 1156, -&c.—4. “A <i>supplement</i> to the latter, -printed in the same work, No. 377, p. 340.”—His -unprinted, or unpublished works appear to have been much more -numerous and considerable; but they got into different hands -after the son’s death, and most of them perhaps have been -since lost. Some of them were in the possession of the -son’s successors Messrs. <i>Mayhew</i> and <i>Warner</i>, -and some in that of the late Dr. <i>Lloyd</i>. What became -of them we know not. The two following articles with some -other loose papers came into the possession of the present -writer—1. The MS. volume before mentioned, entitled -“<span class="smcap">Plain and Easy Principles of Christian -Religion and Obedience</span>; or the necessity of keeping -Christ’s Commandments, in order to our preserving an -interest in his favour, demonstrated.” [It would make -a duodecimo volume of 250 or 300 pages, and may be called an -ingenious and elaborate piece, written out with great care and -singular neatness.] <a name="citation1063"></a><a -href="#footnote1063" class="citation">[1063]</a> 2. -“A <span class="smcap">Short Catechism</span>; containing -<a name="page1064"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1064</span>the -chief heads of the christian religion, and faith of -Christ.” It is carefully and neatly written like the -other MS. volume, yet it does not appear to have been intended -for the press, but rather as a present, or new-year’s gift -to his children, the name of one of whom, <i>Hannah Rastrick</i>, -is prefixed to it in her father’s hand writing.—The -smaller MSS. are some of them in prose and some in <i>verse</i>, -for Mr. R. <i>like one of our present mathematicians</i>, <a -name="citation1064a"></a><a href="#footnote1064a" -class="citation">[1064a]</a> would sometimes leave those profound -or severer studies, and amuse himself with writing little poems; -but with this difference, that these productions of the former -were only meant for the amusement or gratification of his own -children and family, or the small circle of intimate and -particular friends, and not for the inspection and admiration of -the public at large, like those of the latter. <a -name="citation1064b"></a><a href="#footnote1064b" -class="citation">[1064b]</a> Without attempting to draw any -further parallel or comparison between our present or former race -of mathematicians, we shall here close our memoir of the -venerable John Rastrick.</p> -<p><a name="page1065"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1065</span>16. <i>William Rastrick</i>. He was the -only son, or at least the only surviving son of the former: and -he was every way a son worthy of such a father. In point of -<a name="page1066"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1066</span>genius -and learning, virtue and piety, or real respectability or -exemplariness of character, he has always been understood as -nothing inferior to him, or to any one of his contemporaries -either in this town or in all this part of the kingdom. The -very servants, and all those who were most intimate in the -family, and who had therefore the best opportunity of knowing and -judging of his private <a name="page1067"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1067</span>and real character, always deemed -and spoke of him as one of the best of men and most exemplary of -christians. Knowing how much his father had been teazed and -tried by one part of the congregation, he never would undertake -the pastoral charge: but used to exchange with the Presbyterian -minister at Wisbeach, at those times when the Lord’s Supper -was to be administered here; which must have been very -inconvenient to a man of his retired and recluse habits. -Like his father he exceeded any of our townsmen of his time in -many branches of knowledge, especially the mathematics. His -superior skill and judgement would accordingly be resorted to on -such difficult occasions as required extraordinary scientific -expertness or accuracy. In how many instances his townsmen -were indebted to his superior attainments, it is impossible now -to say: but the best <i>plan of the town</i> that has yet -appeared, with different views of it and of some of its principal -buildings, drawn by him, may be reckoned among those -instances. Except such productions we know not of any thing -else of his that has been published: nor do we know of any thing -from his exquisite pen that is now extant beside <i>his Account -of the Ejected Ministers</i>, in latin. Of this notable -production there are now in existence at least <i>three -copies</i>; two in his own hand writing, one of them deposited in -Dr. <i>Williams’ Library</i>, in London, and the other in -St. <i>Margaret’s Library</i>, in Lynn: the latter written -with almost inimitable neatness. The third copy is a fair -transcript of the latter, in two different hands, and in the -possession of the present writer. It is entitled, -“<span class="smcap">Index</span> <i>Eorum Theologorum -Aliorumque</i> No. 2257. <a name="page1068"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1068</span><i>Qui propter Legem </i><span -class="smcap"><i>Uniformitatis</i></span>, <i>Aug:</i> 24 -<i>An.</i> 1662, <i>ab Ecclesia Anglicana secesserunt</i>, -<i>Alphabetico ordine ac secundum gradus suos -depositus</i>. <i>Cura ac opera </i><span -class="smcap"><i>Gulielmi Rastrick</i></span>.” Then -follow, by way of motto, Zech. i. 5. in <i>Hebrew</i>; Heb. xi. -38, in <i>Greek</i>; a passage from <i>Erasmus</i> in -<i>Latin</i>; and one from <i>Locke</i>, in <i>English</i>. -At the bottom of the page stands 1734, denoting, as it would -seem, the year in which the MS. was written. Mr. W. R. -lived after that about 18 years, and died in the first week of -<i>August</i> 1752, just 25 years after his father; near to whose -grave, if not within the same, his remains are supposed to have -been deposited. He was buried on the 9th of that month, as -appears by the parish register.</p> -<p>17. <i>Anthony Mayhew</i>. He succeeded the former -as the minister of the congregation; and was a minister every way -worthy of such a predecessor; for a man of superior worthiness, -or of a more excellent character was rarely to be found any -where. He was a native of Suffolk, and had been many years -in the ministry, chiefly in Hampshire, if we are not mistaken, -before he settled in this town. After he had been here some -years the old chapel in Spinner-Lane was deserted, and a new one -erected in <i>Broad-Street</i>, where Mr. Isaac Allen now -officiates. He died Aug. 15, 1783 at the age of 76; about -six years after he had resigned his pastoral charge, when he was -succeeded by</p> -<p>18. <i>William Warner</i>. He was a person of a -most amiable disposition, and of respectable parts and -learning. He had been educated in London, under doctors -<i>Savage</i>, <a name="page1069"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1069</span><i>Kippis</i>, and <i>Rees</i>, and came to Lynn in -1777, by the recommendation of those eminent tutors, in -consequence of an application from Mr. Mayhew and the -congregation. He was here about three or four and twenty -years. His health had been deciding some years before he -died, which made him wish for a more favourably situation, which -at last offered itself, at Hapton near Norwich. But he -lived not long there; for he died early in 1802 <a -name="citation1069"></a><a href="#footnote1069" -class="citation">[1069]</a> at the age of 46. He was born -at or near <i>Nailsworth</i>, in Gloucestershire, where he is -supposed to have several near relations still living. He -married one of the daughters of his worthy predecessor Mr. -Mayhew, who still survives him, and is no way unworthy of such a -father and such a husband. His funeral sermon was preached -at Lynn by one who knew him intimately above twenty years, and -knew him to be a man without bigotry and without guile. The -congregation declined in his time, after his death the chapel, by -some odd management, went into the hands of the Calvinistic -Methodists, under the name of <i>Independents</i>, though it was -said to be the property of the Presbyterian Board in London.</p> -<p>19. Sir <i>Benjamin Keene</i>, Knight of the Bath, was -born at Lynn, in 1697. He was the eldest son of Charles -Keene, Esq; a merchant and alderman of this borough, who served -the office of Mayor in 1714–15. Young Keene was -probably educated at the Free School in this <a -name="page1070"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1070</span>town, and -was thence removed to Pembroke Hall in the University of -Cambridge, where he took his degree of civil law. He -afterwards continued his studies for a few years at Leyden. -It is said that the misfortunes of Mr. Keene, the father, in -trade, first recommended the family to the humanity and the -protection of Sir Robert Walpole, who afterwards acknowledged -that the talents and integrity of the son, in a public station of -peculiar difficulty, had more than repaid his beneficence. -In July 1724, Mr. Benjamin Keene was appointed the British Consul -at Madrid, and in 1727 Minister Plenipotentiary at the Spanish -Court. He was afterwards sent Envoy Extraordinary and -Plenipotentiary to the Court of Portugal, and then removed with -the character of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to -the Court of Spain. It was before observed, in the -biographical sketch of Sir R. Walpole, that it was the great and -meritorious object of that minister to preserve his country in a -state of peace: his instructions on this point appear to have -been executed by his pupil, Mr. Keene, with equal ability and -dignity. At an early period of the clamour on account of -what was called the Spanish Depredations, <a -name="citation1070"></a><a href="#footnote1070" -class="citation">[1070]</a> the origin of the differences, and -the difficulty of adjusting them, were thus clearly explained by -the Ambassador in a letter to the Secretary of State—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Upon the whole, the state of our dispute -seems to be, that the commanders of our vessels always think, -that they are unjustly taken, if they are not taken in -<i>actual</i> illicit commerce, even though proofs of their -having loaded in that manner are found upon them; and <a -name="page1071"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1071</span>the -Spaniards on the other hand presume, that they have a right of -seizing, not only the ships that are actually trading in their -ports, but likewise of examining and visiting them on the high -seas, in order to search, for proofs of fraud, which they may -have committed; and till a medium be found out between these two -notions, the government will always be embarrassed with -complaints, and we shall be continually negotiating in this -country for redress, without our being able to procure -it.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>No efforts were, however, to be left untried by the -parliamentary opponents of Walpole to force him into a war; and -while they incessantly inveighed against the pusillanimity of the -minister, they did not scruple to give their sanction to the most -exaggerated accounts of the insults permitted and exercised by -the Spaniards, and indeed to the most incredible tales of -horror. A transaction which had occurred seven years -before, and which was now worked up into “the fable of -Jenkins’ ear,” as Burke justly calls it, was made the -vehicle of popular frenzy; and it required the full exertion of -ministerial sagacity and influence to elude an immediate -rupture. The pacific overtures of Sir R. Walpole were most -ably seconded by Mr. Keene, whose address overcame the -dilatoriness, the punctilios, and the repugnance of the Spanish -Court; and a convention was signed at Madrid, which promised all -the advantages which the most successful warfare could have -procured. But no reasonable concession could satisfy the -people of England: their haughty and insulting language at length -disgusted and provoked the Spanish <a name="page1072"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1072</span>nation. The terms of the -convention were, in consequence, not fulfilled; Mr. Keene was -recalled, and the declaration of War against Spain was hailed in -England with a frantic enthusiasm. “They now -<i>ring</i> the bells,” was Sir Robert’s observation, -“but they will soon <i>wring</i> their hands.” -Burke, whose veracity will not be doubted, declares that he had -seen and examined the original documents concerning these -important transactions, and that they had perfectly satisfied him -of the extreme injustice of this war with Spain. He even -says, “some years after, it was my fortune to converse with -many of the principal actors against that minister, and with -those who principally excited that clamour. None of them, -no not one, did in the least defend the measure, or attempt to -justify their conduct, which they as freely condemned as they -would have done in commenting upon any proceeding in history, in -which they were totally unconcerned.” It is -sufficient to add, that after a disgraceful period of seven -years’ hostility, after a dreadful expense of blood and -treasure, the right of English Subjects to navigate in the -American Seas, the original source of the differences between us -and Spain, were not even mentioned in the articles of the ensuing -peace!!</p> -<p>Mr. Keene was again appointed to the same honourable station, -and in 1754 his majesty George the second was pleased to give a -fresh and public mark of approbation of the ambassador’s -conduct, by dignifying him with the knighthood of the order of -the Bath; and as the king of Spain graciously performed the -ceremony <a name="page1073"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1073</span>of investing him with the ribband, Sir Benjamin, in -allusion to that particular ceremony, took for his motto -“Regibus Amicis.” He died at Madrid 15. -December 1757, at the time when he was about to return to -England, with a view of retiring from public employment, and to -be created a Peer of Great Britain. <a -name="citation1073a"></a><a href="#footnote1073a" -class="citation">[1073a]</a> His great abilities as a -minister, exercised and improved by long and important services; -the liberality and magnificence with which he supported the -dignity of his public character, without any attention to the -increase of his private fortune; and unusual esteem and affection -for his person, which his many amiable qualities procured him at -the court where he resided, were universally acknowledged, and -made his death, especially at that critical juncture, a real loss -to his country. His remains were brought over from Madrid, -and buried at Lynn, in St. Nicholas’ chapel, near his -beloved parents. <a name="citation1073b"></a><a -href="#footnote1073b" class="citation">[1073b]</a> <a -name="page1074"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1074</span>A -sarcophagus of white marble is placed over his grave, having on -one side a medallion bust of the deceased, and on the other a bas -relief of Peace trampling under foot the emblems of War, and -pointing to ships and bales of merchandize.</p> -<p>20. Dr. <i>Edmund Keene</i>, a younger brother of Sir -Benjamin, was borne at Lynn in 1714. Through the interest -of Sir Robert Walpole he was educated at the Charter-House, and -thence admitted of Caius College, Cambridge in 1730. He was -elected Fellow in 1737, but afterwards he removed to St. -Peters’ college, on being appointed Fellow of that society -in 1739; and he was made Master of Peter-House in 1748. He -was elected Vice-chancellor of the university two succeeding -years, 1749 and 1750. In 1753 he was promoted to the see <a -name="page1075"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1075</span>of -Chester; <a name="citation1075"></a><a href="#footnote1075" -class="citation">[1075]</a> and in 1764 the Primacy of Ireland -was offered to him, which he declined: but (as it is related by -Bp. Newton in the account of his life,) “he urged his -request to Mr. Grenville, that, upon the vacancy, he might -succeed to the see of Ely, which was the great object, the aim -and end of all his ambition.” In 1771, he -“succeeded to his heart’s desire, and happy it was -that he did so; for few could have borne the expense, or -displayed the taste and magnificence which he did, as he had a -liberal fortune, as well as liberal mind, and really merited the -appellation of a builder of palaces. For he built a new -palace at Chester, he built a new Ely-house in London, and in a -great measure a new palace at Ely, left only the outer walls -standing, formed a new inside, and thereby converted it into one -of the best episcopal houses, if not the very best in the -kingdom. He had indeed received the money which arose from -the <a name="page1076"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1076</span>sale of old Ely-house, and also what was paid by the -executors of his predecessor for dilapidation, which altogether -amounted to about 11,000<i>l.</i> But new houses require -new furniture.”—Such is the detail of narrative old -age. Bp. Keene published only two or three sermons on the -usual state occasions: he is said to have been an attentive -prelate to his diocese, particularly in reserving to himself the -appointment of all the curates in those parishes which were -without a resident incumbent. He died in 1781.</p> -<p>21. <i>Thomas Chesterton</i>. He was born at or -near Downham, in Norfolk, about the year 1715. When he was -of a proper age to be sent to school he was placed under the care -of a respectable clergyman in that neighbourhood, who had a -number of other pupils, the sons of reputable families, who -generally turned out well, and did him no small credit. -Among young Chesterton’s schoolfellows there, were the late -revd. Thorogood Upwood, Mr. Philip Case, and others of equally -creditable connections. His superior genius for learning -was known and acknowledged by most of his fellow pupils, many of -whom in making their exercises were often not a little indebted -to his assistance. While in that seminary he was well -grounded in the rudiments of the Latin and Greek languages: nor -did that satisfy him, for he continued ever after to press -forward unweariedly for further literary improvement; till he -acquired an intimate and accurate knowledge, not only of the -Latin and Greek languages, but also of the Hebrew and its kindred -tongues, the Chaldee, Syriack <a name="page1077"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1077</span>and Arabick; of the latter of which -he composed a Grammar, which was well thought of by good -judges. He acquired likewise no slight knowledge of the -Persian, Coptic, and Ethiopic languages: so that it was not -without reason that some literary characters, even in the -establishment, who were well acquainted with his attainments, -looked upon him as one of the best scholars in this -county.—It should have been observed that after he left -school, being designed for the medical profession, he was placed -with a <i>Mr. Harvey</i>, a Surgeon and apothecary of very -extensive practice in this town. After he got out of his -time with Harvey, he married and went into business for himself: -and being well respected in the town he soon came into good -practice. Having from the first been a frequent attendant -on the ministry of the younger Rastrick, he by degrees imbibed -his principles and became a decided nonconformist. -Afterwards, in consequence of having some scruples about infant -baptism, he renounced that practice, professed himself a Baptist, -and joined a Society of that denomination at Downham. He -was soon after encouraged to engage in the ministry, and having -an invitation to settle with a congregation at Colnbrook in -Buckinghamshire, he accepted the same and removed to that place, -where he continued several years. He afterwards resigned -his pastoral charge there, and removed to London where he -followed his medical profession (as he had also done at -Colnbrook) and preached occasionally. The congregation he -was now chiefly connected with was that which met in Eagle Street -under the ministry of the late Dr. Grifford of the British <a -name="page1078"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1078</span>Museum. His health now declining, and his -property at Lynn and other parts of Norfolk requiring a nearer -residence, he returned back to this town about 1765, after an -absence in all of about ten years. He now resumed the -medical practice, chiefly to introduce his son into business, who -was brought up to the same profession. It so happened at -this juncture that the people who had formerly seceded from Mr. -Rastrick’s congregation, and had formed a sort of -Independent society, were without a minister: their late -minister, William Eltringham, commonly called <i>captain</i> -Eltringham, having removed from them to another -congregation. These people invited him to become their -minister, and he accepted their invitation. But he was not -long comfortable among them. They soon became as -unsatisfied with him as they had been with Mr. Rastrick, though -not on the same pretence. The connection between him and -them was consequently dissolved. His health was now -declining so fast, that he was obliged to relinquish the ministry -and every other active employment. After languishing for -some time, and mostly in most excruciating pains, he died on the -10th of May 1770, at the age of 54. His disorder was said -to be an ulcer in the bladder. He was pretty highly -orthodox, but, by all accounts, a very pious, as well as a very -learned man.</p> -<p>22. <i>David Lloyd</i>, L.L.D. He was a native of -Cilcennin in Cardiganshire. After having spent some time at -school in that neighbourhood he was sent to the grammar school at -Caermarthen, then a very reputable seminary. He went -afterwards to Jesus College in Oxford, <a -name="page1079"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1079</span>where he -took the degree of L.L.B. and afterwards that of L.L.D. <a -name="citation1079"></a><a href="#footnote1079" -class="citation">[1079]</a> After having acquitted himself -very creditably as usher at some school in the vicinity of the -metropolis, he was chosen master of the Lynn Grammar School in -1760; which situation he filled with great reputation to himself, -and equal advantage to his pupils for the long space of 34 -years. It does not appear that this school was ever in so -flourishing a state under any other master, unless it was in the -time of Mr. <i>Horne</i>, who was so long at the head of it, as -was before observed. Dr. LL. was unwearied in his attention -to the literary improvement of the youth placed under his care, -and to the forming of them to be useful members of society in the -different departments for which they were designed; in which he -appears to have been in no small degree successful, as may be -seen by the number of those who were once his pupils and now -usefully occupy very respectable stations of life. The -Doctor went into orders late in life; (at the age of 50 or -upwards) and having no preferment in the church he preached but -seldom, confining himself entirely to the duties of his other -profession. He died in 1794, and was buried in the chancel -of St. Margaret’s church. A stone with the following -inscription marks his grave—</p> -<p style="text-align: center">“<i>Sacred to the Memory -of</i><br /> -<i>The revd. DAVID LLOYD</i>, <i>L.L.D.</i><br /> -<i>Master of the Grammar School in this town for</i> 34 -<i>years</i>;<br /> -<i>Who departed this life Nov.</i> 19. 1794, <i>aged</i> 60 -<i>years</i>.<br /> -<i>In him were united</i>, <i>with all the virtues of private -life</i>, <i>those inestimable</i><br /> -<i>qualities which ought ever to characterize the instructor of -youth</i>.<br /> -<i>To the authority of a Tutor he added the tenderness of a -Father</i>,<br /> -<i>Multis ille bonis flebilis occidit</i>.”</p> -<p><a name="page1080"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1080</span>23. <i>Robert Hamilton</i>, M.D. F.R.S. and -F.R.C.P. Edinb. was another of the former inhabitants of Lynn who -deserved well of his fellow townsmen and of the public at -large. He was born at Edinburgh Dec. 17. 1721; and was a -younger son of James Hamilton, who was bred to the law, and was -at one time deputy keeper of Holyrood-House, under James Duke of -Hamilton, its hereditary keeper. He was educated at the -High School in his native city, and was there at the time of the -memorable affair of captain Porteus. When of a proper age -he was placed with a surgeon and apothecary at Leith, where he -remained three years. After having attended the lectures of -different professors at the university, upon the materia medica, -pharmacy, botany, anatomy, surgery, &c. he was at length -obliged to quit these studies, and procured a birth on board the -Somerset man of war in 1741, having previously undergone the -usual examination at Surgeon’s Hall, London. He -continued in that line, or as a navy-surgeon, for about seven -years, when the peace of Aix-la-chapelle put him out of -employment. He came to Lynn in 1748, to see a brother who -was married here and settled as a merchant; and having heard of, -and engaged a situation at the neighbouring village of Great -Massingham, where there was a vacancy for a surgeon and -apothecary, he settled there in August that same year, but -continued there only till October 1749, when he removed and -settled at Lynn: and not long after he married a Miss Hawkins, -the sister of his brother’s wife. He now went into -business, in partnership with Mr. Young, a grandson of Dr. -Hepburn. A vacancy for a <a name="page1081"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1081</span>physician happening here in 1765 by -the death of Dr. Lidderdale, he was advised to procure a doctors -degree, in order to become his successor, which advice he at -length complied with, and in May 1766 received that honour from -St. Andrew’s, the diploma being signed by no less than ten -professors.—Not long after he relinquished the practice of -pharmacy, and pursued those of physic and midwifery, which he -followed the remainder of his life, with considerable applause, -and general approbation. He died Nov. 9. 1793, and was -buried in St. Nicholas’ chapel, regretted by a large -portion of the community. <a name="citation1081"></a><a -href="#footnote1081" class="citation">[1081]</a></p> - -<div class="gapshortline"> </div> -<p><a name="page1082"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1082</span>Before we entirely close this part of the work, and -proceed to the <i>conclusion</i>, or to give a <i>view of the -present state of the town</i>, it may not be improper here, by -way of <i>Postscript</i>, to rectify some slight mistakes, and to -supply certain omissions that have been discovered in different -parts of the preceding sections, since the sheets have been -printed off.</p> -<p>In the first place, the author wishes he had, at page 137, -somewhat enlarged the memoir of that eminent president of the R. -S. <i>Martin Folkes Esq</i>; the maternal grandfather of Martin -Folkes Rishton Esq; of this town; and especially that he had more -particularly noticed that ingenious, elaborate, and masterly -publication of his, the <i>Tables</i> “of the <i>English -Silver-coins</i>, from the Norman conquest to the present -time;” and “of the <i>English Gold Coins</i> from the -18th. of Edward III, when gold was first coined in England, to -the present time.” The work is comprised in one -volume quarto, and was printed in 1745, for the society of -Antiquaries. It is a work of the highest authority, and of -the greatest use and importance to those who wish to be -thoroughly <a name="page1083"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1083</span>acquainted with the subject there treated of; and -might, perhaps, he consulted with no small advantage by our -senators and others in the present precarious state of our -currency.</p> -<p>At page <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page961">961</a></span>, the author now finds that he was -mistaken in saying that <i>both the old members</i> were returned -at the contested election 1784. <i>Walpole</i> indeed was -returned with Molineux, yet not the old member of that name, but -a relation of his, who for a long while after continued to be one -of our representatives; to what benefit or advantage to the town -or nation, the present writer is not able to say.—The -author has been blamed for passing over in silence the <i>Ball -and Supper</i> given at our Town-Hall in <i>commemoration of the -Revolution</i>, on the 14th. of November 1788, pronounced, as it -is said, by both Mr. and Mrs Coke to have been “<i>equal in -Splendor</i> and <i>more comfortable than that given at -Holkham</i>.” The fact is, the author had quite -forgotten it; and as it was kept so much <i>out of time</i>, he -is still inclined to think that it was given more out of vain -parade, than, out of real gratitude for that great and -interesting event.—Another omission the author has been -reminded of is, “that in April 1797, <i>prince William</i> -(now duke) of <i>Gloucester</i> visited Lynn, and after reviewing -the Volunteers, and dining with the mayor, was presented with the -freedom of this ancient borough.”—The execution of -<i>Peter Donahue</i>, serjeant in the 30th. regiment of foot, for -forgery at Lynn in 1801 is another omission suggested to the -author; and also the condemnation of <i>Robert Nichols</i>, the -year after, for sheep stealing: to which might have been added -the fatal disaster of the Ferry-boat, this present year, by which -ten persons at least perished.—It will be the -author’s endeavour to set all these matters right in a -Table of remarkable events at the end of the work.</p> -<h3><a name="page1084"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1084</span>CHAP. VII.</h3> -<p class="gutsumm">Impartial view of the <i>present state</i> of -the town and its vicinity: containing introductory observations, -brief account of churches, chapels, almshouses, workhouses, -charitable and social institutions, religious sects and -confraternities, the corporation, the shipping, trade and -commerce, exports and imports, population, &c. &c.</p> -<p>This town, or at least its western vicinity, being that part -of Marshland that lies contiguous to the town, has of late -experienced an unexpected and most striking change, in the sudden -resort thither and settlement of a number of characters in high -life, consisting of peers, courtiers, statesmen, nabobs, royal -physicians, naval and military commanders, &c. This may -be reckoned among the wonders of these eventful times. It -is marvellous in the eyes of most people, and has filled all -Marshland with astonishment, so as to make its homely and -unlettered inhabitants ready to lift up their voices and cry out -with the ancient Lycaonians, “The gods are come down to us -in the likeness of men!”—or with a celebrated English -poet, “Descending gods find their Elysium <a -name="page1085"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1085</span>here!” <a name="citation1085"></a><a -href="#footnote1085" class="citation">[1085]</a>—The -enormous price given by these new-comers for the estates they -have purchased has greatly astonished the whole country, being -about double the current valuation, or what lands usually fetched -here before: and as some of them are said to be deep in political -and state secrets, these purchases have excited strong suspicions -of the tottering existence and depreciating state of all funded -property. For had such property been really safe and good, -these sagacious persons would hardly have withdrawn theirs and -thus deliberately bury it in the bogs of Marshland.</p> -<p>Those changes also that have recently taken place -<i>within</i> the town are many of them very curious and -striking. The late improvements in the Streets, by the new -paving of them, &c. might indeed be pronounced proper and -commendable, had not the expense fallen so heavy upon that large -portion of the community who were quite unable to bear the -pressure of any additional imposts, and could hardly stand under -the weight of those that had been previously imposed. Here -the projectors and promoters of the scheme appear in a very -unfavourable light—inconsiderate and unfeeling in a very -high degree. But it is in their rage <a -name="page1086"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1086</span>for -<i>innovation</i> they appear in the queerest light. -Considering what they have done in that way, it seems really a -wonder that the very name of the town itself has escaped them, or -that they did not take it into their heads to bestow upon it some -new and whimsical appellation, as they have done to almost every -part of it, and even some of principal Streets. <i>Checker -Street</i>, for instance, has been by them called <i>King -Street</i>, though it had borne the former name for many -ages. The <i>Grass Market</i> and <i>Damgate</i>, which -were always before considered as <i>two</i> distinct Streets, -(and had borne those names perhaps 500 years, if not much longer) -are by them converted into <i>one</i>, and called <i>Norfolk -Street</i>; a name that might with equal propriety have been -given to <i>Broad Street</i>, or <i>High Street</i>, or any other -Street in the town. All this, if not superlatively -fantastical and absurd, is certainly childish and ridiculous -enough. But we will pursue the subject no further.</p> -<p>Among the recent changes in the town, those that have taken -place in the <i>Workhouse</i> and the <i>Hall</i> must not be -here forgotten or overlooked. The new order of things in -the former place, (the <i>Workhouse</i>,) is expected to produce -a saving to the town, to no small amount, without any material -detriment to the paupers, that are there maintained: and this -expectation, it is to be hoped, will not issue in disappointment, -like too many of our former golden dreams. As to the -<i>Hall</i>, the spirit of economy and retrenchment seems to have -become there now quite triumphant. Such public days <a -name="page1087"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1087</span>as those -of <i>St. John</i> and <i>St. Michael</i>, so remarkable -heretofore for festivity and hilarity, are now become like days -of fasting and humiliation. Not only the sumptuous dinners -and convivialities of former times have now totally disappeared, -but even the poor pittance of a bit of cake and a glass of wine, -has been actually withheld, even from the worshipful members -whose attendance on those days was indispensable, and who may be -looked upon as the very pillars and atlases of our ancient -municipal constitution. After all it is not meant here to -censure this new frugal plan. It may be very necessary and -highly proper, as the world goes; for it certainly corresponds -with the complexion and exigencies of the times, which require -the strictest economy and utmost frugality from almost every -description of our dear countrymen, to enable them to go on with -any prospect of success or comfort. But here it was only -meant to state a historical fact, too remarkable to be entirely -overlooked.</p> -<h4><span class="smcap">Section</span> I.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>Brief account of the Churches and -Chapels</i>.</p> -<p>In an account of the churches of Lynn, the first place, no -doubt, is due to that of <span class="smcap">St. Margaret</span>, -which was founded about the close of the 11<i>th</i>, or -commencement of the 12<i>th</i> century, by Herbert de Lozinga -bishop of Norwich; memorable for his simoniacal offences, and -subsequent architectural expiations. Among the latter were -the <i>cathedral</i> and episcopal <i>palace</i> at Norwich, <a -name="page1088"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1088</span>the great -church of <i>St. Nicholas</i> at Yarmouth, and this of St. -<i>Margaret</i> at Lynn. The latter according to a certain -ancient deed or register was built by him <i>at the request of -the men of the town of Lynn</i>. But if that was the case, -it seems their contributions proved by no means adequate to the -magnitude or exigences of the undertaking; for the work it seems -went but slowly and heavily on, till he had recourse to that -notable and wonderful expedient of offering forty days pardon, or -an indulgence for that time in all manner of licentious or -vicious courses, to all who would contribute towards the -completion of the sacred edifice. The work then went on -prosperously, was soon finished in a magnificent style, and the -indulgence effected what an appeal to the most pious -considerations would probably have failed to accomplish.</p> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p1087b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"St. Margaret’s church, King’s Lynn" -title= -"St. Margaret’s church, King’s Lynn" - src="images/p1087s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>Herbert dedicated this edifice to <i>St. Margaret the -virgin</i>, <a name="citation1088"></a><a href="#footnote1088" -class="citation">[1088]</a> or, as some say, to saint <i>Mary -Magdalen</i>, St. <a name="page1089"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1089</span>Margaret and all the virgin saints; which probably -made Mr. Britton in the Beauties of England call it St. -<i>Mary’s church</i>, a name which does not appear to have -been given to it by any body else. This church has been so -often re-edified and repaired since its first erection, that but -a small part of it, as it now stands, is supposed to be as old as -the days of Lozinga. If there be any, it seems to be -towards the west, or south-west end, where the style of -architecture appears to bespeak much higher antiquity than any -other part, according to the opinion of the best judges.</p> -<p>The church in its original state is supposed to have been of -greater dimensions, as well as more magnificent, than it is at -present; and it was certainly the case in later ages, and until -the last century, when the spire fell on the body of the church -and demolished a great part of it. This happened in -1741. Soon after the eastern tower lanthorn was taken down, -from a fear (groundless it seems) that it might also fall, as the -spire had done, and occasion irreparable damage. It was -therefore done to preserve the eastern part of the church. -The West end being demolished by the fall of the spire, an act of -Parliament was procured for re-building the body of the -church. The king, it is said, contributed a thousand -pounds, and lord Orford 500<i>l.</i> towards the work; and it was -completed in 1747. <a name="citation1089"></a><a -href="#footnote1089" class="citation">[1089]</a> It is much -<a name="page1090"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1090</span>smaller than the former, but is still one of the -largest and handsomest parish churches in the kingdom:—it -also abounds with the tombs of our principal townsmen <a -name="page1091"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1091</span>of other -times; (and so do the other churches of St. Nicholas and -All-saints,) with endless monumental inscriptions, which those -who are fond of such compositions may find at large in -<i>Mackerell’s</i> volume, which contains little -else. But they would take up too much room in this -work. This church had formerly at least three chapels -attached to it, or comprehended in it: one dedicated to the -<i>Trinity</i>, one to <i>St. John</i>, and one if we are not -mistaken, to <i>St. Stephen</i>; only one or two <a -name="page1092"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1092</span>of which -now remain. That of the <i>Trinity</i> was taken down very -lately, in the progress of our paving-act improvements: and long -before that the whole north side of the church-yard was laid open -and made a part of the street, or market place. A new -burying-ground, however, of a much larger extent, has been since -laid out adjoining to St. James’s Church-yard, on which a -neat small chapel has been erected, merely for the purpose of -reading the burial service. Had the friends of the -establishment contrived to build it on a larger scale, in order -to have divine service there on Sunday evenings, it might have -answered a very good purpose; and such a place would have been -much filter for delivering evening lectures than either of the -two great churches, both of which were originally constructed for -very different purposes, it is to this omission of having evening -lectures in the churches, that the methodists and other -dissenters owe their crowded audiences, and not to the greater -purity of their creeds, or the superior abilities and -respectability of their ministers.</p> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p1092b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"N. W. view of Chapel & Burial Ground" -title= -"N. W. view of Chapel & Burial Ground" - src="images/p1092s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>2. <span class="smcap">St. Nicholas’s -Chapel</span>. Both <i>Mackerell</i> and <i>Parkin</i> have -employed their pens in describing this respectable fabrick. -But a much better account of it, and the best, no doubt, that has -ever yet been given, came from the pen of the <i>revd. Edward -Edwards</i>, one of the present ministers of the town, and has -appeared in the 7th. number of the 3rd. volume of -<i>Britton’s Architectural Antiquities</i>. From that -and other accounts we learn, that this chapel, was built in the -latter part of the 14th century on the site of another erected -about <a name="page1093"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1093</span>two centuries before, and of much smaller -dimensions. Mackerell seemed much puzzled to determine to -what Nicholas this sacred building had been dedicated, whether -<i>the proselyte of Antioch</i>, mentioned in the book of Acts, -or <i>the bishop of Myra</i> of the same name, who so stoutly -opposed the Arians at the Council of Nice. After all, it -seems not very likely that it was either of them, but a namesake -of theirs, of a much more modern date. <a -name="citation1093"></a><a href="#footnote1093" -class="citation">[1093]</a> This, however, is a question in -which few of the readers of this work will feel themselves much -interested.</p> -<p><a name="page1094"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1094</span>This elegant edifice is supposed to be the largest -parochial chapel in the kingdom.</p> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p1094b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"St. Nicholas Chapel" -title= -"St. Nicholas Chapel" - src="images/p1094s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<blockquote><p>“It measures (says Mr. Edwards) 194 feet in -length from East to West, within the walls, and about 74 feet in -breadth; having no transept or distinct choir. The interior -consists of a lofty nave, with two lateral ailes. The -latter are divided from the former by eleven arches on the north -side, and ten on the south:—the space of one arch at the -S.W. angle being occupied by the base of the tower. The -place of another arch, at the east end, is taken up by a vestry -on the south side, and a similar apartment, over the vault of Sir -Benjamin Keene, towards the north, leaving a kind of recess -between, of the whole width of the nave, for the communion -table. The distinguishing characters of this structure, as -seen within, are lightness, simplicity, and perfect uniformity of -style; the <i>tower</i> alone being of an earlier date than the -rest of the fabric. The pillars are slender, having the -horizontal section of the shaft nearly in the form of a truncated -lozenge, relieved by shallow flutings, and raised about four feet -from the ground upon corresponding bases. They have no -capitals, but small brackets which support <a -name="page1095"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1095</span>the inner -ribs of the Arches. Opposite the arches, in the side ailes, -are an equal number of windows: between the windows are niches -and canopies. The east and west windows are very large, -with a pleasing mixture of curved and rectilinear tracery, and -embattled ornaments upon the transoms. The former is -divided into nine days, or lights, by eight vertical mullions, -and the latter has eleven-days, or vertical compartments of -glass. More ornament has been bestowed upon the -<i>doors</i> than on any other part of the building. The -western door-way in particular, is divided by a mullion which -supports an elegant niche, and is adorned with other sculpture in -stone. The small south door-way is in the same style, as is -also the larger door-way towards the north. The front of -the <i>South Porch</i> is still more elaborate, being covered -with a variety of minute decorations. The roof of it is -handsomely groined with stone. At the intersection of the -ribs are some heads and figures in bold relief, but much obscured -with whitening: in the centre is a figure of the Almighty Father -with a globe in one hand, and the other lifted up as in the act -of blessing those who approach his temple. <a -name="citation1095"></a><a href="#footnote1095" -class="citation">[1095]</a> In the circle surrounding this -compartment appear to be angels in the act of adoration; and at a -little distance towards the windows, are two crowned heads <a -name="page1096"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1096</span>of a male -and female, which might be intended for Edward III and his queen -Philippa. The inner roof of the chapel is of oak, in a -plain and simple style, yet with a sufficiency of ornament to -harmonize with the rest of the building. The beams and -cornices and relieved with carvings of the strawberry leaf, which -was so great a favourite with our ancestors; and overall the -upper windows there were originally figures of angels with -outspread wings, represented as playing on various musical -instruments.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>The original chapel, built by bishop Turbus, or de Turbe, -about the time of king Stephen, (the middle or latter part of the -12th century,) having proved too small for the accommodation of -the inhabitants, it is understood to have been taken down and -rebuilt upon its present scale, in the latter part of Edward the -3rd’s reign, and of the 14th century: “For the -pope’s bull to that effect is stated by Parkin (p. 595) to -have been granted to the mayoralty of Jeffrey Tall, or Talbooth, -who served that office in 1371 and 1379. And it is recorded -that in the latter year, pope Urban VI sent his bull hither, -which was received with great veneration, to authorise and allow -the baptizing of infants and others in this chapel.” -This is supported by the authority of Parkin and Mackerell, and -corroborated by the gravestone and history of William de -Bittering. Moreover “the figures of a lion and an -eagle upon the summit of the South porch, are thought to be the -armorial supporters of Edward III: and there was very lately in -the centre of the west window, a figure greatly resembling the -usual portraits of that monarch, with three crowns upon his -sceptre. <a name="page1097"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1097</span>The ornaments which surmount the two canopied niches -in the buttresses on each side of the western door, also appear -very like the crest of the same king, as it is represented in his -first gold coin, the quarter florin.”—[see -Folkes’ Tables p. 121.]—Repeated efforts were made to -render both the original chapel and the present one independent -of the mother church; but those attempts were always opposed and -frustrated by the bishop. But it really seemed sometimes to -be considered as independent by the inhabitants; and the -<i>parish of St. Nicholas</i> occurs in old records as distinct -from that of St. Margaret: and in the reign of Philip and Mary -the extent of each parish, and the limits or boundary that -divided them appear to have been accurately marked out. -Afterwards, however, the managers of St. Nicholas’ parish -were found to encroach on their neighbours of St. Margaret; which -produced a dispute between them that occasioned the interference -of the Hall to put a stop to it, by declaring afresh the proper -bounds of each parish. This happened in 1585, as appears -from a passage in an old record, now in the hands of this writer, -mostly extracted, as he thinks, from the Hall-Books of those -times. <a name="citation1097"></a><a href="#footnote1097" -class="citation">[1097]</a> About fourteen years after, as -we learn from the same document the <a name="page1098"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1098</span>corporation’s title to St. -Nicholas’ <i>church yard</i> was seriously disputed, but it -is not said by whom. <a name="citation1098"></a><a -href="#footnote1098" class="citation">[1098]</a> The last -effort to establish the independency of this church and parish -was in 1609, but it was then crushed by the consistory court at -Norwich, and set for ever at rest. At present the two -ministers serve this church and that of St. Margaret alternately; -and it would be no very easy matter, perhaps, to find any two -churches that are better served. At the general dissolution -of the monasteries, the impropriation of these churches was -purchased by the corporation; but it seems that the provision -they made for the ministers was more ample formerly than it has -been latterly.</p> -<p>3. <span class="smcap">All-hallows</span>, otherwise -<span class="smcap">All-saints</span>, or <i>South Lynn -Church</i>. <i>Mackerell</i>, from its nearness to the site -of their convent, infers that “that this church did -formerly belong to the <i>Carmelites</i> or White -Friars”—he might as well have inferred that St. -James’s formerly belonged to the Grey Friars, and St. -Nicholas’s to the Augustinians, as they stand equally near -to the sites of their convents. He also informs us that it -has been used for a parish church, ever since the abolition of -the Carmelite convent; as if South Lynn, (or <i>Suthsoken</i> as -it was anciently called) had been without a parish church till -the reign of Henry the 8th; than which there cannot be a more -groundless supposition. Of its <i>former state</i>, in -other respects, his account is more correct: “This <a -name="page1099"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1099</span>fabrick -(says he,) though it cannot be said to be large, yet it is a -neat, regular, and solid structure, built in the form of a cross, -within a fair cemetery, or church-yard, well walled and fenced -in. The steeple is square and flat, with proper battlements -round it. In the middle is a streight pinnacle, upon which -is placed a weather-cock, and has five tuneable bells. Here -are two convenient porticos, one on the south side, and the other -at the west end. The dimensions of the whole here -follow—From east to west within, 139 feet; from north to -south, 48 feet; length of the cross isle, 83 feet; height of the -steeple, 83 feet; height of the spire, 31 feet. The body -consists of three alleys, and in a cross isle besides the quire -are very many grave-stones for <i>monks</i>, and others, [of the -different orders of friars] who came thither about the reign of -Henry III, and here settled, building themselves convents in -different parts of the town” [as divers protestant sects -have also done in more recent times.]—Of this Edifice, in -its more modern state <i>Parkin</i> says; “This church is -dedicated to <i>All Saints</i>: it is a regular pile built in -form of a cross, with 3 isles and a chancel, covered with lead; -the whole being about 140 feet long; breadth 48 feet; cross isle -83 feet long. At the west end was a strong tower—and -5 tuneable bells. The tower fell down in 1763, and part of -the end of the church, which is now repaired with a strong brick -wall; on the top of which is a kind of cupola of wood, &c. in -which hangs one small bell.—At the dissolution this -impropriate rectory being in the crown, was assigned to the Lady -Mary (afterward queen Mary) and was valued 11<i>l.</i> 0<i>s.</i> -9<i>d.</i>—[a very small sum compared with its <a -name="page1100"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1100</span>present -value, or annual product.] In the 20th. of James I. it was -possessed by Sir John Jolleys,” [and at present by Sir -Martin Browne Folkes bart.] The <i>vicarage</i> is in the -gift of the bishop of Ely; but is a very poor one, and said to be -worth very little if any thing more now than it was 150 years -ago.</p> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p1099b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"All Saints Church of South Lynn, published April 1810, by W. -Whittingham, Lynn" -title= -"All Saints Church of South Lynn, published April 1810, by W. -Whittingham, Lynn" - src="images/p1099s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>4. <span class="smcap">Old Lynn</span>, or <i>West -Lynn</i> Church; otherwise <i>West Lynn St. Peters</i>. -This edifice, as its last name implies, is dedicated to <i>St. -Peter</i>; meaning, as we presume, the apostle so called. -It stands on the western bank of the Ouse, nearly opposite to St. -Margaret’s. It is not the original church of old -Lynn; nor does it stand on the same spot: that stood to the east -of it, and within the present bed of the river. It is said -to have been destroyed, together with the church-yard, about the -56th. of Henry III, or 1271, by an <i>inundation of the sea</i>; -or rather, perhaps, by the vast <i>increase of fresh water</i> in -this harbour, from the addition of the Grant, the Ouse, and the -Nene, about that time, to those other rivers which before had -their passage to the sea by this town. The present church, -it seems, was erected very soon after, on a piece of ground which -the rector, William Pakenham, had procured for that purpose; who, -to avoid all disputes, allowed the former patron, the prior of -Lewes, the soil or ground, and the right of patronage. To -this new church was afterwards added a <i>chapel</i> dedicated to -<i>our Lady</i>, in which was <i>her image</i>: also a chauntry, -endowed with much land and divers tenements; all which was seized -by the crown at the dissolution, and granted afterwards to the <a -name="page1101"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1101</span>L’estranges of Hunstanton. This church is -a rectory:—it is covered (says Parkin) with lead, and the -chancel with reed; and he adds, “it has a square tower with -3 bells.” So much for this consecrated fabric.</p> -<p>5. <span class="smcap">North Lynn</span> <i>church</i>, -or, (as we may call it) <i>Lynn St. Edmund’s</i>, from its -being dedicated to a royal saint of that name. Of this -sacred structure not a vestige now remains. We have been -able to discover neither the time when it was built, nor yet when -it disappeared. But it was probably built soon after the -death, or canonization of <i>king Edmund</i>, called the -<i>martyr</i>, to whom it was dedicated. It seems to have -stood many ages; for it was standing in the latter part of the -reign of Henry VII; and it probably stood a good while after -that; even to the time of the reformation or later. It -appears from Parkin’s account, that it was standing at the -beginning of the 16th century; for John Byrd, the then rector, -and who calls himself <i>parson of</i> <span class="GutSmall">OLD -LYNN</span>, (which, by the bye, seems to imply that the name of -<i>old Lyn</i> was then applied to both parishes,) by his will -dated 1505, wills to be buried in the chancel of this -church. This proves that it was then standing, and that -there was no apprehension entertained of its being in any great -danger of falling, or of being swallowed up by the waters. -Yet it certainly underwent that catastrophe sometime after though -perhaps not very soon: so that both church and church-yard were -completely swept away. It is supposed they stood in the -present bed of the river, somewhere nearly opposite to the fort, -or the block-house. Since that period the North-Lynn <a -name="page1102"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1102</span>rectory -has been a <i>sine cure</i>. Repeated attempts, if are not -mistaken, have been made since (though in vain) to have this -benefice bestowed on the corporation, for the better maintenance -of the ministers of the town. One of those attempts was -made in the reign of Charles I, as is evinced by the following -extract from the Hall-books—“1647, <i>Dec.</i> -17. <i>Ordered a Letter to Mr. Alderman Toll and Mr. -Recorder</i>, <i>to acquaint them with the death of Mr. -Scott</i>, <i>minister of North-Lyn</i>, <i>and to get that -living by some means to be bestowed on this town toward the -maintenance of the ministers thereof</i>.”—The -present incumbent, being also one of the ministers of the town, -the object then had in view may be said to be in some measure -secured during his life-time. But it is not certain, or -even very likely, that it will be secured any further.</p> -<h4><span class="smcap">Section</span> II.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>Brief account of the different dissenting -chapels in this town</i>.</p> -<p>Of all our present sects the <i>Jews</i> and the -<i>Catholics</i> seem to claim the precedence in point of -antiquity. The former composed a part of the population of -Lynn at a pretty remote period; and the treatment they here -experienced ought to be spoken of only in terms of the utmost -reprobation. They were pillaged and massacred in the most -brutal manner, and had their very habitations <a -name="page1103"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1103</span>burnt and -destroyed, as has been related in a former part of this work. <a -name="citation1103"></a><a href="#footnote1103" -class="citation">[1103]</a> There are still some Jewish -families resident here; and we believe they have always had a -synagogue in the town. It was for many years in Tower -Street; but that has been lately pulled down, being part of the -premises which the <i>Methodists</i> have purchased for the -purpose of erecting there their intended magnificent and -capacious temple. We have not learnt that the Jews have yet -been able to procure another synagogue; but we may suppose that -they will not be long without it. At present they probably -meet in some private apartment fitted up for the purpose, till a -more suitable place can be obtained.</p> -<p>As to the <span class="smcap">Catholics</span>, they were -formerly our predominant sect, and constituted the established -church of England and of Lynn, for near a thousand years. -They have long been reduced here to a small society, and are not -at present likely to become more numerous or considerable. -They have generally a priest stationed among them. Their -present chapel is a small room in Ferry Street, and those who -attend are, of course, but few in number. The present -minister is a French emigrant, of fair character, and very well -respected in this town, to whom many of our townsmen are indebted -for the proficiency they have made in the knowledge of the French -language. The Roman Catholic religion being no longer the -religion of the state, it has ceased to be oppressive or -formidable to our other religious communities; and <a -name="page1104"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1104</span>it is -supposed to have lost (at least in these kingdoms) much of that -intolerant and sanguinary character which distinguished its -professors in former times. By many the Catholics in these -realms, and especially in Ireland, are thought an oppressed -people; and it is much to be wished that every just reason for -such an opinion might entirely be done away.</p> -<p>3. That respectable body of protestant Dissenters, who -have assumed the name of <span class="smcap">Friends</span>, and -are by others called <i>Quakers</i>, have long had a place of -worship in this town, and formed a reputable part of its -population. It seems that some of our townsmen have been of -that denomination ever since the year 1655. <i>George -Fox</i> himself visited this town in the course of that year, and -preached here with considerable effect. A Person was sent -about the town to apprize the inhabitants of his arrival, and -invite them to give him a hearing, especially the more sober and -pious part of them, together with the officers of the -garrison. A large congregation appears to have assembled, -many of whom were much affected by the sermon: consequently, as -we learn from Fox’s Journal, a fine meeting or congregation -was formed here, “<i>who had come from the hireling -teachers to sit under the teaching of the Lord Jesus -Christ</i>.” From that time to this it is supposed -that there has always existed here a society of Friends or -Quakers. Fox, however, was not the first of that -Denomination who visited Lynn. It was visited, as -<i>Sewel</i> informs us, by <i>Thomas Briggs</i> two years -before, who warned the people to repent, but appears not to have -been much listened to, <a name="page1105"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1105</span>and even to have met a very -unchristian reception—“a great mastiff (says Sewel,) -was set upon him; but the dog coming near, fawned upon him, and -would do him no harm:” so that the poor brute behaved to -him much better than those of his own species. But it has -often so happened to those who endeavoured to reform the world -and turn mankind from the errors of their ways. Fox visited -Lynn again in 1662, when some of his Friends were confined here -in prison. We find that he preached here then with -acceptance; which was, probably, what excited the magistrates to -have him apprehended and imprisoned; but before they could effect -their cruel purpose, he escaped out of their jurisdiction. -Where those of his persuasion held their meetings here in those -troublesome times does not appear, but they afterwards met in the -Cross Yard near Lady Bridge, which continued to be their place of -worship till the erection of their present place in New Conduit -Street. This is a neat, but small place; though quite large -enough for their congregation, which is supposed to be now much -smaller than it has been in former times, as is also the case in -most parts of the kingdom—the modern Quakers having but a -small portion of that zeal in disseminating their principles -which was manifested by their early ancestors. This is to -be regretted, as some of those principles are certainly very -excellent, and deserve every possible exertion to disseminate -them throughout the world. Of the particular tenets of the -Quakers a full account may be found in <i>Barclay’s -Apology</i>, and also in <i>Clarkson’s Portraiture of -Quakerism</i>. They have <a name="page1106"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1106</span>no preaching among them, here -except when a stranger comes, as they have no public friend or -minister among themselves. They have three burying places -in this town, which may indicate that they have had here three -different meeting houses.</p> -<p>4. <span class="smcap">Presbyterian</span> -<i>Chapel</i>. Though the Presbyterians seem to be of -somewhat longer standing in this town than the Quakers, yet it -does not appear that they had here a separate place of worship as -early as they. They appeared here as a distinct sect soon -after the Restoration, in consequence of the ejection of <i>Mr. -Horne</i> from the vicarage of Lynn Allhallows, and from the -established priesthood. His acknowledged piety, learning, -and respectability of character, were likely to gain him -adherents as an ejected minister. The number of those who -adhered to him on that trying occasion we have not been able to -learn; but it is certain that they soon formed themselves into a -separate society, and report has said, that they met for some -time at a place fitted up for the purpose in a certain yard or -alley in Black-goose Street. They afterwards removed to -Spinner Lane, behind the house now inhabited by Mr. -<i>Dennis</i>, where they fitted up and converted into a decent -chapel, a round house, originally erected for a -Glass-house. Here the congregation assembled during the -whole ministration of the <i>two Rastricks</i>, and part of that -of <i>Mr. Mayhew</i>. After he had been here some time, the -old chapel falling into decay was given up, and the congregation -then removed to a new and neat chapel which they had erected in -Broad Street, which <a name="page1107"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1107</span>was a more eligible -situation. Mr. Mayhew about the 70th year of his age -resigned the ministry, and was succeeded by <i>Mr. Warner</i>, -who was the minister of this chapel from 1777 to 1801, when he -resigned his charge and removed to <i>Hapton</i>. Before -his removal the congregation had been for sometime declining, not -for want of abilities in him, but rather for want of a larger -portion of sectarianism and proselytism. Several of the -principal members were removed by death, some before his -departure, and others soon after. Of the remainder, those -of them who might be expected to retain some attachment to the -cause, fearing the expense which might attend any exertion on -their part to revive and support it, now dastardly quitted their -post, and ingloriously sneaked back into the bosom of the -established church, and have ever since, as might be expected, -constituted some of its most useless members. In -consequence of that defection and desertion, the Calvinian -Methodists, under the name of Independents, thrust themselves in, -and got possession of the chapel, to which they could apparently -have no more right than the other Methodists, or even the -Quakers. Indeed it would seem that they had less right to -it than those, as the Lynn Presbyterians had always been -<i>Arminians</i> from the beginning. It was always said by -Mr. Warner, that the place, in the event of the extinction of the -Presbyterian interest here, according to the chapel deeds, would -become the property of the Presbyterian board, in London. -As to the Trustees, if they knew their business, they could not -suppose that they had any right transfer to another and hostile -denomination <a name="page1108"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1108</span>the possession of the property with which they were -entrusted. This we notice as what we conceive to be due to -historical truth, and to the memory of the Presbyterian -congregation, which existed so usefully and reputably in this -town near 150 years, and whose ministers were in general among -the chief ornaments of the place for learning and respectability -of deportment.—The Presbyterian chapel was about 40 feet by -25, with a gallery fronting the pulpit. It has been since -lengthened to about 58 feet, with the addition of very narrow -side galleries. It is but ill planned, and supposed not -capable of containing so many people as either the Methodist or -Baptist chapels.</p> -<p>5. <span class="smcap">Baptist</span> -<i>Chapel</i>. This also is situated in <i>Broad -Street</i>, and not far from that of the Presbyterians. It -has been lately rebuilt, and is a neat handsome place, about 46 -feet by 26, with deep galleries in the front and at both -ends. The dissenters of this denomination are not of so -long standing at Lynn as those treated of under the two last -articles. They were gathered and formed into a society here -in the reign of James II, by the ministry of the worthy and -memorable <i>Thomas Grantham</i>, who was indefatigable in his -endeavours to enlighten and reform his countrymen, and establish -them in what he deemed to be scriptural christianity. Till -a proper place of worship could be procured, it is understood -that he was allowed to preach in the Townhall; and he appears to -have been treated here with much respect, owing perhaps to his -respectable connections, the Granthams being then one of the -first <a name="page1109"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1109</span>families in Lincolnshire. He was what is called -a <i>general</i> Baptist, and therefore not what was then, or -would be now, deemed orthodox. He never settled here, but -went mostly about, as an apostle or reformer, to promote what he -conceived to be the pure religion of the New Testament. He -succeeded in gathering and establishing many congregations in -different parts of the country, but chiefly in Lincolnshire and -Norfolk. The latter part of his time he resided mostly at -Norwich, where he gathered a congregation, in spite of the -intolerance and bitter enmity to dissenters, which continued to -rage there, even after the revolution: and there he died at the -beginning of 1692, at the age of 58. <a -name="citation1109"></a><a href="#footnote1109" -class="citation">[1109]</a> <a name="page1110"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1110</span>About that time or a few months -earlier, the congregation at Lynn became the objects of -persecution from the ruling powers here. They were -proceeded against upon the <i>conventicle act</i>, although both -their place of worship and their minister had been regularly -licenced. An account of this dark and disgraceful business -has been given before at page <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page861">861</a></span>. How long the congregation -was enabled to withstand this persecution we have not been able -to ascertain. Perhaps it was soon after borne down and -crushed. We are sure that it had become extinct long before -the denomination was again revived here about the commencement of -the present reign by the ministry of Mr. <i>Chesterton</i>. -The society then formed was <i>calvinistic</i>, and so more -orthodox than the former, and so it still continues. It was -dissolved about the time of Mr. Chesterton’s death, but -again revived and reorganized about the year 1777; since which -time it has been kept up, though not always without some -difficulty. Their present minister is a person of good -report, and it is hoped he will be long comfortable and very -useful in his situation.</p> -<p>6. <span class="smcap">Methodist</span> -<i>Chapel</i>. This place, situated in the <i>North Clough -Lane</i>, is very well contrived and neatly fitted up. It -is about 42 feet by 30, with very deep galleries in front and at -both ends. It is so constructed as to be capable of -accommodating, perhaps, a greater <a name="page1111"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1111</span>number of hearers than any of our -other chapels; yet such has been the late increase of Methodism -here, that it is now become too small for the audience; and -therefore for their better accommodation, a new and very -capacious, as well as elegant and splendid place is now about to -be erected in <i>Tower Street</i>, which is expected to be -completed by next Michaelmas. The expense of this intended -erection is estimated at 4000<i>l.</i> or more. As to the -old place, it is likely to be soon desecrated and converted to a -granary or warehouse, or place for some such secular and -unhallowed use: and though it would be a very commodious place of -worship for any other description of christians, yet it is -understood that it would not be obtainable for such a purpose, -from, as it would seem, the low and tradesman-like consideration, -that it would not be quite safe to have it occupied in the same -line, lest it should prove detrimental to the trade of the new -shop. The present writer remembers the Methodists a -persecuted sect, classed among the heretics of the day, and much -spoken against every where. They were then meek and -passive, and not apt to brand those of other denominations with -bad names, or fix upon them the odium of heresy. The case -is greatly altered since: they were then weak, but are now -powerful; they were then few, now they are numerous, and their -numbers daily and rapidly increasing. They consequently -assume a high tone, and join in the cry of <i>heresy</i> as -loudly as any of our persecuting sects—especially against -<i>anti-trinitarians</i>, or <i>unitarians</i>, and -<i>universalists</i>: and yet it is certain that the public mind, -<a name="page1112"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1112</span>or -national opinion is no more inimical to persons of those -denominations at present, than it was to the Methodists fifty -years ago. Let the Methodists think of this, and learn a -becoming measure of moderation and good neighbourhood.—What -has happened to themselves may also happen, in a course of time, -to those whom they now so very bitterly and violently decry, and -so unmercifully stigmatize and anathematize.</p> -<p>7. <span class="smcap">Salem</span> <i>Chapel</i>. -This is a new place of worship, erected the latter pact of last -year, (1811,) in consequence of the dismission of <i>Mr. -Finch</i> from the pastoral office in the Baptist congregation, -on account of some difference of opinion about <i>satanic -influence</i>, and some other speculative and abstruse -points. The place is about 50 feet by 30; and so larger -than any of the other chapels here: and when galleries are -erected, (a measure already in contemplation,) it will be capable -of containing a larger audience than any of them. It is at -present well attended, and supposed likely to continue -so.—Mr. Finch’s dismission from his late situation in -the Baptist chapel, <a name="citation1112"></a><a -href="#footnote1112" class="citation">[1112]</a> and especially -the manner in which it was transacted, being disapproved by many -of the hearers, who were much attached to his ministry, measures -were soon adopted to retain him still in the town, by erecting -for him a new chapel, where things should be conducted on a more -liberal plan, and in the true spirit of protestantism, to the -exclusion of all human creeds and formulas, and the admission of -the scripture <a name="page1113"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1113</span>as the only religious directory, or sole rule of faith -and practice. In a society so formed, the essence of -christianity, it was <i>hoped</i>, would be exhibited as -consisting in the imitation of Jesus of Nazareth, a submission to -his authority, and reliance on him, arising from the firm -persuasion or belief of his Messiahship, or that he is indeed the -Christ, the Son of God—of which the New Testament affords -such clear and ample evidence. Whether or not that hope -will be realized, must be left for time to determine. The -persons chiefly concerned in this new undertaking are not anxious -to identify themselves with any one of our religious parties or -denominations, though they wish to maintain peace and good -neighbourhood with them all. If they ever connect or -identify themselves with any one party, it will probably be a -liberal, though small body of those called <i>general -Baptists</i>, <a name="citation1113"></a><a href="#footnote1113" -class="citation">[1113]</a> one of whose ministers, the worthy -and respectable author of the <i>Sketch of the Denominations of -the Christian World</i>, was unanimously invited to assist at the -opening of this new chapel, when his services gave entire and -abundant satisfaction. The first sermon he preached here, -being also the first that was delivered in this new place, has -been since published, with an <i>Appendix</i>, containing an -account of a late very curious correspondence between him and -<i>Mr. Berington</i>, a learned <i>Catholic priest</i>, which it -is supposed must render <a name="page1114"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1114</span>this publication very -interesting. Except the stated minister, <i>Mr. Evans</i> -is the only one that has yet preached in this new chapel; but it -is understood that the occasional service of any worthy minister, -of whatever denomination, whether reputed orthodox or otherwise, -who passing this way may be disposed to address this -congregation, would not be here rejected. It may therefore -be expected that ministers of different views on many religious -subjects will be found sometimes officiating in this new pulpit; -which seems very well to accord with the avowed principles of -these people, who profess a readiness to hear what any serious -and pious religionist may have to say, and then to judge for -themselves of its reasonableness and accordance with the -scriptures. It is hoped they will carefully persevere in -this laudable course, trying all things, and holding fast that -which is good, however unfashionable such a mode of proceeding -may appear to have now become in the religious world.</p> -<p>Having now finished the account of places of worship, it may -not be improper to add here a few supplementary observations -before we close this section. First then it may be -remarked, that religion at Lynn exhibits the appearance of -considerable diversity; which diversity is allowed by the higher -powers, for which they are certainly not to be censured, as -religious liberty is one of the first and most undoubted rights -of man. Accordingly there are here Jews and Christians, -Catholics and Protestants, Churchmen and Dissenters, and the -latter of various orders and descriptions—all at present <a -name="page1115"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1115</span>quite -unannoyed and undisturbed, <i>except what may be occasioned by -the bigotry and malevolence which some of them too often manifest -towards others of a different way of thinking</i>. This is -disgraceful enough to our sectarian bigots, and shews how little -they have yet learnt of Christ, and how ignorant they still are -of the spirit of his religion, notwithstanding their loud -pretensions to superior knowledge.</p> -<p>Each of the great bodies or sects, with which most of our -religious communities here are connected, has its particular -constitution, which is its law of confederation and great bond of -union, and may be said to be no less definable than our boasted -and admired English Constitution. All these sectarian -constitutions answer pretty well the end of their formation; but -do not all discover equal legislative capacity, or profoundness -of judgment in the different framers of them. Some of them -are such as can reflect but little credit on the skill or -judgment of their constructors, while others discover such -profound sagacity, deep penetration, and accurate knowledge of -mankind as would not have disgraced a Solon or a Lycurgus. -Of this latter sort is the constitution of those respectable -sectaries called <i>Friends</i> or <i>Quakers</i>, as appears -from <i>Barclay’s Apology</i>, and <i>Clarkson’s -Portraiture</i>. Of this sort too is <i>the constitution of -the Arminian or Wesleyan Methodists</i>, of which the fairest, -and fullest, and best account this writer has seen, or knows of, -is in <i>Nightingale’s Portraiture of Methodism</i>; which -is a moderate size octavo volume, and well worth the perusal of -all who wish to <a name="page1116"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1116</span>become more intimately acquainted with the history and -character of this rapidly increasing sect, which is said to be -likely soon to swallow up all the rest. However that may -happen, it seems very certain that Methodism, from the nature of -its constitution and organization, is calculated for a wide and -rapid increase, far beyond any otter existing sect now within the -British dominions. What may render this more credible to -the reader is, that there are now about 30 preachers of this -denomination, (including those called <i>local</i>) belonging to -this town and circuit, all in very constant employ here, or in -the surrounding villages; which seems a pretty fair specimen of -their present state throughout the realm. This is not -mentioned to disparage their exertions. If they think their -cause of superlative importance to mankind, let them persevere, -while they use no other, or worse means to insure success, than -pious persuasion and fair argument. If they succeed and -become the most numerous body of religionists in the country, let -them by all means be the <i>established church of -England</i>. Where would be the harm of that? We know -of none: at least, if they were to be constrained at the same -time to renounce and quit forever every remnant of a bigoted or -intolerant spirit towards their dissenting neighbours. <a -name="citation1116"></a><a href="#footnote1116" -class="citation">[1116]</a></p> -<h4><a name="page1117"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1117</span><span class="smcap">Section</span> III.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>Hints relating to the state of Deism</i>, -<i>Scepticism</i>, <i>Free-Masonry</i>, <i>&c. in this -town</i>.</p> -<p>Considering the easy faith, or aversion to incredulity, which -our townsmen, in common with most of their dear countrymen, have -generally shewn, on almost all subjects and occasions, it may -seem rather odd that there should be found here any religious -unbelievers; and yet such is really the case. A very large -portion of the community, comprehending not a few persons of -reading and some reflection, appear to be at this time, either -unconvinced, or decided disbelievers of the divine authority and -truth of christianity. Nor is this perhaps much to be -wondered at, when the case is duly considered. To many, no -doubt, this unbelief, or infidelity, proves very -<i>convenient</i> and desirable, as it frees them from almost -every moral restraint, and leaves them much at liberty to follow -and gratify their vicious and lawless inclinations. Upon -this ground we may pretty safely account for the scepticism and -unbelief of <i>most</i> of our avowed infidels. These too, -seem to be the very worst of them, as they are more inexcusable -than that other sort, who viewing christianity through the medium -of its <i>corruptions</i>, hastily reject it altogether, as -utterly unworthy of their credit or acceptance. But it may -be said, “they are very wrong, in determining so hastily, -without looking into the New Testament, and examining it as it is -delivered there.” Very true. But who among our -numerous christian sects and parties, will dare, for shame, to -reproach them on that account, while they themselves, with all -their professed veneration for <a name="page1118"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1118</span>that book, make no scruple to -deviate from it, whenever their interest or policy, or the -established formulas, creeds, or customs of their respective -parties require them so to do? One takes up <i>the -Athanasian Creed</i>, and says, “this is christianity; and -except a man believe it he cannot be saved, but must, without -doubt, perish everlastingly.” Can it be any wonder -that an honest and rational enquirer should startle, and say, -“if this be christianity, I cannot believe its divine -authority, or that it came from God, for I am very sure that such -a self-contradictory farrago can never have proceeded from -him.”—Other articles in great abundance, all equally -absurd and incredible, and very prominent in the creeds and -observances of the religions world, might be here added, and -which professing christians and christian ministers are daily -representing and recommending, as unquestionable parts of -christianity, and most worthy of our belief and reception. -In viewing christianity through the mists and fogs of its -numerous and enormous corruptions, it is certainly not very -wonderful that many who are not disposed to bestow much time upon -religious enquires should be discouraged, so as to stand aloof, -and deem the divine authority of it incredible—and if they -are very blameable for so doing, still no small portion of the -blame must be imputable to those who have so greatly tarnished -the beauties of christianity, and obscured its truth, by -presumptuously introducing, supporting, and advocating those -corruptions.</p> -<p>After all, the Deists are not to be deemed the worst enemies -of christianity. Its most dangerous foes are to <a -name="page1119"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1119</span>be found -among its pretended friends and admirers, who would fain persuade -us that our public and national transactions are all, forsooth, -very christianlike and evangelical: and so by divesting -christianity of its morality, and reducing it to a mere state -engine, they do all they can to render it incredible and -contemptible in the eyes of all reflecting and honest -men.—Thus the American War, with all its -enormities—the African Slave trade, West Indian system, -Caribbean war of extermination, with all their horrors—the -late war, with all its follies—Pitt’s reign of -terror, with all its espionage and profligacy—our days of -thanksgiving, fasting, and humiliation, with all their hypocrisy -and solemn mockery—the Copenhagen expedition—the -whole Irish system, and every public deviation from wisdom and -moral rectitude, have been represented by these men as very -justifiable, and thoroughly consistent with the dictates of -christianity. These people consist of courtiers and -statesmen, placemen and pensioners, laity and clergy, (even most -of our prelates and dignitaries,) and in short, the whole of that -immense multitude who live upon the public loaves and fishes, or -expect to come in for a share of them. That they should -profess the religion of the state, and be very clamorous too in -its defence, is natural enough—as well as that they should -be very ready to defend and justify all our public or state -measures; but it is not quite so clear that they are more -friendly or favourable to christianity, properly so called, than -our professed deists: on the contrary, by identifying their -monstrous corruptions with christianity, they may <a -name="page1120"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1120</span>be said -to be its worst enemies; in comparison with whom, our professed -or avowed deists are feeble and harmless adversaries. The -deists of this town are said to be very numerous, and would, if -formed into a society, constitute, perhaps, the largest -congregation in the place: but they are not of a gregarious or -congregating character; <a name="citation1120a"></a><a -href="#footnote1120a" class="citation">[1120a]</a> and they know -in general so little of the New Testament, or uncorrupted -christianity, that their objections seldom affect any part of -it—their assault being chiefly directed against its -outworks, or rather its corruptions: and for every attempt to -expose and explore them they deserve every honest man’s -thanks.</p> -<p>2. <i>Free Masons</i>. The origin of this numerous -sect or fraternity, as well as that of the <i>Gypsies</i>, is -involved in great and impenetrable obscurity. It is in vain -to look even to the most knowing of its own members for any -information upon that subject, that may in the least be depended -upon. Almost every thing they urge or allege about it is -evidently and ridiculously false and fabulous. They tell us -that the art and mystery of Masonry was first introduced at the -building of the <i>Tower of Babel</i>, and from thence handed -down by <i>Euclid</i>, who communicated it to <i>Hiram</i>, <a -name="citation1120b"></a><a href="#footnote1120b" -class="citation">[1120b]</a> the Master Mason <a -name="page1121"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1121</span>concerned -in the building of <i>Solomon’s Temple</i>; where was an -excellent and curious Mason that was chief under the grand Master -<i>Hiram</i> whose name was <i>Mannon Grecus</i>; who taught the -art of Masonry to <i>Carolus Marcel</i>, in France, who was -afterwards elected king of France; and from thence was brought to -England in the reign of king <i>Athelston</i>, who ordered an -assembly to be held once every year at York, which was the first -introduction of it to England. <a name="citation1121"></a><a -href="#footnote1121" class="citation">[1121]</a> At other -times they say, that masons first appeared in England A.D. 43, -when they built the monastery of <i>Glastonbury</i>. They -might as well have introduced them at the building of -<i>Stonehenge</i>, or at the commencement of <i>Druidism</i>, and -erection of the <i>druidical altars</i>. But it probably -slipt their memory. Others, indeed, though they seem not to -have belonged to the craft, have actually supposed them to have -sprung from the <i>druids</i>, who like them had a method of -making themselves known to one another by certain <i>secret -signs</i>; as is also said to have been the case with the -<i>Gnostics</i> and some other ancient heretical sects. -Others, however, carry the origin of the order still farther -back, even beyond the Flood, and name <i>Tubal-cain</i> as one of -the grandmasters of that period; in proof of which they refer to -a certain document, which they call, an <i>original -Record</i>.—Such wild and extravagant pretentions exhibit -<a name="page1122"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1122</span>Free-Masonry in a very queer and unfavourable light: -and they ought never to have been countenanced by any of the -members who had any regard for their own characters.</p> -<p>Not only about their origin or extraction, but also in what -relates to their subsequent history, are the Free-Masons -chargeable with propagating the most idle fabrications. -Thus they tell us a most strange tale about the grand master -<i>Hiram</i>, called also <i>Hiram Abiff</i>; how <i>three</i> -out of the 15 <i>fellow crafts</i> conspired to assassinate him, -which they effected as he was coming out of the <i>Sanctum -Sanctorum</i>, where he had been praying. This was at noon -day. They hid the body, afterwards buried it, and then -absconded. These ruffians, whose names were <i>Jubela</i>, -<i>Jubelo</i>, and <i>Jubelum</i>, were afterwards discovered -near Joppa, by <i>three other fellow crafts</i>, who had gone in -pursuit of them. They were then brought before king -Solomon, by whose orders they were all three executed. -Hiram’s body, being by the king’s order dug out of -the grave where the three masonic ruffians had buried it, was -afterwards solemnly interred, forsooth, in the <i>Sanctum -Sanctorum</i>.—The tale is pretty long in some of the -masonic books; but this is the substance: and it is very -disgraceful to the fabricators and the propagators of it, as it -discovers a glaring propensity to the most sottish and profligate -kind of lying.—Much might be here added to the same -purpose; but this it is hoped will induce the members of this -community at Lynn, to review and reject this and every other -exceptionable part of their system.</p> -<p><a name="page1123"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1123</span>As -to the mode of admission, parade about the cardinal points of the -compass, where the master and inferior functionaries are -stationed, and their forms about tyling the lodge, setting the -men to work, and calling them off to take refreshment, &c. -&c. they may be all harmless enough, or at least, -comparatively so: yet to the serious by-stander, or uninitiated, -they can hardly fail of appearing in no small degree frivolous -and childish.—Many indeed have deemed the whole system or -institution of masonry a designed burlesque upon scripture and -religion. But though there may be many circumstances that -would seem to bear that way, yet such is the unquestionable -respectability of many of its members that it is very certain -such a design could never have met with their concurrence or -countenance. The fact, that such characters do really -belong to this community seems also to prove that there must be -some good points pertaining to masonry, which recommend it to -their approbation, and hide in a great measure, or at least -appear to counterbalance the defects above mentioned. In -particular, it is said, that those of this fraternity, not only -are much given to conviviality and good fellowship, but also -abound in acts of kindness and charity, especially among -themselves, and towards their brethren in distress; and even that -they are generally among the most active promoters of benevolent -deeds, or good works in the places where they reside. If it -be really so, it will account for that warm attachment to masonry -which many well disposed and respectable persons have often -manifested. In short, when we consider the fair and -estimable characters of many of our masons, the <a -name="page1124"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1124</span>order -appears respectable: but, on the other hand, when we advert to -the forged and absurd tales, and to those idle forms, customs, -and ceremonies that are attached to the institution, we cannot -help wondering how those worthy members can patiently or possibly -endure them, or quietly continue in the connection. But -they conceive, no doubt, that the good preponderates, or that the -excellencies of masonry outweigh its defects, and satisfy their -minds with that consideration. Be it so, it is not meant -here to judge or blame them for so doing: they have certainly a -very good right to think and act for themselves, so long as no -one is thereby wronged or injured.</p> -<p>The present form and organization of the masonic sect appear -to be but of very recent origin, and cannot perhaps be traced -beyond the era of the revolution. The fraternity soon after -began to assume something like its present appearance; and as it -consisted mostly of rather suspicious characters, it was for a -long while deemed a tory or jacobitical institution. It did -not spread very much before the accession of the Brunswick -family; after which it multiplied apace, but was still thought to -consist, chiefly at least, of disaffected persons and friends of -the pretender. In process of time, however, that reproach -was completely done away, when it came to be known that not only -courtiers, but even some branches of the reigning family were -among its members.</p> -<p>The first regular lodge in this town was opened at the White -Lion Inn, October 1. 1729. Since which time <a -name="page1125"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1125</span>there is -supposed to have always existed here one or more regular -lodges. There are now here three lodges. Two of them -deem themselves to all intents and purposes regular and orthodox, -but are not willing to allow the third to be so. What is -the real ground of this difference, or what it is that -constitutes masonic regularity or irregularity, orthodoxy or -heterodoxy, is beyond the competency of the present writer to -pronounce or explain. He has been informed by some of the -Lynn masons, that the whole number of them now in this town, -(exclusive, as he understood, of those of the irregular lodge) -amount to above five hundred: from which it would seem that -masonry is here at this time in a thriving and flourishing -condition. As to their great and boasted secret, we shall -not presume to guess what it may be, but shall most willingly let -it quietly remain among the mysteries, without the least -solicitude or wish for its discovery. Nor will we so much -as mention the heavy charge which professor <i>Robison</i> and -the <i>Frenchman</i> brought some years ago against the whole -order; believing as we do that it was totally unfounded.</p> -<p>3. <i>Society of True Britons</i>. This -institution did not last long. It seemed not to have any -very important object in view. The dignified name it -assumed, with the pompous formalities of its organisation, could -not therefore insure its permanence. It was established -with no small parade, with <i>Governor</i>, <i>Deputy -governor</i>, <i>Secretary</i>, <i>Sword-bearer</i>, &c. -together with <i>laws</i> and a <i>constitution</i>, which all -the members were solemnly to <i>swear</i> to observe, and keep -inviolate. The first meetings <a name="page1126"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1126</span>of this memorable Society were held -in the autumn of 1749; after which they were conducted for -sometime in great form: but their proceedings appeared in general -very much like a burlesque upon all corporate bodies and social -institutions. This might be very easily exemplified, but it -would probably afford the reader but little gratification, as we -cannot find that the society proved of any material benefit to -church or state; or to the town itself—some of whose -leading families, however, such as its <i>Bagges</i> and -<i>Brownes</i>, were among its members. <a -name="citation1126"></a><a href="#footnote1126" -class="citation">[1126]</a> But we will here dismiss the -subject and close this section.</p> -<h4><a name="page1127"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1127</span><span class="smcap">Section</span> IV.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>Brief account of the Almshouses of -Lynn</i>; <i>and also of its Purse-clubs or Benefit -Societies</i>.</p> -<p>Of St. Mary Magdalen’s Hospital, or the <i>Gaywood -Almshouse</i>, which stands a little way out of the town, a -pretty long and circumstantial account has been already given, in -another part of the work. (see p. 530, &c.)—Exclusive -of that, there are here three almshouses, which are all within -the town, but of more recent origin than the former. Of -these three, by much the most ancient is the <i>Bede-house</i>, -or old women’s almshouse, over against the New -Burying-ground. Near to this, and seemingly about the spot -now occupied by <i>Mr. Bonnett’s school</i> and dwelling, -stood formerly an almshouse for <i>old men</i>; which being the -<i>southmost</i> of the two, was probably the reason why the -other, according to some old writings, went by the name of the -<i>North-house</i>. These almshouses appear to have been -founded in the 14th century, by some of the original members of -one of our ancient Gilds, that of <i>St. Giles</i> and <i>St. -Julian</i>. It <a name="page1128"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1128</span>is not quite clear that they owed -their origin to that gild itself, but rather to some of its most -charitable and opulent members; such as <i>Edm. Bellyter</i>, -(<i>or Bellyete</i>,) merchant; <i>Tho. Constantyn</i>, -<i>Esq</i>; and <i>Margaret</i>, his daughter; and <i>Wm. -Inot</i>, merchant. The gild was constituted in 1384, but -the date of the erection of these almshouses, is involved in -considerable obscurity, so that it seems uncertain whether it -occurred previously or subsequently to that year.</p> -<p>But whenever they were erected, and whether by the persons -above mentioned, exclusively, or by the gild at large, it is -pretty evident that they became in no long time the property of -that gild; and there is reason to believe that they continued so -till the dissolution of the Monasteries, when all the gilds -shared the same fate. At that time the property of this -gild, as well as that of others still more opulent, fell probably -into the hands of the corporation. For some reason, the -<i>men’s</i> almshouse was dissolved, but that of the -<i>women</i>, or <i>Bedehouse</i>, as it was then, and is still -called, was continued, under the patronage of that body. It -does not clearly appear how many persons were originally -maintained in these <i>two</i> houses. But we learn that -the <i>men’s</i> house had in it <i>seven</i> chambers, and -the <i>women’s six</i>. Supposing therefore that but -<i>one</i> person occupied each chamber, the number between both -houses would be <i>thirteen</i>; but if we suppose that -<i>two</i> were placed in each chamber, (as might be the case in -those times; and more than two cannot be supposed;) then the -whole number would <a name="page1129"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1129</span>be <i>twenty-six</i>. The -question, however, is now immaterial, and requires no further -attention. <a name="citation1129"></a><a href="#footnote1129" -class="citation">[1129]</a></p> -<p>When the Bedehouse came into the hands of the corporation, it -seems they divided each of the chambers into two, so as to make -<i>twelve</i>, instead of <i>six</i>, as we find is still the -case. This probably accounts for one half of them being -without a fireplace, which is not likely to have been the case -originally: and it has certainly been very inconvenient ever -since to those who have occupied those chambers. It is -therefore to be hoped, that when Mr. <i>Cook’s</i> legacy -is obtained, this inconvenience will be soon remedied. The -number of occupants now, as well as for a long time past, is -<i>twelve</i>: <i>eleven women</i>, and the <i>reader</i>; who is -a sort of <i>chaplain</i>, reading prayers and guiding the -devotion of the sisterhood, mornings and evenings.</p> -<p>Till the last summer, (1811,) this house had been for some -years in a very low state, and might be denominated the mansion -of starvation, rather than the habitation of mercy and charity, -or house of bread. The weekly allowance to each poor woman -was only <i>thirty pence</i> and <i>three farthings</i>!—a -sad proof of the very low ebb to which the generosity and -humanity of the patrons of the place had been reduced! At -length however they awoke to a sense of the unseemliness of this -mock charity, and very commendably added <i>another thirty -pence</i> to the weekly allowance of each inmate, or -pensioner. <a name="page1130"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1130</span>This addition has materially benefitted them, and -ameliorated their condition, and the present writer wishes he had -it in his power to name the individual from whom it originated, -who certainly has deserved well, not only of the poor pensioners -themselves, but also of the community at large.</p> -<p>Soon after this fortunate augmentation of the allowance or -income of those poor pensioners, intelligence arrived of a still -further provision being made for them, by a gentleman lately -deceased, of the name of <i>Cook</i>, <a -name="citation1130a"></a><a href="#footnote1130a" -class="citation">[1130a]</a> who lived in London, and left them -by his will 2000<i>l.</i> in the 3 per cents; the interest -whereof to be applied in augmentation of their weekly -income. This charitable bequest, which is likely soon to be -transferred into the hands of the corporation, as the trustees or -guardians of these poor pensioners, will add it is to be hoped, -another <i>half crown</i> to their weekly allowance; which will -render their situation very comfortable, compared with what it -has been of late years. To have each chamber destitute of a -fireplace furnished with that needful appendage, <a -name="citation1130b"></a><a href="#footnote1130b" -class="citation">[1130b]</a> would be to most of them a still -further and very desirable accommodation.</p> -<p><a name="page1131"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1131</span>By -an old MS. volume which has very lately fallen into the hands of -this writer, he learns that one John <i>Loneyson</i>, or -<i>Leneyston</i>, <a name="citation1131a"></a><a -href="#footnote1131a" class="citation">[1131a]</a> by will -bearing date in 1594, endowed this almshouse, and gave it an -annuity of 10<i>l.</i> from 75, (or 76) acres of pasture, called -<i>out marshes</i>, or <i>salt marshes</i>, lying and being in -South Lyn, anciently purchased of <i>Charles Cornwallis</i> and -<i>George Nicholls</i> Esqrs. and demised to <i>Elsdin</i> by the -corporation in the 2nd. year of James I. <a -name="citation1131b"></a><a href="#footnote1131b" -class="citation">[1131b]</a> How far this corroborates or -contradicts the <i>Tablet</i> in the church, which made such stir -among our townsmen last year, may deserve some consideration from -the member of the Hall.</p> -<p>Beside the above endowment in land there was a sum of money -amounting 600<i>l.</i> left by divers persons to this almshouse, -the interest whereof to be applied to the support or maintenance -of the pensioners: and as money bore then a higher interest than -at present, the annual product of this provision amounted to no -trifling sum. This money was placed in the hands of the -corporation; 400<i>l.</i> of it laid out at interest, and -200<i>l.</i> employed in buying or trafficking in <i>rye</i>; -whence it was sometimes called <i>rye money</i>. In short -the 600<i>l.</i> and the 10<i>l.</i> a year <a -name="page1132"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1132</span>before -mentioned seem to have constituted formerly the chief of the -funds of this almshouse: only in extraordinary cases, such as -sickness, the pensioners were relieved by voluntary -contributions. <a name="citation1132a"></a><a -href="#footnote1132a" class="citation">[1132a]</a> It -should be here further noted that it appears from the said MS. -that in consideration of the above funds, the corporation -formerly paid yearly in money to this almshouse 44<i>l.</i> and -moreover 8<i>l.</i> 4<i>s.</i> by 9 chaldron of <i>coals</i> and -200 <i>sedge</i>—making in all 52<i>l.</i> 4<i>s.</i> -which, including the afore-mentioned extraordinary charges, is -said to <i>surmount the interest of the whole money given</i>; -which might well be supposed to have been the case. <a -name="citation1132b"></a><a href="#footnote1132b" -class="citation">[1132b]</a></p> -<p><a name="page1133"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1133</span>2. <i>Finkel-Row Almshouse</i>, or -<i>Valenger’s Hospital</i>, in South Lynn. This house -was founded in 1605. by <i>Thomas Valenger</i>, gent. then -Town-Clerk of Lynn, for <i>four poor men</i> to dwell in -gratis. We cannot learn that he endowed it with any land or -money, though it is said that some land does now belong to it, an -advance in the rent of which, two years ago, occasioned an -addition of 3<i>d.</i> a week to be made to the allowance of each -pensioner. Last year there was a more considerable -addition, of no less than <i>one shilling</i> a week, made to -that allowance; making it in the whole 4<i>s.</i> a week, which -is the amount of the present weekly allowance of each of them: -and this sum is paid them weekly by the overseers of the -parish. As <i>Mr. Cook</i>, mentioned under the preceding -article, has left 700<i>l.</i> in the 3 per cents to this -charity, each pensioner, it is supposed, may shortly expect a -further addition of 2<i>s.</i> a week or more to their present -allowance. Like the Gaywood hospital, this house was -originally designed for <i>men</i>; but it has been now for a -good many years converted to the use of the other sex, and has -been ever since occupied by <i>four</i> poor <i>women</i>, who -have in it now very comfortable dwellings, the house having been -rebuilt in 1806.</p> -<p>3. <i>Paradise Hospital</i>, or <i>Broad Street -Almshouse</i>. This house appears to have been founded in -1676, by <a name="page1134"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1134</span>one <i>John Heathcote</i>, <i>otherwise Helcote</i>, -of whom some mention has been already made, at page <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page827">827</a></span>. He -dying while the work was unfinished, the completion of it was -undertaken and effected the year following by the famous <i>Henry -Framingham</i>. Of him also some mention is made in the -page last referred to, as well as in page <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page861">861</a></span>. It -is probable that the former died intestate, without having made -any provision for the endowment of the almshouse, and that his -heirs were not disposed to complete the plan which he had -formed. However that was, Framingham appears to have then -stept forward and purchased the premises, for the laudable -purpose of completing the benevolent institution which the other -had projected. This house is pleasantly situated, in the -field called Paradise, on the east side of Broad Street, with -which it communicates, and from which is its only entrance. -It consists of a chapel and twelve apartments or dwellings, all -opening into a quadrangular court, to which there is an entrance -by a gateway from the street. Those dwellings are occupied -by 12 poor men, one of whom officiates as chaplain, and is called -<i>The Reader</i>; in consideration of which he has an additional -pension or allowance. Attached to those 12 apartments are -as many little gardens, which lie on each side of the entrance -from the street. Framingham, it seems, endowed only 11 of -these dwellings: the other endowed a long while after, by one of -our alderman, whose was <i>John Goodwyn</i>. The present -weekly allowance of each of these 12 pensioners is 3<i>s.</i> -6<i>d.</i> with the addition of 15<i>d.</i> to the chaplain, -which makes his weekly allowance 4<i>s.</i> 9<i>d.</i> The -11 lay brethren have each a chaldren of <a -name="page1135"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1135</span>coals -yearly, and the chaplain a chaldron and half. They have -beside, the interest of 250<i>l.</i> which they receive half -yearly. This it is presumed is a pretty correct account of -the present state of these pensioners; but it must not here pass -unnoticed, that Mr. <i>Cook</i>, the charitable benefactor of the -other almshouses, and whose memory ought to be very dear to all -our pensioners, has left to this house the sum of 2000<i>l.</i> 3 -per cent stock, for the augmentation of the weekly allowance of -the 12 poor occupants: when this bequest therefore is obtained, -which is now very soon expected, it can not fail of considerably -bettering their condition. But what an indelible disgrace -is the benefaction of Mr. Cook to the memories of all those -overgrown wealthy Lynn men, who have departed this life without -the least apparent spark of benevolence, or one charitable -thought towards their indigent neighbours.</p> -<p>Besides its <i>four</i> Almshouses, (including that of -Gaywood,) Lynn is also distinguished for divers other charitable -institutions, and particularly for a great number of those called -<i>benefit societies</i>, or <i>purse clubs</i>, which amount to -<i>upwards of twenty</i>. Most of them consist of -<i>men</i>, but some few are made up of the other sex; <a -name="citation1135"></a><a href="#footnote1135" -class="citation">[1135]</a> <a name="page1136"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1136</span>which in most places we believe is -rather an unusual case, as it has been generally supposed that -such societies would not succeed. Here, however, they are -said to have succeeded, and to have proved very beneficial. -Their plans and constitutions seem well formed, and their rules -and orders have been circulated in print. These societies, -as might be supposed, hold their meetings in private houses, -those, probably, of some of their most opulent and active -patronesses. Of the societies of this description which -consist wholly of <i>men</i>, some are of a superior order, and -designed particularly for the benefit of females or -<i>widows</i>. One of those, if we are not mistaken, is -called, “The Provident Society for the benefit of -widows;” and another, “The Benevolent Viduarian -Society.” The latter was established Nov. 5.1807. and -the former several years earlier. Both of them, if we are -rightly informed, secure to each widow an annuity of twenty -pounds, which to most cannot fail of being a very desirable -object.</p> -<p>The meetings of these two societies, and of all the rest that -belong to the <i>men</i>, are kept at different public houses in -various parts of the town: <a name="citation1136"></a><a -href="#footnote1136" class="citation">[1136]</a> and it is -probable <a name="page1137"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1137</span>that they are the most suitable places, upon the -whole, that could be easily obtained for that purpose. It -may be here further observed, that we scarce ever hear of any -thing in the conduct of those who attend at these meetings, that -is palpably improper, unbecoming, or exceptionable. So that -the rules and orders of these fraternities appear to have taught -the members in general to pay a due respect to a propriety or -decency of behaviour, so as to fit them to be better members of -the community. This consideration not a little enhances the -use and importance of these friendly and fraternal institutions, -as manifestly conducing to the cultivation of good manners, -civilization, and moral improvement.</p> -<p>But in an account of our Benefit-Societies, and provident, -benevolent, or charitable institutions, the two following -charities ought not to be forgotten—1. The <i>Lying-in -Charity</i>. This was set on foot in 1791, by the late Mrs. -Elizabeth Gibbons, in conjunction with Mrs. Keed, Mrs. S. Newham, -&c. for <i>lending Child-bed Linen </i><a -name="page1138"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1138</span><i>to -poor women</i>: and it is said to have been the means of -affording great relief to those who were the objects of it. -It has been assisted and supported by subscriptions from several -Ladies, amounting for the last year to 37<i>l.</i> -6<i>s.</i>—As it is known to have proved very beneficial, -it is to be hoped that it will be long continued.—2. The -<i>Stranger’s friend Society</i>. <a -name="citation1138"></a><a href="#footnote1138" -class="citation">[1138]</a> This has been set on foot here -by the <i>Methodists</i>, but has been supported by many others -of the inhabitants, and rendered very useful to the -poor.—An account of the state and proceedings of this -society is published annually: about which time a sermon is also -preached at the Methodist Chapel, for the benefit of the -institution. Those who are appointed by the society for the -office of <i>visiting</i> the distressed poor, are directed to -assist them by prayer and religious instruction, as well as by -their alms.</p> -<p>☞ Before he entirely closes this section, the author -feels it incumbent upon him to confess, that since the last sheet -was printed off, he has, upon further consideration, become less -confident of the annuity mentioned at p. <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page1131">1131</a></span> being -originally left to the <i>Bedehouse</i>.</p> -<h4><a name="page1139"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1139</span><span class="smcap">Section</span> V.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>Brief account of the</i> Schools, <i>with -some hints on the present state of Education at Lynn</i>.</p> -<p>Before the Reformation, the education (such as it was) of the -children and youth of this country was committed chiefly to the -monks and friars; and carried on in the convents and religious -houses,—of which description were even the very -universities themselves, if indeed they are not so still. -Lynn had then many of those convents and religious houses; and it -seems probable that each of them had in it a school, of some sort -or other. But they were all schools for <i>boys</i>; and -yet but few, compared with the whole number of the Lynn boys of -those times, can be supposed to have been so fortunate as to get -there admitted. As to the <i>girls</i>, there was then no -such provision made for their education: and they seem to have -been, in that point of view, as little regarded as if our -ancestors thought, like the Mahometans, that women had no -souls.</p> -<p>Among the inconveniences occasioned by the general dissolution -of the monasteries, one of them must have been that of being -deprived of those conventual schools. How long the town -continued without any substitutes for them, we are not able to -say. Something probably might be done in the reign of -<i>Edward</i>, though we have not been able to discover any clear -proof of it: only the fact may be supposed, as it is well known -that many schools were established in that reign, and endowed -with some small fragments of the abbey-revenues. Indeed -there is some reason to conclude that there was a school, on a -very small scale, established here by the corporation, <a -name="page1140"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1140</span>almost -immediately after the dissolution, as appears from the following -passage in an old memorandum book, extracted chiefly, as it would -seem, from the Hall-records—“1538, Sept; 29. Thomas -Person, prest, late ffryer, was chosen to be Charnell Prest: He -to have for his selary viii<i>l.</i> iiii<i>s.</i> and licence to -preche iiii tymes every Quarter, <i>and frely to teche vi -Child.[ren.]</i>”—The last expression necessarily -implies the establishment of a <i>school</i> for the education of -<i>six children</i>: and as the teacher was the charnel priest, -it may reasonably be concluded that the school was kept at, or -over the charnel house. That also being the place where our -Grammar School was kept till the erection of the present -building, it seems not improbable that this little school for the -education of half a dozen boys may have been the origin of that -seminary. How long our means of education were confined to -one solitary establishment for six boys, we are not able now to -say; but we could discover no appearance of the existence of any -thing further till <i>above forty years</i> after the dissolution -of the convents, when a respectable seminary, on an extensive -scale, began to give additional dignity to the character of the -town.—We will now proceed to give a cursory view of our -principal schools, and present state of education.</p> -<p>1. <i>The Grammar School</i>. This has long borne -a respectable character among the grammar-schools of this -country. It is supposed to have been established about the -middle of the reign of Elizabeth, as we have been able to trace -it no further back than the year 1580, when we find it an -established school, and its <i>master’s</i> name -<i>Iverye</i>. <a name="citation1140"></a><a href="#footnote1140" -class="citation">[1140]</a> He died in 1590, <a -name="page1141"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1141</span>and was -succeeded by <i>Alex. Roberts M.A.</i> who had a stipend of 20 -marks a year, and the house where his predecessor lived. He -becoming one of the ministers of the town, was succeeded in 1593 -by <i>Nic. Eston M.A.</i> of Pemb. Hall, Cambridge. Eston -in 1597, was succeeded by <i>John Man</i> M.A. who in 1608, was -succeeded by <i>Hen. Allston</i>, on condition that he -<i>considered himself as holding the school only during the -goodwill and pleasure of the Mayor</i>, <i>A. and C. C.</i> -He appears not to have been on the best terms with the -corporation; and about 1613, was succeeded by a <i>Mr. -Armitage</i>. He dying in 1618, was succeeded by <i>Mr. -Robt. Robinson</i>. He died in 1626, and was succeeded by -<i>Ambr. Fish</i>, who shortly after gave up his charge, and was -succeeded, 11. May 1627, by <i>Robt. Woodmansea M.A.</i> of -Loughborough. He removing in the spring of 1634 (or rather -1635,) had for his successor <i>John Rawlinson M.A.</i> of St. -John’s Col. Cambridge, <a name="page1142"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1142</span>who removed, as it seems, in 1637, -and was then succeeded by <i>Edw. Bell M.A.</i> who, if we are -not mistaken, held the place 40 years; and dying in 1678 was -succeeded by the memorable <i>John Horne M.A.</i> who held the -mastership of this seminary still longer; even no less than 51 or -52 years, with much credit to himself and no small advantage to -his numerous pupils. He was succeeded May 21. 1730. by -<i>Charles Squire</i>; who was succeeded by — <i>Pigge</i>; -and he by <i>John Danville</i>, and he by <i>John Knox</i>, who -resigned in 1760, <a name="citation1142a"></a><a -href="#footnote1142a" class="citation">[1142a]</a> when he was -succeeded by <i>Dr. David Lloyd</i>, who continued at the head of -this seminary 34 years, and supported during all that time a -character no way inferior, perhaps, to the most eminent of his -predecessors. He was succeeded in 1794 by his eldest son -<i>Henry Lloyd D.D.</i> the present Hebrew Professor at -Cambridge. Upon his resignation in 1797, he was succeeded -by <i>Richard Scott</i>, who in 1803 was succeeded by the present -master, the rev. <i>Martin Coulcher</i>. <a -name="citation1142b"></a><a href="#footnote1142b" -class="citation">[1142b]</a></p> -<p><a name="page1143"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1143</span>The -course of education in this seminary, is similar to what is usual -in most of our endowed grammar-schools, or free-schools. -Its original object seems to have been to teach the rudiments of -the learned languages, which still forms a principal part of the -plan; but like the generality of our modern numerous and -respectable boarding schools, it has now for many years embraced -divers other objects, and even all those branches of education, -the knowledge of which is now deemed necessary to fit our youth -to become men of business, and useful and accomplished members of -society. The endowment to this seminary is about -60<i>l.</i> a year, and a handsome dwelling-house for the master; -for which he is to teach a certain number of freemen’s -children gratis: but it is only in grammar or classical learning; -for which reason they are but few in number; and he depends -chiefly for his support upon those pupils he derives from other -quarters. In some cases those who go from this seminary to -the university, are entitled to certain exhibitions or pecuniary -aids, which some well disposed persons deceased have bequeathed -for the benefit of such young scholars.</p> -<p>Our other <i>boy</i>-schools are now pretty numerous, and are -entitled to different degrees of estimation, from those of -Messrs. Coulton, Smith, and Bonnet, down to those of our veriest -or humblest abecedarian pedagogues, who yet are doubtless very -useful in their sphere.—Of <i>girl</i>-schools there are -here likewise a great many, and they also are of different sorts, -and descend, like the <a name="page1144"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1144</span>former, in various gradations, from -the respected boarding schools of Miss Nichols and Miss -Henderson, to the liliputian seminaries of those homely dames -whose pupils are made up of young misses and masters of two, -three, and four years old. The two schools here first -mentioned, (those of Miss N. and Miss H.) are very respectable; -and the former has been so for a great many years, and still -maintains its character with undiminished reputation. But -as these good ladies can be in no want of any encomium or praises -which are in the power of this writer to bestow, he will here -drop the subject.</p> -<p>We must not however close our account of the Lynn schools, -without noticing those which are formed on the Lancasterian plan; -of which there are two here established—one for <i>boys</i> -and the other for <i>girls</i>. Of the latter the following -sketch, it is presumed, will be found pretty correct.</p> -<blockquote><p>“<i>The Charity School for Girls</i> was -founded by voluntary subscription, at a meeting of ladies held at -the Town-hall, April 13. 1792, and opened May 28 following. -It provided instruction, in reading, sewing, and spinning, with -some portion of clothing, for 30 children. A room in -Purfleet street was for some years hired for the purpose; but in -1805 a much more suitable apartment, adjoining to the north tower -of St. Margaret’s Church, was fitted up by the subscribers: -and the school has been since extended to 50 girls, under the -direction of <i>Miss Harriet Howell</i>, who has successfully -adapted the new or Lancasterian method of education to the -instruction of girls—This school is now supported <a -name="page1145"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1145</span>in a -great measure by taking in plain work; as the whole amount of the -subscription, for the current year is only 49<i>l.</i> -7<i>s.</i>”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>The other charitable seminary, that for <i>boys</i>, and which -in fact is our proper Lancasterian school, is of much later -origin than the preceding. Of its rise and progress the -following brief account, we doubt not, will be found pretty -accurate—</p> -<blockquote><p>“It is remarkable that in so large a town as -this, there was no public charity school for boys prior to the -year 1808. Complaints were loud and universal of the number -of idle and disorderly boys, who were rioting in our streets, and -sometimes committing great depredations upon the property of -individuals. But the very magnitude of the evil seemed to -discourage all endeavours to remove it. The expense of -educating so large a number upon the old plan of instruction, -which required one master to every 30 or 40 boys, precluded all -hope of raising an adequate contribution from the public; and no -effect could not be expected from a private person commensurate -to the existing evil, of so large a portion of the population -being destitute of all moral or religious instruction. But -the rise of the new system of education, by which one master can -teach almost any number of boys that one room can hold, soon -attracted the attention of those who felt for the rising -generation: and as this improved system was then practised only -by Mr. Joseph Lancaster, in London, an application was made to -him for a master. Upon which he kindly offered to come -down, and gave a public lecture at the assembly room upon the -subject, <a name="page1146"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1146</span>February 8. 1808. Several resolutions for the -establishment of a school in this place, by his assistance, were -immediately agreed upon; a committee of 15 subscribers for the -management of the institution, were afterwards nominated; the -Corporation granted the use of a building well adapted for the -purpose, and on Wednesday, May 11. in the same year, the school -was opened for 230 boys. <a name="citation1146a"></a><a -href="#footnote1146a" class="citation">[1146a]</a>—The -success and the utility of this institution have fully answered -every reasonable expectation which could be formed respecting -it.—The annual subscriptions for the present year amount to -111<i>l.</i> 6<i>s.</i>”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Besides these schools, which are under the direction of the -clergymen of the establishment, there are here two sunday schools -under the direction of the dissenters. The chief of these, -and of the longest standing, is under the care of the revd. <i>I. -Allen</i>, and kept at his meeting house, in Broad Street; but it -is supported by the subscriptions of persons of different -denominations, churchmen as well as dissenters. <a -name="citation1146b"></a><a href="#footnote1146b" -class="citation">[1146b]</a> It has existed some years, and -is deemed a very useful institution. The other is of more -recent origin, and at present on a much smaller scale, and is -kept at the Baptist meeting house. It is only for boys; -whereas Mr. Allen’s is for both boys and girls, but chiefly -the latter. In his last annual account, if we are not -mistaken, Mr. A. has represented both these schools as only one -school, making the whole number of scholars 249—143 girls, -and 109 boys. Of <a name="page1147"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1147</span>the latter about 60, as we are -told, belong to the <i>Baptist</i> Sunday School. These -institutions, it is to be hoped, will long prove very useful to -the town.—But we must not omit here to mention that the -Lynn Sunday Schools originated with the <i>Methodists</i> about -25 years ago. The school which they then established was -carried on with much spirit, and to very good purpose for several -years; but was at last given up in favour of an extensive -day-school, which was then planned, and which it was supposed -would render the other unnecessary. But either that -day-school was not established, or it did not succeed; so that -the Methodists were too hasty in discontinuing their school, -which if we rightly recollect, consisted of about 200 children. -<a name="citation1147"></a><a href="#footnote1147" -class="citation">[1147]</a></p> -<p>From the foregoing account the reader may form some idea of -the present state of education in this town. The -Lancasterian schools have answered the most sanguine expectations -of their patrons and promoters, and especially the boy-school, -which has hitherto given abundant satisfaction, and has greatly -conduced to the credit both of the managers and the -teacher. The dispute which has agitated other parts of the -kingdom as to the respective merits of Bell and Lancaster, will, -it is to be hoped, not materially affect this town. For -though the Church Catechism is taught here, which the present -writer thinks in part very absurd; yet if the young pupils think -at all as they grow up, and advert to the new <a -name="page1148"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1148</span>testament, that absurdity will not long have any very -strong hold upon their minds, or remain a great while -unperceived. As they will be enabled to read the -scriptures, if they will take the trouble of searching them, and -judge for themselves, they may be soon very capable to determine -how far the Church Catechism and the Common prayer book are to be -deemed necessary appendages to the inspired writings.</p> -<p>As to our schools of the better sort, or of the higher order, -we judge that they are as well conducted as those of the like -description in most other places. Some indeed have found -fault, especially with those for female education, for what may -be called too much uniformity, or not varying more the course of -instruction, and adapting it to the ranks, circumstances, or -prospects of the respective pupils. Hence the -tradesman’s and petty farmer’s daughters are taught -music, drawing, and other genteel accomplishments, in common with -those of the squire, the merchant, and opulent farmer, who are -expected and designed to move in a much higher sphere. In -giving the former the education of fine ladies they are supposed -to be unfitted for that station in life in which they are likely -to be placed, by having their minds filled with such high notions -as can but very ill accord with their probable future -destiny. This therefore has been deemed contrary to the -dictates of reason, and every just rule of prudence and -propriety. But however absurd this may be, the blame seems -not imputable to the governesses of these seminaries, but rather -to the parents or guardians of those pupils. Nor would it -be very safe <a name="page1149"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1149</span>perhaps for our governesses to remonstrate with these, -or even so much as hint on the absurdity or impropriety of such -an indiscriminate and preposterous course of instruction, as it -would be taken as a reflection on their superior wisdom, or their -competency to dictate the proper line of pupilage for their young -relatives. But it is not intended here to insinuate that -the circumstance in question is peculiar to our Lynn -Boarding-schools: on the contrary, the same is supposed to be -very much the case in many, if not in most other places. If -however it be so improper as many have supposed, it would no -doubt, be very desirable to have it discontinued. But the -world is not very likely soon to agree to discontinue all -improper practices.</p> -<p>☞ Here before he begins another section, or proceeds any -further, the author begs leave to apprize the reader of an error -he has committed at page <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page1134">1134</a></span>, in suggesting that Framingham -endowed 11 out of the 12 dwellings in the Broad street -Almshouse. He has understood since that he endowed but -<i>ten</i>, and that the <i>eleventh</i> was endowed by Ald. -Goodwyn, and the twelfth by the elder <i>Hogg</i>, great grand -father of our present alderman of that name, and founder of that -respectable mercantile family. This correction is made, as -due to the memory of the said <i>Mr. Hogg</i>, which stands much -higher, as a benefactor to the poor, than that of any of our -wealthy men who survived him.—It is also due to the -sacredness of historical truth, which demands as much fidelity as -a statement of facts upon oath in a court of judicature.</p> -<h4><span class="smcap">Section</span> VI.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>Sketch of the Corporation</i>, <i>with -cursory remarks on its power</i>, <i>possessions</i>, -<i>privileges</i>, <i>&c.</i></p> -<p>The Corporation of Lynn was established in the reign of king -John, which is not mentioned here as a circumstance <a -name="page1150"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1150</span>redounding to its honour, or yet to its -dishonour. Our corporations might be very proper and useful -in those feudal and barbarous times, as a check to the despotism -and tyranny of the barons and feudal lords; but in the present -state of the nation their propriety and utility are very far from -being obvious; seeing such places as Birmingham, Manchester, and -Sheffield, appear to have done full as well, and thrived quite as -much, without any chartered immunities, or such a privileged -order of men, as our most famous or favoured corporations. -It is not however to be expected that these dignified bodies will -readily descend from their elevated situations, and place -themselves by the side of their unprivileged neighbours.</p> -<p>The Lynn Corporation is generally considered as consisting of -a Mayor, Recorder, Lord High Steward, twelve Aldermen, eighteen -Common-councilmen, town Clerk, Chamberlain, two Coroners, and -several inferior officers. <a name="citation1150"></a><a -href="#footnote1150" class="citation">[1150]</a> The power, -privileges, and possessions of this body are very considerable, -so that their dignity and consequence seem not a little superior -to those of some others of our corporate bodies in different <a -name="page1151"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1151</span>parts of -the kingdom. Their various immunities are distinctly -specified in their numerous charters, which they obtained of -different sovereigns, from John to <a name="page1152"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1152</span>Charles the second. But as it -seems to be intended shortly to publish those Charters, it may be -needless to say any more here about their contents. There -has been a pretty general wish for some time to have these -documents published in English, that the freemen might know the -full meaning and extent of the oaths tendered to them in taking -up their freedom, of which not one in twenty of them are supposed -to have at present any adequate idea: and as there is known to -exist now in the town a fair translation of them, it is hoped and -expected that it will ere long be made public. In that case -the dignity, power, and prerogatives of this privileged body will -be sufficiently explained, and our future <a -name="page1153"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1153</span>freemen -will be enabled to discover the nature and extent of the -obligation imposed upon them by their burgess oaths.</p> -<p>The possessions of the Lynn Corporation in landed property -&c. are said to be very considerable; and together with their -various tolls, tallages, and privileges, produce a large annual -income, which we are told might be considerably increased, were -their lands all let to the best bidders, or according to their -full value, instead of letting them in the usual unfair and -partial manner, for the accommodation of their own particular -friends and favourites. With such an ample revenue as their -means might be made to produce, and of which they are understood -to be but the trustees of the commonalty, our corporation might -be real and great benefactors to this town, and secure to -themselves the esteem and applause of all their reasonable and -respectable fellow-citizens; but being apt sometimes to carry -themselves rather too haughty and arrogantly towards their -unprivileged neighbours, they are not always in possession of the -respect that would otherwise be very readily paid to them. -It is not however likely that they are much more despotically -disposed than the generality of the rulers of other -corporations.</p> -<p>The <i>mayor</i> of Lynn is chosen annually on the 29th. of -August, from among the aldermen, by the members of the -common-council: and he must be one who has not served the office -previously for at least five years. In <a -name="page1154"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1154</span>case he -declines the appointment, or refuses to serve, without reasonable -cause to be allowed, the major and aldermen may fine him in any -sum not exceeding 60<i>l.</i> <a name="citation1154a"></a><a -href="#footnote1154a" class="citation">[1154a]</a> Also in -case of such refusal, or of a mayor’s death, the -common-council-men may within eight days choose any other -alderman, who has not served for five years, in his room. -The new mayor being elected on the 29th of August, he is not -sworn in till the 29th. of the ensuing month, or Michaelmas-day, -when his official year commences. If he should happen to be -sick, so as not to be able to attend at the Guild-hall to be -sworn, on the day last mentioned, it shall be lawful to -administer the oath, or oaths to him at his own house, or -wherever he shall be within the borough. <a -name="citation1154b"></a><a href="#footnote1154b" -class="citation">[1154b]</a></p> -<p>Formerly it was customary to have here at the hall, both on -St. John’s, and St Michael’s days, elegant -entertainments or sumptuous public dinners, given at the -mayor’s expense, and often much expatiated upon by former -writers; but the custom has of late been discontinued, and we are -not sure that it will be ever again resumed: nor are we sure that -its resumption would be at all desirable; on the contrary, it -seems more probable that its utter abolition would be of far -greater use to the community in general, at such a time as this, -as it might serve to remind us all of the absolute necessity of -retrenching <a name="page1155"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1155</span>and observing the utmost economy in the management of -all our temporal affairs, as the only way to escape starvation -and all its concomitant miseries. For all which we have to -thank the vile maxims that have directed and distinguished our -public affairs for these 50 years, and especially those that -characterize the administration of the last Pitt and his -successors.</p> -<p>Of the present revenue of this Corporation, which is -understood to be very considerable, we have not been able to -ascertain the exact amount. It is one of those secrets, it -seems, which the members make a point of keeping to themselves, -and whose disclosure would render them liable to expulsion. -It being therefore a corporation and sworn secret, we will not -presume to pry any further into it. But it is very certain -that several of their present sources of revenue did not at all -belong to them formerly. Among which are to be reckoned the -possessions of the Gilds of the <i>Trinity</i>, and <i>St. -George</i>, and perhaps of some of the others; which were granted -to the Corporation at the dissolution. Also the profits of -the <i>Toll-booth</i>, which were originally divided between the -<i>bishop of Norwich</i>, and the <i>Earl of Arundel</i> as lord -of <i>Rising</i>, comprehending what is called <i>Tronage</i>, -<i>Measurage</i>, and <i>Lovecop</i>, <a -name="citation1155"></a><a href="#footnote1155" -class="citation">[1155]</a> with the <i>baily-ship of the Water -of Wiggenhall</i>, &c. Of these, after passing through -several hands, a <i>fourth</i> part was vested in the prince of -Wales, as Duke of Cornwall, and the other <i>three</i> parts -afterwards reverted to the crown, and were <a -name="page1156"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1156</span>by Henry -VIII. granted to the corporation, who have been in possession of -them ever since. The fourth part is supposed to belong -still to the duchy of Cornwall, and rented from the managers of -its concerns by the mayor and burgesses.—An -<i>admiralty</i> jurisdiction within the liberties of this -borough, has also been granted to this body corporate, by king -James’ Charter, which will probably avail them very -materially in their present dispute with lord William -Bentinck.</p> -<p>Before we close these remarks we may just observe, that four -or five of our aldermen, and several of our common-council-men -are now absentees, or live out of town—a case, it is -supposed, never known here before, and which would not have been -allowed in former days: for absence or removal out of town was -always heretofore succeeded by expulsion, if the absentees did -not think proper to resign of their own accord. It seems -somewhat difficult to account for the unexampled indulgence with -which our present absentees are treated, especially as the mayor -is said to find it often very difficult, on that very account, to -get a Hall, or muster such a number of members as is necessary -for transacting their municipal business.</p> -<p>Other sources of municipal revenue here, are the <i>fairs</i> -and <i>markets</i>. Of the former there are only two in the -year: one of these is very considerable and celebrated, but was -much more so in former times. It is commonly called <i>the -mart</i>, or the <i>Lynn mart</i>, and commences on the 14th. of -February, when it is with great formality <a -name="page1157"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1157</span><i>proclaimed</i> <a name="citation1157"></a><a -href="#footnote1157" class="citation">[1157]</a> to last for -<i>six days</i>, but is generally allowed to continue about a -<i>fortnight</i>. It is but the shadow of what it was -formerly, when most of the <a name="page1158"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1158</span>town and country shopkeepers were -then supplied with goods till the time of <i>Sturbitch fair</i>, -where they procured a fresh supply. But the latter also is -now sunk into great comparative insignificance. Both of -them therefore might now be discontinued without any material -loss, except to those concerned with their respective -revenues. The other Lynn fair is held on the 17th. of -October, and is called the <i>cheese fair</i>. It was -formerly, it seems, a respectable fair, but is now become so -inconsiderable and insignificant as not to require or merit here -any further notice.</p> -<p>Besides the <i>Fairs</i>, there are at Lynn <i>two weekly -markets</i>, one on <i>Tuesday</i> and the other on -<i>Saturday</i>. They are kept in two different parts of -the town: the former towards the north end, on a spot called the -<i>Tuesday market-place</i>; which is a spacious area of about -three acres, surrounded by very good houses, and having, on an -ascent of four steps, a beautiful free stone <i>Market Cross</i>, -of modern architecture, built in 1710, adorned with statues and -other embellishments, with a peristyle round below, supported by -16 pillars of the Ionic order, as also another walk above, -encompassed with an iron palisade, enriched with tracery work and -foliage, enclosing a neat octagon room, on the outside of which, -in niches, were standing four statues, representing the <a -name="page1159"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1159</span>cardinal -virtues, and facing the four cardinal points. The upper -part is finished with a cupola, in which hangs the market-bell, -and the whole is 70 feet high. The foundation having given -way on the west side, it is thought the building ere long must be -taken down. From the cross, in a semicircular direction on -each side, extends a range of covered stalls or shambles, having -a small turret at each end. The <i>fish-market</i>, which -formerly stood behind the cross, has lately been taken down, and -since that time the fish-market is in Common-stath-yard, where a -convenient building had been previously constructed for that -purpose.</p> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p1159b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"Market Cross, pub.D Feb.y 1ST 1810, by W. Whittingham, Lynn" -title= -"Market Cross, pub.D Feb.y 1ST 1810, by W. Whittingham, Lynn" - src="images/p1159s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>The <i>Saturday Market</i> is kept in a convenient area opened -of late years near St. Margaret’s church, where capacious -shambles have been erected, over which the Grammar School is -kept. Before 1782 it was kept in that part of High Street -which is next this church; but which being found inconvenient, -the present spot was prepared for that purpose, and it is on the -whole a good commodious market-place. It was however, with -great reluctance that the market people quitted their former -station, and consented to remove to the new one, though it must -have been evident to all that the latter was far -preferable. But that was only the natural effect of that -strange attachment which most people feel for old habits and -customs. Both the Lynn markets are plentifully supplied -with good and excellent provisions, and at as reasonable a rate -as can well be expected in these strange times, when our -<i>guinea</i> is of no more value than <a -name="page1160"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1160</span>the -<i>shilling</i> of our ancestors. But we will here close -this section. <a name="citation1160"></a><a href="#footnote1160" -class="citation">[1160]</a></p> -<h4><span class="smcap">Section</span> VII.</h4> -<p class="gutsumm"><i>Present stele of Lynn</i>, <i>as to its -shipping</i>, <i>trade and commerce</i>, <i>exports and -imports</i>, <i>population</i>, <i>&c.</i></p> -<p>In former times, and even at some pretty remote periods, Lynn -stood high among our English sea-ports, in regard to its -shipping. Hence, as long ago as the year 1374, when Edward -the III was fitting out an expedition against France, and -required his principal sea-ports to furnish ships to enable him -more effectually to accomplish his purpose, he is said to have -had from Lynn 19 ships, when London sent only 24, Bristol 25, -Plymouth, 26, Sandwich 22, Dover 21, Weymouth 20; and Newcastle -only 17, Hull 16, Harwich 14, and Ipswich 12. So that Lynn -appears to have been then among <a name="page1161"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1161</span>the first of our sea-ports, as to -the number of its ships, or the extent of its trade and -commerce. In after ages it is supposed to have maintained -its rank among its sister ports; but we are not able to ascertain -the exact degree of its weight and consequence among them during -all the subsequent periods.</p> -<p>Of late years our trade and commerce have fluctuated with the -times, and our shipping and tonnage have increased or decreased -according to the natural operation of a state of peace or of -war. In 1776, being the earliest period at which any record -appears to have been preserved of them, the number of trading -vessels belonging to this port <a name="citation1161"></a><a -href="#footnote1161" class="citation">[1161]</a> was 85, and the -amount of tonnage 12,700; in 1777 and 1778, ( and probably in -1779,) they continued in much the same state, as appears from a -MS. account which belonged to a late shipmaster: but in 1780, or -1781, there was an increase, though we cannot learn how -much. But in 1791 the ships were 125, and tonnage 17,000; -in 1801, ships 108, tonnage 13,000; in 1806, ships 134, tonnage -15,600; in 1811, ships 106, tonnage 12,000.—From this it -would seem, that our trade is not now in a progressive or -thriving state; and though our shipping are still considerable in -number, yet in point of <i>tonnage</i> they are less than at any -former period here referred to, or probably than at any one -period since the commencement of the present reign. What -effect a peace would have, it is impossible precisely to say, but -the probability is, that our trade would then revive, and things -revert again into their old channels.</p> -<p><a name="page1162"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1162</span>The -trade of this town formerly to different parts of the continent -was very considerable, and particularly to the Baltic; but it is -now almost totally deprived of all its foreign trade; and except -some little intercourse with Spain and Portugal, its trade is at -present almost wholly confined to the importation of -<i>Coals</i>, and the exportation of <i>Corn</i> coastwise to -different British ports. The quantity of coals imported -these years is said to have been very great, and that of last -year has perhaps exceeded any other year: and as that article -bears a very heavy duty it has greatly helped to keep up the -revenue of the custom-house. Foreigners, under the licence -system, bringing the produce of the Baltic, may also be supposed -to have contributed considerably to produce the same -effect. The tables below will serve to cast some further -light upon the subject, and help the reader to judge of the trade -of this place for the last fifty years. <a -name="citation1162a"></a><a href="#footnote1162a" -class="citation">[1162a]</a></p> -<p><a name="page1163"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1163</span>As -to the <i>Coal-trade</i>, which now constitutes the chief article -or main branch of our remaining commerce, and which of late has -employed so large a portion of our shipping, and is thought -likely to decline considerably this year (1812,) owing to the -price of that commodity having been lately lowered, so as to -diminish the profits so much, that it will be no longer worth the -while of the private ship-owners, who are pretty numerous, to -employ their vessels in the trade: and it is supposed that they -will therefore be obliged to lay them up. This seems a -great hardship upon them, for which our principal merchants are -much blamed, whether justly or not, the present writer will not -take upon him to say. Powerful merchants, most certainly, -as well as powerful men of other professions, have before now -acted very unfairly and oppressively towards their weaker -neighbours.</p> -<p>The trade to <i>Greenland</i> and to <i>Davis’s -Straits</i>, or what is called the <i>Whale Fishery</i>, is -another branch in which Lynn has been concerned for many years: -and as it is still persevered in, it may be presumed to have -proved no ungainful concern. The ships fitted out for this -<a name="page1164"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1164</span>trade -generally sail in March and return about July. Three or -four ships have been usually employed in this trade, and -sometimes more, but we understand that there are only two fitted -out this year. Some ships also of late years have traded -between this town and Canada, chiefly, we believe, for timber: -and as we are now quite shut out from the Baltic, this trade will -probably increase. On the whole, we presume it may be very -truly said, that the trade of Lynn is at this time at a lower ebb -than it was ever known to be at any time within the last hundred -years or more. When we shall have driven the French out of -Spain and Portugal, and obliged Napoleon to restore all his -conquests, and allow us a free trade to every part of the -continent, it may be hoped it will once more revive and flourish -as much as ever.</p> -<p>The <i>population</i> of Lynn is <i>between ten and eleven -thousand</i>. The census taken in 1801 fixed it at 10,097, -and that taken in 1811 at 10,253. But there is no reliance -to be placed on the accuracy of either. The real population -probably exceeded both these numbers, and it is uncertain at -which of the two periods was the most numerous. Some have -thought that it must have been in 1801, and the present writer -was once of that opinion. What led him to that conclusion -was, the great and unusual number of untenanted houses found in -different parts of the town in 1810, amounting in all to <i>above -one hundred</i>. But observing, upon further deliberation, -that a still greater number of new houses, of a smaller rent, had -lately sprung up in certain alleys and outskirts of the town, and -all tenanted, he was induced to relinquish his former opinion, -and conclude that our <a name="page1165"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1165</span>population had not actually -decreased. Nor can he now help thinking the real population -of the town at each of those periods to have much exceeded the -numbers made out by the respective persons employed on the -occasion; and moreover, that our present population is not below -10,500 souls.</p> -<p>Of this population, it is a melancholy consideration that the -greatest part are still very ignorant and unenlightened, and -never frequent any place of worship, and are in fact in a state -of mere heathenism, though they are all absurdly considered as -members of the established church. It is indeed by such -members that this same church is enabled so greatly to outnumber -our great body of dissenters, or the nonconforming party -throughout the nation. Were only the sober and devout on -each side to be numbered, it is highly probable that the -established church, with all its vast wealth, and alliance with -the state, would be found to be the minor party. As to the -regular communicants, it is the opinion of some, that even the -very methodists alone could at present muster a number not -inferior to those of our establishment. Be that as it may, -it must be exceedingly absurd and stupid to consider the -ignorant, the irreligious, and heathenish part of the community -as belonging to any church at all.</p> -<p>The religious functionaries or ministers of this town, both -churchmen and dissenters, are allowed to be in general very -assiduous in the discharge of their clerical and ministerial -duties; and were they at the same time less subject to prejudice, -bigotry, and intolerance, and more disposed to believe what their -Lord and Master has declared, <a name="page1166"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1166</span>that <i>they who are not against us -are for us</i>, they would certainly deserve great -commendation. But they and their flocks are, <i>for the -most part</i>, so deficient in the articles of christian charity, -forbearance, and liberality, that they may be said to dishonour -the very cause they have espoused, and the service in which they -are embarked. The more orthodox and evangelical they -pretend to be, the more uncharitable and intolerant they are -generally found. Their evil spirit of intolerance and -infallibility seems to carry them so far as hardly to allow those -who stand without the pale of their respective communions to be -worthy of even the name of christians. Sometimes they have -been heard to pronounce such as they fancied to be heterodox, as -presuming to <i>teach men to be christians without believing any -one principle of that institution</i>; as if God had endowed them -with the infallible knowledge of christian truth, and constituted -them judges of the very state and destinies of their fellow -professors. It was a saying in the primitive times, -“See how these christians love one another;” but here -it might rather be said, “See how these christian parties -and sects envy, vilify, and hate one another.” In -short, they may be said to possess so large a portion of that -unworthy spirit of jealousy and rivalry as would disgrace even -the meanest tradesmen, or the very lowest orders of shopkeepers -and mechanics: and what is still worse, they seem quite incapable -of blushing for their absurd and unchristian conduct. There -are however some honourable exceptions to this representation, -though they seem to be very few. But we will now close this -section, and here conclude the regular series of this -history.</p> -<h4><a name="page1167"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1167</span><span class="smcap">Supplementary Section</span>;</h4> -<p class="gutsumm">(<i>containing divers recollections</i>, -<i>corrections</i>, <i>and miscellaneous -matters</i>:)—<i>defects in the plans and modes of public -worship</i>, <i>or the usual proceedings in our religious -assemblies—our gentry and tradesmen capriciously and -absurdly distinguished—shrimp -trade—water-works—brief account of certain public -buildings previously omitted—additional hints relating to -our grammar-school</i>, <i>our libraries</i>, <i>and present -population</i>.</p> -<p>To what was said of our religious sects and parties in the -preceding section, under the heads of rivalry, envy, -uncharitableness, &c. it might justly have been added, that -they are also very deficient in their modes of conducting public -worship, or their way and manner of proceeding in their religious -assemblies; and particularly in <i>neglecting</i> as they do the -<i>reading</i> and <i>expounding</i> of the scriptures. -Things would be likely to come to a much better pass, if, at -least, <i>half</i> the time that is now spent in <i>preaching</i> -and <i>singing</i> were appropriated to the important duties of -<i>reading</i> and <i>expounding</i> the sacred writings. -The minds and attention of the people, in that case, would be -directed to the meaning and understanding of holy writ, and a -spirit of enquiry after scripture knowledge could not well fail -of being effectually promoted in our respective -congregations. Instead of that, as the case now stands, or -as the public ministry is at present conducted, the people seem -in general as unacquainted with the scripture at the end of the -year, as they were at the beginning of it, and quite unconcerned -or indifferent about the matter. They appear to attend for -some other purpose—that of mere amusement, or <a -name="page1168"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1168</span>something -very short of what they ought to have in view in attending the -christian ministry. Most preachers seem, as if afraid to -lay the scriptures at large before the people, lest they should -attract too much of their attention, so as to induce them by -degrees to read, think, and judge for themselves, or become -actual searchers of the scripture, and indisposed to take every -thing upon <i>trust</i> from their ghostly guides: for -notwithstanding our usual outcry against the <i>papists</i>, our -priests and theirs are more nearly allied than is generally -supposed. These hints, it is presumed, are not altogether -unworthy of the serious consideration of the different -religionists of this town. <a name="citation1168"></a><a -href="#footnote1168" class="citation">[1168]</a></p> -<p>Except these of the learned professions, and <i>very few</i> -besides, all the principal families of this town are in fact -<i>tradesmen</i>; yet even these are here very capriciously and -superciliously distinguished into <i>gentlemen</i> and -<i>tradesmen</i>; though the former retale their goods, or sell -their commodities in small quantities, as well as the latter: and -surely a man who buys corn by the bushel, the coomb, or the -quarter, and sells coals by the chalder and half chalder, and his -deals in any small quantity the <a name="page1169"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1169</span>buyer may wish, and his bottled -wine by single dozens, is to all intents and purposes as much a -tradesman as a grocer, a linen-draper, an ironmonger, or a -druggist. What then is the ground of this -distinction? Is it education? No: our tradesmen in -general have been brought up at the grammar-school, and the -others can seldom or ever pretend to any higher advantage. -Nor do they possess minds more cultivated by reading and -knowledge of the world; for there is every reason to believe that -the tradesmen are at least their equals in those respects, and -some of them perhaps very much their superiors. But is not -fortune or <i>wealth</i> the ground of this distinction? -No: many of those denominated tradesmen are known to be much more -wealthy, as well as much more intelligent and respectable, than -some of those who have arrogated to themselves the dignified name -of gentlemen. On what then can this curious distinction be -founded? It may very truly be answered, On pride, -arrogance, ignorance, impertinence, and vulgar servility. <a -name="citation1169"></a><a href="#footnote1169" -class="citation">[1169]</a></p> -<p>In treating of our trade and commerce, in the preceding -section, that remarkable branch or article, the -<i>shrimp-trade</i>, was quite forgotten; and some perhaps may -think that it might as well still remain so: others however will -be of a different opinion; at least when they learn that beside -what has been consumed in the town <a name="page1170"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1170</span>and parts adjacent, and up the -country, there have been actually sent from hence to London -alone, by the stage coaches, in one season, or within a year, no -less then between <i>sixty and seventy tons of shrimps</i>. <a -name="citation1170"></a><a href="#footnote1170" -class="citation">[1170]</a> It is a vast quantity to be -sent by land, and coach carriage, to the distance of a hundred -miles. We have not learnt how long this trade has been kept -up on this large scale. It is said to have somewhat -declined since the Bostonians have taken it up and become our -rivals. But this rivalship can do no harm, as London, no -doubt, will readily receive as many shrimps as both these towns -can possibly furnish.</p> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p1170b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"N. E. View of the Kettle Mills or Waterworks" -title= -"N. E. View of the Kettle Mills or Waterworks" - src="images/p1170s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>The <i>Water-works</i> of this town are also among the -articles overlooked in the preceding part of this history. -It is agreed on all hands that Lynn is supplied with excellent -water from the Gaywood river, a stream that takes its rise about -Grimston, six or seven miles off. At the Kettle-mills, in -the north-east outskirt of Lynn, this water is raised into a -reservoir, which is between 30 and 40 feet higher than the -surface of the water in the river. Formerly there were two -engines used for this purpose. One of them was worked by a -fall of water in the river, and the other by horses. This -latter was used when the water-engine was under repairs, or in -dry seasons when the water-engine had not sufficient power to -supply the <a name="page1171"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1171</span>town. In very dry seasons the hire of horses was -very expensive. About the year 1779 or 1780 the -water-engine became unfit for further use. A new one being -then erected on better principles, had near three times the power -of the old one. Thus the town was plentifully supplied with -water for some years, and at a small expense, as the horse-engine -was seldom used. But unfortunately the corporation came -afterwards to a resolution to have the town supplied with water -by the force of <i>steam</i>. A fire-engine was erected, -which afforded an ample supply of water to the town; in -consequence of which the horse and water engines were taken -down. But the corporation, neglecting to avail themselves -of the improvements of Bolton and Watts, erected their engine on -the old principle of Newcomen; and it was soon discovered, to the -astonishment of the unlearned in hydraulics, that the expense of -coals and repairs amounted to a sum so far beyond the calculation -of the corporation, that it was absolutely necessary to purchase -no more steam at that rate.—The town is now supplied by an -engine turned by water; but as it is constructed on old -principles, the town, in dry seasons, must be ill-supplied and -much distressed: and as the steam engine is become unfit for -further use, the town must always be without a drop of water -while the water engine is under repairs, which sometimes takes up -more than a fortnight. This is an inconvenience which the -town is said never to have experienced until the late alterations -were made. On the whole therefore, this business appears to -have been injudiciously managed; so that it would be very -desirable to see it put upon a better footing, which it <a -name="page1172"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1172</span>certainly -ought to be, as there has lately been an advance made in the -water-rate—for which no plausible reason is known to have -been yet assigned, any more than for the unexpected advance in -the price of <i>beer</i>.</p> -<p>In our preceding account of <i>the public buildings</i>, it -now appears that divers of them have passed unnoticed, and -particularly the <i>Theatre</i>, the <i>Custom-Haute</i>, and the -<i>Town-Hall</i>; each of which we shall now briefly -describe. The <i>Theatre</i> was originally the Hall of an -opulent company, which constituted one of our numerous -<i>Guilds</i>, that of <i>St. George</i>. After the -dissolution of the Guilds it was converted it seems into a kind -of <i>Exchange</i>, and after that into a <i>court-house</i>, for -holding the county quarter sessions of the peace. Since -those sessions were allowed to be held in the town-hall it has -been converted into a Theatre, or Play-house, which is said to be -very convenient and neat, neither profusely ornamented nor -disgustingly plain; and although not free from faults, yet they -are, it seems, what resulted from the architect having to fill up -the shell of an old building which had been erected for another -purpose. The usual time of performing here is in the -Spring, when the inhabitants are entertained by the Norwich -Company.</p> -<p>The <i>Custom House</i> was erected for an <i>Exchange</i>, in -1683, by Sir John Turner, the founder it is supposed of that -family. It is a handsome free-stone building, with two -tiers of pilasters, the lower of the Doric, and the upper of the -Ionic order, with a small open turret, <a -name="page1173"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1173</span>terminating in a pinnacle. In a niche, in front, -is a statue of king Charles the second, that <i>most -religious</i> king, as his bishops and clergy used to call him, -even in their addresses to the deity. This building -contains several commodious apartments, well suited for the -accommodation of the respectable collector of his majesty’s -customs and his numerous underlings.—It has been noticed -before that the revenue of this house, in 1806 amounted to -84,200<i>l.</i> and the last year (1811,) to 75,300<i>l.</i> -which is said to exceed the revenue of most houses of the same -description in the kingdom. <a name="citation1173"></a><a -href="#footnote1173" class="citation">[1173]</a></p> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p1172b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"Custom House, published Oct. 1, 1810, by W. Whittingham, Lynn" -title= -"Custom House, published Oct. 1, 1810, by W. Whittingham, Lynn" - src="images/p1172s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p style="text-align: center"> -<a href="images/p1173b.jpg"> -<img alt= -"The Town Hall, Jail House, published April 1810, by W. -Whittingham, Lynn" -title= -"The Town Hall, Jail House, published April 1810, by W. -Whittingham, Lynn" - src="images/p1173s.jpg" /> -</a></p> -<p>The <i>Town-hall</i>, or <i>Guild-hall</i>, alias -<i>Trinity-hall</i>, is an ancient building of stone and -flint. It consists of divers apartments, the first of which -is the <i>stone-hall</i>, where the county quarter sessions, as -well as the town sessions are held. This hall, -comprehending probably the principal part of the old Guild-hall, -is 58 feet in length, by 27 wide, and proportionably lofty. -There are in it the following <i>portraits</i>:—Full-length -of <i>Sir Robert Walpole</i>, who is said to have been returned -for this borough seventeen times; and so firmly was it attached -to him, or so completely under his control, that even after he -was expelled the House of Commons he still continued member for -this place: Also half length of Sir <i>Thomas White</i>, the -liberal benefactor to young tradesmen: Likewise a half length of -<i>Sir </i><a name="page1174"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1174</span><i>Benjamin Keene</i>, the memorable ambassador to the -Spanish Court, who was a native of this town.—The adjoining -<i>Ball-room</i> is 60 feet long, 27 broad, and 22 feet -high. The adjoining <i>Card-room</i> is 27 feet by 27, and -22 feet in height. Some have pronounced these rooms ill -contrived and have observed that, as they are upon a line, it -would have given them an uncommon elegance had the openings from -one into another been in three arches in the centre, supported by -pillars, instead of the present <i>Glass-doors</i>, which have a -mean appearance. The eye, it has been further observed, -would then at once have commanded a suit of one hundred and -forty-five feet, which, with handsome lustres properly disposed, -would have rendered these rooms inferior to few in England. -The position of the <i>music gallery</i> has also been found -fault with. But on these matters we will not enlarge: nor -does it seem necessary to subjoin a particular description of the -<i>Council-room</i> and other apartments or offices connected -with this building. <a name="citation1174"></a><a -href="#footnote1174" class="citation">[1174]</a></p> -<p><a name="page1175"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1175</span>As -Lynn has not been much distinguished for its literature or -bookishness, it can be no great wonder that it should not abound -with public libraries. Till of late years there was here -nothing of the kind, except in the two churches of St. Nicholas -and St. Margaret, each of which was furnished with a -library. That of the former is now no more: it was removed -some years ago to the other church, by way of addition to that -collection. Both being thus consolidated or united, form -what is called the <i>Church library</i>. It may be said to -be, on the whole, a respectable collection, consisting of the -donations of divers individuals, at different times; but it has -never been supported with much spirit, nor has it received any -great addition now for many years; owing, perhaps, to the -unliterary or unbookish character of our corporation, and of most -of our great and wealthy families. St. Nicholas’ -Library, it seems, was founded in 1617, and that of St. -Margaret’s about 14 years later. This was much -augmented in 1714, by the will of <i>Dr. Thomas Thurlin</i>, -master of St. John’s College, Cambridge, and rector of -Gaywood, who bequeathed to it 179 folios, 178 octavos and -duodecimo’s, and 84 quartos; in all 441 volumes, valued -then at 160<i>l.</i> which it is presumed was the best single -donation ever made to this Library. This bibliothecal -collection is the property of the corporation, and is under the -care of a librarian of their appointment, with an annual salary -of 2<i>l.</i> It is not open to the public at large, and is -not therefore, strictly speaking, a public library. It -contains about 1700 volumes.</p> -<p><a name="page1176"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1176</span>Before the year 1797, our reading and bookish people -chiefly consisted of the members of a few <i>book-clubs</i>, -which then existed in the town; together with the subscribers to -those <i>circulating libraries</i>, (made up mostly of -<i>novels</i>,) which our booksellers had formed, and which -constituted, if it do not still constitute, a lucrative branch of -their trade; for <i>novel-reading</i> is carried on hereon a -large scale, especially among the female part of our population; -to which not a few of them probably owe all the polish, real or -fictitious, which their manners have acquired.—But in the -year 1797 a subscription Library was here founded, which has been -hitherto in a thriving way, and it has at present upwards of a -hundred members. The rules or orders of this society -consist of about twenty, and are, on the whole, well expressed -and adapted to the occasion. <a name="citation1176"></a><a -href="#footnote1176" class="citation">[1176]</a> A general -meeting of the society is <a name="page1177"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1177</span>held <i>annually</i>, on the -<i>first Monday</i> in <i>July</i>, (the anniversary of the -establishment of the Library in 1797.) <i>Quarterly</i> -meetings are also held, on the <i>first Mondays</i> in -<i>October</i>, <i>January</i>, and <i>April</i>, every -year. Each subscriber may propose what books he pleases for -the Library, (except such as ape <i>merely professional</i>, -<i>political pamphlets</i>, or <i>Novels</i>,) by entering their -Titles and Prices in a book kept for that purpose. But they -must be so entered a week at least before the general or -quarterly meeting, otherwise they cannot lawfully be then -balloted: nor must the same book be balloted for more than -<i>twice</i> in one year. A <i>librarian</i>, (who is also -<i>treasurer</i>) and a <i>sub-librarian</i>, are annually -chosen; the latter gives daily attendance at the library, from -<i>eleven</i> to <i>one</i>, and from <i>six</i> to -<i>eight</i>. The present number of different articles or -<i>works</i> in this library amounts to about 600, and the number -of <i>volumes</i> to near 1400; many of them very valuable and -expensive. They are all new books.</p> -<p>Here in addition to what was before advanced, at pages <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page1164">1164</a></span> and <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page1165">1165</a></span>, relating -to our present population, it seems proper and necessary to say -something further upon that subject, as <i>West Lynn</i>, or -<i>Old Lynn</i>, and <i>Gaywood</i>, <a -name="citation1177"></a><a href="#footnote1177" -class="citation">[1177]</a> which may justly be denominated -<i>out suburbs</i>, were not included in that reckoning. -Now the population of these two places amounts to about 800, -which added to 10,253, will make our whole population somewhat to -exceed eleven thousand: and as this does not comprehend our -<i>sea faring people</i>, who are very numerous, <a -name="page1178"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1178</span>our whole -or actual population may be very reasonably and safely supposed -to be now no less than twelve thousand. Yet this is -probably much below what it has been in former times.</p> -<p>In addition also to what was said of the <i>pictures</i> in -the town-hall, it may be proper here just to add, that the -Ball-room there contains two whole lengths, the one of his -present <i>Majesty</i> in his coronation robes, and the other of -the late <i>Lord Nelson</i>. The former a copy, from an -original by Sir Joshua Reynolds, and the latter a copy, from an -original by Hoppner—both done by <i>Mr. Lane</i>, son to -our present collector, and said to do no small credit to the -skill and talents of that young artist, who is supposed to be the -very first native of Lynn that has ever promised to rise to -eminence in that line.</p> - -<div class="gapshortline"> </div> -<p style="text-align: center"><i>Lynn Benefactions</i>, <i>or -Charities</i>.</p> -<p>Here it was intended to close the work, by a table or -<i>summary of remarkable events</i>, chronologically arranged; -but considering that our different <i>benefactions</i> and -<i>charities</i> seemed to require to be more fully stated and -particularized, it was thought proper to give first a cursory -view of that subject—Among these charities the first place -perhaps is due to the <i>endowment of the grammar-school</i>; -which may probably be ascribed to one of the <i>Thorsbys</i>, -sometime before the reformation, whose Will is noticed at page -<span class="indexpageno"><a href="#page1174">1174</a></span>, -and who it is supposed was that same Thorsby mentioned before at -p. 528, as founder of the <i>college</i> in this town. It -is likely he might fit <a name="page1179"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1179</span>up the place over the charnel-house -for a school-room, settle on the master a house to dwell in, and -an annual salary. He was contemporary with <i>Walter -Coney</i>, and like him wealthy, and also ready to employ his -wealth in acts of liberality and charity, which has made his -memory truly respectable.</p> -<p><i>Sir Thomas White</i>, citizen and alderman of London, who -lived in queen Mary’s time, was another of our early -benefactors. He gave during his life 2000<i>l.</i> to the -city of <i>Bristol</i> to purchase lands of the yearly value of -120<i>l.</i> for which it was agreed that the mayor and -corporation of that city, in 1567 and the ten ensuing years, -should pay the sum of 100<i>l.</i> which having for that time -been allowed to accumulate, was to be thus expended: 800<i>l.</i> -to be divided in loans without interest, among sixteen young -Clothiers, freemen of that city, for ten years, upon sufficient -security; at the aid of which time that sum to be lent to such -other persons as the desire of the mayor, alderman, and four of -the common council shall point out. The remaining 200 to be -expended in the purchase of corn to be sold to the poor at prime -cost. At the expiration of nine years at the feast of St. -Bartholomew he directed that 104<i>l.</i> should be paid to the -mayor and corporation of <i>York</i>, to be lent by them to four -young freemen of that city, (clothiers always preferred.) -The same sum the next year on the same conditions, to the city of -<i>Canterbury</i>: the next to <i>Reading</i>, the next to the -<i>Merchant Tailors’ company</i>; the next to -<i>Gloucester</i>, and so on successively, to <i>Worcester</i>, -<i>Exeter</i>, <i>Salisbury</i>, <i>Norwich</i>, -<i>Southampton</i>, <i>Lincoln</i>, <i>Winchester</i>, <a -name="page1180"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1180</span><i>Hereford</i>, <i>Oxford</i>, <i>Cambridge</i>, -<i>Shrewsbury</i>, <span class="smcap"><i>Lynn</i></span>, -<i>Bath</i>, <i>Derby</i>, <i>Ipswich</i>, <i>Colchester</i>, -<i>Newcastle</i>; and then to begin again at Bristol, and to -proceed annually and regularly to the other places for -ever.—Lynn first received this money (if we are not -mistaken) in 1594; then in 1618, then in 1642; it next became due -in 1666, but was put off for three years, till 1669, on account -of the seat of the late rebellion (as it was said) having been -where the estate lay. The rent was therefore lost for three -years. The next payments was made in 1693. The next -was received in 1724, the payment having been retarded because -the corporations refused to allow taxes, which were unjustly -insisted upon by the city of Bristol: at last however, rather -than go to law, they agreed to allow those taxes. How many -times Lynn has received this money since, we have not learnt; but -suppose it has been paid pretty regularly; so that our -corporation ought to have now in hand a large sum to lend to poor -tradesmen. The present expence of <i>stamps</i> is said to -have in a great measure destroyed the benevolent intention and -use of this benefaction.</p> -<p>But one of the principal charities belonging to this town is -that which bears the name of Mr. <i>John Crane</i>, an apothecary -of Cambridge, about the time of Charles the First and the Common -Wealth. It consists of 147 acres and one rood of land, at -Fleet in Lincolnshire, or rather arises out of the rental of that -land, which now amounts to 395<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i> a year, which -comes to Lynn by rotation every five years, as it belongs -successively to the town of Cambridge, the university of -Cambridge, <a name="page1181"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1181</span>the town of Ipswich, the town of Wisbeach, and the -town of Lynn. The rental being originally only 62<i>l.</i> -was appropriated to each of these places successively, till each -of them should receive to the amount of 200<i>l.</i> From -each payment the sum of 20<i>l.</i> a-piece was to be lent to -<i>three</i> young tradesmen, without interest, for 20 -years. The odd forty shillings to be given to the minister -who should be appointed to preach, at the place which received -the money, a commemoration sermon to stir up others to the like -charitable deeds. Afterwards the benefaction to continue to -each place for ever, and supplied as follows; viz. to relieve -honest old men and women in distress, and release from prison -poor men confined there for debt. The testator changes -those entrusted with the management of this concern (as they will -answer it before God) to relieve the <i>most honest and most -religious men and women</i> in their several places, who had -lived well, had a good report, and had been reduced by mere -misfortune, or through no fault of their own: and he cautions -them against applying any part of his benefaction to the relief -of <i>dissembling hypocritical persons</i>. The chief part -of this statement the author has drawn, with some abridgement, -from a MS. account, once the property of a former alderman. -He has not been able to learn how this charity is now applied by -our corporation: only that it is at the disposal of the mayor and -the four senior aldermen.</p> -<p>Other charities are as follow—15<i>l.</i> given by -<i>Robert Boston</i> alias <i>Tyler</i>, to be lent from year to -year to deserving objects.—Also <i>John Strogers</i> of -Lynn, Cook, by will, <a name="page1182"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1182</span>25 April, 1670, gave 45<i>l.</i> to -the mayor and burgesses, that 20<i>s.</i> per annum might be paid -to the minister of St. Margaret’s to preach a sermon the -1st. of January, and 14<i>s.</i> to 14 widowers and widows in -Trinity-Hall ward, and 10<i>s.</i> to ten poor women in Stonegate -ward upon the 20th. of December; and 10<i>l.</i> to the mayor and -burgesses to buy a piece of plate.—Also <i>Edward -Robinson</i>, born and educated in this town, by will, dated -April 12, 1770, gave a capital tenement, in Lath Street, to the -mayor and burgesses, and their successors forever, upon the -trusts, and to the uses, intents, and purposes -following—<i>viz.</i> To pay 1<i>l.</i> to the curate of -St. Margaret’s church, to preach a sermon there every Good -Friday for ever—and to pay to 12 poor decayed seamen, or -other decayed aged men, that the mayor, aldermen, and -common-council shall elect, for life, upon each Good Friday, ten -shillings apiece:—and (after paying <i>one pound</i> on St. -Thomas’s day to the minister and church wardens of -<i>Thornham</i>,) to distribute the remainder of the rents among -such 12 poor men as shall be placed in the Broad Street -Almshouse, above 60 years of age.—Also Mr. <i>John -Horn</i>, the memorable master of the Grammar-school, by his Will -dated 27 April 1731, after sundry Legacies given to his -relations, directed the residue of his estate to be sold, and the -produce to be paid to the mayor and aldermen, to be by them put -out at interest, and that interest to be by them yearly for ever -employed for binding out of poor children -apprentices.—Moreover, of late years, <i>Mary Leake</i>, -widow, of this town, bequeathed 200<i>l.</i> to the mayor, -aldermen, and common-council, to be put out at interest, and the -produce applied, as before, to <a name="page1183"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1183</span>bind poor children -apprentices:—also her sister <i>Catherine Barwell</i>, -bequeathed 300<i>l.</i> to the same trustees, the interest -whereof to be laid out in purchasing coals, to be given away to -such industrious poor women as receive no parish -relief.—The last, but not the least of all our -benefactions, is that of the late <i>Mr. Cook</i> of London, who -bequeathed 5000<i>l.</i> 3 per cent stock, in trust to the mayor -and burgesses, the interest whereof to be applied for the benefit -of the three almshouses in the town: viz. that of 2300<i>l.</i> -to the <i>Bede-house</i>, that of 700<i>l.</i> to the -<i>South-Lynn</i> almshouse, and that of 2000<i>l.</i> to the -almshouse in <i>Broad-Street</i>.</p> -<p>To those above enumerated may be added the following -benefactions.—Viz. <i>Loneyson’s</i> annuity of -10<i>l.</i> to St. James’ Hospital; from 75 acres of -pasture land in the south marshes. (see p. <span -class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page1134">1134</a></span>)—Also 30<i>s.</i> a year -towards cloathing two poor widows, arising from a Legacy of -40<i>l.</i> bequeathed by <i>Joan Maye</i> to the mayor and -burgesses, about 1660.—Also 40<i>s.</i> a year, for 7 -years, to a <i>poor scholar</i>, a native of Lynn, who shall go -thence to the university of Cambridge; being a bequest of <i>Alex -Hall</i>, merchant of this town, who died about 1597.—Also -16<i>s.</i> or 3<i>l.</i> 8<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> a year for the -term of <i>five years</i>, (out of Nottely tithes in North -Runcton) to a <i>poor scholar</i>, chosen out of the poorest -scholars of this Free-school, by the master and vicar master of -Trinity College Cambridge, and the mayor of Lynn: being the gift, -it seems, of <i>Richard Hopps</i>.—Also <i>John -Pierson</i>, carpenter, left 6<i>l.</i> per annum by his Will -dated 22. Oct. <a name="page1184"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1184</span>1623, as follows; <i>viz.</i> 40<i>s.</i> a year to a -<i>poor scholar</i>, who shall go out of the grammar school of -this town to any college in Cambridge, to be continued during the -first seven years of his abiding there; also the same sum of -40<i>s.</i> every Lent season to the poor people in the Lynn -Almshouse, (the <i>Bedehouse</i> we presume;) and another sum of -40<i>s.</i> to the poor people in <i>Stone gate-ward</i>, to be -distributed also in the Lent season by the direction of the mayor -for the time being, or the alderman of the said -ward.—Beside these there is the <i>Token-money</i>, -consisting of the sum of about 43<i>l.</i> annually laid out in -<i>coals</i>, which are distributed in single mets, or some such -small quantities among the poor in the different wards. -When or whence this money originated the author cannot distinctly -say, but he understands it to be of pretty long standing, and the -gift of some well disposed person or persons, of other -times. He also understands from good authority that <i>all -the charities</i>, or <i>benefactions now in the gift of the -corporation</i>, <i>amount to the annual sum of</i> 498<i>l.</i> -16<i>s.</i> <i>exclusive of the endowments of the different -Almshouses</i>. <a name="citation1184"></a><a -href="#footnote1184" class="citation">[1184]</a></p> -<p><a name="page1185"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1185</span>☞ Since the above was sent to the press, the -author got sight of a curious old book which belonged to a former -town-chamberlain, (Jos. Cooper senr.) in which <a -name="page1186"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1186</span>the -following charities are recorded.</p> -<blockquote><p>“<i>Mrs. Titloe</i>, about 1613, left a -Legacy to the town, the interest whereof, amounting to -11<i>l.</i> annually, to be paid to Emanuel College Cambridge: -8<i>l.</i> of which to be paid to <i>two</i> scholars that have -gone from this Free-school thither: the remaining 3<i>l.</i> to -the fellows towards the repairs of the chapel.—Also -<i>Matthew Clarke</i>, alderman, gave 10<i>l.</i> the interest to -be divided among 20 poor widows in the 10 wards, [interest then -at 10 per cent.]—Also <i>Mrs. Jane Gurlin</i>, maid, gave -20<i>l.</i> to be lent out for three years gratis.—Also -<i>Wm. Cleave</i> Esq. of London, gave a house situated at the -corner of Grass-Market, let at 13<i>l.</i> per annum, the rent to -be distributed to the poor of St. Margaret’s parish, at the -discretion of the minister, church-wardens, and overseen of the -same.—Also <i>Gyles Bridgman</i>, alderman, (mayor in 1679) -gave 100<i>l.</i> to the mayor and burgesses on trust, the -interest to be paid for ever to the master and widows, or sisters -in the almshouse (<i>Bedehouse</i>) by way of augmentation of -their weekly pensions.—Also, Nov. 10, 1721, <i>Mrs. Margery -Brock</i>, gave 20<i>l.</i> the interests to be laid out in -coals, and given to 4 poor widows in St. Margaret’s parish -for ever.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>In the same book also stand recorded the sources and amount of -our Christmas <i>Coal-Charity</i>, thus expressed,</p> -<p style="text-align: center">Here follows what is given to the -poor in money and coals at Christmas.</p> -<table> -<tr> -<td><p><a name="page1187"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1187</span></p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><i>l.</i></p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><i>s.</i></p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><i>d.</i></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p><i>Mr. Graves</i> and <i>Mr. Sendall</i> gave 20 nobles -each</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">13</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">6</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">8</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p><i>Mr. Clarke</i> the interest of 20<i>l.</i> to 20 widows -of the ten wards.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">1</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p><i>Mr. Strogers</i> to three wards</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">1</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">14</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p><i>Mr. Peirson</i> to Stonegate ward</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">2</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p><i>Alderman Holly</i> interest of 100<i>l.</i></p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">6</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p><i>Alderman Auborne</i> to the ten wards</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">9</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">10</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Likewise is Coals</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">9</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">10</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><i>Total</i></p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">£43</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">8</p> -</td> -</tr> -</table> -<p>Then it is added,—</p> -<table> -<tr> -<td><p>And on New Year’s day among the poor children in the -Work-house</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">1</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>And near Easter Sunday to the poor (pensioners) in St Mary -Magdalen’s Hospital.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">3</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>And to those in Framingham’s Hospital.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">3</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>And to those in St James’s Hospital (Bedehouse)</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">3</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>And for a Sermon on Midsummer-day</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">1</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td></td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">£11</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -</tr> -</table> -<p>Then it is also added, that Alderman Auborne’s Charity -was first disposed of at Christmas 1741.</p> -<p>But it must not be here forgotten that this same old book also -discovers the origin and founder of the Lynn <i>Grammar -School</i>, which had we obtained a sight of in time, would have -saved us those useless conjectures at pages <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page1140">1140</a></span>, <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page1160">1160</a></span>, <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page1178">1178</a></span>. -The passage alluded to is as follows—</p> -<blockquote><p>“<i>Mr. Thos. Thorisby</i>, alderman, and -sometimes mayor, built a chapple adjoining to the south side of -the church of St. Margarets, and gave to the master of the -Charnell House, (now the <i>Free</i> School,) certain lands in -Gaywood, to the value, of 8<i>l.</i> per annum, for teaching -Grammar and Songs, and also for singing <a -name="page1188"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1188</span>durges, -(dirges,) dayly in the said chapple: which land became forfeited -to the crowne, and invented in the Corporation by Charter of -Edward VI.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Thus is the origin of our grammar-school at last sufficiently -cleared up, which seems to have been founded in the reign of -Edward IV, or that of Henry VII, when Thorsby flourished and was -thrice mayor of this town.—see more of him at p. 528.</p> - -<div class="gapshortline"> </div> -<h2>TABLE OF EVENTS.</h2> -<p>A <span class="GutSmall">TABLE</span> <i>of memorable</i>, -<i>or somewhat remarkable events</i>, <i>relating to this -town</i>, <i>from the Conquest to the present time</i>; -<i>including what is most worthy of preservation in -Mackerell</i>, <i>and divers private </i><span -class="GutSmall"><i>MSS.</i></span><i> belonging to certain of -our most curious townsmen</i>: <i>the whole chronologically -arranged and brought down to the present year</i>—1812.</p> -<p>A.D. 1066. This year the French conquered England, and -their commander, the Norman Bastard, seated himself on the -English throne, which was also possessed by his descendants for -many generations: Lynn of course felt the effects of this -revolution and readily acceded to the new order of things. -<i>Stigand</i>, archbishop of Canterbury, and his brother -<i>Ailmar</i>, bishop of Elmham, were before the great men that -bore sway here; but they were now ousted, and their power and -possessions transferred by the Conqueror to two of his French -adherents, <i>Odo</i> bishop of Baieux, in Normandy, his half -brother, and <i>Herfast</i>, one of his own chaplains. -Frenchmen then got possession of almost all the land in the -kingdom, and they were the progenitors of most of our present -noble families; so that our House of Lords is now in a great -measure made up of their descendants.</p> -<p>1100. About this time St. Margaret’s church was -built by bishop Herbert, who granted long indulgences to the -people to commit all manner of sin, by way of encouragement or -inducement to contribute towards the completion of the sacred -edifice; as if he thought that to give people their full swing in -all manner of iniquity, was the surest way to make them pious and -liberal.</p> -<p><a name="page1189"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1189</span>About the same time was also built the Benedictine -Priory, on the south side of the church.</p> -<p>1144. A Priory at Gaywood was founded in honour of Mary -Magdalen, whence it is still called <i>St. Mary Magdalen’s -Hospital</i>. The priory has long disappeared, and has been -succeeded by the present Hospital. The founder’s name -was <i>Petrus Capellanus</i>, who died in 1174.—see p. 530, -&c.</p> -<p>1190. A terrible riot and commotion here, and in many -other parts of the kingdom, excited, it seems, for the purpose of -plundering and massacring the poor <i>Jews</i>, who were then -settled in great numbers here and in many of our great -towns. Of what then occurred here see vol. I. page 391 of -this work.</p> -<p>1204. This town was constituted a Borough by royal -charter, and its chief magistrate was at the same time, or soon -after, denominated <i>Mayor</i>, see page 393. These -honours were the royal gifts of king <i>John</i>, who repeatedly -visited this town. His last visit was in the autumn of -1216. He soon after died at Newark, and was interred at -Worcester, where his remains were discovered in 1797 in a state -of remarkable preservation, considering that they had lain in the -ground near 600 years.</p> -<p>1233. King Henry 3. granted his first charter to this -town, in confirmation of that of his father, 28 years before.</p> -<p>1268. The same sovereign granted our corporation a -second charter with more ample privileges, in consideration of -<i>the faithful and laudable service</i>, and valiant -<i>assistance</i> which our burgesses had rendered him in the -late troubles of his kingdom.</p> -<p>1271. Lynn said to be then a fortified town: but it was -probably so ever since, or very soon after it received its first -charter, if not before.</p> -<p>1330. The queen dowager <i>Isabel</i> took up her -residence at <i>Rising Castle</i> by Lynn, where she continued to -reside afterwards as long as she lived, which was 28 years; in -the course of which time her son Edw. III. his queen Philippa, -and their son the black prince, repeatedly visited her there: and -there can be no doubt of their having also frequently visited -this town in the mean time.</p> -<p>1340. The king and queen were at Rising for some time, -as appears by the account rolls of Adam de Reffham and John de -Newland of Lynn, who sent his majesty at the same time a present -of wine.—Previous to the king’s arrival the queen -dowager sent her precept to the mayor of Lynn, for 8 carpenters -to assist in making the necessary preparations.</p> -<p>1344. The king and his court were here for some time, as -appears from certain letters which he sent from hence to the -bishop of Norwich, then at <i>Avignon</i>, to be there delivered -by him to the pope.</p> -<p>1349. A dreadful plague or pestilence, which had broke -out in the north of Asia, made its destructive way soon into -Europe, and now to <a name="page1190"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1190</span>England. It is said to have -raged so much in some countries that scarcely a tenth part of the -population escaped. It was called <i>the black death</i>, -and is said to have swept away in Norfolk alone, 57,374 persons, -from January to July, and 7000 of them in the town of -<i>Yarmouth</i>. We cannot find how many perished then at -Lynn, but the number was doubtless very great, as the disorder -then raged terribly throughout the whole county. Most of -the clergy seem to have then perished; hence we are told that 850 -persons were, by the bishop of this diocese instituted and -collated to benefices which had now become vacant—50,000 -persons were carried off in <i>London</i>, and as many at -<i>Paris</i>.—see p. 358 of this work, and Andr. 1. -372.</p> -<p>1369. An order was made that no Roadsman should charge -more than 3<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> for pylotting in any -stranger’s ship from the channel to the town.</p> -<p>1380. The pope granted his license for christening in -St. Nicholas’s chapel; which must of course, in the public -estimation, have added greatly to the sanctity and dignity of the -place.</p> -<p>1381. An ordinance made for the inhabitants of this town -to merchandise.—Another account says—it was an order, -or ordinance for settling of merchandise in this town—both -seem too ambiguous and mysterious to make out. But it was -in the reign of Richard 2. when many strange ordinances were -made, and many vile measures pursued. Except his -<i>mother</i>, and especially his <i>queen</i>, whom his subjects -used to call <i>the good queen Ann</i>, <a -name="citation1190"></a><a href="#footnote1190" -class="citation">[1190]</a> there was about his court but little -that could be deemed respectable. His favourite method of -raising money was by a loan: a few instances of the respective -sums he demanded of his subjects as they stand in the -<i>Fædera</i>, will shew the comparative wealth of Lynn, -and other places at that period.—From <i>London</i> 10,000 -marks: from <i>York</i>, <i>Gloucester</i>, <i>Salisbury</i>, and -<i>Lincoln</i>, each 200 ditto.—From <i>Cambridge</i>, -<i>Canterbury</i>, and <i>Southampton</i>, each 100 -ditto.—From <i>Bristol</i>, 300 ditto.—From -<i>Norwich</i>, 500 ditto.—From <i>Lynn</i>, 400 ditto.</p> -<p>1384. Our <i>bishop Spencer</i> went abroad at the head -of a crusade, or army, of 50,000 foot and 2000 horse, to fight -for pope <i>Urban</i>, against pope <i>Clement</i>: for there -were then two heads of the catholic church, which made it a -perfect monster. In this memorable crusade great numbers of -Norfolk and Lynn people were doubtless enlisted.</p> -<p>1399. <i>Sir William Sawtre</i>, (minister of St. -Margaret’s,) prosecuted here for <i>Lollardism</i>, (much -the same with what we call <i>protestantism</i>,) and forced to -recant; but relapsing soon after, he was taken up and burnt for -his reputed heresy. He is called the English -proto-matryr.—see more of him at p. 580, &c.</p> -<p><a name="page1191"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1191</span>1403. Two fierce factions sprung up here and -disturbed the peace of the town for 30 years; at their heads were -two aldermen of that time, <i>Wentworth</i> and -<i>Pettipas</i>.—see p. 364, &c.</p> -<p>1417. Our mayor and aldermen and other merchants -obtained from Henry V. a warrant to elect an alderman for Denmark -and Norway: of which see more, p. 485.</p> -<p>1446. King Henry VI. came to Lynn and ordered the sword -to be borne before the mayor.—Next year the sword was -carried before the mayor for some time, and then before the -bishop as formerly, the mayor following him.</p> -<p>1449. King Henry came to Lynn again, and ordered the -sword to be carried before him. <a name="citation1191"></a><a -href="#footnote1191" class="citation">[1191]</a></p> -<p>1469, or 1470. About this time Edward IV. (put to flight -by the great Earl of Warwick,) came to Lynn out of Lincolnshire; -and in crossing the washes lost his baggage and money, according -to some of our MS. accounts.—One account says that he -arrived here on Michaelmas Day, 1470, and took shipping here for -Flanders on the 2nd of October; so that his stay was only three -or four days. At that time we are told that he <i>pardoned -Robert Gregory</i>, <i>Coney</i>, <i>and company</i>, who had -probably sided with the house of Lancaster. The Red Mount -is said to be the place at which he then took up his abode; whose -buildings must have been very extensive and capacious, as he is -said to have been attended by a large retinue. It may also -be supposed a place of strength, and the most so of any at Lynn, -or a kind of fortress; for in a place of no other description -would so wary and able a leader choose to trust himself for so -many days and nights together, as he was then circumstanced.</p> -<p>1471. March 9. Edward landed here on his return -from Flanders, in his way to London.</p> -<p>1476. Walter Coney built the roof of the cross aisle of -St. Margaret’s church: also the Trinity chapel there, which -has been lately pulled down.</p> -<p>1482. A great law-suit between the town and the bishop -about the right of holding the Court Leet. It does not -appear which party gained the cause.</p> -<p>1493. A great fray between the inhabitants and the under -sheriff of the county. But neither the occasion, not the -result or consequence is mentioned.</p> -<p>1493. King Henry VII. his queen, his mother, and his -eldest son Arthur, with a numerous retinue, visited this town; -and were lodged <a name="page1192"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1192</span>and entertained at the Austin Convent, which then -stood behind Mr. Rishton’s house, and partly it seems on -the same site. It was doubtless a sumptuous edifice, and -the most suitable for the accommodation of the royal visitors of -any place then in this town.—see p. 513, &c.</p> -<p>1501. The town-walls new cast, with mortar, broken -glass, and terras.</p> -<p>1502. Thomas Thorisby built the south part of St -Margaret’s church, the college, and the south gates. -It was then his third mayoralty. It does not appear at what -time he founded the Grammar School.</p> -<p>1506. The service suspended in St. Margaret’s -church, and christenings performed in the Charnel house—the -occasion not specified, or how the affair terminated.</p> -<p>1510. A suit between this town and Cambridge about the -toll of Stirbitch Fair:—the precise ground of the dispute -not stated. Nor is it clear who gained the cause.</p> -<p>1512. Parishioners of St. James’s rose against the -Prior, for certain wrongs he had done them—such as cutting -down the trees in the churchyard.</p> -<p>1515. A woman burnt in the Market-place, for the murder -of her husband.</p> -<p>1519. Cardinal Wolsey came to Lynn in great state, and -with a princely retinue of lords, knights, and gentlemen, as was -his usual manner of travelling.</p> -<p>1520. Thomas Miller now became mayor for four years -successively. In the meantime he had a law suit with the -bishop for precedence, or the right of having the sword carried -before him; and is said to have got the cause. A few years -after his lordship lost most of his consequence here, being -obliged by his sovereign to resign his temporal jurisdiction at -Lynn to him, in exchange for the abbey of St. Bennet in Holme: at -which time the name of the town was changed from -<i>Bishop’s Lynn</i> to <i>King’s Lynn</i>.</p> -<p>1527, (or 1528, according to other accounts) Mary, queen -dowager of France, and sister of Henry VIII, with the duke of -Suffolk, her second husband, came to Lynn, and lodged (as -Mackerell says,) <i>at Mr. Coe’s place</i>: but nothing -further is said of Coe’s place, or yet of Coe himself.</p> -<p>1531. A maid servant boiled to death in the -market-place, for poisoning her mistress.</p> -<p>1535. A Dutchman burnt in the market-place for reputed -heresy; in other words, for presuming to think for himself, and -acting conscientiously—which was deemed a crime in former -times, and is so deemed still in some places.</p> -<p><a name="page1193"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1193</span>1536. The four great orders of Friars, together -with the other religious orders, were here suppressed, which was -followed by the dissolution of the convents and other religious -houses, which diminished in a great measure the respectable -appearance of the town.</p> -<p>1537. William Gisborough, a friar, was hanged here, and -his father at Walsingham, for attempting to relive their order, -in opposition to the royal decree.—Two marts or fairs were -also then instituted here, one at the <i>assumption</i>, the -other at the <i>purification</i> of the Blessed Virgin.</p> -<p>1540. The town much afflicted with hot burning agues and -fluxes, on which account there was no mart kept.</p> -<p>1541. The East Gates repaired, and the king’s arms -set up there.</p> -<p>1546. The Gilds and Chauntries suppressed, and their -possessions seized by the king:—His majesty now also -granted his licence for uniting South Lynn to the borough, it -being before unconnected with it, and a separate -jurisdiction. This however seems not to have been brought -to full effect till about ten or eleven years after, in the reign -of Philip and Mary.</p> -<p>1549. St. James’s church demolished, (all perhaps -but the cross aisle which still remains; though there is said to -be some further demolition of it in 1623.)—also what is -called <i>Kett’s rebellion</i> now occurred: one body of -the insurgents had a camp at <i>Mousehold heath</i>, by Norwich, -and another body of them had a camp here on <i>Rising -Chase</i>. <i>Lord Willoughby</i> in the meantime was -governor of Lynn, which he secured against all the attempts of -the insurgents to obtain possession of it.</p> -<p>1553. <i>Lord Audley</i> came to Lynn, and proclaimed -<i>Lady Jane Grey</i> queen of England, the mayor and corporation -concurring with him: but Jane’s party did not -prevail—the voice of the nation being decidedly in favour -of Mary.</p> -<p>1554. Trinity Hall underwent considerable alterations; -the council room being divided from the Stone-hall; -&c.—The South-gates then also covered with lead.</p> -<p>1555. A whale caught near this town—one account -calls it a <i>small</i> whale, and another calls it an -<i>enormous</i> whale: both describe, it as no less than 40 feet -long.</p> -<p>1556. The pipes taken up, which formerly supplied the -Austin Convent with water from Wootton common. That convent -being dissolved it no longer wanted that supply. But it -shews how well provided it was in its day.</p> -<p>1558. The <i>plague</i> was in the town, and carried off -great numbers of the inhabitants: among them the <i>mayor and -four aldermen</i>—one account says, the whole five were -mayors successively, in the course of that year; in which case -five mayors must have died here in the course of the year.</p> -<p><a name="page1194"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1194</span>1559. Rood-Lofts and Images taken down, the -ground at the east end of the churches levelled with the other -parts, and the windows furnished with <i>glass</i>, instead of -wooden shutters.</p> -<p>1560. Several persons came to Lynn by order of the privy -council, to take the state of St. James’s Church, but were -opposed by the corporation: of the strict correctness of which -some doubt may be entertained.</p> -<p>1561. Popish relics and mass-books burnt in the Tuesday -market place.</p> -<p>1562. Sir Nic. Le Strange entered into a law-suit -against Lynn, for the <i>house of Corpus Christi</i>: (the hall, -we suppose, belonging to the late Gild of that name,) but nothing -is said of the ground of the action, or how it terminated.</p> -<p>1564. Marshland inundated, and much stock lost, -especially in Tilney and Terrington.</p> -<p>1566. Chimes first set up in St. Margaret’s, which -played a different tune each day of the week.</p> -<p>1567. St. Margaret’s Spire, with divers little -crosses and ornaments on different parts of the church, shot down -by a Dutch ship that lay then in the harbour. Which seems -rather a blind and queer kind of a tale.</p> -<p>1568. Popish vestments and relics brought from St. -John’s and Tilney, and burnt in the market place.</p> -<p>1569. Marshland drowned, to the great loss and damage of -the inhabitants, many of whom were forced to leave their houses, -and glad to save their lives in boats which came to their -assistance.</p> -<p>1570. Monday and Tuesday, the 2nd. and 3rd. of October, -Marshland and Wiggenhale overflowed with salt water, so that from -Old Lynn to Mawdlin bridge there were not left ten roods of the -bank whole and firm, to the great damage of the whole country, -(see p. 116.)—Quere, <i>If this flood and the preceding -were not the same</i>: <i>some careless writer of memoranda -antedating it under</i> 1569?—another account seems to have -post-dated it under 1570.</p> -<p>1574 or 1575. Earthquake and plague in this town. -Also in the latter year <i>Henry Wodehouse</i>, vice admiral of -Norfolk, seized two fly-boats here by process, which the mayor -refused to serve, and thereby brought great trouble on himself -and several others.—In one MS. the admiral is called <i>Sir -Thomas Wodehouse</i>.</p> -<p>1576. Commissioners of Sewers cut off the water from -Sechy river, which worked the town mill, which caused great loss; -no less than 1000 marks having been laid out to bring the water -hither.</p> -<p>The Queen about this time coming into Norfolk, was presented -by our corporation with a rich purse, finely wrought and adorned -with <a name="page1195"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1195</span>pearl and gold, containing 100 old angels of gold: the -whole valued at 200<i>l.</i></p> -<p>1579. The town-ditches from the South-gate to -Kettle-mills scoured, and the walls also repaired and cast with -black mortar.</p> -<p>1581. That part of St. James’s church that had not -been demolished repaired, and fitted up for a workhouse, to -employ the poor in the manufacture of Bays; which not found to -answer the cost, was afterwards given up.—St. -Nicholas’ also was then repaired at considerable -expense.</p> -<p>1582. Ringing having been here for some time disused, -certain young fellows, attempting to revive it, were opposed by -divers of the aldermen, which occasioned no small disturbance and -the spending of a great deal of money. But it is not said -in what way it was spent, or how the affair ended.</p> -<p>1583. Gaywood river new cast, from the Kettle-mills to -the Purfleet bridge.</p> -<p>1584. Lynn again visited by the Plague; on which account -the <i>mart</i> was <i>removed from Damgate to the Tuesday -market-place</i>; where it has been kept ever since.</p> -<p>1585. The stone-bridge (High Bridge) taken down, and two -arches of brick added to it. The drain in Webster’s -row, (Broad Street) also vaulted over with brick.</p> -<p>1586. The manufacture of Bays having failed, divers poor -people were now employed at the Work-house in dressing hemp and -making strings and tows for the fishermen.</p> -<p>The stone bridge, or High Bridge, was now also new built: that -is, as we presume, the houses on each side, which had been pulled -down: for the new arches had been built the year before.</p> -<p>1587. The pinnacle or top part of St. James’s -steeple taken down, and the remaining part made flat and covered -with tiles.—<i>Sir Robert Southwell</i>, admiral of -Norfolk, with several commissioners and justices held a court of -admiralty at Lynn, at which sixteen <i>pirates</i> were -condemned, most of whom were executed at <i>Gannock</i>.</p> -<p>This year also <i>John Wanker’s wife</i> and the -<i>widow Porker</i>, were both <i>carted</i> here for -<i>whoredom</i>, a crime which appears to have been then greatly -discountenanced in this town; so that those found guilty of it -were put in a cart, or fastened to its tail, and driven or dawn, -through the whole town, as spectacles of detestation. The -business is now managed differently.</p> -<p>1588. The memorable <i>Feast of Reconciliation</i>, -which far excelled all our other Lynn Feasts, was this year -instituted. It was a meeting of the mayor, some of the -aldermen, common council-men, and the clergy, held the first -Monday in the month, to check discord, reconcile differences, <a -name="page1196"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1196</span>and -decide all manner of controversies among the inhabitants. -It was well calculated to do good, and did much good, no doubt, -while it was duly attended to; but is become now as a tale that -is told, and seems like other feasts to be now fast passing -towards oblivion.—This year Lynn is also said to have -furnished a pinnace to oppose the dreaded Spanish Armada.</p> -<p>1589. Five sail of ships from this town formed part of -the squadron of Drake and Norris in their expedition against -Spain; and it is said they returned home safe without any -loss.</p> -<p>1590. One <i>Margaret Read</i> burnt here for -<i>Witchcraft</i>—a reputed crime deemed in those days as -atrocious as murder, if not much more so. The history of -Lynn is sadly stained and disgraced with accounts of these -executions, or rather legal murders committed by the -magistrates.—The same year the foundation of the South-gate -was secured from the danger of being undermined by water.</p> -<p>1594. A violent storm or tempest, which began September -the twenty-first and lasted till the twenty-fourth.</p> -<p>1596. A new wind-mill erected at -Gannock—occasioned probably by the difficulty of obtaining -a sufficient supply of water to work the town water-mill.</p> -<p>1597. The great Mill-dyke from Sayer’s Marsh new -cast. But the Mill afterwards seems to have been in general -but ill supplied with water. It was at last given up, after -having been the grist mill of the town time immemorial. It -stood by the Lancastrian school and new bridge. The lane -below took from it the name of <i>Mill-lane</i>.—Great -sickness and mortality in the town this year; particularly from -March to July, when 320 persons are said to have been buried in -St. James’s church yard.—Other accounts place this -mortality in the following year.</p> -<p>1598. One <i>Elizabeth Housegoe</i> executed for -<i>Witchcraft</i>.—Another legal, but most foul murder -committed by Lynn magistrates.—One MS. mentions two men of -war, as fitted out this year, at the expense of this town and -Yarmouth.</p> -<p>1602. A severe shock of an Earthquake felt here on -Christmas Eve.—also the Windmill removed from the South -gates to Kettle-mills: but not by the earthquake, we suppose.</p> -<p>1604. A man executed for a rape, on a child under ten -years of age.</p> -<p>1605. King James’s Charter was this year obtained, -which greatly augmented the privileges of the corporation; -particularly in exempting them from the jurisdiction of the Lord -High Admiral, and investing the mayor and burgesses with that -power within this borough and its liberties. This Charter -is long and its grants most ample.</p> -<p>The town-clerk, <i>Vallenger</i>, also this year built the -South Lynn Almshouses, for four poor men. (see p. <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page1133">1133</a></span>, <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page1160">1160</a></span>, and -<span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page1185">1185</a></span>.) A <a -name="page1197"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1197</span>great -fire broke out in High street, in which a man and his wife and -family perished. The Cistern at Kettle mills was made.</p> -<p>1606. A vessel of one hundred tons overthrown in this -haven, in February, and not recovered till April.</p> -<p>1607. A very high tide, which flowed up quite to the -Tuesday market-cross.</p> -<p>1616. One <i>Mary Smith</i> executed here for -<i>Witchcraft</i> on the twelfth of January:—one account -says that she was <i>burnt</i>, and another that she was -<i>hanged</i>; but all may safely say she was -<i>murdered</i>. Alexander Roberts, one of the Lynn clergy, -is said to have given an account of her execution, in a treatise -he published that year on Witchcraft.</p> -<p>1617. St. Nicholas’s Library founded by the mayor -and burgesses.—One Dr. Pearse gave 1000<i>l.</i> to the -corporation, they to pay for it 5 per cent. interest; but they -disclaimed and would not accept it. (see Joseph Cooper’s -book, and Hall books No. 7,)—It is not said how the -interest was to be applied.</p> -<p>1620. Two large fishes cast here on shore, one thirty -feet long, and the other eighteen yards; but Mackerell is loath -to believe the latter to be so large, and thinks it could be only -eighteen feet.—The old custom-house now pulled down and -rebuilt.—eight or nine ships driven up to St. Germans, and -several sunk at the Ball, so as not to be seen at low water or -dead neap. (J. Cooper’s MS.)</p> -<p>1621. A man drawn up by the rope of St. Margaret’s -great bell and killed.—The people prohibited going to -Gaywood Fair; but the reason not told.</p> -<p>1623. St. James’s church underwent additional -demolition: one account says, that it was now -“<i>entirety</i> pulled down,” which must be a -mistake, as the cross aisle is still standing, and forms a -principal part of the present workhouse.</p> -<p>1626. St. Ann’s Fort erected, and furnished with a -number of great guns from the Tower. The house adjoining, -and the piazza, or covered walk, supposed to have been erected -about the same time.</p> -<p>1628. Chimes said to be now <i>first</i> set up in St. -Margaret’s: but it seems to be a mistake, as we had heard -of chimes there many years before, (see under 1566.) Chimes -are also said to be now first set up at St. -Nicholas’s.—On the 20th. December this year, the four -varlets, or sergeants at mace being absent from the mayor, his -worship caused them to be cried in different parts of the -town:—what success attended this curious experiment, or -whether his worship ever found his lost or strayed sergeants, -does not appear.</p> -<p>1629. The Bedehouse repaired, and a pipe laid to it -conveying thither St. Margaret’s water.—Writing -school established in the chamber over the Butcher’s -shambles, in Saturday market.—Those shambles <a -name="page1198"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1198</span>furnished -with a weighing stool to weigh children. But it seems an -odd idea, to have children taken to the butcher’s shambles, -to be weighed like hogs or sheep.</p> -<p>1630. April 29. The White Friars steeple, or tower -of the Carmelite Convent in South Lynn, fell with a tremendous -crash.—Draining of Paradise now took place, which seems to -have been before in a hoggish state—The great muck-hill, at -the East-gate, spread over St. Catharine’s ground, close -by.—One Beane, a tailor, indicted for ravishing his maid, -but got off, on paying a fine of 50<i>l.</i></p> -<p>1631. A high tide, overflowing the lands about the town, -deprived it of fresh water for a long time.</p> -<p>1633. The Ferry-boat sunk, by which eighteen persons -were drowned.</p> -<p>1634. The mayor, Thomas Gurling, buried his wife, and -married another the next week.</p> -<p>1635. Five lads, who were here at school, going to wash -in the river, near the Ball, were there drowned.</p> -<p>1636. The Plague again in this town; on which account -sheds or pest-houses were erected under the town walls for the -diseased, where about 200 persons are said to have -died.—Also 4th. November, a terrible storm here; fourteen -sail of ships lost in the harbour, and all hands perished, -according to one account.</p> -<p>1637. An order arrived from the archbishop, for the -ground at the East end of the churches to be raised, railed in, -with steps to ascend thither, and the communion tables, or alters -to be there placed. This was one of <i>Laud’s</i> -high-church projects, and one of those that increased the public -discontents, and hastened his and his sovereign’s -downfal.—The town this year assessed 200<i>l.</i> towards -building a ship of war.—[Three years before, the town, -according to one account, was also assessed 1192<i>l.</i> towards -building a ship of war, of 800 tons, and 260 men.] Twelve -Grampuses here cast on shore, seventeen, eighteen, and nineteen -feet long.</p> -<p>1638. The town store of gunpowder lodged in the Red -Mount. Two weekly foot-posts appointed for London: to go by -turns, and have 30<i>s.</i> a year for their wages.—The -water-rent of a Brewhouse and Malthouse fixed at 5<i>l.</i> a -year, and of a Brew-house only at 3<i>l.</i></p> -<p>1639. Thomas Toll, mayor elect, being very ill on -Michaelmas day, had the oaths administered to him in bed, at his -own house.</p> -<p>1640. March 13. The sheriff’s precept -arrived for the election of two members for this borough, to -serve in the parliament summoned to meet at Westminster on the -15th of the following month; when Messrs. Doughty and Gurlyn, the -two senior aldermen, were chosen, with an allowance of <i>five -shilling a day</i> while they attended their duty in the -senate.—12 October about 3 weeks before the meeting of the -Long <a name="page1199"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1199</span>Parliament, the mayor, <i>William Doughty</i>, -apprised the Hall of two Letters just received from the <i>Earl -of Arundell</i>, one to the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses, the -other to the mayor himself, to induce them to return certain -persons of his nominating and recommending to the said -parliament. On which it was unanimously agreed and -resolved, not to choose any other burgesses to serve in -parliament but such as are resident and inhabitants within the -corporation or borough. Messrs. <i>Thomas Toll</i> and -<i>John Percivall</i>, two of the alderman, were accordingly -chosen as representatives of Lynn, in that memorable parliament: -and they were the first ever elected here by the voice of the -<i>freemen of large</i>—the <i>Hall only</i>, or some part -of it, being till now the only and sole electors of our -parliamentary representatives. [Some, perhaps will be ready -to say, that the case is not much otherwise, even at -present.]</p> -<p>1641. A sword-fish of an uncommon size came up to the -town and was taken. The town now also began to be -fortified, and seven pieces of brass ordnance or cannon were sent -hither from London. Everything, in short, both here and -throughout the kingdom, was fast advancing towards the great -crisis which the nation soon after experienced. [How much -that period resembled the present, may deserve some -consideration.]</p> -<p>1642. The three gates (the East, the South, and -Gannock,) furnished with draw-bridges.—Captain -<i>Sherwood</i>, of Norwich, with a troop of dragoons appeared -before the town, and came close under St. Catharine’s wall -by the East Gate, demanding entrance, which the mayor and -townsmen refused: the gate being shut; and bridge drawn. -The Earl of Manchester soon after appeared with a strong force, -and commenced the siege of the town on the 28th of August, and on -the 16th of the following month the town surrendered to him, with -the loss of only <i>four</i> men killed, and a few wounded. -According to the terms of capitulation every foot soldier of his -had 10<i>s.</i> paid him, and every foot officer a -fortnight’s pay; which, according to Mackerell, amounted to -3200<i>l.</i>—We are told that our principal Lynn -commanders or warriors on this occasion were Sir Horace -Townshend, Captain Kirby, Capt. Atkin, Capt. Morse, Capt. -Gurling, Capt. Wharton, Capt. Brady, Capt. Davy, Capt. Marsh, and -Lieut. Porter:—all very loyal and royal, no doubt, but -ingloriously conquered by their jacobinic and democratic -assailants. During this memorable siege, in the afternoon -of Sunday, September 3, an eighteen-pounder from a battery on the -west side of the river entered St. Margaret’s church at the -west window in sermon-time, took off a great part of one of the -pillars, and terribly frightened the whole congregation, but no -body was materially hurt—all left the church in the utmost -terror and confusion. <a name="page1200"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1200</span>[<i>Of these matters</i>, <i>and -subsequent proceedings and regulations here</i>, <i>see Part</i> -IV. <i>Chap.</i> IV. p. 754, &c.]</p> -<p>October 9. same year (1642) there was an order of the Hall, -(or of the new constituted authorities,) that the <i>Charters</i> -should be <i>read</i> by the Town-Clerk, in <i>English</i>, -“that those of that body might the <i>better understand -what then were sworn to maintain</i>.”—We cannot -discover that any thing of the kind was ever thought of here, but -at this time of republican predominance: at all other times the -members of the Hall, as well as the freemen at large, were called -upon to swear to maintain certain unknown rights—a -something they knew not what.—Nineteen out of twenty, -perhaps, of our present freemen have been thus solemnly sworn, -which must render those freemen the most disreputable and -contemptible part of our whole population: for what can degrade -any man more than to submit to swear what he does not -understand?</p> -<p>1643. January 2. Parliament ordered that the -mayor, aldermen, and common council of Lynn, should pay and allow -their two representatives, out of the town stock, as large an -allowance per diem as they had used to pay any of their aldermen -that had represented that town in parliament.—The -corporation would fain have evaded this expense—partly on -the plea, that the <i>whole body of freemen</i> had a voice in -the election of these two members, and <i>not the Hall alone</i>, -as usual; and therefore that this payment should not rest solely -on the latter. But their chief plea was poverty, and having -no town stock. It was however not admitted, and our -corporation at last agreed to pay their two representatives -5<i>s.</i> a day during their attendance in parliament.</p> -<p>March 20. <i>Oliver Cromwell</i> (then called <i>Col. -Cromwell</i>) visited this town, and was entertained here at the -expense of the corporation. <a name="citation1200"></a><a -href="#footnote1200" class="citation">[1200]</a>—The -curious painted glass, in the windows of St. Margaret’s -church, taken down this year, and replaced with plain glass.</p> -<p>1644. Ships coming hither from places infected with the -plague obliged to observe quarantine fourteen days, one half in -the roads and the other in White Friar’s -Fleet—<i>Col. Valentine Wauton</i> was now governor, and -<i>Miles Corbet</i> recorder of Lynn—both of whom sat -afterwards as judges at the king’s trial, and finally -suffered among the condemned regicides.</p> -<p>1645. In February <i>Sir Thomas Fairfax</i> visited -Lynn, and was entertained at the expense of the -corporation.—<i>Dorothy Lee</i> and <i>Grace Wright</i> -were also murdered here legally by the magistrates; or, in other -words, <i>hanged for witchcraft</i>.—The plague visited the -town again this <a name="page1201"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1201</span>year.—<i>Col. Hobart</i> became now governor, -and <i>Guybon Goddard</i> deputy recorder of Lynn.</p> -<p>1646. The eleventh of May this year was rendered not a -little conspicuous among our memorable days, by a most curious -resolution of the Hall, expressed as follows in our volume of -extracts—“It is this day ordered that alderman Th. -Rivett be requested to send for Mr. <i>Hopkins</i> the -<i>Witch-Discoverer</i> to come to Lynn, and his charges and -recompense to be borne by the town.”—This year also -the charge of the Town Records was committed to one <i>Ticket -Browne</i>, who had been turned out for erasing and falsifying -them, thirteen years before.—The town having suffered much -by means of <i>Lord Paulet</i>, parliament ordered reparation to -be made out of his estate.—see p. 761.</p> -<p>1648. A woman was hanged here, for killing her child: -Her name supposed to be <i>Rose Warne</i>, of whose penitent -death Mr. Horn, then vicar of South Lynn, published an -account.—The ruinous state of the town being now -represented to parliament, they voted “2000 oaks for -reparation thereof.” see p. 761.</p> -<p>1649. Lease of three Ferry-rights granted to John Bird, -at 10<i>l.</i> per annum, and a <i>brace of well-fatted Swans to -the mayor</i>.</p> -<p>1650. An insurrection of royalists now took place in -this county, and the Lynn garrison employed in its -suppression.—One <i>Major Saul</i> was then taken and -hanged here in the Tuesday Market-place, see p. -769.—<i>Dorothy Floyd</i> (or <i>Lloyd</i>,) murdered by -our magistrates: (that is, <i>hanged for -witchcraft</i>:)—one of the blessed effects, we may -suppose, of Hopkins the witchfinder’s late -visit.—October 16. Shops ordered to be shut up every -Thursday during Lecture-time, to the end that people and their -servants might attend the hearing the word of God—<i>This -order was issued by the very people who had sent for the -witchfinder</i>; so that we cannot attach much merit to it.</p> -<p>1651. Lynn petitioned parliament against the erection of -Denver Sluice, which was probably no injudicious step.</p> -<p>1652. The Lynn garrison dissolved.</p> -<p>1653. One <i>Say</i> hanged here for <i>killing her -husband</i>—one account says it was by -<i>poison</i>.—The South gate was now let to Henry Bloy at -1<i>l.</i> 5<i>s.</i> a year, and the East gate to James Browne -at 1<i>l.</i> 15<i>s.</i> which shews that the town had then more -intercourse with the country by the <i>East</i> than by the -<i>South gate</i>.—There being before this year only -<i>six</i> corn meters, but they were now increased to -<i>ten</i>.</p> -<p>1654. The town obtained a very advantageous charter from -the Protector, of which we have not been able to get sight of any -copy or transcript. It was probably destroyed at the -restoration.</p> -<p>1655. Lynn now again garrisoned.</p> -<p><a name="page1202"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1202</span>1656. The generals Rippon and Desborow elected -members for this town, and their charges (we suppose 5<i>s.</i> -per diem) ordered to be paid by the corporation.—St. -George’s Hall now converted into an <i>Exchange</i>.</p> -<p>1657. Front of the Free-School-Master’s house -rebuilt at the charge of the corporation—Rent of the two -gates advanced from 1<i>l.</i> 5<i>s.</i> and 1<i>l.</i> -15<i>s.</i> to 15<i>l.</i> a year, which seems to indicate the -thriving state of the town during the protectorate.—During -this and some of the preceding years, a mighty stir was made here -for the suppression of vice, and especially of <i>profane -swearing</i>, <i>excessive drinking</i>, and <i>tippling</i>, -which greatly affected the publicans, or ale-house-keepers, who -were then very heavily fined, which occasioned great discontents -and complaints on their part and that of their -customers.—The money thus raised said to be applied towards -paving and improving the town. Of that stir see pp. 773, -&c.—The mayor now agreed to take <i>forty shillings</i> -instead of two fatted swans from the Ferry-man.</p> -<p>1658. St. James’s church yard became the parish -being-ground, there being no longer any room left for burying in -St. Margaret’s churchyard.—One <i>Dorothy Warden</i>, -alias <i>Billins</i> hanged for killing her -child.—<i>Oliver</i> died, and was succeeded in the -Protectorate by his son <i>Richard</i>, to whom an <i>Address</i> -was voted by this corporation on the 8th of October.</p> -<p>1659. Jan. 3. The right of electing burgesses or -members of parliament determined to be in the <i>Hall</i>, and -<i>not in the freemen at large</i>: the two members, <i>Toll</i> -and <i>Lloyd</i> were accordingly now elected by the -Hall.—Jan. 14. Ordered that the chamberlain take of -all townsmen who build Booths at the Mart, 6<i>d.</i> and of -strangers 10<i>d.</i> a foot for their ground.</p> -<p>1660. April 13. The freemen at large claiming -again, rather clamorously, a voice at the election of burgesses, -the Hall thought proper to give way; <i>Hare</i> and -<i>Walpole</i> were accordingly elected by the freemen at -large.—May 29, 300 Young maids, dressed all in white, (200 -of them at the expense of two wealthy individuals,) paraded -through the principal streets, by way of joy and triumph for the -king’s restoration, see p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page797">797</a></span>.—Divine service now -performed at St. Margaret’s, in summer at 5, and in winter -at 6 o’clock in the morning, which had not been the case -for the last ten years.</p> -<p>1661. Alderman Keeling expelled the Hall for -<i>non-residence</i>.—Rent of South-gate tolls lowered from -15<i>l.</i> to 5<i>l.</i> a year.</p> -<p>1662. An impost of 1<i>s.</i> per chalder laid on all -coals brought by strangers, and applied to the relief of the -Poor, who were here then very numerous and much distressed, -notwithstanding, the blessed restoration.</p> -<p>1663. Several Friends or <i>Quakers</i> were now also -imprisoned here for nonconformity, which shews how friendly the -restoration proved to liberty of conscience.—“Many -musters and shews (says Mackerell,) were performed by the -<i>Trained Bands</i>, who took the oaths of allegiance and <a -name="page1203"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1203</span>supremacy -to the king with all imaginable chearfulness.”—Tolls -of the East gate let for one year at 11<i>l.</i></p> -<p>1664. Price of coals advanced this year from 17<i>s.</i> -to 30<i>s.</i> and upwards.—Lord <i>Townshend</i> elected -<i>lord high steward</i>.</p> -<p>1665. The plague again this year visited Lynn and -committed great ravages; on which account the gates were shut and -even the mackerell carts not suffered to enter.</p> -<p>1666. Plague continued and no Mart kept—markets -also discontinued, and all communication with the country -suspended.</p> -<p>1667. A woman, named Wharton, hanged for killing her -child.</p> -<p>1670. Duke of Richmond and lord Townshend entertained -here at the expense of the Hall—great fear here of a -Quo-warranto for issuing farthing tokens—<i>Worsted -Weavers</i> petition parliament to have a Dyer and Calender -settled here.—Proclamation relating to decayed houses: [to -be seized by the corporation unless timely repaired.]</p> -<p>1671. August 11. Sir Robert Steward apprizes the -corporation of the king’s intention to visit Lynn in the -course of the following month: 100<i>l.</i> is therefore ordered -to be paid into the Chamberlain’s hands to provide for that -occasion. Provision was accordingly made, but his said -majesty did not come. Nov. 10. The whole banquet -provided for the king, voted to the mayor for the sum of -10<i>l.</i></p> -<p>1672. Address to his majesty acknowledging his grace and -favour in pardoning the corporation for coining -farthings.—<i>Duke of Ormond</i>, &c. entertained here -at the expense of the Hall.</p> -<p>1673. Giles Alden, common council-man expelled the Hall -for non-residence or frequent absence.</p> -<p>1676. William Pearson hanged here for shop -lifting.—Mr. <i>Helcote</i> laid the foundation of -<i>Broad-street Almshouse</i>, which was next year completed by -<i>Framingham</i>.</p> -<p>1677. One <i>John Swift</i>, a shop-breaker, hanged.</p> -<p>1678. Application made by the Hall to Thomas Goddard -Esq. son of the late Recorder, Guybon Goddard, for his -father’s MS. Collections relating to the antiquities of -this town—but it is supposed without success:—20 -guineas however were offered for them.—The elder -<i>Turner</i> began now to acquire consequence here, being, as -Mackerell says, common council-man, mayor-elect, parliament-man, -and captain of the Trained Bands, all in the space of two -years.</p> -<p>1679. The corporation signified their intention, not to -have any in future to represent the town, in parliament, but some -two of their own townsmen.—<i>Wm. Basset</i>, <i>M.D.</i> -resigned his aldermanship; deeming its duties incompatible with -those of his medical profession. [What would he have -thought had he gone <i>out of town</i> to live?]—One -<i>John </i><a name="page1204"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1204</span><i>Page</i>, an old offender, was hanged here this -year: one account says, it was for breaking open several -shops.</p> -<p>On the 3rd of July this year, there was a <i>great fire at -Market-Dereham</i>, which burnt a great part of that town, and -reduced the sufferers to great distress; which Lynn affected -deeply to commiserate, and a collection was made here for them, -amounting in all, if we are not mistaken, to 110<i>l.</i> but it -ought surely to have been more, considering the state of the -case, and that the aldermen went about to collect through their -different wards:—(which appears from the book of Extracts -so often referred to)</p> -<p>1680. Sir Henry Hobart and Sir Taylor returned burgesses -for this town.—A grampus was taken 22 feet long and 7 feet -deep.—Mackerell says, that St James’s church began -now to be made a spinning-school for the collectioner’s -children; but we know not what he meant by -<i>Collectioner</i>.</p> -<p>1681. The mart this year kept in Common Stath -yard. Nov. 4. a committee appointed to report if the said -yard was convenient for keeping the mart there in -future—[it probably did not appear to them a convenient -place for that purpose, so that the mart was kept there but one -year.]</p> -<p>1682. The mayor, with several aldermen and common -council-men met the king at Newmarket, and there presented an -Address to him.—A committee this year appointed for -erecting a public workhouse: accordingly we find that St. -James’s church was now fitted up for that -purpose.—Two new <i>May-poles</i> were also this year set -up in the town; one in the Market place and the other at the -Fort.</p> -<p>1683. Lord Mowbray, Earl of Arundell, Lord Lieutenant of -the county, entertained at the public charge.—The governor -and guardians of the workhouse incorporated, under the dignified -names of <i>Master and Brethren of St. James’s -Hospital</i>.</p> -<p>1684. The Earl of Arundell, Lord Lieutenant of the -County, and now Duke of Norfolk, again entertained here at the -public charge.—New altar-piece set up at the church, which -cost near 200<i>l.</i>—Our Charters were now also -surrendered to the king, who on that occasion conferred on the -two aldermen, <i>Turner</i> and <i>Taylor</i>, the honour and -dignity of <i>knighthood</i>.—On the 18th. of August this -year it was ordered at the Hall, that every new-elected alderman, -in lieu of the customary treat, should pay 10<i>l.</i> and a -common-council-man 20 nobles, for the benefit of the new -work-house; which was continued above 40 years.—(see under -1725)—None now admitted to their freedom unless they had -taken the sacrament within the preceding year.</p> -<p>1685. Febr. 10. James the second proclaimed, and an -address to him agreed upon, four days after—Nov. 9. -The <i>may-pole</i> in the market place taken down to be replaced -by the <i>king’s statue</i>.—The two <a -name="page1205"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1205</span>aldermen -<i>Turner</i> and <i>Taylor</i> elected members for the -town.—Petition transmitted and recommended to them -concerning <i>the decay of the stocking trade</i> here by the -introduction of <i>weaving</i>, instead of <i>knitting</i>. -See more about it under 1690.</p> -<p>1686. April 13. The anniversary of their majesties -coronation kept here with no small pomp and parade; and the -king’s statue set up at the same time with extravagant -rejoicings, in the market place, where the may-pole had formerly -stood.</p> -<p>1687. This town presented a very loyal address to his -majesty, agreed upon 19th. September.—In November Lord -Cornbury and others visited Lyon and were entertained at the -public charge.</p> -<p>1688. Sunday 29th. of January being appointed a day of -Thanksgiving for the queen’s pregnancy, was kept here with -wonderful solemnity: the mayor and whole corporation, in their -formalities, attended at morning and evening service, <i>to -render thanks to Almighty God for so signal a blessing</i>; and -after evening service they repaired to the custom-house to drink -the king’s health with a bonefire.</p> -<p>29th. of June another thanksgiving day was kept here, for the -queen’s delivery and birth of the prince.—The king -was also now loyally addressed.—Such was the loyalty and -piety of our ancestors in the reign of James the -second.—His majesty after seizing the charters, and -removing several members of the Hall, and replacing them with -others whom he thought better of, had his pious projects, and -paternal plans and purposes suddenly interrupted and frustrated, -by the arrival of the Prince of Orange on the 5th. of -November—which brought on the <i>Revolution</i>.</p> -<p>1689. The convention parliament, having met on the 22d. -of January, declared the throne <i>abdicated</i>, and offered the -same to the prince and princess of Orange, which they soon agreed -to accept; and they were crowned on the 8th. of April.—On -the 27th. of September the Fort guns at St. Ann’s, which -had been removed to Hull, were returned, and placed in their -former situation.</p> -<p>1690. In our extracts from the Hall books, the following -passage occurs, under the date of Jan. 17th.—“On -Petition of the Hosiers of this town in behalf of the poor, -against the new invention of <i>weaving</i> worstead hose, -whereby many thousands of poor are destitute of employment. -It is this day ordered and agreed that a Petition from this house -(the <i>Hall</i>,) to the honourable House of Commons, -representing that grievance, now read, to be sealed with the -common seal of this Burgh.”</p> -<p>Aug. 29. Henry Framingham, now chosen mayor, remitted -the usual fee of 100<i>l.</i> In other respects he was an -unfeeling, intolerant being, as appears by the shameful -persecution that was carried on here during his mayoralty, and -that of his immediate successor, against one of the dissenting -ministers and his congregations—see p. <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page861">861</a></span>, -&c.</p> -<p><a name="page1206"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1206</span>1691. Dec. 21. Benjamin Holly’s fine -of 30<i>l.</i> for declining the mayoralty mitigated to -21<i>l.</i></p> -<p>1692. March 13. Fishing in Gaywood river, as far -as the double bridge, declared to be the right of the -corporation.</p> -<p>1693. King John’s cop repaired at the expense of -12<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i></p> -<p>1694. Great inconvenience having arisen of late from -large ships occupying Dowshill, Purfleet, Mill, and Whitefriars -Fleets, to the exclusion of Keels, Barges, Boats, Lighters and -other open vessels, whereby many of the latter, left exposed to -the violence of the flood and ebb tides were damaged or -lost.—the mayor, aldermen, and common council, on the 29th. -of January this year, ordered that no person thenceforth do lay, -or suffer to be laid, any vessel of the burden of 20 tons or -upwards, in any of those Fleets, otherwise than ancient and -accustomed ship seats, &c. under the penalty of 3<i>s.</i> -4<i>d.</i> for every tide they did as offend—the mayor -reserving the power of permission on extraordinary -occasions.—4th. June, Meter’s pay fixed at <i>one -penny</i> each chalder of coals of <i>freemen</i>, and <i>two -pence</i> of <i>strangers</i>; and on tonnage goods, a pence a -ton of freemen, and 4 pence of strangers.</p> -<p>1695. March 11. The Hall signed an address to his -majesty, in the feature of an association, to stand by and assist -him against all his enemies.</p> -<p>1696. Outgoings or expences in maintaining the -water-works for the last ten years exceeded the income by -288<i>l.</i> 13<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>—The expenditure being -1427<i>l.</i> 7<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> and income 1338<i>l.</i> -14<i>s.</i> 2<i>d.</i></p> -<p>200 sail of Colliers and coasters, in running for Lynn deeps -in a storm, were all wrecked, and near 1000 persons -perished. (Norfolk Remem.) Scarcity of coals, and -price greatly advanced.</p> -<p>1697. The Hall gained a cause in a trial with Leonard -Hutton, before Lord Chief Justice <i>Holt</i>.—They also -petition parliament for the removal of the dam and sluice near -Salter’s Load, and preserving of navigation.—The -<i>Bagges</i>, <i>Brownes</i>, and <i>Scarlets</i>, now begin to -make some figure here.</p> -<p>1698. Pictures of Edward VI. and James I. presented to -the Hall by alderman Robinson.—Juggard succeeds Haslewood -as Lecturer.</p> -<p>1699. <i>John Cary</i> succeeds, <i>Osborne</i> as -writing master, and is to teach 6 poor boys gratis, and to -instruct all the children in the Church Catechism.—This is -the first prominence of the Carys.—A ship now sent to -Norway for pump-wood, or timber for water-pipes, at the adventure -and charge of the mayor and burgesses.</p> -<p>1709. Another ship freighted to Norway for pump-wood for -the water-works.</p> -<p>1701. The Head Porters and Meters being convicted of -bribery and defrauding the king of his dues, were all discharged; -but about a month <a name="page1207"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1207</span>after some of them were restored, by giving bond with -one security in 20<i>l.</i>—August 29. the elder Pyle -appointed Lecturer.—Nov. 24. Noblemen, knights, esquires, -and clergymen exempted from tolls here.</p> -<p>1702. Dr. Little succeeds Mr. Fysh as minister of St. -Margaret’s.</p> -<p>1703. Sept. 24. The Boale, or World’s End, with -the houses thereon, and the rights and duties attached to the -same, bought of Robert Elsden, by the corporation, for -130<i>l.</i> and 20<i>l.</i> more at the end of five years from -that date, (see p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page873">873</a></span>)—Towards the latter end of -November this year, happened that dreadful national calamity -commonly distinguished by the name of <i>the great storm</i>, of -whose effects here, see p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page874">874</a></span>.</p> -<p>1704. The gloom of the former year succeeded and -dissipated by the triumphs of Marlborough at <i>Blenheim</i>, -which occasioned great rejoicings throughout the kingdom, of -which Lynn largely participated, as appears by its address to the -throne, see p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page874">874</a></span>.</p> -<p>1705. The gentlemen of the counties of Bedford and -Huntingdon prefer a serious charge of arbitrary and exorbitant -exactions, or extortion against this corporation, see p. <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page879">879</a></span>.</p> -<p>1708. Lynn harbour said to be now in a most wretched and -alarming state, see <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page888">888</a></span>.—In the course of this year -also, according to one of our MS. accounts, two children were -hanged here for felony, one eleven, and the other only seven -years of age.</p> -<p>1714. Dr. Thurlin’s library deposited in St. -Margaret’s church, in a commodious place fitted up for its -reception, to which the old church library was at the same time -removed: a faculty being obtained from the bishop.—The same -year the first commemoration sermon for <i>Framingham</i> was -preached at St. Nicholas’s, by Mr. <i>Pyle</i>, for which -he had 20<i>s.</i> and 10<i>s.</i> more <i>for reading the -Will</i>—which, are still continued.</p> -<p>1715. The first rebellion in behalf of the Pretender -broke out. See p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page894">894</a></span>.</p> -<p>1719. January 26. Ordered that none be admitted into -Gaywood Hospital under 60 years old.</p> -<p>1720. John Cary junior (father of our late alderman of -that name) elected master of the Writing-School—the -aldermen Berney and Scarlet being then Governors and Inspectors -of the same.</p> -<p>1721. Our corporation now, apprehensive of losing the -navigation of the Cambridge river, (from the representation of a -Mr. Stafford of Denver,) which they thought proper to communicate -to the corporation of Adventurers. The result not -stated.</p> -<p>1723. Two new galleries erected in St. Margaret’s -church, on the sides of the organ loft; with projections for two -particular families.—This year (or during the mayoralty of -William Allen, which commenced <a name="page1208"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1208</span>at Michaelmas,) <i>Thomas -German</i> (says one MS.) was hanged here for burglary, on the -gallows out of the South Gates—Cooper’s MS. calls him -<i>Jarmey</i>, in a memorandum which reads -thus—“1723: A night watch set up for all the year, -and the <i>king’s watch</i> dropt here, being one Jarmey, -who broke into several houses, and was hanged for the same out of -the South Gates.”—The same MS. referring to the same -year, has this passage—“A great fleet of ships lost -on Christmas day; Mr. Vinkerson’s ship right against West -Lynn church, laden with coals.”—Dr. Browne this year -gave great offence to the Hall and especially the mayor—of -which see p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page900">900</a></span>.</p> -<p>1724. The chapel chimes, which formerly played but one -tune, were this year altered, and made to play several tunes.</p> -<p>1725. Ever since 1682 it was customary for each alderman -upon his election to give 10<i>l.</i> and each common-council-man -6<i>l.</i> 13<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> towards the Workhouse: but this -year Mr. Thomas Allen, being chosen alderman, refused to comply -with this custom, and thereby occasioned the cessation of those -laudable donations. (Cooper’s MS.)—From the -book of Extracts it seems it was in 1726 Mr. T. A. became an -alderman.—The harbour now in a most wretched state, see p. -<span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page901">901</a></span>.—And this year 1725 (if we -are not mistaken, for the last figure is not very plain) -Cooper’s MS. mentions a <i>great tide</i>, which happened -on the 8th. of March, and came into a Warehouse in Puddin Lane, -where was a quantity of unslaked lime, which being wetted became -so hot as to set some deals that lay there on fire, so as to -endanger the firing of the town. He seems indeed to say -that it was a piece of <i>iron</i> heated by the quick lime which -set the deals on fire.</p> -<p>1726. <i>Henry Southwell</i>, a freeman, charged by the -corporation (unjustly it seems) with having violated his oath of -freedom, and threatened with disfranchisement.</p> -<p>1727. The mayor, Mr. Thomas Allen issued an order to the -<i>barbers</i>, to <i>prohibit them to shave on -Sundays</i>—of which see p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page910">910</a></span>.—February 3rd. this year the -above Henry Southwell was disfranchised.</p> -<p>1728. The decree of disfranchisement against Mr. -Southwell was rescinded On the 29th. of April this year; of which -see further at p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page902">902</a></span>, and 3.—Of this year’s -mayor, <i>Goodwin</i>, and his successor <i>Taylor</i>, see pages -<span class="indexpageno"><a href="#page910">910</a></span> and -11.</p> -<p>1730. April 6. Our corporation made a remonstrance -to the corporation of the Bedford Level against repairing Denver -Sluice: which was probably very right.</p> -<p>1731. Great complaints of the decrease of trade &c. -here this year. But among the occurrences of this period -the most deplorable and shocking was the <i>murder of Ann -Wright</i>, a publican, by one <i>George Smith</i>, who had been -let into the house in the dead of the night by the servant, -<i>Mary Taylor</i>, for which she was burnt at a stake in the -Tuesday <a name="page1209"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1209</span>market-place, and the man was hanged on a gallows, 17 -yards distant, on Thursday the 1st. of April, see p. <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page912">912</a></span> and <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page914">914</a></span>.</p> -<p>1738. Law-suit between the corporation and alderman -Thomas Allen, who was charged with attempting to evade the -customary payment of 1<i>d.</i> per quarter for corn sold by him -to unfreemen. See p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page918">918</a></span>.</p> -<p>1741. On the 9th of September a violent hurricane which -blew down the spires of St. Margaret’s and St. -Nicholas’s and did immense damage all about the -country.—St. Margaret’s spire falling on the body of -the church demolished a great part of it—the rebuilding -began in 1742, and was completed in 1747.—see pp. <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page919">919</a></span>, 20, -21.</p> -<p>1742. State of the harbour growing still worse, an -application to parliament on that occasion was made the latter -part of this year: see p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page922">922</a></span>, &c.</p> -<p>1745. The second rebellion in behalf of the Pretender -commenced: of its effects at Lynn, see p. <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page926">926</a></span>, &c. -also pp. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page1073">1073</a></span>, and 4.</p> -<p>1747. A contested Election this year between Turner and -Folkes; and the most violent perhaps ever witnessed in Lynn: for -the particulars see p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page947">947</a></span> to <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page952">952</a></span>.—A great many here now made -free gratis, see p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page931">931</a></span>.</p> -<p>1749. <i>Charles Holditch</i> executed for burglary, see -the page last referred to.</p> -<p>1751. <i>William Chaplain</i>, for the murder of <i>Mary -Gafferson</i>, was hanged in chains on a gibbet upon South Lynn -Common, see p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page932">932</a></span>.</p> -<p>1753. The New Walks laid out and the trees -planted.—Also the Tuesday Market-place new paved.—One -Jumper condemned for the murder of Jones, was afterwards -reprieved and transported for life.</p> -<p>1754. One Elizabeth Neivel stood in the -pillory.—Also one Hannah Clark <i>ducked</i> for -<i>scolding</i>.</p> -<p>1755. Certain profitable appointments attached to our -Recordership, and the mayor’s annual salary settled at -100<i>l.</i>—see <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page933">933</a></span>, and 4.</p> -<p>1759. The West Norfolk militia reviewed on Sayer’s -Marsh, by the Earl of Orford, previous to their being called out -on actual service.</p> -<p>1760. Mayor secured from any charges incurred through -neglects of gaoler and serjeants.—October 29. the king died -in his 77th. year. In his reign <i>Methodism</i> sprung up -in these kingdoms.—see p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page934">934</a></span>, 5, etc.—The present -inglorious era and disastrous reign now commenced.</p> -<p>1761. The tower of All Saints or South Lynn church fell -down, to rise no more. See p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page943">943</a></span>.—About the same time a large -whale was taken here near Darsingham, 56 feet 9 inches long, and -34 feet 4 inches in girth, see p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page944">944</a></span>.—A man and his wife -transported, he for 7, she for 14 years, the cause not noted.</p> -<p><a name="page1210"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1210</span>1763. December 2. A dreadful high wind and -tide here, which did great damage among the shipping, many of -which were wrecked on the coast: cattle and sheep also in vast -numbers were drowned in Marshland, and about Snettisham, -&c.</p> -<p>1764. The town served a vile trick by the mayor, which -they seem to have submitted to very tamely, see <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page945">945</a></span>.</p> -<p>1765. A shocking murder committed here by one -<i>Rudderham</i>.—See <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page945">945</a></span>, and 6.</p> -<p>1766. January 27. Rudderham hanged here for the above -murder of Leonard Wilson, near the Rope Walk.</p> -<p>1768. A great contested election here between -<i>Turner</i> and <i>Molineux</i>. See <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page946">946</a></span>.</p> -<p>1769. The corporation had a great law-suit with Mr. -Carr, about the fleet on both sides of Littleport-bridge. -Of this affair see p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page952">952</a></span>.—Two men in a boat carried -away by the strong current of a land-flood on the 10th of April -to sea, and picked up there and brought home on 19th.</p> -<p>1770. Our corporation suddenly became mighty patriots -and violent lovers of liberty.—see <span -class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page953">953</a></span>.—<i>Pilling</i> hanged here -for a rape.</p> -<p>1771. <i>Wilkes</i> visited Lynn, to the no small joy of -our patriotic corporation, who entertained him sumptuously and -conferred on him the freedom of this ancient borough. See -<span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page954">954</a></span>.—Different temper of the -town when <i>Thelwall</i>, another great patriot, visited it -above 20 years after. Ibid.</p> -<p>1772. St. Margaret’s church damaged by a thunder -storm.</p> -<p>1779. On new-years day there was a strong gale and a -very extraordinary tide, the highest known here in the memory of -man; which overflowed and demolished the sea banks in many -places, and did vast damage in and about this town.—The -Lynn armed association was also formed in the course of this -year, under the command of Captain <i>Thames Day</i>—and -continued embodied till 1785. See <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page958">958</a></span>.</p> -<p>1782. A woman, named <i>Howard</i>, stood here in the -pillory—we know not for what crime.—Towards the close -of this year <i>Beeton</i> robbed the mail; and he was executed -the 17th of the following February. See <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page960">960</a></span>.</p> -<p>1783. <i>Isaac Levi</i>, a Jew lad, robbed, by one -<i>Robert Fox</i>, on the road between Lynn and West Winch, and -left apparently dead; for which Fox was hanged, 7th. of -September, on Hardwick common.</p> -<p>1784. Another contested election here, when Mr. -<i>Fountaine</i> was one of the candidates, but was -unsuccessful.—See <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page961">961</a></span>.</p> -<p>1785. November 5. the Recorder being ill, the mayor, -William Bagge, sat as sole judge at our sessions, and upon the -conviction of John Bradley and another person, his said worship -passed on them the sentence of transportation:—but with -what solemnity, if any, we have not <a name="page1211"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1211</span>learnt.—So late at the 24th -of November this year, a Mr. Berry brought to town some young -rooks from Mr. Fisher’s Carr at Tilney.</p> -<p>1788. On the 5th of November the centenary of the -revolution was here kept by a select party. The same was -then done at <i>Holkham</i> and other places . . . see <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page965">965</a></span>, and <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page1083">1083</a></span>. -About nine days after, it was also kept here at the Hall, by the -corporation, with no small parade, and thought by some to rival -if not excel the Holkham Fete.—A strange report of an -extraordinary adventure of one of our Greenland captains this -year—see p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page964">964</a></span>.—The autumn and winter of -this year were distinguished by the <i>king’s memorable -illness</i>, which almost broke the hearts of half his subjects, -and overwhelmed the whole nation with grief and dismay. In -this affliction Lynn, without doubt, shared largely:—but it -happily proved not of long duration.</p> -<p>1789. On the 12th of February his majesty was pronounced -to be in a state of progressive amendment; and by the 18th of -March he was deemed fit to resume the royal functions. The -joy and exultation of the public now equalled their former grief -and dismay, and they might be said to have gone from one extreme -to the other. On the evening of the day last mentioned this -town was most splendidly illuminated, and exhibited the most -unequivocal tokens of its joy, and demonstrations of its -loyalty.—See p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page969">969</a></span>.—The 23rd of April was -observed as a day of thanksgiving for the king’s -recovery.—See p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page970">970</a></span>.</p> -<p>1791. The law-suit between this corporation and that of -London was determined in favour of the <i>Dentons</i> and other -London freemen.—See p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page970">970</a></span>.</p> -<p>1792. Effects of the <i>royal proclamation</i> against -tumultuous meetings and seditious writings, and of Reeves’s -<i>Crown and anchor association</i> manifested here.—See p. -<span class="indexpageno"><a href="#page973">973</a></span>.</p> -<p>1794. In consequence of great complaints of the -defective and decayed state of the Fen Drainage, the Eau-brink -Cut was proposed and approved of as a remedy. Our trained -bands or armed association again revived—and the <i>Lynn -Volunteers</i>, infantry and cavalry, landsmen and marines, -blunt-shooters and sharp-shooters, made their appearance among -us. They consisted of different corps, but the most -numerous was commanded by Colonel Everard, which was about three -years after disbanded:—most of the others still remain, see -<span class="indexpageno"><a href="#page977">977</a></span>, -&c.—A violent thunderstorm happened this year, when a -young girl was killed here by the lightening.</p> -<p>1796. February 23. Eleven persons lost their lives -in attempting to cross the river in the Ferry-Boat—see -<span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page978">978</a></span>.—The preceding day a -Marshland man, of the name of <i>Fuller</i>, going to see the -wild beasts, and putting his hand to a Lion’s mouth, -narrowly escaped being torn to pieces by him.—April -25. The Free-masons, went in procession, from the -Maid’s Head Inn to St. Margaret’s church, where a -sermon was preached to them by <i>Dr. Lloyd</i>, the present -Hebrew Professor at Cambridge; <a name="page1212"></a><span -class="pagenum">p. 1212</span>all this preparatory or -introductory to the instituting and consecrating a <i>new -lodge</i> of Lynn Free Masons: see p. <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page1120">1120</a></span>, -&c.</p> -<p>1797. A whale, measuring 44 feet, caught in Lynn -channel.—An improved method of cleaning Wheat seed -discovered by some of our farmers: see p. <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page979">979</a></span>.—The -subscription Library established this year; of which see p. <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page1176">1176</a></span>.—In -April this year, <i>prince William</i> (now duke) <i>of -Gloucester</i> visited Lynn, and, after reviewing the Volunteers -and dining with the mayor, was admitted to the freedom of this -borough.</p> -<p>1798. Lynn and Freebridge Yeomanry Cavalry, under -Colonel Taylor, embodied. Divers other such corps in our -vicinity sprung up about the same time—the martial ardour -of the time extended even to the priesthood.—On 29 Dec. -this year the Thermometer said to be at 3 below 0: see p. <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page981">981</a></span>.</p> -<p>1799. The <i>Lynn and Wisbeach Packet</i>, and also the -inglorious <i>Income Tax</i> commenced their progress and -operations: the former with far less success than the -latter.—A great controversy soon after arose here about the -termination of the century; one party placing it at the close of -this, and the other at the close of the following year: so that -the controversy rested on this curious ground, whether or not 99 -was equal to 100.</p> -<p>1800. <i>St. Catherine’s Gates</i>, commonly -called East Gates, taken down after having stood above 700 -years.—Sept. 3. The dearness of provisions caused here a -considerable commotion among the common people; and <i>Mr. -Forster</i>, a flour merchant, was very roughly treated by some -of them.—The attempt of Hadfield upon the king’s -life, at the theatre, this summer, caused no small agitation here -and throughout the nation: two very loyal addresses were now -presented to his majesty, by our <i>corporation</i> and the -<i>inhabitants</i>.</p> -<p>1801. The old building or tower, called the Black Mount, -on the town walls, fell this year without doing much damage, as -the ropers had just left it, being their dinner -time.—816<i>l.</i> 9<i>s.</i> subscribed here this year, to -furnish the poor with <i>pease-soup</i>, which was served out to -them from the Town Hall thrice a week, by reason of the extreme -dearness of provisions.—Also one <i>Peter Donahue</i> -executed here for forgery.—The <i>Peace of Amiens</i> -excited no small joy here, and the town was illuminated on the -occasion.</p> -<p>1802. A grand Fete given at Refley Spring, when a whole -sheep, roasted (says one account,) was served up at dinner, as a -<i>peace-offering</i> to the friends of Refley [which <i>friends -of Refley</i>, we may suppose, were the gods worshipped there -that day.]</p> -<p>1803. The first act for <i>paving</i> and improving the -town was now obtained.—The <i>new-road</i>, from the South -gate to St. James’s End, was also made this -year.—Also the new Burying ground and Chapel consecrated, -by the then bishop of Norwich, Dec. 14.</p> -<p><a name="page1213"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1213</span>1806. In the course of this year there was a -very high tide which demolished the remaining ruins of our -Lady’s Chapel on the Bridge.—St. Nicholas’s -Chapel this same year thoroughly repaired and greatly improved at -a considerable expense.</p> -<p>1807. His royal highness the <i>duke of Clarence</i>, -attended by <i>Earl Cholmondeley</i> visited Lynn, (13. October,) -and they were both presented with the freedom of this -borough.</p> -<p>1808. The names of many of the Streets of the town were -this year most capriciously, childishly, and confoundingly -changed; and the rage for changing names appeared now so -predominant, that some began to expect no less than that the town -itself was to receive a new name.</p> -<p>In the summer of this year the <i>Lancasterian School</i> was -established here, of which see page <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page1145">1145</a></span>.</p> -<p>1809. In the month of October this year, the memorable -<i>Jubilee</i> took place, which was kept and solemnized here -with the greatest hilarity and exultation, as if the commencement -of the present reign had been the introduction of the very -millennium itself. It was a political manœuvre; and -not the first to which the British public have been the -dupes.</p> -<p>1810. This year a negotiation took place, and was -carried on for some months, between <i>Mr. William Corston</i> of -Ludgate Hill, London, and the Lynn <i>Court of Guardians</i>, in -consequence of a proposal from the former, to furnish employment -for the <i>female</i> children of the Lynn poor, in plaiting of -straw and knitting of hats, on certain terms and conditions: -<i>viz.</i> To be provided with a proper house for the -manufactory, and a dwelling for the superintendents, together -with the loan of a large sum of money, on proper security, for -seven years, without interest.—This notable treaty was -opened in March, and after a number of Letters had passed between -the parties, it was closed by a Letter from the <i>Registrar</i> -to Mr. Corston, dated Sept. 15. of which the following is a -copy—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Sir, I was duly favoured with your Letter -of the 20th. of August, inclosing answers to my questions -respecting your plan for employing the female poor of this -borough, which, with the sketch of the proposed building, &c. -transmitted to Mr. Dixon, I laid before the Court of Guardians at -their meeting, holden on Thursday last; who after having given -the matter their most mature consideration, instruct me to inform -you, that they entirely decline acceding to your -propositions. I therefore return you the several papers, -requesting you will be pleased to accept the thanks of the Court -for the trouble you have had in the business. I am, &c. -J. <i>Smeatham</i>.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>So the affair ended; happily or otherwise, we take not upon us -to say.</p> -<p>1811. St. Margaret’s church thoroughly cleaned, -white washed, and beautified, at considerable expense.—A -new place of worship, called <i>Salem Chapel</i> -erected—and premises Purchased, in Tower Street, for the <a -name="page1214"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1214</span>erection -of the splendid Methodist minster.—Those premises cost -between 8 and 900<i>l.</i> and the subsequent erection will cost -between 4 and 5000<i>l.</i> more.—In the early part of this -year, if we are not mistaken, Mr. Allen, one of our -common—brewers, relinquished his memorable attempt to dig a -well, after having sunk to the vast depth of 560 feet and spent a -large sum of money without success; so that it seems now that -though Lynn is situated in a bog, the ground below is as -destitute of water as any spot in the kingdom can well be. -Some praise however seems to be due to Mr. A. for having so long -persevered in this arduous undertaking, attended as it was with -so much expense and discouragement. Some curious fossils, -and even bones; were said to be discovered there at a great -depth.</p> -<p>On Saturday evening, Oct. 5, one of the ferry-men in a small -boat, which they use only occasionally, attempting to bring over -from West-Lynn too many passengers, the boat suddenly went down -and every soul perished: They were 9 if not more beside the -ferry-man; and the boat was capable of carrying safely not above -half that number. This fatal disaster was imputed to the -perverse temerity of the boatman.</p> -<p>The last month of this year was rendered memorable by the -death of the most singular and excentric character in the whole -town, and probably in the whole county. His name was -<i>Robert Pursglove</i>: he was descended from very worthy and -reputable parents, who belonged to the respectable society of -Friends or Quakers. With that society he himself was also -generally classed, although for many years past almost every -shade of resemblance between his character and theirs had -disappeared. His parents left him in possession of good -property, which he managed most strangely and in a manner -peculiar to himself. He had a <i>Ship</i>, which he might -have sold for a good sum of money; but he had it laid up, till it -rotted all to pieces—a number of <i>hay-stacks</i> he also -had, which he might have sold and turned to good account, but he -would hear nothing of that, and they were left, year after year, -till they were quite spoilt and good for nothing.—He had -<i>kine</i> and other cattle, which were of course neglected and -mismanaged—he lived in a large house, which he had -purchased, where formerly had resided one of our first families; -but he suffered every thing there to go to decay and utter ruin, -till doors, windows, floors, stair-cases, roofs, and every thing -became perfect pictures of desolation—his dogs, and even -his swine and kine occupied some of its best apartments, all -ill-fed and half starved.—In this dreary mansion of -desolation he was himself at last found, in the agonies of death, -resulting from an apoplectic attack, and beyond the possibility -of deriving any relief from medical skill. He is said to -have often wanted food, though he left behind him property to the -amount, as it is reported, of near if not quite -10,000<i>l.</i>—This sketch might be greatly enlarged, but -this will serve to give the reader some idea of the -eccentricities and peculiarities of this extraordinary -person.</p> -<p><a name="page1215"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1215</span>1812. This year has been yet distinguished by -nothing more than a miserable stagnation of trade, and a -probability of the bread and beer and other necessaries of life -being dearer than ever. Nothing, in short, appears to be -going on here now with vigour or spirit, but the methodist -erection above mentioned and taxgathering; so that were we -required to name whatever is here at present in a very thriving -state, or rapidly on the increase, we should be able to mention -scarce any thing besides these two articles, <i>taxation</i> and -<i>methodism</i>.—As to the much talked of <i>Evening -Lecture</i> at the Church, it will seemingly be given up at last; -our churchmen not having zeal enough to effect its -accomplishment.—As to the <i>Dispensary</i>, its prospect -of success is far more flattering, and there can be little doubt -now of its speedy establishment: large sums have been already -subscribed, a house has been purchased, or is about to be -purchased, and every thing fairly promises the sure completion of -the undertaking, and the full application of its benefits to -those classes of the inhabitants for whose behoof or relief the -institution is intended. That it has succeeded better than -the proposed <i>Lecture</i>, will perhaps be considered by some -people as an indication, that our wealthy churchmen are more -ready to provide for the <i>corporeal</i> than for the -<i>spiritual</i> accommodation of their neighbours.—Of the -notable plan of <i>economy</i>, so laudably adopted, and so -steadily pursued during the present mayoralty, to save certain -expenses usually attached to that important office, some account -has been given at pages <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page1087">1087</a></span>, and <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page1154">1154</a></span>.—Of -the present state of the <i>Workhouse</i>, and the prospect in -regard to the future management of it, and of the -<i>poor-rates</i>, some further observations, in this latter part -of the work, were intended; but our information is too imperfect -to admit of our resuming these subjects at present: we can -therefore only say, that it is to be feared our sanguine hopes of -being greatly benefited by the new plan, or lately adopted -system, will, after all, terminate in useless regret and -vexatious disappointment. Whatever they may do on the other -side, it seems now pretty clear that our managers are not likely -very soon to fall into the sin of being too frugal or economical -in the application of the public money. <a -name="citation1215"></a><a href="#footnote1215" -class="citation">[1215]</a>—Among the extraordinary and -memorable events of this year, the tragical exit or assassination -of our late premier will be expected, perhaps, to be here -noticed: and much as we do deplore that shocking catastrophe, we -would fain hope it will operate as a warning to all future -ministers, not to trifle with the serious complaints and -sufferings of their fellow subjects. What may be the -results of that fatal and melancholy occurrence, and the -subsequent changes, it is impossible yet to say. They seem -to have already produced the <i>rescinding</i> of the vile and -pernicious <i>orders of council</i>, which had reduced almost -half the nation to distress and beggary, and proved how easily -the Americans can cramp our manufactories. Should they also -produce a <a name="page1216"></a><span class="pagenum">p. -1216</span>redress of the grievances complained of by the -Catholics and other Dissenters, together with a thorough -parliamentary reform, and a general peace, we may still escape -national perdition, and even hope yet to see brighter and happier -days.—The convulsion and expulsion lately experienced at -the <i>Independent</i>, or rather <i>Presbyterian</i> chapel, may -be also placed among the remarkable occurrences of this -year. That congregation, it is hoped, (and all our other -congregations) will no longer tolerate <i>priestcraft</i>, or -submit to be <i>priest-ridden</i>. Whatever may be said of -their successors who denominate themselves <i>Independents</i>, -our <i>Presbyterian ministers</i>, we believe, were never -chargeable with priestly domination.</p> -<p style="text-align: center"><i>FINIS</i>.</p> -<h2>ERRATA. <a name="citation1216"></a><a href="#footnote1216" -class="citation">[1216]</a></h2> -<p>Page <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page638">638</a></span>, last word of the contents of -section III, for <i>ineffetual</i> r. -<i>ineffectual</i>.—p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page638">638</a></span>, l. 8, <i>for fovourite</i> r. -<i>favourite</i>—p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page735">735</a></span>, l. 9, after <i>them</i> a -<i>comma</i>.—p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page773">773</a></span>, l. 2, after <i>conscience</i> a -<i>semicolon</i>.—p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page782">782</a></span>, last line but one, after -<i>absentees</i>, a <i>comma</i>. —p. <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page794">794</a></span>, l. 4, for -<i>rejected</i>, r. <i>ejected</i>—p. <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page800">800</a></span>, l. 5, -after <i>stand</i>, r. <i>by</i>.—p. <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page803">803</a></span>, l. 21, -after <i>rubbish</i>, a comma—p. <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page821">821</a></span>, l. 9, for -<i>Guyborn</i>, r. <i>Guybon</i>.—same page, l. 19, after -<i>even</i> r. <i>the</i>.—p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page835">835</a></span>, l. 21, for <i>Assesiation</i> r. -<i>Association</i>—p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page847">847</a></span>, Note, l. 19, for -<i>proceeding</i> r. <i>preceding</i>.—p. <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page959">959</a></span>, last line -but one, for <i>egregiously</i> r. <i>eggregiously</i>—p. -<span class="indexpageno"><a href="#page1027">1027</a></span>, -note, l. 24, for <i>pastime</i> r. <i>patience</i>.—p. -<span class="indexpageno"><a href="#page1087">1087</a></span>, l. -14, for <i>exegencies</i> r. <i>exigences</i>.—p. <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page1106">1106</a></span> l. 1, -<i>comma</i> after <i>here</i>—p. <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page1127">1127</a></span>, note, l. -5, for <i>townsnen</i> r. <i>townsmen</i>.—p. <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page1140">1140</a></span>, last l. -for 1570 r. 1590—p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page1142">1142</a></span>, note, l. 8, after <i>could</i> -r. <i>not</i>. —p. <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page1147">1147</a></span>, note, l. 2, after <i>much</i> -r. <i>to his</i>.</p> -<p style="text-align: right"><i>Whittingham</i>, <i>Printer</i>, -<i>Lynn</i>.</p> -<h2>FOOTNOTES.</h2> -<p><a name="footnote625a"></a><a href="#citation625a" -class="footnote">[625a]</a> Such as the lawfulness of -suppressing reputed error by violence, or of contending for the -faith and extirpating heresy by fire and sword.</p> -<p><a name="footnote625b"></a><a href="#citation625b" -class="footnote">[625b]</a> For instance, translating the -scriptures into the vulgar tongue, and putting them into the -hands of the common people, that they might examine and judge for -themselves.</p> -<p><a name="footnote626a"></a><a href="#citation626a" -class="footnote">[626a]</a> <i>Bucer</i> owns, as will be -seen further on, that their converts considered this doctrine as -favourable to their licentious propensities.</p> -<p><a name="footnote626b"></a><a href="#citation626b" -class="footnote">[626b]</a> “I say, (says -<i>Calvin</i>,) that by the ordination and will of God Adam -fell. God would have man fall. Man is blinded by the -will and commandment of God. We refer the causes of -hardening to God. The highest and remote cause of hardening -is the will of God. It followeth that the hidden counsel of -God is the cause of hardening.” [See Barclay’s -Apology, Edit. 1703, p. 113, where reference is made to those -places in Calvin’s Works where these expressions are -found.] Those who are acquainted with this reformer’s -<i>Institution</i>, must know that many passages to the same -purpose, and equally strong, occur there.—Others of the -reformers come not a whit behind Calvin in the boldness of their -language on this topic.—“God (says <i>Beza</i>) hath -predestinated, not only unto damnation, but also unto the causes -of it, whomsoever he saw meet. The decree of God cannot be -excluded from the causes of corruption.”—“It is -certain (says <i>Zanchius</i>) that God is the first cause of -obduration. Reprobates are held so fast under God’s -almighty decree, that they cannot but sin and -perish.”—“God (says <i>Peter Martyr</i>) doth -incline and force the wills of wicked men into great -sins.”—“God, (says <i>Zuinglius</i>) moveth the -robber to kill. He Killeth, God forcing him -thereunto.” [See <i>Barclay</i>, as before.]</p> -<p><a name="footnote628a"></a><a href="#citation628a" -class="footnote">[628a]</a> Luth. Serm. in Postill. Evang. -1. Adv.</p> -<p><a name="footnote628b"></a><a href="#citation628b" -class="footnote">[628b]</a> Luth. Serm. Dom. 26, post -Trin.</p> -<p><a name="footnote628c"></a><a href="#citation628c" -class="footnote">[628c]</a> Luth. in Serm. conviv.</p> -<p><a name="footnote628d"></a><a href="#citation628d" -class="footnote">[628d]</a> Bucer de regn. Christ. 1, i. c, -4.</p> -<p><a name="footnote628e"></a><a href="#citation628e" -class="footnote">[628e]</a> See Milner’s Letters to -Sturges, 3d. Ed. p. 170, 171, &c. a work that contains a -great deal of very curious matter on these subjects, and on most -of the great points at issue between the catholics and their -opponents.</p> -<p><a name="footnote629a"></a><a href="#citation629a" -class="footnote">[629a]</a> Calv. 1. vi. de scand. quoted -by Milner, as before.</p> -<p><a name="footnote629b"></a><a href="#citation629b" -class="footnote">[629b]</a> Erasm. Ep. 1. vi. 4.—It -appears by the mode of expression here used, that notwithstanding -all the unfavourable and unchristian-like effects of their -ministry, they actually did, like some modern, labourers in the -same vineyard, boldly arrogate to themselves the exclusive name -of <i>evangelical</i> ministers, or propagators of the genuine -and pure <i>gospel</i>.</p> -<p><a name="footnote630"></a><a href="#citation630" -class="footnote">[630]</a> Erasm ad. Frat. Infer. Germ, -quoted by Milner, as before, p. 172.</p> -<p><a name="footnote632"></a><a href="#citation632" -class="footnote">[632]</a> Mosheim, iii, 313.</p> -<p><a name="footnote634"></a><a href="#citation634" -class="footnote">[634]</a> See Milner, as before: -182.—<i>Carlostadius</i> was Luther’s first disciple -of any considerable note: and he co-operated with, and supported -him with great firmness and ability. But having ventured to -alter the mass, during Luther’s absence in the year 1521, -and to deny the real presence, the latter commenced a furious war -against him and his followers, and condemned them in terms of the -utmost rancor and bitterness. <i>Melancthon</i> too -(misnamed the <i>mild</i>) now calls him “a brutal ignorant -man, void of piety and humanity, one more a Jew than a -christian.”—a rare specimen of mildness and -meekness!</p> -<p><a name="footnote636a"></a><a href="#citation636a" -class="footnote">[636a]</a> See Milner as before, -188.—It is not said how Henry brooked all this; but it was -well for Luther that he was not within his reach. The most -curious circumstance is that “Luther, in giving an account -of his book, reproaches himself with having been <i>too mild</i> -in it towards the king, saying that he did so at the request of -his friends, in hopes that his <i>sweetness</i> would gain -Henry.”—If such was Luther’s <i>sweetness</i>, -what could his <i>sourness</i>, or his <i>bitterness</i> be?</p> -<p><a name="footnote636b"></a><a href="#citation636b" -class="footnote">[636b]</a> Milner, 181.</p> -<p><a name="footnote636c"></a><a href="#citation636c" -class="footnote">[636c]</a> Ibid, 132.—No wonder he -should behave as he did to Cariostadius, whose chief crime seems -to be his having acted <i>without his authority</i>, though in -conjunction with Bugenhagius, Melanancthon, Jonas, &c. -He continued afterwards to persecute him with unrelenting -virulence, and nothing would satisfy him short of absolute -submission to his sovereign will and pontifical mandates. -His banishment ensued. He appears to have been one of the -best men among the reformers. It seems, however, that -Luther was at last convinced of his misconduct in this affair, -and obtained permission for his return from exile. See -Mosheim, IV. 30.</p> -<p><a name="footnote637"></a><a href="#citation637" -class="footnote">[637]</a> See Milner, 123.</p> -<p><a name="footnote638"></a><a href="#citation638" -class="footnote">[638]</a> See Milner, 185, 186, where the -authorities are referred to.</p> -<p><a name="footnote642"></a><a href="#citation642" -class="footnote">[642]</a> Their blindness generally -proceeded from a fallacious kind of reasoning, which is still -very common among their orthodox descendants or successors, but -which, like a two-edged sword, cuts both ways. They plead -that they are the people of God, and are in the right way, so -that their cause is the cause of God and truth, and therefore the -papists are cruel persecutors when they deprive them of their -lives or liberties. When they are reminded of having -themselves before now deprived the papists and other christian -sects of their liberties and lives, they answer, that that was -done very justly, as those sufferers were either seditious -persons or heretics, and what they did to them was in the way of -suppressing <i>sedition</i> or restraining <i>heresy</i>. -When they are told that the papists excuse and justify their own -violent proceedings against the protestants much in the same way -and with equal plausibility, they will answer, that what the -papists assert is not true. When they are further told that -the papists insist upon the truth of their allegations and the -falshood of those of the protestants, they will reply that the -papists belonging to a false church and influenced by a lying -spirit, are not to be credited, but as for them, being the people -of God and followers of the truth, their testimony ought to be -received without hesitation.—Thus their reasoning ends just -where it began—We are God’s people, and therefore our -proceedings are not to be impeached! No better reasoning -can be expected in defence of injustice and persecution.</p> -<p><a name="footnote644"></a><a href="#citation644" -class="footnote">[644]</a> Robinson’s Pref. to 3d. -vol. of Saurin, p. xii.</p> -<p><a name="footnote645"></a><a href="#citation645" -class="footnote">[645]</a> The French protestants, or -Gallic Calvinists were no less bigoted and intolerant than their -brethren elsewhere. Their ministers, in 1563, requested -that in order to prevent the propagation of heresy and monstrous -opinions, the king would be pleased to receive into his royal -protection their confession of faith tendered to him in 1561, and -the profession of it; and to provide that atheists, libertines, -anabaptists, and Servetists should be severely punished. -See Priestley’s Ecclesiastical History, 6, 135.</p> -<p><a name="footnote646"></a><a href="#citation646" -class="footnote">[646]</a> See p. <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page636">636</a></span>.</p> -<p><a name="footnote649"></a><a href="#citation649" -class="footnote">[649]</a> “He was called up to the -cardinal (Wolsey) for heresie, where he was content to subscribe -and graunte unto such articles as they propounded unto -him.” Fox A. and M. p. 1736. This happened in -1529. In 1531 he was cited before the archbishop of -Canterbury, Wareham, on fresh charges of heresy, and forced to -sign an abjuration of them—see Fox, p. 4738. The -third time he was called upon, with certain others, to give an -account of his opinions, by Henry himself, on which occasion he -escaped by an absolute submission of himself to his supreme head -in spiritual matters. His fourth and last recantation was -when he was deprived of his bishopric, and committed prisoner to -the Tower, where he lay till the end of Henry’s reign, on -suspicion of heresy, and for violating the fast and abstinence of -Good Friday.—It has been suggested that imprisonment did -not constitute the whole of his correction or chastisement on -this occasion, as Shaxton bishop of Salisbury was forced to -recant his Lutheran opinions, and carry a faggot at the burning -of four other protestants, in 1546; and it is not likely that -Henry would have been content with less from Shaxton’s -fellow prisoner, Latimer, than a solemn abjuration of his -doctrine.—See Milner, as before, page, 196.</p> -<p><a name="footnote650"></a><a href="#citation650" -class="footnote">[650]</a> See Milner, p. -196.—Latimer’s name is to the sentence of Joan of -Kent, who was burnt in 1549. See Burnet’s Hist. Ref. -part ii. b. i. rec. 35. It also appears from Collier and -Fox that he was one of the leading bishops who sat at the trial -of Lambert the martyr.—See Milner, as before.</p> -<p><a name="footnote651"></a><a href="#citation651" -class="footnote">[651]</a> See his signature to the -sentence against Van Parre; in Burnet’s H. Ref. as -before.</p> -<p><a name="footnote652a"></a><a href="#citation652a" -class="footnote">[652a]</a> See Milner, 194.</p> -<p><a name="footnote652b"></a><a href="#citation652b" -class="footnote">[652b]</a> Fox A. and M.</p> -<p><a name="footnote652c"></a><a href="#citation652c" -class="footnote">[652c]</a> Collier vol. ii. rec. 22.</p> -<p><a name="footnote653a"></a><a href="#citation653a" -class="footnote">[653a]</a> Heylin Hist. Eliz. p. 89.</p> -<p><a name="footnote653b"></a><a href="#citation653b" -class="footnote">[653b]</a> Collier vol. ii. rec. 24.</p> -<p><a name="footnote653c"></a><a href="#citation653c" -class="footnote">[653c]</a> Collier, as before.</p> -<p><a name="footnote653d"></a><a href="#citation653d" -class="footnote">[653d]</a> Burnet, Collect b. ii. n. -47.</p> -<p><a name="footnote654a"></a><a href="#citation654a" -class="footnote">[654a]</a> The royal pair were married by -Dr. Rowland Lee, in the presence of Cranmer, the duke of Norfolk, -&c. Nov. 14, 1532. Heylin Hist. Eliz. p. 89. Stow -fixes the marriage two months later, viz. Jan. 25, 1533. -Elizabeth was born September 7. 1583.</p> -<p><a name="footnote654b"></a><a href="#citation654b" -class="footnote">[654b]</a> The prevailing notion seems to -be, that Henry’s wish for a divorce arose from his -attachment to Ann Boleyn; but from a paper in the 3rd. volume of -the Harieian Miscellany it appears to be unfounded. We -learn from that paper that archbishop Warham was from the first -averse to Henry’s marriage with his brother’s widow, -but that Fox bishop of Winchester inclined Henry VII. to be for -it, as a dispensation from the pope would remove all -difficulties. It appears further that the king (Henry VII.) -afterwards thought with Warham: and the day the prince came of -age he by his father’s order protested against it as null -and void. His father also with his dying breath persisted -in charging him to break it off. The king continued to have -scruples, and at last sent Cardinal Wolsey to France to negotiate -a match between him and the duchess of Alencon about August -1527. After that Lord Rochford came over from France with -the picture of the duchess. His daughter Ann Boleyn, who -was in the duchess’ service, came over probably at the same -time; and then it was that Henry set his affection upon -her.—There can be no truth therefore in the report that she -was the cause of alienating the king’s affections from -Catherine, and his scrupling the marriage. The Cardinal -returned from France September 30, 1527; and it was not till -afterwards that the king expressed to him his attachment to Ann -Boleyn. Harl. Misc. vol. 3. p. 43.</p> -<p><a name="footnote655a"></a><a href="#citation655a" -class="footnote">[655a]</a> See letter in Burnet History -Ref. b. iii. p. 200.</p> -<p><a name="footnote655b"></a><a href="#citation655b" -class="footnote">[655b]</a> Burnet, p. 203.</p> -<p><a name="footnote655c"></a><a href="#citation655c" -class="footnote">[655c]</a> The two sentences, the one of -attainder for adultery, the other of a divorce because of -precontract, did so contradict one another, that one if not both -must be unjust. Burnet.</p> -<p><a name="footnote655d"></a><a href="#citation655d" -class="footnote">[655d]</a> Heylin, Edw. p. 28.</p> -<p><a name="footnote656a"></a><a href="#citation656a" -class="footnote">[656a]</a> Collier, vol. p. 218. -Burnet.</p> -<p><a name="footnote656b"></a><a href="#citation656b" -class="footnote">[656b]</a> See Milner’s 5th Letter -to Sturges, whence the above passages or quotations are taken, -mostly verbatim.</p> -<p><a name="footnote657a"></a><a href="#citation657a" -class="footnote">[657a]</a> Fuller says: “It cannot -be denied that he had a hand in the execution of Lambert, Frith, -and other godly martyrs,” adding that he would leave him to -sink or swim by himself where he is guilty. Ch. Hist. b. 5. -sec. 2. He elsewhere accuses Cranmer of arguing against the -aforesaid Lambert contrary to his own private judgment; and -remarks that “as the latter was burnt for denying the -corporal presence, so Cranmer himself was afterwards condemned -and died at Oxford for maintaining the same opinion,” b. 5. -sec. 6.</p> -<p><a name="footnote657b"></a><a href="#citation657b" -class="footnote">[657b]</a> She is also called Joan Butcher -and Joan of Kent—“When he (Cranmer) was on the point -of passing sentence upon her, . . . she reproached him for -passing the like sentence upon another woman, Ann Askew, for -denying the carnal presence of Christ in the sacrament; telling -him that he had condemned the said Ann Askew not long before for -a piece of bread, and was then ready to condemn her for a piece -of flesh.” Heylin, Edw. vi, p. 89.—As three -other protestants, Lassels, Otterden, and Adams were burnt with -Askew for the selfsame cause, there is every appearance that -Cranmer was as instrumental in their punishment as he was in that -of Askew. (Milner, 207.)</p> -<p><a name="footnote657c"></a><a href="#citation657c" -class="footnote">[657c]</a> See the process of their -condemnation in Burnet’s Collect. of Rec. part ii, b. 1, n. -35.</p> -<p><a name="footnote658a"></a><a href="#citation658a" -class="footnote">[658a]</a> In 1538 a special commission -was granted to Cranmer, with two other bishops and six other -persons, to try <i>summaris el de plano</i>, even though they had -not been denounced or detected, all Anabaptists, &c. and to -deliver them over to the secular arm. Collier vol. 2. sec. -46.—Within a month from the date of this commission, viz. -Nov. 24. I find two Anabaptists burnt, and four bearing -faggots. Stow.—About a year after this, by virtue of -a special commission, Cranmer with certain other bishops tried -Alexander Seaton for protestant opinions, and condemned him to -bear a faggot and recant at St. Paul’s Cross, which he did -accordingly. Collier, vol. 2 p. 184. The same year -three other Anabaptists were burnt by virtue of the former -commission. Stow—In Edward’s reign certain -chiefs (of the Gospellers and Anabaptists) were condemned April -12, 1549, before the archbishop (Cranmer), the bishop of -Westminster, and Drs. Cox, May, Cole, and Smith. Being -convicted, some of them were dismissed only with an admonition, -some sentenced to a recantation, and others condemned to bear -their faggots at St. Paul’s. Heylin, p. 73. -About the same time John Champneys of Stratford was convented -before Cranmer, Latimer, and two other doctors, at which time he -was forced to recant upon oath certain “heretical and -damnable opinions” concerning regeneration, &c. as also -to carry a faggot. In like manner John Ashton, priest, -being convented before Cranmer, abjured his heresies, &c. and -took an oath to submit to whatever penance was enjoined. -Ex. Regist. Cranm. Collier part ii. b. i, rec. 35.</p> -<p><a name="footnote658b"></a><a href="#citation658b" -class="footnote">[658b]</a> Milnes, as before, p. 208.</p> -<p><a name="footnote659a"></a><a href="#citation659a" -class="footnote">[659a]</a> Perhaps she meant no more than -that he was born free from that natural pollution or hereditary -depravity implied in the orthodox doctrine of original sin.</p> -<p><a name="footnote659b"></a><a href="#citation659b" -class="footnote">[659b]</a> Burnet, past ii p, 111, -112. Milner, p. 208, 209.</p> -<p><a name="footnote660a"></a><a href="#citation660a" -class="footnote">[660a]</a> The two first of these -retractions are without date. The third appears to have -been signed Feb. 14. The fourth is dated Feb. 16; and the -last is dated March 13. See Strype’s Mem. Ecc. vol. -iii, p. 134. Cranmer retracted his recantations and was -executed March 21.</p> -<p><a name="footnote660b"></a><a href="#citation660b" -class="footnote">[660b]</a> Milner, as before, 210.</p> -<p><a name="footnote661"></a><a href="#citation661" -class="footnote">[661]</a> Stow’s Annals, an. -1546. Milner, p. 173.</p> -<p><a name="footnote662a"></a><a href="#citation662a" -class="footnote">[662a]</a> Hist. Ref. part ii. p. 226.</p> -<p><a name="footnote662b"></a><a href="#citation662b" -class="footnote">[662b]</a> Heylin’s Hist. Ref. -Edward IV, 1550. Milner, 174.</p> -<p><a name="footnote662c"></a><a href="#citation662c" -class="footnote">[662c]</a> Strype’s Mem. Eccl. p. -440.</p> -<p><a name="footnote663a"></a><a href="#citation663a" -class="footnote">[663a]</a> Strype’s Mem. Eccl. B. -11. c. xxiii.</p> -<p><a name="footnote663b"></a><a href="#citation663b" -class="footnote">[663b]</a> Camden, Appar. ad Annal -Eliz.—Milner 175.</p> -<p><a name="footnote664"></a><a href="#citation664" -class="footnote">[664]</a> The unfavourable and ill effects -of the reformation on the manners, and morals of the people, both -at home and abroad, must be chiefly ascribed to some of the great -defects of the system—some of its most prominent features -or distinguishing doctrines, as was before suggested—such -as justification by faith without works, predestination to -perdition as well as to salvation, or election and reprobation -representing all human characters and actions (even the most -horrid crimes), as emanating or resulting from the decrees of -Heaven, or will of God—doctrines which certainly cannot be -said to be favourable to practical holiness or virtuous -living. Yet they form a main part of what has been called -<i>evangelical</i> religion ever since. As to their -licentious tendency, Luther is known to have gone very far, and -expressed himself very strongly on the above doctrine of -<i>justification</i>; even so as to speak very slightly of the -<i>Epistle of James</i>, calling it “dry, chaffy, and -unworthy the apostolic spirit,” for no other reason than -its manifest opposition to his views of this doctrine. He -probably deemed that Epistle far inferior to his own writings -when he called himself the <i>second Elias</i> and the <i>Chariot -of Israel</i>, and said in his book against the king of England, -“My ministry and calling are of that excellency that it is -in vain for princes or any persons on earth to expect submission -or forbearance from me.” Be this as it may, it is -evident, from <i>Bucer’s</i> testimony, (see p. <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page628">628</a></span>) that the -reformed converts made a great handle of that doctrine, and -considered it as excusing and encouraging their licentiousness: -and Bucer was a witness of the effects of the reformation in -England as well as on the continent.—As to those reformed -doctrines relating to the <i>Divine Decrees</i>, or -predestination to perdition as well as to salvation, and which -are commonly comprehended under the terms Election and -Reprobation, their loose and licentious tendency, must be obvious -to every unbiassed mind, seeing they place good and evil, virtue -and vice, truth and error, right and wrong, as it were upon a -level, and in effect annihilate all the distinctions between -them, making the worst as well as the best of human actions to be -agreeable to the will of God and the offspring of his eternal -counsel or purpose. Where such doctrines prevail it may be -expected that moral restraints will be soon overpowered.</p> -<p><a name="footnote668"></a><a href="#citation668" -class="footnote">[668]</a> So far they were evidently of -use, and their suppression was a real and public loss, in that -view and as things then stood.</p> -<p><a name="footnote672"></a><a href="#citation672" -class="footnote">[672]</a> In the days of Wickliff, and for -a good while after, there was among the common people a spirit of -revolt against papal tyranny and corruption; but that spirit had -been suppressed and extinguished before Henry had begun his work -of reformation. Between his work and that of Wickliff there -was a wide and striking difference—the former originated -with the court, the latter with some thinking men at Oxford; the -former was carried on by royal caprice, orders of council, and -acts of parliament, the latter by the diligent and persevering -exertions and eloquence of private individuals of integrity and -learning, who were convinced of its importance, and who travelled -on foot about the country to instruct and enlighten the people, -in order to improve their manners, their morals and their -religious principles.</p> -<p><a name="footnote673"></a><a href="#citation673" -class="footnote">[673]</a> This might be the reason why so -many places of worship besides the convents, and which had no -connection with them, were here laid by and demolished at that -time—such as the church or chapel of St. James, those of -St. John, and of St. Catherine, &c. the demolition of which, -except for the reason now suggested, must appear exceedingly -unaccountable.—As to the church or chapel of <i>St. -Catherine</i>, of whose site the author expressed much -uncertainty at p. 559, he now begs leave to inform the reader -that he has been since led to conclude, from some old MSS. that -it stood in that small field without the East gate, on the left -hand as we go out of the town, and which is now enclosed from the -road by a brick wall. It appears that it retained the name -of <i>St. Catherine’s ground</i> long after the church had -disappeared.</p> -<p><a name="footnote674"></a><a href="#citation674" -class="footnote">[674]</a> Many of them could hardly read; -and as to preaching, it was what few of them were capable -of. To supply that deficiency the <i>Book of Homilies</i> -was provided, and the reading of those homilies, for a while, -appears to have supplied the place of preaching. But the -plan was ill calculated to instruct and enlighten the common -people, though it might be of use to their superiors.</p> -<p><a name="footnote675a"></a><a href="#citation675a" -class="footnote">[675a]</a> Hist. Ref. 1. 317.</p> -<p><a name="footnote675b"></a><a href="#citation675b" -class="footnote">[675b]</a> Hist. Ref. as before.</p> -<p><a name="footnote676"></a><a href="#citation676" -class="footnote">[676]</a> Burnet Hist. Ref. as before.</p> -<p><a name="footnote678"></a><a href="#citation678" -class="footnote">[678]</a> Of the prodigious popularity and -reputation of the friars, see above at page 495.</p> -<p><a name="footnote680"></a><a href="#citation680" -class="footnote">[680]</a> The following is thought a -pretty correct statement of the numbers of worshipers that might -be accommodated in each and all our present places of -worship—In <i>St. Margaret’s</i> church; 1322; in -<i>St. Nicholas’</i> chapel 1066; in <i>All Saints</i>, or -South Lynn church, 388: in the <i>Methodist chapel</i>, 500; in -the <i>Independent chapel</i> 450; in the <i>Baptist chapel</i> -500; and in that of the Friends or Quakers 100.—Thus all -the churches might admit 2776; and all the Dissenting chapels -about 1500, or 1550—in all 4326. But it is well known -that the number of those that do actually attend falls greatly -short of 4326, and we may very safely venture to affirm that they -do not exceed 3000: so that there must be here between 7 and 8000 -people whose minds are strangers to religious impressions, and -whose conduct is very little regulated or affected by any sound -moral principles. Would it not therefore be very desirable -to increase among us the means of religious and moral -instruction? Some more new chapels, under proper direction, -might prove of no small benefit to the town, and help to bring -from darkness to light another third part of its -population. This hint deserves consideration.</p> -<p><a name="footnote682"></a><a href="#citation682" -class="footnote">[682]</a> For an account of the Lynn -Gilds, see above, Part iii. ch. v. p. 403.</p> -<p><a name="footnote684a"></a><a href="#citation684a" -class="footnote">[684a]</a> Thus in the old ballad of Truth -and Ignorance, the latter, who is represented as a rustic, -says,</p> -<blockquote><p>Che’ll tell thee what, good fellowe,<br /> - Before the vriars went hence,<br -/> -A bushel of the best wheate,<br /> - Was zold for vourteen pence:</p> -<p>And vorty egges a penny,<br /> - That were both good and newe;<br -/> -And this, che say, myselfe have seen,<br /> - And yet I am no Jewe.</p> -<p style="text-align: right">(Andrews, 2. 282.)</p> -</blockquote> -<p>These lines were quoted before imperfectly. They are now -given correctly in the original orthography.</p> -<p><a name="footnote684b"></a><a href="#citation684b" -class="footnote">[684b]</a> We allude principally to the -<i>poor-rates</i> and <i>paving-tax</i>, which are certainly most -severely felt, and likely to be still more so. The former -by frugal and wise management might, doubtless, be greatly -reduced, without any material detriment to the poor: and the -latter ought never to have existed till the times proved more -favourable. When the project was brought forward it was -firmly opposed by a large body of the householders: but it was -carried against them, very wrongfully. They were told that -the work would be completed at the expence of about -13,000<i>l.</i> and it has already far exceeded, if not doubled, -that sum: yet the work is not finished. Thousands have been -lavished, merely to suit the convenience, or gratify the caprice -of a few opulent families, without being of the least use or -benefit to the town at large; which must have been exceedingly -disingenuous and dishonourable. So great was the liberality -which the paviers experienced at Lynn, that they are reported to -be satisfied to do their work at Norwich and Yarmouth, 25 per -cent. under what they had here.—In short, the managers, or -rather the mis-managers of this concern, went on lavishly and -blunderingly, till they could go no further. They were -aground for sometime this last autumn, and had probably remained -so over the winter, and the summer too, and thrown the whole town -into the utmost confusion, but for the timely assistance of a -certain individual, who on this critical occasion stood in the -place and acted the part of that good man noticed in holy writ, -who by his wisdom <i>delivered the city</i>. Eccl. ix. -15.</p> -<p><a name="footnote687"></a><a href="#citation687" -class="footnote">[687]</a> See Martin’s History of -Thetford chap. xiii. p. 170.</p> -<p><a name="footnote688"></a><a href="#citation688" -class="footnote">[688]</a> The Surrenders seem to have been -all much of the same cast and tenor, and so were probably the -<i>confessions</i> which accompanied them, a copy of one of these -is given by Burnet, and is as follows—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Forasmuch as we <i>Richard Green</i>, abbot -of our monastery of our blessed lady St. Mary of Betlesden, and -the convent of the said monastery, do profoundly consider, that -the whole manner and trade of living, which we and our pretensed -religion have practised and used many days, does most principally -consist in certain dumb ceremonies, and other certain -constitutions of the bishops of Rome, and other forinsecal -potentates, as the abbot of <i>Cistins</i>, and therein only -noseled and not taught in the true knowledge of God’s laws, -procuring always exemptions of the bishops of Rome from our -ordinaries and diocesans: submitting ourselves principally to -forinsecal potentates and powers, which never came here to reform -such disorders of living and abases as now have been found to -have reigned amongst us. And therefore now assuredly -knowing, that the most perfect way of living is most principally -and sufficiently declared unto us by our Master Christ, his -Evangelists and Apostles, and that it is most expedient for us to -be governed and ordered by our supreme Head, under God, the -king’s most noble Grace, with our mutual assent and -consent, submit ourselves and every one of us, to the most benign -mercy of the king’s majesty; and by these presents do -surrender &c.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>The Surrender follows in common form, Signed by the abbot, -subprior, and nine monks, 15th Sept. 30th year of that -reign.—From these samples one may from an idea of the -tenour of the surrenders and confessions which went from -Lyon. See Burnet, vol. I. Col. rec. p. 150.</p> -<p><a name="footnote689"></a><a href="#citation689" -class="footnote">[689]</a> There were then dissolved 645 -monasteries, 90 Colleges, 2374 Chauntrys, and 110 -hospitals. The yearly revenue of the whole amounted then to -161,100<i>l.</i> a sum equal perhaps, to 3 or 4 millions of our -money, which must be far less than the present ecclesiastical -revenue of England and Ireland. From a part of the above -fund the universities were indulged with some additional colleges -and professorships; and six new bishoprics were erected. An -immense sum too accrued to the king from the furniture, clocks, -bells, lead, &c. of these edifices; and even from bullion, -5000 marks of which were found in one abbey. See Andrews, -2. 282.</p> -<p><a name="footnote699"></a><a href="#citation699" -class="footnote">[699]</a> These have long been deemed here -among the <i>chief of sinners</i>, as tippling and other vices -are supposed to have abounded through their patronage or -connivance.</p> -<p><a name="footnote702a"></a><a href="#citation702a" -class="footnote">[702a]</a> Mr. Man was minister of South -Lynn till 1646, when he was succeeded by the worthy and learned -<i>John Horne</i>, who was not likely to restrain his -parishioners from eating meat in <i>Lent</i>, or require the sick -to take out licences on that occasion. Of this memorable -person we shall have occasion to say more hereafter.</p> -<p><a name="footnote702b"></a><a href="#citation702b" -class="footnote">[702b]</a> This Thomas Lilly was a -respectable ancestor of our present representative in parliament, -Sir Martin Browne Folkes, and original proprietor, it is -supposed, of that gentleman’s valuable possessions in South -Lynn. His daughter and sole heiress married Sir William -Hovel of Hillington, and was grandmother of Martin Folkes -Esquire, president of the Royal Society, and of William Folkes -Esquire, the father of Sir Martin.</p> -<p><a name="footnote704"></a><a href="#citation704" -class="footnote">[704]</a> Those <i>Licences and -Dispensations</i> seem to have been no longer at the disposal or -option of the parish ministers, for there was an <i>office</i> in -London opened expressly for that purpose, as we find by an -advertisement which appeared in the said <i>Mercurius -Publicus</i> of Feb. 26. 1662, and the two following weeks, and -which was expressed as follows—“An -advertisement—The <i>Faculties Office</i> for granting -Licenses (by Act of Parliament) to eat flesh in any part of -England, is still kept at Paul’s-Chain, near St. -Paul’s Church-yard.” The present writer cannot -find when this notable office was first opened, or how long it -existed, but thinks it not very likely that it was laid by, or -shut up before the revolution.</p> -<p><a name="footnote712"></a><a href="#citation712" -class="footnote">[712]</a> This is said to have been -remarkably the case in a certain excursion which her majesty made -to <i>Coventry</i>. The mayor, recorder, and corporation -met her on the road at some distance from the city, with what -they deemed an appropriate or suitable address. -<i>Versifying</i> being then much in vogue, and the queen herself -rather fond of such compositions, they had their address drawn up -in that way, which the recorder read before it was presented to -her majesty. It was but short, and said to run thus,</p> -<blockquote><p>“We men of Coventry, are very glad to -see,<br /> -Your gracious majesty. Good Lord, how fair you -be!”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Which drew from her immediately the following, not very -gracious answer.</p> -<blockquote><p>“My gracious majesty, is very glad to -see,<br /> -You men of Coventry: Good Lord! what fools ye be!”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Loyalty abounded then, it seems, at Coventry, not only among -the members of the corporation, but also among those of the -cathedral.</p> -<p>Accordingly, on the following Sunday, <i>Mr. Thomas Boyce</i>, -the clerk of the cathedral, had a hymn composed on purpose to -celebrate this royal visit, and do honour to his sovereign, which -he thus gave out, just as the queen was entering the -church—“Let us sing to the praise and glory of God, a -hymn of my own composing—</p> -<blockquote><p>Re—joice Tom Boyce, re—joice,<br /> - And echo Coven—try,<br /> -For that our gracious queen is come<br /> - To see poor we, we, we!”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>One would fain hope that wisdom is not at quite so low an ebb -at this time, in any of our corporations or cathedrals as it -seems to have been then at Coventry.</p> -<p><a name="footnote715"></a><a href="#citation715" -class="footnote">[715]</a> Each of our Convents is supposed -to have been furnished with a library. But what became of -those libraries after the dissolution does not appear. They -were probably destroyed: for we learn that although <i>Leland</i> -was employed to survey the libraries throughout the kingdom, and -preserve the choicest books, yet <i>Bale</i> says that those who -got possession of the religious houses at the dissolution of -them, generally took possession also of the libraries, reserving -the books, some to serve their jakes, some to scour their -candlesticks, and some to rub their boots with: some they sold to -the grocers and soap boilers, and some they sent over sea to the -bookbinders, not in small quantities, but at times whole -shipfulls, to the great wondering of foreign -nations.—“A merchant (he says) bought the contents of -two noble libraries for 40<i>s.</i> a-piece. This stuff he -used for more than ten years instead of grey paper to wrap up his -goods with, and yet he hath enough remaining for many years to -come.” (See Seward’s An. vol. 1. 49.) All -this discovers some strange mismanagement on the part of the -government.</p> -<p><a name="footnote717"></a><a href="#citation717" -class="footnote">[717]</a> This Fort is a platform battery, -mounted with ten eighteen pounders, planted here in 1627; but -having no defensive cover, could be of little use if the town -were attacked from the river side. Of such an attack, -however, Lynn could never be in much danger; the difficulty of -approach that way by men of war, forming its best security.</p> -<p><a name="footnote720"></a><a href="#citation720" -class="footnote">[720]</a> We are told that there is a copy -of Paramo’s book now in Dr. Williams’s library in -Red-Cross Street, London, and a most extraordinary production it -appears to be. It was undertaken under the patronage of -<i>Don Gaspar de Quiroga</i>, then abp. of Toledo, and Inquitor -general, and first printed at Madrid in 1614.—It begins by -proving <i>God</i> himself to have been the <i>first</i> -inquisitor—He convicts Adam and Eve of pertinacious heresy, -infidelity, apostacy, and blasphemy. God cited Adam, -otherwise the process would have been null. On Adam’s -appearance, He enquired, that is, made <i>inquisition</i> into -the crime. The man accused his <i>wife</i>, then the judge -questioned her: He did not examine the <i>Serpent</i>, because of -his obstinacy.—The examinations were secret and separate, -that there might be no collusive lying. He calls no -witness; the inquisitor overlooks the reason, that there were -none to call, and affirms that conscience and confession are a -thousand witnesses, and save the judge all the trouble, except -that of condemning. The whole was done secretly, that it -might be a precedent for the holy office; and so closely does -this holy office observe the precedent, that they make the dress -of penitent offenders after the very pattern of the clothes which -God made for Adam and Eve, and confiscate all the property of a -heretic, because Adam and Eve were turned out of -paradise.—The author further maintains, that <i>Abraham</i> -was an inquisitor, and <i>Sarah</i> likewise; for she turned -<i>Ishmael</i> out of doors for <i>idolatry</i>. In this -manner he goes on through the Pentateuch, and the books of Joshua -and Judges, finding inquisitors all the way -through.—<i>David</i> was a staunch inquisitor. -<i>Zimri</i>, who slew his master, was of the holy office: so was -<i>Elijah</i>. <i>Elisha</i> and <i>Jehu</i> also are among -the heroes of persecution; and <i>Nebuchadnezzar</i> most -unexpectedly proves to be an inquisitor also.—Under the -Gospel, <i>Christ</i> was the first inquisitor: the lice, which -devoured Herod, and the rulers who spoiled the Jews, only -executed the sentences of death and confiscation which he had -pronounced. <i>James</i> and <i>John</i>, who proposed to -have the Samaritan heretics destroyed by fire, were inquisitors, -of course. Then follow the <i>apostles</i>, and after them -the <i>popes</i>. &c. Thus the divine origin and -authority of the horrid inquisition is proved from -scripture—and proved as plainly and conclusively too, as -many venerated religious tenets and usages are now every day -proved by some of our most renowned protestant writers:—for -instance the precious contents of the athanasian creed, the -popular rite of infant sprinkling, and the whole ceremony of what -is called christening. The scriptures seem no less violated -or abused, in being brought to support these, than they are in -being brought to support the inquisition. Let us therefore -not be too severe on Luiz de Paramo for writing such book as that -here noticed.</p> -<p><a name="footnote723a"></a><a href="#citation723a" -class="footnote">[723a]</a> Mackerel says that she was -<i>hanged</i>; but the above account is supposed to be the most -correct. See Mackerel 233. and Tour of Norfolk, last edit. -253.</p> -<p><a name="footnote723b"></a><a href="#citation723b" -class="footnote">[723b]</a> That notable book the present -writer has never happened to meet with, or he might, perhaps, -have been able to throw some further light upon this dark and -doleful transaction.</p> -<p><a name="footnote727"></a><a href="#citation727" -class="footnote">[727]</a> See Granger’s Biographical -History, 2. 409.—Hopkins appears to have wrote and -published an account of his own exploits in the way of his -vacation; but the present writer has not met with it.</p> -<p><a name="footnote732"></a><a href="#citation732" -class="footnote">[732]</a> The distinction between some of -those, as pointed out sometimes by our law writers and others, is -not a little curious: <i>conjurers</i> are said to differ from -<i>witches</i> and <i>wizards</i>, in that the former endeavour -by prayers and invocations to compel the devil to say or do what -they command him; whereas the latter deal rather by friendly and -voluntary conference with the devil, or familiar, to have their -wishes obtained in lieu of <i>blood</i>, or other gift -offered. Both conjuration and witchcraft differ from -enchantment or sorcery. The sorcerer is supposed to have -personal conferences with the devil, and by the use of certain -superstitious words and incantations, or by means of images, is -said to produce strange and preternatural effects.—All -these false and wild notions must have originated from knavery -and imposture, on the one hand, and credulity and superstition on -the other. <i>Juggling</i>, or notable skill in the arts of -dexterity might promote the imposture; but as to infernal agency, -it will not be very wise and safe to give any credit to that part -of the story.</p> -<p><a name="footnote734a"></a><a href="#citation734a" -class="footnote">[734a]</a> Andrews 2. 46.</p> -<p><a name="footnote734b"></a><a href="#citation734b" -class="footnote">[734b]</a> He was probably superior to the -generality of his brethren, and therefore became suspected of -being in league with Satan and the infernal powers, according to -the curious and absurd notions which then prevailed.</p> -<p><a name="footnote736a"></a><a href="#citation736a" -class="footnote">[736a]</a> The author did not advert to -the date of this law, when the last sheet was printed, or he -would have said <i>seventy or eighty</i>, instead of <i>sixty or -seventy years</i>, in page <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page725">725</a></span>.</p> -<p><a name="footnote736b"></a><a href="#citation736b" -class="footnote">[736b]</a> Blackstone, iv. 61.—It is -somewhat remarkable that <i>France</i> set us the example of -prohibiting those bloody prosecutions for witchcraft, even in the -reign of Lewis xiv. who thought proper by an edict, to restrain -the tribunals of justice from receiving informations of -witchcraft. It was right certainly to follow Lewis xiv, and -the French in this instance; but one could have wished we had set -the example to them, and not they to us.</p> -<p><a name="footnote737"></a><a href="#citation737" -class="footnote">[737]</a> And if such was not always the -case, they must, in those exceptions, have proceeded from extreme -ignorance, or self delusion, as is the case also with many -religious visionaries, who pretend to extraordinary gifts and -divine revelations. In either case, therefore, it must have -been extremely hard and cruel to take their confessions as any -evidence of their reputed or supposed guilt, or proof that they -had actually made a contract with the devil, and had been endued -by him with extraordinary knowledge and miraculous powers.</p> -<p><a name="footnote739"></a><a href="#citation739" -class="footnote">[739]</a> See Encyl. Brit. vol. 18. under -<i>Witchcraft</i>.—The above sketch may suffice to give the -uninformed reader an idea of what is called witchcraft; of the -existence of which the present writer has expressed his -disbelief. He is aware, however, that the word is used in -our translation of the scriptures, but thinks it there -<i>misused</i>, and applied to a different matter from what our -language meant by that term.</p> -<p><a name="footnote740"></a><a href="#citation740" -class="footnote">[740]</a> Even such men as <i>Henry -More</i> and <i>Dr. Cudworth</i> could brand as <i>atheists</i> -those who denied or doubted the reality of witchcraft.</p> -<p><a name="footnote742"></a><a href="#citation742" -class="footnote">[742]</a> See Encycl. Brit. as before; -where other matters relating to this vile subject, and equally -disgusting, are related. The above statement reflects no -honour on the memory of our ancestors. But that we are -better, or less brutal and savage than they cannot be proved from -our Indian history, our American War, our blowing up the Spanish -frigates, our sacking and burning Copenhagen, or the recent -cruelties exercised in Ireland.</p> -<p><a name="footnote744"></a><a href="#citation744" -class="footnote">[744]</a> The circumstances which led, as -it is said, to this trial, being not a little remarkable, may be -here related for the reader’s edification.</p> -<blockquote><p>“Lord chief justice Holt, who had been wild -in his youth, was once out with some of his raking companions on -a journey into the country. Having spent all their money it -was resolved that they should part company and try their fortune -separately. Holt got to an inn at the end of a straggling -village, and putting a good face on the matter, ordered his horse -to be well taken care of, called for a room, bespoke a supper, -and looked after his bed. He then strolled into the -kitchen, where he saw a lass about thirteen years old shivering -with an ague; he inquired of his landlady, a widow, who the girl -was, and how long she had been ill. The good woman told him -that she was her daughter, an only child, and had been ill near a -year, notwithstanding all the assistance she could procure from -physic, at an expence which almost ruined her. He shook his -head at the doctors, and bade the landlady be under no further -concern, for that her daughter should never have another -fit. He then wrote a few unintelligible words in court hand -on a scrap of parchment which had been the directions to a -hamper, and rolling it up, ordered that it should be bound upon -the girl’s wrist, and remain there till she was well. -As it happened the ague returned no more; and Holt, having -continued there a week, now called for his bill, with as much -courage as if his pockets had been filled with gold. -‘Ah! God bless you,’ said the landlady, ‘you -are nothing in my debt, I’m sure; I wish I was able to pay -you for the cure you have performed upon my daughter; and if I -had had the happiness to see you ten months ago, it would have -saved me forty pounds in my pocket.’ Holt, after some -altercation, accepted of his week’s accommodation as a -gratuity, and rode away. It happened that many year’s -afterwards, when he was lord chief justice of the king’s -bench, he went a circuit into the same county; and among other -criminals whom he had to try, there was an old woman who was -charged with witchcraft: to support this charge several witnesses -swore that she had a spell with which she could either cure such -cattle as were sick, or destroy those that were well: in the use -of this spell they said she had been lately detected, and it -having been seized upon her, was ready to be produced in court: -the judge then desired it might be handed up to him: it appeared -to be a dirty ball, covered with rags and bound many times round -with pack-thread: these coverings he removed with great -deliberation, one after another, and at last found a piece of -parchment, which he knew to be the same that he had used as an -expedient to supply his want of money. At the recollection -of this incident he changed colour, and sat silent: at length, -recollecting himself, he addressed the jury to this effect: -‘Gentlemen, I must now relate a particular of my life, -which very ill suits my present character, and the station in -which I now sit: but to conceal it would be to aggravate the -folly for which I ought to atone, to endanger innocence, and -countenance superstition: this bauble, which you suppose to have -the power of life and death, is a senseless scrawl which I wrote -with my own hand and gave the woman, whom, for no other cause, -you accuse for a witch.’ He then related the -particular circumstances of the transaction, and expatiated on -the evil of such prosecutions: and it had such an effect upon the -minds of the people, who now blushed at the folly and the cruelty -of their zeal, that the poor woman was acquitted, and was the -last that ever was tried for witchcraft in that county, and, as -some say, in this kingdom.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>This anecdote is related in the Brit. Biogr. vol. 7. and more -at large in some other biographical works.</p> -<p><a name="footnote747a"></a><a href="#citation747a" -class="footnote">[747a]</a> See Beauties of Engl. Vol. -7.</p> -<p><a name="footnote747b"></a><a href="#citation747b" -class="footnote">[747b]</a> The above trial before lord -chief justice Holt, is said to have been the last, but its date -we cannot discover.</p> -<p><a name="footnote749"></a><a href="#citation749" -class="footnote">[749]</a> The cart was overturned on the -5th of May, 1808. On the following Sunday Evening, the 8th -of the same month, as the minister of the parish informs us, -“a considerable number of people assembled together, as it -grew dark, and taking with them the young women ridiculously -supposed to be bewitched, about ten o’clock proceeded to -the house of <i>Wright Izzard</i>, which stands alone at some -distance from the body of the village. When they arrived at -this solitary spot, so favourable for the execution of their -villanous designs, they broke into the poor man’s house, -dragged his wife out of bed, and threw her naked into the yard; -where her arms were torn with pins, her head was dabbed against -the large stones of the causeway—and her face, stomach, and -breast were severely bruised with a thick stick that served as a -bar to the door. Having thus satisfied themselves, the mob -dispersed. The woman then crawled into her house, put on -her clothes and went to the constable, who said, he could not -protect her, because he was not sworn.” The humanity, -protection, and assistance which she could not find at the -constable’s very happily for herself she found under the -roof of a poor widow; who unlocked her door at the first call, -wrapped up her neighbour’s bleeding arms with the nicest -linen rags she had, affectionately sympathized with and comforted -her, and gave her a bed. But, horrible to relate! the -compassion and kindness of this poor woman, were the means of -shortening her days. “The protectors of a witch are -just as bad as the witch, and deserve the same treatment!” -cried the infatuated and savage populace, the next morning. -This so affected and terrified the poor companionate widow that -she actually died soon after.—The next evening, that of -Monday the 9th of May, Ann Izzard was a second time dragged out -of her house, when her arms were again torn with pins till they -streamed afresh with blood. Alive the next morning, and -apparently likely to survive this attack also, her enemies -resolved to have her <i>ducked</i>, as soon as the labour of the -day was over. On hearing this, she hastily quitted her -home, and took refuge in the house of the minister of the parish; -where the vile wretches durst not follow her.—The worthy -clergyman, for taking her part, and becoming her protector, lost -the good opinion, and incurred the detestation of a great part of -his parishioners; and if he and his friends had not had recourse -to the strong arm of the law it is impossible to say where the -madness would have ended.—See Preface to a sermon against -Witchcraft, preached in the parish church of Great Paxton, July -17. 1808. By the rev. J. <i>Nicholson</i>, curate of that -parish.</p> -<p><a name="footnote751"></a><a href="#citation751" -class="footnote">[751]</a> Of these occurrences, one -relates to a certain farmer, not far off, with his neighbours, -and a <i>cunning man</i> whom he went to consult on an -interesting occasion.—It was intended to relate it somewhat -circumstantially, as it proves the general belief in Witchcraft -which still prevails among our country people: but for certain -reasons, needless here to mention, we refrain for the -present.—Another of those occurrences appertains to the -<i>town</i>, and to such of its inhabitants who profess to think -most freely for themselves, and to search most diligently after -truth.—How little these good people have yet got beyond -their blind and boorish country neighbours in some important -points of doctrine, and how unlikely they are at present ever to -make much progress in scriptural or religious knowledge, will -appear from the mighty offence or alarm which many of them are -said to have taken at a late attempt of one of their ministers to -correct some of their absurd and stupid notions relating to the -<i>devil</i>. Among these devout alarmists, or rather at -their head, are said to be the revd. S. N. and the revd. I. A. -two gentlemen of about equal respectability, as well as equal -profoundness of understanding. But why need we to wonder at -any thing of the kind at Lynn?—it is not very long ago -since some of these very people took upon them to pronounce a -certain case of <i>insanity</i> to be verily a case of -<i>diabolical possession</i>: and as they thought the demon to be -of that kind that would not go out but by <i>prayer</i> and -<i>fasting</i>, they actually kept praying and fasting meetings -for the express purpose of dislodging the foul fiend!—But -these follies may, perhaps, be more properly castigated when we -come to exhibit the <i>present state</i> of the town. We -will therefore defer, till then, the final execution of the -business. But it is really most disgusting to think, after -the millions this nation pays annually to its moral and religious -instructors, how ignorant the greatest part of the people still -are. Most of these instructors must either be ignorant -themselves, or desirous that the people should continue so. -In either case, it is a shameful consideration.—With -<i>ten</i> or <i>twelve thousand</i> pastors of our national -church, and two rich and famous universities, nurseries of new -pastors, all maintained at an annual expense, perhaps, of no less -than <i>ten millions sterling</i>: (not to mention the numerous -pastors and teachers belonging to all our other sects, maintained -also at <i>no small</i> expense,)—with all these, we will -venture to say, our country ought to be much better taught, and -in a far more enlightened state than it now is. But while -our pastors and teachers are either too ignorant to enlighten the -people, or influenced by hypocrisy, fear, or worldly policy, so -as to be loth to disturb the minds or offend their bigoted -hearers, by attacking their favourite errors and endeavouring to -undeceive them, there seems but little chance of our ever getting -much further informed or enlightened.</p> -<p><a name="footnote759a"></a><a href="#citation759a" -class="footnote">[759a]</a> It was a perfect Helter -Skelter, no doubt; but it was well it passed so harmlessly.</p> -<p><a name="footnote759b"></a><a href="#citation759b" -class="footnote">[759b]</a> In the same MS. it is added, -that “a night or two before the surrender, most of the -powder and shott were conveyed away by some of the -town”—It was well, the commissioners of the besieging -army, at the ensuing treaty, did not know of this, or they would -probably have imposed upon the town much harder terms.</p> -<p><a name="footnote760a"></a><a href="#citation760a" -class="footnote">[760a]</a> Rushworth.</p> -<p><a name="footnote760b"></a><a href="#citation760b" -class="footnote">[760b]</a> Page 182.</p> -<p><a name="footnote762a"></a><a href="#citation762a" -class="footnote">[762a]</a> Those sufferings, as to <i>loss -of lives</i>, seem to have been inconsiderable: even during the -siege we hear of but <i>four</i> of the townsmen <i>killed</i>, -and a <i>few wounded</i>. They made not many -<i>sallies</i>, nor did they wait till the town was -<i>stormed</i>, or the case might have been very different. -We have seen no account of the loss of the <i>besiegers</i>.</p> -<p><a name="footnote762b"></a><a href="#citation762b" -class="footnote">[762b]</a> We do not presume that our list -is yet complete: many more murders for what was called -<i>witchcraft</i>, were probably committed here than we know -of.</p> -<p><a name="footnote764"></a><a href="#citation764" -class="footnote">[764]</a> Near two years after the above -visit from Cromwell, <i>Sir Thomas Fairfax</i> appears to have -visited this town: accordingly the following memorial of it -stands in the town books—“Feb. 17, (1644,5.) ordered -that Mr. Basset, chamberlain, shall pay for the Sack and Sugar at -the entertainment of Sir Tho. Fairfax to this Towne.”</p> -<p><a name="footnote765a"></a><a href="#citation765a" -class="footnote">[765a]</a> His name is differently -spelt.</p> -<p><a name="footnote765b"></a><a href="#citation765b" -class="footnote">[765b]</a> This plainly shews it had been -previously customary to allow the members so much per diem, or -appoint them daily wages while they attended their duty in -parliament: and it was no doubt very right and proper, though it -has been long ago discontinued.</p> -<p><a name="footnote765c"></a><a href="#citation765c" -class="footnote">[765c]</a> The mayor and corporation had -before, it seems, taken upon themselves to send whom they pleased -to parliament, without allowing the freemen at large to have any -voice on the occasion. But the members sent to that -parliament appear to have been chosen by the freemen at large: -and they were <i>the first ever so chosen here</i>; as we learn -from one of the old MSS.</p> -<p><a name="footnote766"></a><a href="#citation766" -class="footnote">[766]</a> It seems by this, that the -members had been used to receive their pay at the <i>close</i> of -each session, and not before.</p> -<p><a name="footnote767"></a><a href="#citation767" -class="footnote">[767]</a> They had also, about two months -before, lent the parliament 100<i>l.</i> out of the -<i>town-stock</i>, as appears from the town records.</p> -<p><a name="footnote768"></a><a href="#citation768" -class="footnote">[768]</a> The celebrated and patriotic -<i>Andrew Marvell</i>, member for <i>Hull</i>, who died in 1678, -is said to have been the last who received an allowance from his -constituents for his parliamentary services.</p> -<p><a name="footnote769"></a><a href="#citation769" -class="footnote">[769]</a> Presuming that a view of some of -the principal documents on which the above statement is founded -may prove acceptable and satisfactory to the reader, the author -takes the liberty of introducing them here from a MS. Volume of -extracts from the town-books, in the handwriting of one of the -former aldermen, whence some of the preceding quotations have -also been drawn.—With regard to the <i>short</i> parliament -of 1640 we meet in this MS. the following Note—</p> -<blockquote><p>“March 13. (1639, 40.) This day Mr -Mayor, (Thomas Toll Esq) brought in and caused to be openly read -in the House a Warrant or precept directed to him from Thomas -Windham Esq. High Sheriffe of this county of Norfolk, to elect -and choose according to Law two Burgesses for this Burgh to serve -in the parliament summon’d to be holden at Westminster on -the 13th April next coming: and Mr. <i>Mayor</i>, the -<i>Aldermen</i> and <i>Common Councell</i> have now accordingly -chosen Mr. Doughty and Mr. Gurlyn, two Aldermen of the said -burgh, to be burgesses to serve in the said parliament for this -borough; and have agreed that Indentures shall be presently made -and sealed according to law between the High Sherife and the said -Electors: and yt is farther ordered and agreed, that the said two -Burgesses, during their service in the said parliament, shall -have payd and allowed them, by the town, for their wages, five -shillings a day apiece. (Wm. Doughty and Th. Gurlyn were -the eldest Aldermen.”)</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Of the election for the ensuing, or long parliament the -following notice occurs—</p> -<blockquote><p>“1640, October, 12th. This day two -Letters were by Mr. Mayor (Wm. Doughty Esq.) offered and read in -the House, the one sent to the mayor, Aldermen, and burgesses, by -the Earle of Arundell, Lord Gridall, the other to Mr. Mayor -himselfe, the effect of both Lrs. being to elect a burgess to -serve in the next insuing parliament, Contain[ing] whom his -lordship hath nominated in his said Letter, and that it is -unanimously agreed by this House, that they will choose no other -burgesses to serve in parliament but only such as are resident -and inhabitants within the Corporation.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>In this instance the Corporation discovered what may be called -a dignified and independent spirit; and what was no less to their -credit, they also discovered a regard for rectitude and equity, -in allowing the freemen at large, as was before hinted, to have a -voice now, for the very <i>first time</i>, in the election of -their representatives. Of the parliaments of 1653, 1654, -and 1656 we have spoken already: Of that of 1658, or rather 1659, -we have the following notice in the same book—</p> -<blockquote><p>“December 31. (1658.) This day Mr. -Mayor (Henry Bell) brought into this house a precept to him -directed, from John Hedley Esq. Sherife of Norfolk for election -of two burgesses to serve in the next parliament, to be holden -upon the 27th. January next, for this burrough of King’s -Lynn, which was read in this House, and it is thereupon ordered -that the election of the said burgesses to sitt in parliament be -made <i>in this House by the members of this House according to -the antient custome</i>, on the 3rd January next, and that -publication and warning thereof be made, to the end all persons -concerned in the same election may take notice -thereof.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Four days after, the following note occurs, relating to the -same election—</p> -<blockquote><p>“January 3rd. Whereas severall -burgesses of this burrough, <i>of the commons at large</i>, have -made their requests to this House, that they might be admitted to -join with this House in the election of burgesses to sitt in the -next parliament, it is ordered that the resolves of the Committee -of Priviledges of the last parliament, and the Parliament’s -orders thereon concerning elections be first read to -them.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Then it is added—</p> -<blockquote><p>“This day upon further debate, it being -adjudged by this House that the right of election of the -burgesses is at present in this House, according to the aforesaid -order, it is therefore ordered that this House doe proceed to an -election accordingly: and that in case the Commons at large shall -after such election persist in their desires to have the Precept -for the elections of burgesses to be read unto them, that the -same be read unto them accordingly, for their -satisfaction.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Then it is added in another paragraph, as before—</p> -<blockquote><p>“This day the Mayor, Aldermen, and common -Councel have elected and chosen Mr. Th. Toll, one of the aldermen -of this burrough and Capt. Griffith Loyd to be burgesses for this -burrough in the next parliament to be holden the 27th -instant.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Next after this we read as follows—</p> -<blockquote><p>“January 5th. This day by order of -this House the Common Seal is taken out of the Treasury and -affixed unto ane Indenture for the election of Mr. Alderman Toll -and Capt. Griffith Loyd to be burgesses in the next parliament -for this Burrough of King’s Lynn.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Thus the affair then ended, and the freemen at large were -excluded from any share or concern in the election.</p> -<p><a name="footnote774a"></a><a href="#citation774a" -class="footnote">[774a]</a> We accordingly find the -following items in one of the Church books within the first year -after the siege—</p> -<table> -<tr> -<td colspan="2"><p><i>Received by virtue of severall warrants -from Mr. John May maior</i>.—1644,</p> -</td> -<td colspan="3"></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>July 13</p> -</td> -<td><p>Of I. Hinderson, ostler, for an oath sweareing in Mr. -mayor’s hearing</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">00<i>l.</i></p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">01<i>s.</i></p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">00<i>d.</i></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Dec. 23.</p> -</td> -<td><p>Of Mihill Turner, alehousekeeper, for suffering tippling -in his house</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">00.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">10.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">00.</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Dec. 24.</p> -</td> -<td><p>Of John Say, alehousekeeper, levied for the same -offence</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">00.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">10.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">00.</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Mar. 6.</p> -</td> -<td><p>Of John Pratt, dier, for tippleing in the said John Saves -house</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">00.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">03.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">04.</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Mar. 7.</p> -</td> -<td><p>Of Margarett Freeman, alehousekeeper, for suffering -tipling in her house</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">00.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">10.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">00.</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Mar. 15.</p> -</td> -<td><p>Of Phillip Murrell for loytring in time of church service -on a Lords Day</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">00.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">05.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">00.</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Mar. 16.</p> -</td> -<td><p>Of Richard Porter, pinner, for an apprentice boy of his -offending in the like</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">00.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">01.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">00.</p> -</td> -</tr> -</table> -<p>This is the first account we meet with of these proceedings -here; but a great deal in the same way occurs in the memoranda of -succeeding years.</p> -<p><a name="footnote774b"></a><a href="#citation774b" -class="footnote">[774b]</a> See Abstract of Town-books -under 1650.</p> -<p><a name="footnote775"></a><a href="#citation775" -class="footnote">[775]</a> Under that year the following -articles occur in the church-warden’s accounts, May 6. -(received) from Hillar Browne, by the hands of Capt. Wm. Mann, -levied upon the said Hillar Browne by him, for profanely swearing -seven oathes, 7<i>s.</i></p> -<p>July 9. Levied by vertue of a warrant from Mr. John May -maior, by distraining and selling twelve puter platters of the -goods of Wm. Churston, for that the said Wm. and Jone his wife -were convicted for profanely swearing each ten oathes, -1<i>l.</i></p> -<p><a name="footnote776"></a><a href="#citation776" -class="footnote">[776]</a> Under 1646 we find as -follows—</p> -<blockquote><p>April 18. Levied upon Roger Gaunt by virtue -of a warrant from Mr Edward Robinson, maior, for neglecting and -refusing to serve overseer being chosen, 1<i>l.</i></p> -<p>Nov. 4. Levied upon Peter Dixon, a baker, by warrant -from Tho. Toll, maior, for travelling on the Lord’s day -10<i>s.</i> whereof 12<i>d.</i> to John Gray informer.</p> -<p>Nov. 22. Levied upon one Smith, a smith, of Wisbeach, -for the like offence 10<i>s.</i> whereof to a soldier that -informed 12<i>d.</i> and to the Court of Guard 12<i>d.</i></p> -<p>Nov. 23. Levied upon William Tabbott and Francis Pollard -for the like offence 20<i>s.</i> whereof to John Rainer and -William Disborough informers 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> -<p>Nov. 24. Levied upon Mr. William Edwards of Swinstead, -for the like offence 10<i>s.</i> whereof to Thomas Lyny, a -soldier, informer, was given 12<i>d.</i></p> -<p>Feb. 9. Levied upon Daniell Rose for drunkeness -5<i>s.</i> and for 3 oathes sworne before Mr. maior 3<i>s.</i> -but because he was poor he had 4<i>s.</i> given him, as to the -poor.</p> -<p>Feb. 24. Levied upon a servant of William Marches, -innkeeper, for convicted drunkenness 5<i>s.</i></p> -<p>March 10. Levied upon James Yates for 2 oathes -2<i>s.</i> whereof to Miles Lawes, poor lame and blind, -12<i>d.</i></p> -<p>March 12. Levied upon a stranger at Peeter Lawes, -innkeeper, for travilling on a fast day, 5<i>s.</i></p> -<p>March 26. Levied upon another stranger, for the same -offence, 5<i>s.</i> to Brian Middleton, informer, 12<i>d.</i></p> -<p>Aprill 15. Levied more upon Richard Paule, -alehousekeeper, for suffering tipling in his house, -10<i>s.</i></p> -<p>May 22. Levied more upon the said Richard Paule, -alehousekeeper, for breaking of the assize of beere for six -quarts 6<i>l.</i> convicted by oath of John Gibson, -woolcomber.—More upon Katherine the wife of the said Rich: -Paule, for swearing ten oathes, 10<i>s.</i></p> -<p>May 24. Levied upon Thomas Forster, Christopher Pert, -and Dorothy Goreing widdow, three alehousekeepers, for drawing -beere without licence, each of them -20<i>s.</i>—3<i>l.</i></p> -<p>June 22, Levied upon a stranger, for profanely sweareing one -oath, 1<i>s.</i></p> -<p>July 21 Levied upon Edward Arther, alias Logstone, and John -Mason, alehousekeepers, for drawing beere without licence, each -of them 20<i>s.</i></p> -<p>July 26. Levied more upon William Medcalfe, -alehousekeeper, for the same offence 1<i>l.</i></p> -<p>Oct. 15. Levied upon William Greene, alehousekeeper, for -the same offence 1<i>l.</i></p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="footnote779"></a><a href="#citation779" -class="footnote">[779]</a> “<i>Mony collected in St. -Margaret’s Church for charitable uses by breifes</i>, -<i>since the feast of Easter</i> 1653, <i>to the feast of -Easter</i> 1654, <i>by the then present Churchwardens</i>, <i>for -the said yeare</i>, <i>Thomas Grinnell and Robart Greene</i>.</p> -<blockquote><p>Imprimis—Collected for the poore inhabitants -of <i>Drayton</i> in Shropsheire, for a loss sustained by fyre, -and paid the 13th. of October 1653, to Robt. Blessed of -King’s Lynn 1<i>l.</i> 17<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i></p> -<p>Collected for the poore inhabitants of <i>Newmarkett</i>, in -Southfolk, for a losse sustained by fyre, and paid the 9th. of -February, 1653, to George Howard of the same towne, 1<i>l.</i> -9<i>s.</i> 3<i>d.</i></p> -<p>Collected for the poore inhabitants of <i>Long Sutton</i>, in -the county of Lincolnsheire, for a losse sustained by fyre, and -paid the 28th. of Febr. 1653: to Elizabeth Plunkett of the same -towne 1<i>l.</i> 13<i>s.</i></p> -<p>Collected for the poore inhabitants of the towne of -<i>Bungaye</i>, in Southfolke, for a losse sustained by fyre, -1<i>l.</i> 15<i>s.</i>—[N.B. This is said not to have -been paid; but no reason is assigned for that.]</p> -<p>Collected for the poore inhabitants of <i>Malborowe</i>, in -Wiltsheire, for a losse sustained by fyre: 224 houses and a -church being consumed by the said fyre, which losse did amount to -70,000<i>l.</i> and was collected in the church, and paid 11th. -of March 1653, to John Basset Esq. then maior, appointed to -receive the same, the sum of 6<i>l.</i> 13<i>s.</i> -10<i>d.</i></p> -<p>Collected for the natives and distressed people of <i>Newe -England</i>, and that from house to house, within this parish, -and paid unto Mr. Joshua Greene the 20th. of November 1653, -25<i>l.</i> 13<i>s.</i></p> -</blockquote> -<p style="text-align: center">“<i>Moneys collected in St. -Margaret’s Church for charitable uses</i>, <i>in the -year</i> 1654.</p> -<blockquote><p>Collected for the inhabitants of <i>Glosco</i>, -(Glasgow) in Scotland, for a losse sustained by fyre to the -vallew of 1,000000<i>l.</i> the 23d. of Aprill 1654, which was -paid unto Mr. John Basset, then maior, the sume of 3<i>l.</i> -10<i>s.</i> 10<i>d.</i></p> -<p>Collected for a Greation, (grecian) towards the redemption of -those that were prisoners in <i>Argeare</i> (Algier): their -ransome amounting to 12,000 dollers; and paid unto him 13th. -Sept. 1654. 5<i>l.</i> 4<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> -<p>Collected (again) for the towne of <i>Drayton</i>, county of -Salop, for a losse by fyre, and paid unto Pollicarpus Tooke, the -4th. of February 1654, 2<i>l.</i> 3<i>s.</i> 1<i>d.</i></p> -<p>Collected by the ministers and church-wardens, from house to -house, for the poore Prodestance (protestants) in <i>Savoy</i>, -the 17th. of June 1655, and paid to Mr. Tho. Greene, then maior, -47<i>l.</i> 15<i>s.</i> 9<i>d.</i></p> -</blockquote> -<p>Among subsequent collections we find 10<i>l.</i> 1<i>s.</i> -for the relief of the distressed protestants in -<i>Poland</i>.</p> -<p><a name="footnote783"></a><a href="#citation783" -class="footnote">[783]</a> The number, if we mistake not, -is <i>eight</i>; the <i>recorder</i>, <i>three</i> aldermen, and -<i>four</i> common-council-men. What blame is imputable to -them, may not be easy to say. We are willing to suppose it -may not be very much; at least, not so much as what belongs to -their resident brethren, who have it in their power to strike off -their names from the list of members: and though it may not be of -any material consequence to the community at large if they be -still continued on the list of members, or if <i>eight</i>, or -even <i>eighteen</i> more were to become absentees and retain -their respective memberships; yet in point of good policy it may -not be quite the thing, lest the <i>unprivileged</i> part of the -townsmen should by decrees take it into their heads, that it -would be no very serious cause of alarm if the whole corporation, -except the mayor, recorder, and town clerk, were to set out in a -body to make the <i>tour of Europe</i>, or to perform a <i>voyage -round the world</i>.</p> -<p><a name="footnote787"></a><a href="#citation787" -class="footnote">[787]</a> We also learn that the -<i>expense</i> at this period <i>of taking up one’s -freedom</i> in this town (according to ancient custom) amounted -to only 7<i>s.</i> 3<i>d.</i> which was divided as follows, -viz. To the prisoners 4<i>d.</i>—to the poor -1<i>s.</i>—to the officers 1<i>s.</i>—to Mrs. -Mayoress 1<i>s.</i>—to the town-clerk 1<i>s.</i>—for -the Seal and Burgess-Letter 3<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i>—(whereof -1<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> to Mr. Mayor, and 1<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> to -the town-clerk,) total 7<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i>—The expense is -a good deal more now; but to those who obtain their freedom by -inheritance, or servitude, it is far from being exorbitant.</p> -<p><a name="footnote790"></a><a href="#citation790" -class="footnote">[790]</a> See Laing’s excellent -History of Scotland, where the fact here alluded to is clearly -stated and established.</p> -<p><a name="footnote792a"></a><a href="#citation792a" -class="footnote">[792a]</a> Kimber.</p> -<p><a name="footnote792b"></a><a href="#citation792b" -class="footnote">[792b]</a> Ibid.</p> -<p><a name="footnote796a"></a><a href="#citation796a" -class="footnote">[796a]</a> Hist. Purit. IV. 270.</p> -<p><a name="footnote796b"></a><a href="#citation796b" -class="footnote">[796b]</a> In 1657 and 1658 our reforming -magistrates carried on their rigorous measures with so high a -hand that not a few of the drawers, or publicans, were heavily -fined, and 30 of them, as was said before, actually -imprisoned. No less than 300 <i>tickets</i> were also, in -the mean time, issued or given out against different defaulters, -as we learn from one of the MS. accounts of that period.</p> -<p><a name="footnote797"></a><a href="#citation797" -class="footnote">[797]</a> They were not all, it seems, the -daughters of respectable or opulent families: 200 of them, if we -rightly understand one of our MSS. were poor girls, clothed at -the expense of Captain Wharton and Mr. Kirby, two newly restored -aldermen, and both flaming royalists. It was very natural -for the young girls to be then brisk and joyful, if it were only -to find themselves unexpectedly, and all of a sudden, so well and -gayly clad. The other hundred lasses may be supposed to -have been clothed at their own expense, or that of their parents -and friends.</p> -<p><a name="footnote800"></a><a href="#citation800" -class="footnote">[800]</a> The following hints from Kimber -may serve to throw some further light on the above Address and -the circumstances that led to it.</p> -<blockquote><p>“Such was the animosity between the court -and country parties at this time (1679) that it looked as if the -year <i>Forty-One</i> was going to be acted over again; which -probably had been the case, if the king’s necessities had -occasioned him to make the parliament perpetual, as his father -had done—if Scotland had not been so effectually enslaved, -by a standing army which the court kept there, that they had not -power to stir—and if the bishops and clergy had been as -disagreeable to most of the people as they were at that -time. Besides, all the staunch episcopalians, fearing the -presbyterians might again subvert the established church, -forgetting the dangers of popery, joined themselves so firmly -with the court, as to make it at last formidable to the other -party. During the repeated prorogations of the present -parliament abundance of addresses were presented from all parts -to petition for its speedy sitting; which being highly -distasteful to the court, means were found to have a number of -<i>counter-addresses</i>, expressing the greatest -<i>abhorrence</i> of such petitions, as an infringement upon the -prerogative, which they took care in their expressions to advance -as high as possible. And so the nation became divided into -two parties, <i>Petitioners</i> and <i>Abhorrers</i>, soon known -by the names of <i>Whigs</i> and <i>Tories</i>, which the -parties, by way of reproach, gave each other: <i>Tory</i> being -the name of an <i>Irish</i> robber, and <i>Whig</i> signifying -sour-milk, an appellation first given to the <i>Scotch</i> -presbyterians.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Thus it appears that the Lynn corporation were then rank -<i>tories</i>, or <i>Abhorrers</i>—that is, they abhorred -liberty and loved slavery. How much things have changed -among us for the better since, is a question that we will not now -attempt to resolve.</p> -<p><a name="footnote803"></a><a href="#citation803" -class="footnote">[803]</a> See Mackerell 253, 254.</p> -<p><a name="footnote805"></a><a href="#citation805" -class="footnote">[805]</a> This prince afterwards, in 1715, -made an unsuccessful effort to recover the throne of his -ancestors, to which he and many others thought he had so -undoubted right.</p> -<p><a name="footnote806"></a><a href="#citation806" -class="footnote">[806]</a> This was perhaps the expulsion -from the Hall of the mayor, town-clerk, five aldermen, and eight -common-councilmen, by order of Council, and appointing others who -were thought better of (and who were among the present -addressers) in their room, by royal mandate. Among the -latter was <i>Henry Framingham</i>. This happened in -June.</p> -<p><a name="footnote812"></a><a href="#citation812" -class="footnote">[812]</a> It is somewhat remarkable that -our present members are descended from those two gentlemen who -represented the town so long ago. One of the Walpoles has -represented it almost ever since, and a moiety of the -representation of Lynn is now considered as almost hereditary in -that family. One of our present members is generally on the -<i>right</i> and the other on the <i>wrong</i> side in the House: -for they are mostly on opposite sides.</p> -<p><a name="footnote820"></a><a href="#citation820" -class="footnote">[820]</a> A late friend of the present -writer assured him that he was once servant to her grandfather, -who, if he rightly recollects, was a <i>baker</i> at -Downham. His enormous vanity, after he grew rich, caused -people often to advert to the meanness of his origin.</p> -<p><a name="footnote826"></a><a href="#citation826" -class="footnote">[826]</a> The author has a Norwich -farthing of 1667, which it a year earlier than any of those of -Lynn that have fallen in his way. Very few of these tokens -appeared before the restoration. They became then very -common for ten years or more.</p> -<p><a name="footnote832a"></a><a href="#citation832a" -class="footnote">[832a]</a> 1673 according to our -reckoning.</p> -<p><a name="footnote832b"></a><a href="#citation832b" -class="footnote">[832b]</a> What follows is somewhat -abridged occasionally.</p> -<p><a name="footnote834"></a><a href="#citation834" -class="footnote">[834]</a> The above trial cost the people -of South Lynn 42<i>l.</i> 1<i>s.</i> 1<i>d.</i>—The -following are some of the items of their bill of -costs—“For six horses hire to Thetford 1<i>l.</i> -16<i>s.</i>—Expences in our way out and home 6<i>s.</i> -6<i>d.</i>—Six men’s diet and horse meat at Thetford, -1<i>l.</i> 11<i>s.</i> 5<i>d.</i>”—A bill of costs or -expences on a similar occasion at present, would make a very -different appearance.—We cannot dismiss this subject -without suggesting a wish, that this had been the very last -foolish and disgraceful lawsuit that our corporation have been -engaged in.</p> -<p><a name="footnote837"></a><a href="#citation837" -class="footnote">[837]</a> Of this affair <i>Burnet</i> -speaks as follows—</p> -<blockquote><p>“A bill of indictment was presented to the -Grand Jury against Lord Shaftsbury. The Jury was composed -of many of the chief citizens of London. The Witnesses were -examined in open Court, contrary to the usual custom: they swore -many incredible things against him, mixed with other things that -looked very like his extravagant way of talking. The -draught of the Association was also brought as a proof of his -treason, though it was not laid in the indictment, and was proved -only by one witness. The Jury returned Ignoramus upon the -bill. Upon this the Court did declaim with open mouth -against these juries; in which they said the spirit of the party -did appear, since men even upon oath shewed they were resolved to -find bills true or ignoramus as they pleased, without regarding -the evidence. And upon this a new set of <i>addresses</i> -went round the kingdom, in which they expressed their abhorrence -of that association found in Lord Shaftsbury’s cabinet; and -complained that justice was denied the king: which were set off -with all the fulsome rhetoric that the penners could varnish them -with.” H. O. T. 2. 153</p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="footnote838"></a><a href="#citation838" -class="footnote">[838]</a> See Burnet H. O. T. 2. 535.</p> -<p><a name="footnote840"></a><a href="#citation840" -class="footnote">[840]</a> From the preceding extracts it -appears that the corporation affected or pretended to have -surrendered their old charters <i>voluntarily</i>, or as their -own free and spontaneous act and deed: hence they speak of having -done it <i>with one assent and content</i>—<i>freely -surrendering</i>—as the <i>act and deed of the mayor and -burgesses</i>, <i>&c.</i> Whereas it was all the effect -of constraint, or imperious and unavoidable necessity. The -same was the case with the monks and friers at the reformation, -previously to the dissolution of the monasteries: they all -solemnly declared, in their instruments of surrender, that they -acted <i>freely</i> and <i>without compulsion</i>, though the -contrary was well known to have been invariably the fact. -Thus it is very clear that the surrendering of the charters as -well as of the convents was a scene of hypocrisy and -falshood.</p> -<p><a name="footnote841"></a><a href="#citation841" -class="footnote">[841]</a> The Charter here alluded to, -(being the 2nd. and last of those obtained from Charles II,) -contains the following clause—</p> -<blockquote><p>“PROVIDED always, and full power and -authority to Us our Heirs and Successors by these Presents we -resume, and from time to time and at all times hereafter the -Steward, Mayor, Recorder, Town-clerk, and all or any of the -Justices of the Peace, or of the Aldermen, or of the -Common-Councell, or of the Coroners of the Burgh aforesaid, or of -other officers, members, or ministers of the same Burgh for the -time being, at the will and pleasure of Us, or of our Heirs and -Successors, by any of our order or any order of our Heirs and -Successors in Privy Councell made and under the Seal of them -signified respectively to remove, or to declare to be removed, -and as often as We and our Heirs and Successors by any such our -order made in Privy Councell declare the same Steward, Mayor, -Recorder, Town-clerk, and all or any of the Justices of the -Peace, of the Aldermen, and of the Common-Councell, or of the -Coroners of the said Burgh for the time being, or of the other -Officers, members, ministers, to be removed from their respective -offices aforesaid, That then from thenceforth the Steward, Mayor, -&c. &c. of the same Burgh for the time being so removed -or declared to be removed from their several and respective -offices, Ipso Facto and without any further process, really and -to all intents and purposes whatsoever, are and shall be removed, -and this as often as the case shall so happen, any thing to the -contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>This sufficiently shews how completely in the king’s -power this memorable Charter placed our corporation, so as to be -no longer any better than mere and miserable tools and vassals of -the court.</p> -<p><a name="footnote843"></a><a href="#citation843" -class="footnote">[843]</a> The <i>oaths</i> being -<i>dispensed with</i> seems to imply that some of them were -<i>catholics</i>, or that way inclined. Their places and -new honours, however, they did not long retain; for about a -fortnight before the arrival of the prince of Orange they were -all in their turn displaced, and the old ones were restored: only -<i>Mr. Cyprian Anderson</i> was readmitted and chosen -mayor. Of this event one of our old MS. histories gives the -following account—</p> -<blockquote><p>“On the 20th of October John Davy was -displaced and Cyprian Anderson was chosen mayor, by reason of the -king’s proclamation for restoring Corporations to their -ancient rights and priviledges; at which time all those members -that came in with the New Charter, or by Mandamus, were -displaced, and the old ones put in again: at which sudden -alterations all expressed great satisfaction, appearing by the -people ringing of bells and firing of guns: and on the 22nd. Mr -mayor bringing home the mayoress out of the country was met with -near a hundred horsemen and received with firing of guns and -ringing of bells, and all sorts of people striving to exceed in -their acclamations of joy.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Thus it appears that even Lynn, at last, came to partake in -some degree of the then prevailing national aversion to the -system or measures of the court.</p> -<p><a name="footnote845a"></a><a href="#citation845a" -class="footnote">[845a]</a> They were again brought back -and restored to their former places at the end of about eleven -months; for it is noted in the Town Books, under the date of -Sept. 27 1689. “The Gunns, &c. were returned from -Hull.”</p> -<p><a name="footnote845b"></a><a href="#citation845b" -class="footnote">[845b]</a> That nobleman, if the author is -not mistaken, was the last <i>protestant</i> duke of Norfolk -before the present. He was very active after the arrival of -the prince of Orange in promoting the cause of the revolution in -this county, and nowhere perhaps more so than he was in this -town. For we find that he came here himself on that -occasion, assembled the inhabitants and harangued them, in the -market-place and elsewhere, so successfully, that he seemed to -have brought them over altogether to his own way of thinking -before he left the town. It is therefore probable that the -change which then took place in the politicks of Lynn was in no -small measure owing to his exertions. A remarkable anecdote -concerning him used to be related by some ancient people at -Norwich 30 or 40 years ago, the substance of which was to the -following purport.—</p> -<blockquote><p>“The duke, in the summer and autumn of 1688 -was suspected by James and his ministers to be inimical to their -proceedings, and was therefore narrowly watched by their -emissaries, of which he himself was not unconscious. He -resided then chiefly at his palace in Norwich, where his evenings -were generally spent with large parties of the principal -inhabitants of the city and its vicinity, which consisted not -merely of protestants, but also of catholics, who would not be -likely to connive at, or conceal any symptoms of dissaffection or -disloyalty which they might discover in his conduct. Some -correspondence was said to have been carried on between him and -the prince of Orange; but on some very particular occasion, not -specified by the narrators of the anecdote, he wished for a -personal interview with the prince. This would be a -hazardous undertaking, as he was then circumstanced; yet he -resolved to make the attempt. It was now about Michaelmas, -or later, when the prince had collected his forces, had arranged -the plan of his expedition to this country, and was preparing to -embark. The Duke procured a small fast sailing vessel with -all possible secrecy, which was to wait for him, at a given time, -somewhere on the Norfolk coast. The very day previous to -his intended embarkation, he invited a large party of his -accustomed guests to spend the evening with him at Norwich, and -they staid there till a late hour. As soon as they were -gone, he and a trusty servant mounted their horses and rode -towards the sea-coast. Not far from the spot where the -vessel lay, there was a farm-house occupied by one of his -tenants. When they came nigh to that house he alighted, bid -his servant take the horses to the farm house and stay there till -he should come to him, as he had some business to transact in the -neighbourhood, and would join him as soon as possible. He -then walked towards the vessel and got aboard. The wind -then proving fair, he was in a few hours conveyed to the Dutch -coast, nigh to the place where the prince lay encamped. He -went ashore without loss of time, walked towards the tent or head -quarters of the prince. But as he was going along he -overheard an English soldier say to his comrade, ‘There -goes the Duke of Norfolk.’ Alarmed at finding he was -discovered, he walked on, apparently unconcerned; but before he -got to the Head Quarters he turned aside, returned another way to -the vessel, went aboard again, and immediately set sail for -England. The wind now proving fair, as before, he actually -reached the Norfolk coast before night, near the selfsame spot -where he had before embarked. He then walked to the -farm-house, remounted his horse and arrived at Norwich early in -the evening. He then sent for the same party that had been -the preceding evening with him, who spent that evening there as -they had done the former, no one having the least idea of his -extraordinary adventure. This proved a wise precaution; for -the soldier’s report having reached the ears of -James’s emissaries in Holland, intelligence of it was -immediately conveyed to the English court, when a messenger was -forthwith dispatched to Norwich to arrest the Duke. His -Grace, in order to discredit, or refute the report, appealed to -the parties or guests above mentioned, many of whom were -catholicks, who affirmed that he was at home at his own house in -Norwich the evening immediately preceding and that immediately -succeeding the day in which he was said to have been seen in -Holland. This attestation was deemed a sufficient proof of -an alibi, and it delivered the Duke from the danger which -threatened him.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>This anecdote was related to the present writer above 30 years -ago, at Norwich, by a Mr. <i>Cubitt</i>, a very intelligent and -respectable old gentleman, who appeared to give it full credit, -which he was not likely to have done on any slight ground, or -without very good reason.</p> -<p><a name="footnote851a"></a><a href="#citation851a" -class="footnote">[851a]</a> “The right divine of -kings to govern wrong.”</p> -<p><a name="footnote851b"></a><a href="#citation851b" -class="footnote">[851b]</a> Laing.</p> -<p><a name="footnote856"></a><a href="#citation856" -class="footnote">[856]</a> That is, of the populace, who on -the first discovery of his flight proceeded to plunder the popish -chapels and houses, but were soon restrained and obliged to -desist.</p> -<p><a name="footnote857"></a><a href="#citation857" -class="footnote">[857]</a> “A voluntary desertion and -a virtual renunciation, both of the government and realm, were -meant to be implied in that ambiguous expression, in order to -open the succession to the next protestant heir. But the -abdication of government was irreconcileable with the premises, -as it was neither applicable to his abuse of power, nor to his -departure from the kingdom, which was more from constraint than -choice.”—Laing, as before.</p> -<p><a name="footnote859"></a><a href="#citation859" -class="footnote">[859]</a> For a more circumstantial -account see <i>Rapin</i>, and especially <i>Laing</i>, from whose -excellent History of Scotland much of the preceding account if -taken.</p> -<p><a name="footnote861"></a><a href="#citation861" -class="footnote">[861]</a> The chief of whom, we presume, -was the famous <i>Framingham</i>, who was then mayor. There -was another great man that was also deeply concerned in this vile -business, perhaps the first <i>Turner</i>, but we are not sure, -for a blank is left for the name in the printed account.—Of -Framingham there can be little doubt, and Turner seems the most -likely to be the other, as he was mayor the next year, when the -persecution was still going on. They were, no doubt, very -competent to judge, what sort of <i>religion</i> was fit to be -allowed in the town: one educated at a <i>bakehouse</i>, and the -other at a <i>pot-house</i>, or <i>tavern</i>.</p> -<p><a name="footnote862"></a><a href="#citation862" -class="footnote">[862]</a> About this same time, if we are -not mistaken, the informers affected to be very sorry for what -they had done, and pretended great trouble of conscience and -contrition, whereby they so wrought upon Marham, that they got -from him a discharge from their false information, upon their -giving bonds for their future good behaviour. But it was -all a villanous contrivance, in order to escape out of their -present danger, and be able more easily to effect his ruin; for, -about a fortnight after, they came (says our account) “and -actually seized his goods according to the former levy; which -plainly discovered their design of agreement was but to have a -safer advantage against him; and by seizing, to ruin him; and -therefore it was that he was advised to <i>sue the -Bonds</i>.”—See a small tract entitled <i>The Lynn -Persecution</i>, printed in London in the early part of 1693.</p> -<p><a name="footnote864"></a><a href="#citation864" -class="footnote">[864]</a> That affair appears to have been -in agitation as early as 1685; whence the following note has been -inserted in the town-books—“Nov. 23. 1665, -Recommended a petition which was presented to this house, -concerning the decay of the stocking trade in this towne, by -<i>weaving</i> of the same, to the care of Sir Simon Taylor and -Sir John Turner, our members of parliament.”—It would -seem by this, that the case was, even then, laid before the -legislature, or meant so to be; but we know not the result.</p> -<p><a name="footnote865"></a><a href="#citation865" -class="footnote">[865]</a> Kimber.</p> -<p><a name="footnote869"></a><a href="#citation869" -class="footnote">[869]</a> So it is in the Extracts, but it -should, no doubt, be 1627<i>l.</i></p> -<p><a name="footnote874"></a><a href="#citation874" -class="footnote">[874]</a> This appears from a Letter sent -by <i>Dr. Little</i>, then minister of this town, to the author -of an Account of that storm, published soon after in a 12mo. -volume: of which Letter the following is a copy—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Sir, I had answered yours sooner, but that -I was willing to get the best information I could of the effect -of the late dismal storm amongst us. I have advised with -our merchants and ship-masters, and find that we have lost from -this port seven ships, the damage whereof, at a modest -computation, amount to 3000<i>l.</i> The men that perished -in them are reckoned about twenty in number. There is -another ship missing, tho’ we are not without hopes that -she is gone northward: the value of ship and cargo about -1500<i>l.</i> The damage sustained in the buildings of the -town is computed at a 1000<i>l.</i> at least.</p> -<p style="text-align: right">I am your faithful Friend and -Servant,<br /> -<i>Thomas Little</i>.”</p> -<p>Lyn, January 17. 1703–4.</p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="footnote875"></a><a href="#citation875" -class="footnote">[875]</a> So confident was he of the -firmness of the structure, that he is said to have declared, when -doubts were suggested of the danger it might be exposed to from a -great storm, that he should have no fear to be there in the -greatest storm that could blow.</p> -<p><a name="footnote876"></a><a href="#citation876" -class="footnote">[876]</a> Of the general tenor of that -proclamation the reader may form some judgment from the following -extract—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Whereas by the late most terrible and -dreadful storms of wind; with which it has pleased almighty God -to afflict the greatest part of this our kingdom on Friday and -Saturday, the 26th. and 27th. days of November last; some of our -ships of war, and many ships of our loving subjects, have been -destroyed and lost at sea, and great numbers of our subjects -serving on board the same have perished, and many houses and -other buildings of our good subjects have been either wholly -thrown down and demolished, or very much damnified and defaced, -and thereby several persons have been killed, and many stacks of -corn and hay thrown down and scattered abroad, to the great -damage and impoverishment of many others, especially the poorer -sort; and great number of timber and other trees have by the said -storm been torn up by the roots, in many parts of this our -kingdom. A calamity of this sort so dreadful and -astonishing, that the like hath not been or felt in the memory of -any person living in this, our kingdom, and which loudly calls -for the deepest and most solemn humiliation of us and our -people. Therefore, out of a deep and pious sense of what -we, and our people have suffered, by the said dreadful winds and -storms, which we most humbly acknowledge to be a token of the -divine displeasure, and that it was the infinite mercy of God -that we and our people were not thereby wholly destroyed—we -have resolved, and do hereby command, that a general and public -fast be observed, &c.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="footnote878"></a><a href="#citation878" -class="footnote">[878]</a> Of that address the following -notice and copy are to be found in the Hall-books—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Sept. 25. 1704. It is ordered that -the common Seale be affixed to the following address To the -Queen’s most Excellent Majestie. May it please your -Majestie, To admitt us (amongst the great number of your loyall -subjects) with unfeigned hearts to congratulate the glorious -success of your arms in the victory obtained by your successfull -Generall John Duke of Marleborow over the French and Bavarians -near Hochstet; a defeat so entire, that hardly foreign or English -history can paralell, so seasonable that the safety of the whole -empire was the consequence of it; and upon the distant Danube, -where the English arms never triumphed before: and whilst -reverence makes us approach leisurely to your Majesties Throne, -every day still produces new trophies; the Sea as well as the -Land, Affrica as well as Europe must loudly proclaime Your -Majestie is every where, invincible.—These are blessings -justly due to your Majesties Piety and Courage, who so steddily -have pursued the example of your glorious Predecessor, that from -his early years, and almost a private station was always the -chiefe opposer of the torrent of France, Popery, and Slavery, and -whose memory will always be valuable in all true English hearts; -were it for nothing else, yet for paving us the establishment of -a Protestant succession in the person of your sacred Majestie, -Notwithstanding which by the treachery of your faithless Ennemys -your Majestie upon your accession found the dreadful powers of -France and Spain united, who singly have in their turns -push’d fair for the western monarchy. This would have -shaken any courage less firm than your own, who whilst all Europe -lay gasping waiting for the result of your councell, you -stretched out your powerful arme to support the then tottering -frame of its liberty, and was alone able to preserve it, and in -that ourselves. And whilst your Majestie so carefully -nurses our established church, your charity extends to the whole -Protestant interest of Europe, which must certainly appear very -naturall to your Majestie whilst your capital Enemy prides -himselfe in being the Head of the Roman Catholicks and they in -him.—May Your Majesties Subjects unite in their -acknowledgements to your Majestie that the last subterfuge of our -conquered Ennemys (our Divisions) may not prevail amongst us; but -that whilst our Armys are so bravely commanded, our Treasury so -frugally expended, our Laws so equally administered—and -above all, The whole by your Majesties providentiall care so -wisely superintended, Our Religion and Liberty may under your -most auspicious government be immovably secured to us and to our -Posterity.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Such was this notable specimen of the wisdom and loyalty, the -genius and eloquence of our honoured ancestors.</p> -<p><a name="footnote880a"></a><a href="#citation880a" -class="footnote">[880a]</a> This teems to bespeak a -consciousness that all was not right, and that some of their -exactions were unjust and oppressive.</p> -<p><a name="footnote880b"></a><a href="#citation880b" -class="footnote">[880b]</a> It appears that they were now -ready to relinquish, if hard pressed, all the exactions -complained of, except the two particulars last specified; which -certainly does not look well.</p> -<p><a name="footnote883"></a><a href="#citation883" -class="footnote">[883]</a> Of this memorable address we -have found the following copy extracted from the Hall-books; -which will give the reader an opportunity to form his own opinion -of its merits or character.</p> -<blockquote><p>“June 9. 1706—The Humble Address of -the mayor, recorder, aldermen, and common-councell of your -Majesties ancient Burgh of King’s Lynn.—May it please -your Majestie—Having ever since our happy revolution (which -restored our English Constitution) undergone the various events -of a long war with the utmost cheerfullness and alacrity, our -zeal can never slacken (but increase) under your Majesties reign -of wonders, who is raised by Providence to extricate us out of -the greatest difficulties, and to putt a hooke into the nostrills -of that great Leviathan who hath so long sported himself upon our -waters.—It is your Majesties genius that inspires, -’tis your choice that enables your brave generall the Duke -of Marleborow to make our streets thus often resound with the -joyfull noise of victorys. These strokes are master-pieces -not to be found in the Louvre at Versailles. Whilst with -one blow he reduces the treacherous Bavarian and makes him fly -his own country; with the other he drives him out of his French -government too, effectually confirming the just Ban of the -Empire, (where your generall hath so well deserved the prime -dignity) and restores the flourishing Provinces of Brabant and -Spanish Flanders to its rightfull Prince. The haughty -Spaniard will hereby see if they would preserve their unwieldy -monarchy entire, it is your majesties protection they must have -recourse to. But no lest wonderfull are all the rest of the -steps of your Majesties government upon the main continent (even -the farthest parts of Spain nearest France) wee see the large -provinces of Catalonia and Valentia (with ane amasing success -reduc’d to their lawful sovereigne), where our brave -Englis’h Peterborough’s zeale, for the honour of his -Prince and Country hath rivalled even the longest -experience. And as it is as difficult to preserve as gaine, -how have wee seen half a hundred capitall ships reach the length -of the distant Barcelona before the time they almost used to put -to sea. At their approach Lewis’s blood chills in the -veins of Anjou and Tholouse. They fly from before us. -Wee hope (the former) to increase the numbers of the French -king’s pretended and abdicated Princes, who crye to him for -succour (tho’ in vain) which might convince Lewis (as -Alexander’s wound did him) that notwithstanding the statues -and Panegyricks,) he is not yet arrived at immortality.—But -our prospects are still more comfortable att home, wee find an -universal calme amongst us, and as one effect of it the nationall -credit advanced to a degree even beyond what the most peaceable -times could boast off, which is the best evidence in the Body -Politick as the face is of health in the body naturall. Wee -are thankfully convinced your Majestie is the best Protector, as -well as the greatest Ornament and Benefactor of our established -Church, and are best Judge of what is for its advantage: and if -any party ffaction (out of a private ambition) should endeavour -to insinuate any groundless ffears, or erect as any other -guarautees (that your Majesties daily actions) as wee are -satisfied it is, endeavouring to allieniate and transfer from -your Majestie the affection of your subjects and their just -depending on your Person, so it is to robb us of our peace and -quiett.—That your Majestie may be always fear’d and -honor’d abroad and reverenc’d at home, as it shall be -always (in our low sphere) our utmost wishes and endeavours, so -may he be deemed unworthy of the name of ane Englishman that doth -not heartily say Amen.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="footnote885"></a><a href="#citation885" -class="footnote">[885]</a> What occasioned the decay and -demolition of our water-mills seems to have been the want of a -sufficient supply of water to work them, owing, perhaps, partly, -if not chiefly to the neglect of keeping the different -water-courses in due repair, and especially those connected with -the Middleton river. The following articles from the -Hall-books will throw some light on this -subject—“August 29. 1706; ordered the cutting and -opening a trench in the common ditch from Kettlewell to a sluce -at Gannock gate in order to carry the water from thence to the -same water-mills.” Again—“Nov. 8. -It is ordered that it be referred to a Committee to state the -case touching the flow and reflow of the salt waters in Middleton -river for the service of the corn water-mills, and the benefite -of continuing or deserting those priviledges to this corporation, -and to inform themselves now far this corporation will be -obliged, in case of deserting that river to the ditching or -scouring the same or any or what part -thereof.”—Again—Dec. 20. The committees -report is,—</p> -<blockquote><p>1. We find that the flow and reflow of the -salt-waters for the service of the corn-water-mills is an antient -right and priviledge enjoyed time out of mind by this -corporation, under a fee farme rent of 20<i>s.</i> payable to the -lords of the manor of Gaywood, heretofore the bishop, prior, and -convent of Norwich—2. That whilst the said corn-mills -did bear a considerable rent the charges of ditching and scouring -the rivers and drains in which these waters had their course, -were easy and supportable, and the said mills were of great -service and benefits to this corporation—3. That the -rents and profits of the same mills of late years are much -reduced and lessened, and the rivers and drains so silted and -grown up that the charges of ditching and scouring those rivers, -will be greater than the future rents and profits thereof will -compensate. We are therefore of opinion that it will be of -less disadvantage to this town to disanul the said flow and -reflow of the salt waters than to continue the same under the -present great and unavoidable charges of opening the said rivers; -and that the use of the fresh waters constantly descending in -these rivers not being obstructed by the salts, will be of great -advantage to the country adjacent draining by these rivers, and -will also in a great measure be serviceable to the working the -said mills and preserving the said drains and -outfalls.—4. That in case the said flow and reflow be -deserted, wee are of opinion that the said rivers and drains -ought to be ditched and scoured at the equal charge of all the -lands draining thereby according to the ancient laws and customs -of sewers.—Signed by Ch. Turner Esq. mayor, Hen. -Framingham, &c. &c.</p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="footnote887"></a><a href="#citation887" -class="footnote">[887]</a> It is not said who presented -this address. Perhaps it might be the noted Framingham, who -was then high sheriff of the county, as well as one of our -leading aldermen. Perhaps too, it might be on this occasion -that her majesty called him her <i>cousin</i>, which compliment -is said to have so highly gratified his vanity, that he used to -boast of it ever after, in his ostentatious way, to the no small -divertisement of his companions and acquaintance.</p> -<p><a name="footnote888a"></a><a href="#citation888a" -class="footnote">[888a]</a> The circumstance is thus stated -in the MS.—“1708—Michael Hamond and his Sister, -both children—one seven and the other eleven, were hanged -for felony on the gallows out of South Gates.” What -the particular crime was does not appear.</p> -<p><a name="footnote888b"></a><a href="#citation888b" -class="footnote">[888b]</a> This affair is thus stated in -our book of extracts—</p> -<blockquote><p>“June 27. 1709. We having taken -several views of the condition of this Harbor and the banks, -walls, and defences thereof, the dolphins and stakes antiently -erected for the security and safe mooring of ships, and of the -dangers of undermining the foundations of the houses and -buildings next the Haven there: It appears to us that in the -space of a few years last past, by the rapid and violent descents -of the waters in the Ebb Tides, the course of the chanell is much -altered and diverted and the deep run brought under the said -Dolphins and stakes, and so near the said banks, walls, and -defences, and the danger of undermining the said foundation daily -more increasing, that the charges of preserving the said Harbour -are become insupportable. Wee are [therefore] of opinion -that it is absolutely necessary that some speedy care be taken -for erecting one or more large Jettys of timber and stone in fitt -places for reducing the chanell to its usuall course, and that -Engineers experienced to such works, be consulted, and endeavours -considered for obtaining ane act of parliament for some -reasonable tax or assessment upon tunnage for the enabling the -performance of such works, and that the vast charges and expences -already laid out on this behalf be inspected and -computed.—Signed <i>Hon. Chennery</i> mayor, <i>Robt. -Auborne</i>, <i>Ed. Rolfe</i>, <i>John Berney</i>, <i>Dan: -Scarlett</i>, <i>Saml. Browne</i>.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Afterwards, under the date of Aug. 29, the same year, it is -added, “Capt. Hawley is desired to come down to view the -Harbor.” Then it immediately -follows—“Referr’d to a Comittee Lord -Townshend’s Letter respecting the employing of poor -<i>Paletines</i> come over, and to consider how -many.”—It would seem by this, that they were to be -employed in improving the harbour, erecting jetties, repairing -the sea-banks, &c.</p> -<p><a name="footnote891"></a><a href="#citation891" -class="footnote">[891]</a> Of that benefaction Mackerell -says nothing; but there is some account of it in the Town-books, -under April 1. 1713, and in the Monthly Magazine for July 1810, -page 568.</p> -<p><a name="footnote894"></a><a href="#citation894" -class="footnote">[894]</a> See Coxe’s mem. of -Walpole, vol. I.</p> -<p><a name="footnote897"></a><a href="#citation897" -class="footnote">[897]</a> On the 26th. of the preceding -January, it was decreed in the Hall, that no person under 60 -years old should be elected, or admitted into Gaywood -Hospital. The same rule, we presume, has been ever since -strictly observed.</p> -<p><a name="footnote901a"></a><a href="#citation901a" -class="footnote">[901a]</a> Here it may be proper just to -observe, that the author rather thinks he was mistaken at page -<span class="indexpageno"><a href="#page889">889</a></span>, in -supposing that Browne had been <i>complimented</i> with the -<i>freedom</i> of this town. He has since examined the book -which contains a list of the names of all our freemen, and cannot -find the doctor’s name there. This is not to be -wondered at, considering the bad terms on which he lived with the -corporation.</p> -<p><a name="footnote901b"></a><a href="#citation901b" -class="footnote">[901b]</a> About the same time that the -pens of <i>Armstrong</i> and <i>Badslade</i> were thus engaged, -that of the elder <i>Kinderley</i> also was employed in the same -cause, as appears by the dedication and preface to his -son’s volume on the <i>ancient and present state of the -navigation of Lynn</i>, &c. About these times, the -names of Messrs. <i>Steph. Allen</i>, <i>John Cary</i>, and -<i>Geo. Hogg</i>, became enrolled among our freemen, whose -descendants have ever since figured among the first families of -this town.—They are thus noticed in our volume of -Extracts—“Augt. 29th. 1724. Mr. St. Allen to -have his ffreedom, paying 20 nobles.—Sept. 27. 1727. -John Cary elected free upon paying 20 nobles.—Febr. 3. -1728–9. Granted the ffreedom to Geo. Hogg, marriner, -at the request of alderman John Kidd, as his mayor’s -ffreeman.”</p> -<p><a name="footnote902"></a><a href="#citation902" -class="footnote">[902]</a> Two Irishmen, as the story goes, -served in the German or imperial army during a war with the -Turks. One of them, in a skirmish with some Tartars, was by -one of them overpowered and taken prisoner. Upon which he -called out to his comrade, “By Jasus, I <i>have caught a -Tartar</i>!” “Very well,” said the other, -“bring him away then;’” “<i>he wont -come</i>,” answered paddy; “then come -yourself,” replied his comrade; “arrah now, my dear -honey,” cried he, “<i>but he wont let -me</i>.” Hence the origin of the proverbial saying, -when a sharper has been overmatched, that he has <i>catched a -tartar</i>.</p> -<p><a name="footnote912"></a><a href="#citation912" -class="footnote">[912]</a> The gentlemen of this town, with -all their superabundant zeal for the church, ought to consider -how much they owe, for what morality and religion exist here, to -the exertions of those who dissent from that church. Every -candid and discerning person in the town must see and acknowledge -that the labours of these dissenters have very largely -contributed to the reformation of the inhabitants. But for -our dissenting chapels, far more than one half, perhaps three -fourths of our population would have been effectually precluded -from the possibility of being benefited by the public ministry of -the clergy, for want of room or proper accommodation in the -churches. This is a known fact. Must not the labours -of the dissenters therefore be evidently and unquestionably -entitled to the gratitude and encouragement of our rulers, even -if their mode of instruction had <i>not</i> been better -calculated to enlighten the common people than that of the church -ministers?</p> -<p><a name="footnote913"></a><a href="#citation913" -class="footnote">[913]</a> The <i>Harwicks</i> seem to have -been peculiarly unfortunate in being treated unhandsomely and -rudely by some of their townsmen, during their mayoralty. -<i>Richard</i> Harwick was said to be so treated, by -<i>Browne</i>, in 1723, and <i>Charles</i> Harwick now by this -<i>Rudkin</i>. How to account for this, we are unable to -say. The Harwicks might carry themselves with too much -haughtiness, or, on the other hand, with too much condescension; -for the one as well as the other kind of conduct has sometimes -exposed people to rude and unbecoming treatment. However -that was, the fact itself, as above stated, appears no less clear -than remarkable.</p> -<p><a name="footnote914"></a><a href="#citation914" -class="footnote">[914]</a> Rudkin’s successor in the -common-council was the late Thomas Sommersby, the elder. -Hence the following note occurs in the Hall -books—“Nov. 26. 1731, Mr. Th. Sommersby chosen into -the common councel, in the room of John Rudkin -amoved.”—Sometime previously to the expulsion of -Rudkin, Edw. Bradfield, the Town clerk, was also expelled, or -discharged from his office, as appears by the following notes in -the same books—“August 29. 1729, Ed. Bradfield, -Town-Clerk suspended.”—again . . . “Sept. 29. -1729; Ed. Bradfield, Town-Clerk discharged.”—His -offence, or the cause and reason of his discharge is not -mentioned: but by the <i>Epitaph</i> drawn up for him by his -friend Dr. <i>Browne</i>, it would seem not to have been any -thing very honourable or creditable to the corporation. -This Epitaph, as it is of an unusual cast, and in the -doctor’s best manner, may be worth preserving, and reads as -follows.—</p> -<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">“<i>Behold a rare -Monument of Friendship</i>,<br /> -<i>Dedicated to the Remains of</i><br /> -<span class="smcap">Edward Bradfield</span>, <span -class="smcap">attorney at law</span>.<br /> -<i>Happy while he was Master of himself</i>;<br /> -<i>Unfortunate when he became the Servant of others</i>.<br /> -<i>His fine Patrimony</i>,<br /> -<i>And a Profession wherein he excell’d</i>,<br /> -<i>Gave him Independency</i>,<br /> -<i>And every Enjoyment</i><br /> -<i>That could make Life agreeable</i>:<br /> -<i>But alas</i>!<br /> -<i>His accepting the office of Town-Clerk</i><br /> -<i>Subjected him to Servility</i>,<br /> -<i>And to every Disappointment</i><br /> -<i>That could make Death desirable</i>.<br /> -<i>His Experience of both Fortunes was remarkable</i>:<br /> -<i>In the Prosperous</i>, <i>he was follow’d</i><br /> -<i>As if he never had an Enemy</i>;<br /> -<i>In the Adverse</i>, <i>he was deserted</i><br /> -<i>As if he never had a Friend</i>.<br /> -<i>He died September</i> 6<i>th</i>. 1736, <i>aged</i> 47.<br /> -<i>Leaving a Widow</i>, <i>and an only Daughter</i>.<br /> -<i>He was Defended while living</i>;<br /> -<i>He is Covered now Dead</i>,<br /> -<i>By one who commenced</i>,<br /> -<i>Almost from the Cradle</i>,<br /> -<i>And continues his Friend</i>,<br /> -<i>Even beyond the Grave</i>.<br /> -William Browne, M.D. in both Universities,<br /> -And Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>This Epitaph is certainly creditable to the feelings and -memory of Sir William Browne.—Having this occasion to -mention him again, the author begs leave here to correct what he -said above at page <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page901">901</a></span> relating to the question, whether -or not he had been complimented with the freedom of this -borough? He has since ascertained that that honour was -actually conferred on him <i>gratis</i>, Febr 3 1717–18; -which must have been previous to his having incurred the -displeasure of the Hall. Nor can this writer discover that -the same honour was withheld from any <i>physician</i>, who had -settled here for any length of time, before our two present ones: -(only Dr. Hamilton <i>purchased</i> his freedom, but that was, it -seems, before he had received his Doctor’s degree.) -Nor yet does this same honour appear to have been withheld from -any of the <i>clergy</i> who were <i>Lecturers</i> here, except -the present Lecturer and his predecessor <i>Eyre</i>. We -know not how to account for this omission on the part of our -corporation, (at a time when the honour itself is daily -decreasing in value,) but from a mere <i>want</i> of -<i>urbanity</i>; and we hope, in what we may have occasion to say -of them hereafter, we shall never have any reason to lay any -thing worse to their charge.</p> -<p><a name="footnote917"></a><a href="#citation917" -class="footnote">[917]</a> This <i>Edmund Keene</i> was the -late bishop of Ely.</p> -<p><a name="footnote920"></a><a href="#citation920" -class="footnote">[920]</a> The spire or steeple of South -Lynn Church was not then blown down, but stood twenty years -longer, and its fall was among the memorable events which -distinguished the commencement of this reign. It is -somewhat remarkable that the Grey Friars Steeple, the slightest -of all our buildings of that kind, has hitherto withstood the -severest blasts.</p> -<p><a name="footnote927"></a><a href="#citation927" -class="footnote">[927]</a> It is said that when they had -nearly completed one part of their work, and were ready to -congratulate themselves on its impervious, impassable, and -impregnable aspect, a <i>greyhound</i> that followed one of the -gentlemen, making a sudden spring, flew over it in an instant, -which so cooled their ardour, damped their spirits, and -discouraged them, that they had no longer any heart at all to -proceed: for they concluded, that if that greyhound could do so, -the <i>Highlanders</i>, if they came, would not fail to storm -every thing of that kind that might happen to stand in their -way.—So apprehensive and confident were they for some time -that the rebels would come this way, that they readily gave heed -to every flying and idle report that coincided with that -notion. It was at one time believed, that their vanguard -had nearly reached <i>Wisbeach</i>, and even that some of their -scouts or spies were actually in <i>Marshland</i>. The last -belief arose from the circumstance of two travelling Scotchmen -happening then to pass through Marshland, whom every body took to -be no other than rebel spies. A strong party was sent from -Lynn to take them up, who, among other things, questioned them, -if they had <i>arms</i>? To which they answered, -“Yes, they had <i>twa</i>,” lifting up both their -arms at the same time.</p> -<p><a name="footnote932"></a><a href="#citation932" -class="footnote">[932]</a> The present writer is earnestly -desirous to do ample justice, and give all due commendation to -the persevering and unwearied exertions of the different -descriptions of our Lynn dissenters. They have certainly -done much good, here as well as elsewhere. After all, it -must be allowed and confessed that the miserable <i>bigotry</i>, -<i>illiberality</i> and <i>intolerance</i>, which they have often -discovered, and particularly <i>on a recent occasion</i>, -constitute a vast and sad drawback from the merit of their -exertions, and the praise to which their labours are -entitled. But on this head we shall be more explicit, when -we come to the <i>present state</i> of the town.</p> -<p><a name="footnote935"></a><a href="#citation935" -class="footnote">[935]</a> That the <i>evangelical -clergy</i> and their <i>patrons</i> should be at all alarmed, at -the growth, or progress of methodism, seems not a little singular -and strange, considering that they themselves are looked upon as -one sort of methodists, and have certainly and evidently -contributed, in a very large measure, to the increase and -prosperity of that sect. They, sorely, did not mean or wish -to make their hearers dissenters, but the spirit of their system -and the drift of their ministry appear to have a strong tendency -that way.</p> -<p><a name="footnote936"></a><a href="#citation936" -class="footnote">[936]</a> At Lynn, and some other places, -the <i>Wesleyans</i> alone bear the name of <i>Methodists</i>: -whereas the <i>Whitefieldians</i> are here denominated -<i>Independents</i>, which name they have likewise assumed in -many other places. In some of the western parts the name of -Methodists is given only to them, and the others are called -<i>Wesleyans</i>, and sometimes <i>Wesleys</i>: but on this -subject we will say more hereafter.</p> -<p><a name="footnote937"></a><a href="#citation937" -class="footnote">[937]</a> Whether it will so happen or -not, it is certain that the <i>methodist Constitution</i> is well -worth the attention of the statesman and philosopher, as well as -the historian. It is admirably calculated for making -numerous proselytes, and becoming the predominant religion of a -country—especially that of the <i>Wesleyan</i> community; -whose whole plan and organization discover exquisite skill and -judgment, with a most deep and accurate knowledge of human -nature. In all which respects John Wesley appears no way -inferior to any of the heads of our modern orders or sects, from -Francis and Dominic down to Emanuel Swedenburg and Joanna -Southcote; not excepting Ignatius Loyola, Martin Luther, John -Calvin, or even Fox and Penu and count Zinzendorff.</p> -<p><a name="footnote941"></a><a href="#citation941" -class="footnote">[941]</a> See Belsham v. 414, &c.</p> -<p><a name="footnote942"></a><a href="#citation942" -class="footnote">[942]</a> Belsham v. 86.</p> -<p><a name="footnote950"></a><a href="#citation950" -class="footnote">[950]</a> The writer of the above extract -further says, that during the said electioneering tumult,</p> -<blockquote><p>“the insults on the T—rs family, the -ladies not excepted, were prodigious, especially from young -*—*, who exceeded every thing that was heard of, to my old -lady and the margeries. The poor madams zealously espousing -S. J—n’s cause were most grievously abused by him and -others, with their s—rs drunkenness, their own fat -a—s, and even much worse upon their spitting in young -*’s face, in the heat of their passion out of a window, on -the Election day. So that they have had fevers.—Dr. -B— has declared eternal war, in those very words, against -every branch of the T—s family, and supported Mr. F’s -interest with the rage of a madman: his W. and D. did the same, -and are yet the most billingsgate beasts imaginable.—A. T. -purely for the sake of mischief reconciled himself to his Bro. -and supported his cause with all the might of his tongue and -purse.—S—*— after going about the town with the -gentlemen to promote L—d O. and S. J’s interest, upon -Mr. F’s breaking his promise he had made not to meddle, -turned to him, and was as violent as any body.—T * voted -for S. J. but did him privately all the mischief he could, and -went out of town one day, that his W. might entertain F at -Supper. J. * was a fury, and his W. the queen of furies, -and to this hour is fit only for Bedlam. All others stood -tight to S. J. But he and his * have had all their faults -ript up and laid open.—At length Monday came; and after an -expense of near 2000<i>l.</i> on each side, the dear bought poll -stood thus W. 199. T. 184 F. 131.—There were players -in town at the time; so the triumphant party gave their friends -an entertainment of that sort. To ridicule D—r -B— the <i>Busy Body</i> was the play, and a farce was added -called the <i>Mock D—r</i>, which <i>mock Dr.</i> was -dressed as like Dr. B— as could be. F—’s -people on their part tho’ beaten, would shew they had good -hearts; so they bespoke <i>Pasquin</i>, which is, you know, -written to ridicule corporation Elections; there is a m—r -and m—r—ss &c. They took care to dress the -m—r and cripple him, so as to resemble poor P—, and -Madam m—r—ss was most specially drunk. The -shouting and insolence were prodigious, calling out, F— for -ever! between the acts, and drinking his health throughout the -house, and ending with an Epilogue made by Dr. B— comparing -Sr. J—n to <i>Tom Thumb</i>. They keep up a most -indecent rage yet, and swear they’ll never have done, till -they’ve thrown out Sr. J—n. F. is coming again -in a few days, and here’s to be dainty-doings. Upon -the whole, they say, Sr. J—n was brought in upon L—d -O’s shoulders, which, tho’ better than not brought in -at all, sits not pleasantly upon his stomach, any more than the -expense of 2000<i>l.</i> suits his temper and pocket.—I -have been guilty of an unpardonable omission in saying nothing of -your friend madam M—x—n, who espoused Sr. -J—n’s cause with mighty warmth, and did him great -service. She kept open house for all freemen, and waited on -’em herself, and look’d exactly like a woman that -keeps a booth in a Fair, with, roast pork, bottled ale, cider, -&c. When her husband was at home, she went abroad to -outlyers, with presents, to keep them tight: and several of -’em she had at bed and board in her house, for fear of the -enemy. Dr. B— came to her, and demanded the release -of the men: she withstood him, and defended her castle, as -bravely as <i>Joan of Arc</i> could have done, had she been -raised from the dead, against the D—r, parson M—y, -and other hussars, who were scouring every hole and corner of the -town. The close of her gallant conduct was in free -conference, or rather a pitched battle with -Dr—B—’s W. upon what had passed, which was of -some hours continuance, and better worth all the money you have -in your pocket, to have seen and heard, than <i>Pasquin</i>, or -the <i>Busy Body</i> was worth 6<i>d.</i>—Next to this -Heroine deserves to be mentioned <i>Harvey</i> the -’Pothecary, who because Sr. J— gave a relation of his -a place lately, turned against him, and against his own express -promise; drank himself into a fever, and is dead and -buried. He has left all he had to his wife, who seems very -glad of her loss, as well as her gain. <i>Nic. Elstobb</i> -was wild on the same side, and raved till he spit blood, and was -at death’s door, and is not far from it at this time. -<i>Martin Sand—r</i> on the other side lost his senses -without a joke, and was given over for a week, but is now as well -as ever.—There never was such a funeral at Lynn as -Harvey’s. The number of persons invited was very -great, but the volunteers made the chief figure. All -F’s party met at the Dog, and joined the procession, going -2 and 2, and returned to the same place, in the same manner, -where they spent the night in drinking F for ever, and to -Harvey’s pious memory.—The next night after the -<i>Busy Body</i> was played, my L—d and S. J. gave a Ball -to all the freemen’s wives and daughters—After a few -dances by the better sort of Ladies they sat down, and L—d -*’s Son, (who rode for his cousin,) S. J, the C—r, -Mr. B— and Sr. Wm. H—b—d and the rest took -shopkeepers wives and daughters, and twirl’d ’em -about all the rest of the night. This gave great -content.—In return for Mr. M—x—n’s seal -in S. J—’s service, the other party have played him a -trick, by getting Johnson R—s D—r, who has a right in -what remains above the mortgage in M—x—n’s -House, to set it to sale; and so, by underhand management, they -forced him to buy it at a dear rate, or he must have gone out of -it.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>This long and striking extract gives a curious, but very -unfavourable idea of the state of society here, or of the -character and manners of our townsmen 64 years ago. The -reader will hardly suppose the picture to be overcharged, when he -is informed that the writer was no other than the <i>revd. Edm. -Pyle D.D.</i> then <i>Lecturer</i> of this town, who would not be -likely to represent his own flock as more unruly, mischievous, -and graceless than what they really were.</p> -<p><a name="footnote955"></a><a href="#citation955" -class="footnote">[955]</a> It is hardly necessary to -observe here, that all the wars, and calamities, and revolutions, -that have within the last twenty years agitated and devastated -the European world, are pretty generally thought to have sprung -from the American war, or those wrongheaded principle which -occasioned it.</p> -<p><a name="footnote957"></a><a href="#citation957" -class="footnote">[957]</a> Small as the above number may -appear, yet, if the whole of what is now called <i>the united -kingdom</i> had armed in equal proportion, it would have produced -a very large force, consisting, if we are not mistaken, of no -less than 200,000 men.</p> -<p><a name="footnote959"></a><a href="#citation959" -class="footnote">[959]</a> Proverbs. 30. 20.</p> -<p><a name="footnote960a"></a><a href="#citation960a" -class="footnote">[960a]</a> It is said to be already -between 8 and 900 millions—a continuance of the war for a -very few years more will probably complete the sum.</p> -<p><a name="footnote960b"></a><a href="#citation960b" -class="footnote">[960b]</a> In the autumn or winter of -1782, the north mail was robbed one evening soon after 11 -o’clock, a little beyond the long Bridge, by a lawless -youth of the name of <i>Beeton</i>. A few days after he was -apprehended and committed to prison, whence he made his escape on -the 7th. of November, but was again taken on the 11th. at -Rising. He was executed Febr. 17. 1783.</p> -<p><a name="footnote962"></a><a href="#citation962" -class="footnote">[962]</a> The ancient usage seems to have -been for the mayor to name and authorize <i>twelve</i> of his -brethren of the Hall to elect two burgesses to represent the town -in parliament. Hence we read in an old record, that in the -year 1487 <i>Robert Pillye</i>, then mayor, called and empowered -the following twelve men to elect two persons to represent this -borough in the parliament which was to meet that year: viz. -John Massingham, John Bilney, Tho. Carter, Wm. Yates, Robt. -Powdich, Andr. Woley, John Thorisby, Hen. Gardyner, Robt. Umfrey, -Tho. Symkenson, John Trunche, and Tho. Archer: who accordingly -chose <i>Robert Thorisbye</i> and <i>John Tygo</i>.—Two -years before (1485,) <i>Robert Braybroke</i> and <i>William -Munke</i> had been chosen in like manner:—and the year -following, (1488,) in the mayoralty of <i>John Tyge</i>, twelve -men, called and authorised by him, chose <i>John Gryndell</i> and -<i>Thomas Carter</i> to sit in the parliament called that -year.—It seems by this that elections were then very -frequent; annual perhaps, or nearly so: and each parliament -continuing but one session.—The same old record mentions -several other subsequent elections, always made by 12 persons -called thereto by the mayor—only once, but it does not -appear in what year, he seems to have nominated but <i>eight</i>, -which eight are said to have called unto them four more, so -making up the number of 12; which 12 chose for burgesses of -parliament <i>Robt. Braybroke</i> and <i>John Beels</i>. -This might be in 1486—If so, we have here an account of -four annual parliaments at that period.—Let us not, -however, blame our ancestors for leaving the election of their -members in the hands of 12 persons; for we do not appear to have -at all mended the matter yet: our efficient or real electors are -even now less than 12.</p> -<p><a name="footnote964"></a><a href="#citation964" -class="footnote">[964]</a> Unless we should choose so to -denominate the following occurrence.—“At our quarter -Sessions held Nov. 15. 1785, the recorder being absent by reason -of illness, sentence of transportation was passed upon one -Bradley and another convict by the then mayor, the late Mr. Wm. -Bagge.”</p> -<p><a name="footnote965"></a><a href="#citation965" -class="footnote">[965]</a> See <i>New Annual Register</i> -for 1788, page (32.)</p> -<p><a name="footnote966"></a><a href="#citation966" -class="footnote">[966]</a> “His majesty (says one of -the journals of that time) is constantly at the Spa a little -before six in the morning, where he drinks a glass of water, then -walks half an hour with the queen and princesses, who likewise -drink the water. The king takes a second glass, and about -half after seven the royal party return to Fauconberg house: his -majesty hands the queen and princesses to their carriages, and -then sets out himself on foot. About eleven o’clock -he is constancy on horseback, paying no regard to the state of -the weather. The queen and princesses follow him in their -carriages. They generally take the road to the hills, on -the east of Cheltenham, return about two, and at seven appear -again in the walks.—The great object (says the same -journal) of the kings journey to Cheltenham is to keep off the -gout. His complaint for some time past has been the flying -gout, which his physicians could readily fix by the use of proper -regimen; but his majesty dreads such a lodgment, as it would of -course prevent him from using that exercise which has been so -much his habit as well as inclination. Cheltenham waters -are reckoned the best in the kingdom for this -purpose.”—see <i>N. A. Register</i> vol. 9. p. (26) -and (28.)</p> -<p><a name="footnote967"></a><a href="#citation967" -class="footnote">[967]</a> This is said not to have been -the first time when such symptoms had made their appearance.</p> -<p><a name="footnote968a"></a><a href="#citation968a" -class="footnote">[968a]</a> See New Annual Register, vol. -10. page 92.</p> -<p><a name="footnote968b"></a><a href="#citation968b" -class="footnote">[968b]</a> Pitt declared that the prince -had no more right to assume the regency than he had; which was -deemed by many a very extraordinary and extravagant -assertion.</p> -<p><a name="footnote972"></a><a href="#citation972" -class="footnote">[972]</a> See <i>New Annual Register</i> -for 1791, page (7.)</p> -<p><a name="footnote974"></a><a href="#citation974" -class="footnote">[974]</a> When some had written violent -pamphlets against the elder Pitt, and he was urged to have them -prosecuted, he smilingly answered, “No: the press, like the -air, is a chartered-libertine.” The son, with all his -reputed and boasted greatness, had not a mind capable of -imitating such an example. (See Belsham, vol. v.) No -real magnanimity, or true dignity of character was to be expected -from one who could seek the ruin of his own original friends and -coadjutors, the active supporters of his early politics and -youthful fame, and that, forsooth, because they would not support -his apostacy, but chose still to adhere to those principles which -he himself used to tell them were inseparably connected with the -welfare and salvation of the country.</p> -<p><a name="footnote976"></a><a href="#citation976" -class="footnote">[976]</a> Should the work ever commence -and go on, the commissioners will have to borrow money to a vast -amount, which they will probably, not find a very easy matter, as -other fen projects, such as those of the <i>river Nene</i> and -<i>Feltwell District</i> especially, have turned out so miserably -unpropitious to the respective creditors; that the interest of -their money is now many years in arrears, with but little -prospect of its being ever again liquidated. The -<i>Nene</i> commissioners are so much above their business, and -so regardless of the rights of their creditors, that they -sometimes will not deign to meet, so much as once a year, to -examine the state of their finances and see if any thing can be -spared towards the payment of their debts.—As to the -gentlemen, or commissioners of the “<i>Feltwell</i> new fen -district,” they, some years ago, thought proper to -represent themselves in a state of insolvency, and proposed that -their creditors should advance at the rate of ten per centum of -the money in their hands towards obtaining a new act of -parliament to increase the drainage taxes, and so enable them -thenceforth to pay interest regularly. The money was -advanced, and the new act obtained, but not a shilling of -interest has been yet advanced, under pretence that all the money -is wanted for repairs and drainage improvements, &c. -How far all this is honest or honourable we need not say; but -that it will not fail to make some people in future more cautious -in adventuring their money on such occasions, may be reasonably -supposed and expected.</p> -<p><a name="footnote977"></a><a href="#citation977" -class="footnote">[977]</a> That paragraph reads -thus—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Lynn, May 11. 1802. Thursday last -being the day appointed for the public reading of his -majesty’s proclamation of peace in this town, the morning -was ushered in by the ringing of bells and other demonstrations -of joy. At noon the Lynn Loyal Volunteers, commanded by -major Everard, paraded in the Tuesday market place. Soon -after, the mayor, accompanied by the recorder, aldermen, -common-council-men, and most of the inhabitants, proceeded in -front of the line to the market cross, when the town-crier read -the proclamation of peace. The Volunteers then fired a -<i>feu de joie</i>, which was succeeded by reiterated shouts of -applause from every person present, the band striking up -‘Rule Britannia.’ Major Everard then addressed -the corps, and after thanking them for their zeal in defence of -their country, read to them the thanks of both houses of -parliament for their meritorious past services, and informed them -they were now to be disbanded, conformably to the regulation of -government, with a reward the most gratifying, their -sovereign’s approbation of their conduct. The -noncommissioned officers and privates were then severally -presented with a pecuniary donation, in lieu of a public -entertainment.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Thus it appears that the conduct of these volunteers gained -the approbation and applause not only of their fellow citizens or -townsmen, but even of the higher orders of the nation, up to the -very throne.</p> -<p><a name="footnote979"></a><a href="#citation979" -class="footnote">[979]</a> The year 1797 was also -distinguished in Norfolk for two great political meetings held -there in the spring of that year, of which the Norfolk -Remembrancer gives the following account.—</p> -<blockquote><p>“April 25th. a county meeting was held on -the Castle Hill (Norwich,) in the open air, and a petition, -praying his majesty to dismiss his present ministers, as the most -effectual means of reviving the national credit and restoring -peace, was moved by Mr. Fellowes, seconded by Mr. Rolfe, -supported by Lord Albemarle, Mr. Coke, Mr. Mingay, Mr. Plumptre, -and Mr. Trafford, and almost unanimously adopted.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Had the whole nation done the same it might have proved of -incalculable benefit. But three days after another meeting -was convened by the opposite party, to counteract the effect of -the former. At this meeting, (according to the work just -referred to,)</p> -<blockquote><p>“a dutiful and loyal address to the king was -moved by Sir T. Beevor, and seconded by R. Milles Esq. and -afterwards numerously signed by the nobility, gentry, and -freeholders, expressive of their reliance on the measures adopted -by the ministers for obtaining a safe and honourable peace, and -of their readiness to defend with their lives and fortunes, the -religion, laws, and constitution of their country.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>These swaggering and blustering life-and-fortune men have had -their day, and a pretty long one it has proved. If the -nation be not yet quite tired of their swaggering, and sick at -heart of their system of war, bloodshed, violence, and endless -expenditure, it seems high time it should. We surely, -ought, to be fully convinced, by this time, that the politics of -their opponents, so long decried among us, are infinitely better -calculated than theirs for the welfare of this country.</p> -<p><a name="footnote982"></a><a href="#citation982" -class="footnote">[982]</a> During the whole -continuance of this Paper scarce any thing more remarkable -appeared among its contents than the memorable controversy about -the termination of the century, which caused a sad division among -our wise men of that period. Some affirmed that the century -actually ended with that year, 1799; while others insisted that -it could not end till the conclusion of the following year, for -this plain reason, that <i>ninety nine</i> could not possibly -make one <i>hundred</i>. In short, this controversy seems -to have exhibited our wise men as somewhat akin to the wise men -of Gotham.</p> -<p><a name="footnote984"></a><a href="#citation984" -class="footnote">[984]</a> Of these two addresses the -former, according to the <i>Lynn Packet</i>, was worded as -follows—</p> -<blockquote><p>“<i>To the King’s most excellent -majesty</i>: The humble Address of the Mayor, Aldermen, and -Common-council of the borough of <span class="smcap">King’s -Lynn</span>, in the county of Norfolk, in Council -assembled. <span class="smcap">Most gracious -sovereign</span>: We your Majesty’s Loyal Subjects, the -Mayor, aldermen, and common-council of the borough of -King’s Lynn, in the county of Norfolk, humbly beg leave to -bear this public testimony of our horror and indignation at the -late nefarious attempt upon a life so highly important to the -welfare of these realms. We most cordially congratulate, -not only your majesty, but all friends to our country, on your -providential escape from danger so imminent; and beg leave to -express our earnest wishes and prayers, that your majesty may -long continue to reign over a free and happy people.—Given -<i>under our Common-Seal</i>, <i>at our Guildhall</i>, <i>the</i> -21<i>st.</i> <i>day of May</i>, <i>in the year of our Lord</i> -1800.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>The Address from the <i>inhabitants</i> was somewhat longer, -but to the same effect, though differently worded. The -former mentioned the horrid act as having excited the -<i>indignation</i>, and the latter the <i>detestation</i> of the -addressers, neither of which could be very proper as applied to -the conduct of a madman. The outrageous conduct of a -maniac, may excite horror; but it is not easy to conceive how it -can excite either indignation or detestation. Before we -dismiss this subject we may just observe that <i>Hadfield</i>, -<i>Brothers</i>, and <i>Margaret Nicholson</i>, were not the only -personages who, in the course of this reign, were moved and -impelled by the spirit of insanity to pay very extraordinary -attention to the sovereign.</p> -<p><a name="footnote985"></a><a href="#citation985" -class="footnote">[985]</a> Unless we should except the -great accession of honour to our town in 1807, by the addition of -the names of his royal highness <i>William Henry duke of -Clarence</i>, and the right honourable <i>George James</i>, -<i>earl of Cholmondeley</i>, to its list of <i>freemen</i>.</p> -<p><a name="footnote990a"></a><a href="#citation990a" -class="footnote">[990a]</a> The following appeared as -officiating clergy or ministers in the two churches of this -parish within the time of Dr. Arrowsmith’s residence -here—Messrs <i>Caston</i>, <i>Stalham</i>, <i>Hares</i>, -<i>Swallowe</i>, <i>Emmotte</i>, <i>Nic. Toll</i>, <i>Caston</i> -junr. <i>Rawlinson</i>, <i>Purchas</i>, <i>Gatford</i>, -<i>Leech</i>, <i>Almond</i>, <i>Bell</i>: but they were not all -here at the same time; several of then being successors to such -as had removed or died. There seem, however, to have been -more stated and officiating ministers here then, than there are -at present; and the same probably was the case afterwards during -the common-wealth and protectorate.</p> -<p><a name="footnote990b"></a><a href="#citation990b" -class="footnote">[990b]</a> The chief document alluded to -is an old quarto MS. or record, evidently extracted from an older -one, or from the Hall-books, for the use, it seems, of the -clergy, and probably by some of that body, as it has passed -through that channel, and is written by different hands. In -this record the following notices of Mr. Arrowsmith -occur—</p> -<blockquote><p>“1630, Sept. 29. Mr. John Arrowsmith -M.A. Fell. Kath. Hall, made choice of from the university of -Cambridge to be one of the Lecturers of this town; and he is to -have a ffee of 50<i>l.</i> per annum, and a convenient dwelling -house, or 5<i>l.</i> in lieu thereof—to preach twice every -Sunday, except 1st. Sunday in every month, and then but -once, and with the other Lecturer, or to preach by several turns, -viz. Days K’s entrance into ys kingdom 1st. Augt. 29th. -Augt. 29th. Sept. 5th. Nov. 25th. Dec. and to help the curate in -the mynistring Sacrament Ld’s supper, and if hereafter he -shall take any benefice then this election shall be -void.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>—again—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Dec. 10th. Mr. Arrowsmith chosen one -o’Lecturers, 29th. Sept. &c. now ordered to preach at -St. N. every Sunday morning, and be respited of’s aft. S. -also to preach Wednesday every forenoon St. M. and Mr. Caston to -preach afternoons St. N. and forenoons at St. M. as -usual.—Mr. Arrowsmith and Mr Caston, Lecturers, had ffee -either of ym 50<i>l.</i> a piece, and either of ym Dwelling -house, or 5<i>l.</i> a piece in lieu yereof, thr. ffees to be -made up 100 marks (66<i>l.</i> 13<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i>) apiece, -and their houses continued, or 5<i>l.</i> a piece yearly as -formerly, and yt the xii Sermons they were respited, shall in -respect of ys increase be preached by each of ym: ye increase of -this ffee to begin from Xtmas next.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>—again—</p> -<blockquote><p>“1631, July 1st. Mr. -Arrowsmith’s ffee made up the whole to 100<i>l.</i> per -ann. Qterly beg. 29th. Sept. next.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>—again—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Dec. 7th. a patent under com. seal M. and -burg. at request of Mr. Arrowsmith M.A. for his ffee of -100<i>l.</i> a year to be paid Qterly, with such covenants and -agreements as shall be thought fit to be inserted.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>—again—</p> -<blockquote><p>“1632, Sept. 28th. 10<i>l.</i> allowed Mr. -Arrowsmith towards payment of house rent.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>—again—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Mar. 11th. Mr. John Arrowsmith commended to -Ld. Bp. of Norwich and Dean and Chapter to be minr. St. Nic. -Chapel, K’s L. on conditions and agreements hereafter -following, viz. Yt Mr. A. still continue his place -o’pching, and to admr. Sacr. Ld’s Supper, but not to -be further tyed or charged with the duties o’ ye -minister’s place, nor to receive any part of the benefits -thereof, only to have his ffee as formerly granted him; but ye -same to be performed by a man to be appointed by ye town, and -that ye town shall also dispose of all the benefits of the -place. Also agreed yt. Mr. A. shall suffer ye parishioners -from time to time to make choice of the churchwardens and of the -parish dark, as they shall think fit.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>—again—</p> -<blockquote><p>“1633. Augt. 26th. (loco 25.) Mr. A’s. -patent sealed with com. seal for’s stipend of 100<i>l.</i> -per ann. and 10<i>l.</i> for’s dwelling, but it is directed -to be deposited in Town Clerk’s hand, till Mr. A. shall -covenant in writinge with ye Major and Burgesses to perform ye -order of this house in March last, touching ye minister’s -place.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>—again—</p> -<blockquote><p>“1635, Apr. 10th. 100<i>l.</i> lent by ye -House one yr to Mr. Arrowsmith, minister St. Nicholas parish -gratis, &c.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>—again—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Sept. 14th. Mr. A’s patent -delivered out to Mr. A. himself.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>—again—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Dec. 4th. Mr. <i>Matts. Swallowe</i> -chosen Lecturer in this town, loco Mr. Edm. Caston decd. by M. A. -C. C. as far as in ym lieth, <i>viz.</i> to preach 2ce every -Ld’s day, in forenoon St. Margt. and afteroon at St Nic. -and to help to admyn. sact. Ld’s Sup. every common. day, -and to preach on ffestival days by turns with Mr. A. as Mr. -Caston did, for 100 marks in money, and house, and a letter -o’commendation to ye Bp. in his behalf. And this day -M A. C. C as far as in ym lies chose Mr. Edm. Caston, son of Mr. -E. C. late decd. to be curate St. Margaret’s Church, loco -Mr. Matts. Swallowe this day chose into place of Mr. E. C. -deed, he to preach every Ld’s day in ye afternoon at St. -Margaret’s Church, and to read divine service, and perform -other duties of the church as Mr. S. did for 40<i>l.</i> a yr. in -money, and such ffees and church duties as Mr. S. had, and on -such conditions as Mr. S. had the same.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>—again—</p> -<blockquote><p>“1637, May 12th at request of Mr. John -Arrowsmith, B. D, min. and prcher of Word of God St. Nics. chap. -K’s Lyn, on account of indisposition of body, and for his -convenience, ordrd. ye Wednesday Lector in St. Margt’s -shall be translated to St. Nic. chap. till Michs. next”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>—again—</p> -<blockquote><p>“1641, Oct. 8th. Mr. Mayor to treat -with Mr. Arrowsmith concerng. a minr. for St. Margt’s -church, [in the room of Mr. Gatford] and Mr. Mayor to get some -other minr. to preach on Sundays till we can be provided with a -min. and they yt preach shall have for every S. -10<i>s.</i>”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>[It appears that the place of minister of St. Nicholas’ -was then preferable to that of St. Margaret’s; otherwise -Mr. Arrowsmith, no doubt, would have had the offer of the -latter]—again—</p> -<blockquote><p>“1644, Sept 29th. Mr. John A. minister -St. Nic. chap, elected to ye Synod, and elected Mr. St. -John’s Coll. Cambridge, by ye pliamt: -discharged.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>He was succeeded about a fortnight after, by <i>Mr. Thomas -Hoogan</i>. But Mr Arrowsmith continued long after to be -highly respected here, as appears by their applying to him when -in want of ministers, and accepting those whom he -recommended. Mr. W. Falkner, Fellow of Peter House, came -here as late as 1658, upon his recommendation, and that of Dr. -<i>Tuckney</i>.</p> -<p><a name="footnote993"></a><a href="#citation993" -class="footnote">[993]</a> We are assured that Dr. Tho. -Goodwin, afterwards the memorable president of Magdalen College, -Oxford, was at this time lecturer of Trinity Church, and fellow -of Catherine Hall, in Cambridge, of which Arrowsmith, who was -afterwards successfully invited to Lynn, was then likewise a -fellow: there can therefore be no doubt of his being the very -person who was now applied to from this town. (See -Aikin’s Biography.)</p> -<p><a name="footnote994"></a><a href="#citation994" -class="footnote">[994]</a> Granger speaks of him as -follows—</p> -<blockquote><p>“<i>John Goodwin</i>, minister of Coleman -Street, was a man who made more noise in the world than any -person of his age, rank, and profession. He had the -hardiness to introduce Arminianism among the Calvinists, which he -bravely and jealously defended, both in his sermons and -writings. It is hard to say whether he displayed more -courage in attacking or repelling the enemy. It is certain -he had a very powerful body to deal with, as it was said that -<i>he was a man by himself</i>: <i>was against every man</i>, -<i>and had every man almost against him</i>. His genius -seemed to be adapted to polemical divinity, and to an age of -faction and tumult. He was appointed by the council of war -to attend upon Charles I. a little before his execution. -This was deemed an insult upon fallen majesty; as no man more -eagerly promoted, or more zealously defended the murder of the -king. His discourses and writings on this subject were well -remembered at the restoration; but it was also remembered, that -he had sown the seeds of division among the sectaries, which is -supposed to have saved his life.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>He was educated at Cambridge, and his sermons were much -admired for their elegance and erudition. Brit. Biogr. 6. -378.—He died in 1665, aged 72.</p> -<p><a name="footnote995"></a><a href="#citation995" -class="footnote">[995]</a> Of his matrimonial adventure we -have met with the following anecdote—</p> -<blockquote><p>“The gentlewoman who afterwards was his -wife, coming with her two elder sisters to hear him preach at -<i>Hareby</i>, a village not far from <i>Bullingbrook</i>, the -clerk, after sermon, insinuating himself into their company, -asked them, which of them could like such a man as Mr. H. for a -husband? The two elder declared against it, (though they -could not but commend his preaching,) and gave their reasons -drawn from the poor circumstances ministers’ widows were -often left in: but the younger said she should think herself -happy if she might have such a man, though she begged her bread -with him. This was carried to Mr. H and she became his -wife. She survived him [ten years] but never wanted while -she lived.” (<i>Nonconf. Mem.</i> vol. 2.)</p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="footnote996"></a><a href="#citation996" -class="footnote">[996]</a> Mr. <i>Palmer</i> dates the -commencement of his residence and ministry here in 1647, in which -he is mistaken, as appears both from the document above referred -to, and also from the old parish-book of South Lynn, which prove -beyond all doubt, that he was here in 1646.—The former -contains the following curious memoranda—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Oct. 2. 1646: ord. yt Wedn. 14th be a day -set apart for public thanksgiving to God for his so mercifully -freeing this town fr ye contagious disease of the -<i>Plague</i>. Notice to be given to sevl minrs by Mr. ald. -John May.—It is this day also agreed and ordered that the -sevl. ministers of this Town, viz. <i>Mr. Almond</i>, <i>Mr. -Hoogan</i>, <i>Mr. Toll</i>, <i>Mr. Leech</i>, and <i>Mr. -Horne</i> if he please, shall every one of them be intreated in -his turn weekly at the Hour appointed to pray every morning -before the Hall here with the company of this House by the space -of a quarter of an hour or thereabout; and that every one of the -aldermen or comn. Counsell that shall at any time be absent frm. -such Prayer shall pay for his respective fine or brogue -6<i>d.</i> to the use of the Poor, and yt. ys. order as to the -sd. payment of 6<i>d.</i> for ye sd. absence from prayer shall be -inserted in the Table of ancient orders.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>—again—</p> -<blockquote><p>“9, Dec. 1646: Whereas <i>Mr. Almond</i>, -<i>Mr. Hoogan</i>, <i>Mr. Toll</i>, and <i>Mr. Leech</i>, ye now -ministers of this Burgh did lately present a Petition unto ys. -House concerning an order lately made in ys House for Prayer -amongst ourselves by them and <i>Mr. Horne</i>: and this day 3 of -ym came into this House to desire an answer thereof; which said -Petition was now plainly read, wherein were some dark sentences -and words not well understood, whereupon ys House hath intreated -and nominated <i>Mr. Hudson</i>, <i>Mr. Slany</i>, <i>Mr. -Bassett</i>, and <i>Mr. Wormell</i>, aldermen; <i>Mr. Barnard -Utber</i>, <i>Mr. Williams</i>, <i>Mr. Scott</i>, and <i>Captain -Joshua Greene</i>, a committe for that purpose, giving ym power -forthwith to request all and every the said ministers to meet -together, to make explanation of ye sd dark words and sentences; -and then to draw up such an answer thereof as they shall conceive -fitting, and tender it to this House, that being approved on may -be returned in writing.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>—again—</p> -<blockquote><p>“14. Dec. 1646: Whereas the last Hall day -the ministers’ Petition was twice read, and referred to a -Committee to consider thereof and certify the several -explanations of dark sentences by ye sd ministers. It is ys -day upon the report of ye sd. committee ord. that <i>Mr. Edward -Robinson</i> shall return this answer to ye sd ministers, that ys -House doth adhere to their former vote, mentioned in a former -order of ys House.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="footnote997a"></a><a href="#citation997a" -class="footnote">[997a]</a> That Mr. Man was settled here -as early as 1593 appears from the following passage in the old -record already quoted—“1593 Mar. 18. John Man -B.A. Bennet Coll. Cambr. chose usher, wages 10<i>l.</i> a -yr.”—Afterwards we have it noted—“1597, -Sept. 26. John Man. <i>M.A.</i> eld. M Gr. Sch. loco Nic. Eston M -A.”</p> -<p><a name="footnote997b"></a><a href="#citation997b" -class="footnote">[997b]</a> “Bartholomew-day (said -<i>Locke</i>) was fatal to our church and religion, in throwing -out a very great number of worthy, learned, pious, and orthodox -divines.”</p> -<p><a name="footnote998"></a><a href="#citation998" -class="footnote">[998]</a> He was doubtless more diligent -and laborious in his ministry than any we have here now, or, -perhaps, ever had since his time, of any denomination. His -memory ought therefore to be revered.</p> -<p><a name="footnote999"></a><a href="#citation999" -class="footnote">[999]</a> Some of them are controversial, -in answer to Dr. Owen, Dr. Kendal, Mr. Grantham, &c. -Others are funeral sermons preached at different times, at Lynn -and other parts of Norfolk: one is a narrative of the penitent -behaviour of <i>Rose Warne of Lynn</i>, a condemned malefactor; -another is a Farewell to his parishioners at the time of his -ejection in 1662; another a <i>Poem</i>, entitled <i>The Divine -Wooer</i>, at the end of which is a long Epitaph drawn up by him -for his friend and parishioner, Thomas Lilly, Great Great -Grandfather of our Sir Martin Browne Folkes. Most of the -rest are pious practical discourses, all very creditable to his -memory.—From the <i>Farewell to his Parishioners</i>, it -appears that the income of his vicarage was 80<i>l.</i> a year, -equal we suppose to 500<i>l.</i> of our money. That income -he sacrificed for conscience’ sake.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1001a"></a><a href="#citation1001a" -class="footnote">[1001a]</a> It is not easy to conceive -what should deter him from taking orders unless it were that he -had some serious scruples as to the terms of ordination, which, -to say the least of them, seem to be hard enough of all -conscience.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1001b"></a><a href="#citation1001b" -class="footnote">[1001b]</a> At his death he bequeathed his -books to the town library: and he also bequeathed a handsome -legacy to the corporation, as trustees, to lay out the interest -of it in apprenticing poor children; which it is presumed, is -still applied to the same benevolent purpose.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1002a"></a><a href="#citation1002a" -class="footnote">[1002a]</a> Who immediately succeeded Mr. -Horne, as minister or pastor over his people, seems -uncertain. We have heard, a <i>Mr. Williams</i> mentioned -as holding that situation previously to the settlement here of -the elder <i>Rastrick</i>, which seems to have taken place about -1710 or 12. Whether he was here during the whole of the -intervening period we cannot say: Nor do we know any thing -further of him.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1002b"></a><a href="#citation1002b" -class="footnote">[1002b]</a> The exact number of his -publications the present writer has not been able to learn. -The following were the titles of some of them—A Commentary -on the seven first Chapters of Revelation, 4to London, 1678, pp. -935.—A Call to Repentance, &c. 8vo London, 1682 pp. -438.—Calling and Election: or many called but few chosen. -12mo. Lond. 1674—Needful councel for lukewarm christians, -4to Lond.—The object of love, &c. to the end we may -love one another. 12mo. London.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1003"></a><a href="#citation1003" -class="footnote">[1003]</a> Dugdale does so repeatedly, in -different parts of his works, and so does Parkin, if our memory -does not fail us—</p> -<blockquote><p>“I have seen (says he, in one place) a -memorandum wrote by Gybon Goddard Esq. Serjeant at Law and -recorder of Lynn, who was a <i>curious collector of -Antiquities</i>, and died in 1671, wherein he observes that in -his time in digging to set down a new sluice a little beneath -Magdalen fall, which is about half a mile from Magdalen bridge, -on the Marshland side, there was found about 16 foot, within -soyle a grave stone of about 8 feet long, and a cart wheel near -to it. The grave-stone (he adds) is now in Magdalen Church -Yard.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="footnote1010"></a><a href="#citation1010" -class="footnote">[1010]</a> They run thus—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Orders to be observed at the Society when -met together—1. That there be a meeting of the several -members every Lord’s day evening, after divine service, for -religious conference, to be managed in manner following, viz. One -of the Stewards with the whole society kneeling, to read the -Collect for the second Sunday in Advent, adding thereunto any -particular Collect according to his discretions (but he shall -make choice of no other but those appointed for Sundays and -holidays) and if a chapter be read out of the N. Test, then the -Society to discourse of the contents of that chapter, aiming -thereby each to improve himself in the undertaking thereof, and -in the more lively application thereof to his own heart and -conscience, and to render the influence more powerful to the mind -both of himself and his brethren.—That every member at his -going away, according to his ability, put what he please into the -poor-box, which is heartily wished may be done not grudgingly or -of necessity, but with joy and alacrity, for God loveth a -cheerful giver: After which to conclude with two Collects, one of -the Steward’s choice, and the last to be that in the -Communion Service, (<i>Prevent us O Lord</i>, -<i>&c.</i>) Moreover, beside the forementioned general -method of reading and discoursing the scriptures in order, any -member hath the liberty to raise any argument of a spiritual or -religious nature, provided it be not above our reach and -capacity, nor leading to doubtful disputations, but such as may -conduce to general benefit and advantage, to counselling the -doubtful, and instructing the ignorant, confirming the weak, and -encouraging one another to run with patience the race that is set -before us. But matters of controversy to be avoided, -especially state affairs, as not belonging to us, who pretend to -be instructed by that grace of God that teacheth us to be holy -without blame before him in love. Wherefore upon deliberate -consideration, reflecting upon the confusions and distractions -that have been raised by societies on such occasions, it is -ordered with full consent, that whosoever shall pretend to start -any thing of debate or controversy concerning state affairs, -after the first or second admonition, shall be excluded from the -society: also all discourse of matters of trade, or other -temporal concerns to be forborne.—2<i>ndly</i>, that every -respective member shall have liberty to recommend an object of -charity to the Stewards, to whom a satisfactory account being -given of the particular circumstances of those unto whom they, -with the consent of the rest of the society, or the greater part -of them, shall give out of the aforesaid collections as necessity -shall require.—3<i>rdly</i>, That every one that is absent -from the society at their meeting together, if on a frivolous -occasion, such as shews any backwardness to attend, or a mean and -slight esteem for the society in conformity to these rules and -orders, shall incur the penalty of 6<i>d.</i> to be paid into the -bank for defraying the necessary charges of the society, for the -convenience of meeting; and if a Steward, one shilling: but if -any person’s absence appears to be involuntary, as from a -master’s restraint upon a servant, or otherwise, not -proceeding from sloth or backwardness, a sufficient answer being -given to the Steward who shall enquire the cause, the said answer -shall suffice for his absence: but if any one be absent four -times together without a very sufficient cause, he is to be -looked upon as dissaffected to the society until he gives the -Stewards satisfactory reasons for his said -<i>absence</i>.—4<i>thly</i>, That upon the Lord’s -day next before Whitsunday there shall be an <i>election of -Stewards</i> for the year ensuing, to be made in manner -following, viz. Every member of the Society to put into a bason -two tickets, whereon are written the names of the two persons he -desires may be stewards: that is to say, the one name on the one, -and the other on the other, each of the present stewards to have -duplicate votes, each putting in four tickets, having on two of -them the names of the one, and on the other two the names of the -other person they prefer for stewards: then the tickets being -told over by the old stewards, those two persons whose names are -written on the greatest number of tickets are the Stewards elect; -and if at any time an equality shall happen, then the -determination to be made by lot.—5<i>thty</i>, That for the -admitting a new member into the Society it is requisite to be -introduced by one of the members, who is to accompany him into -the Society at their usual meeting, where giving an account of -the knowledge he hath of his life and conversation, if approved -of by the Stewards and the rest of the Society, the rules and -orders to be read to him; and after <i>one month</i>, if none of -the society make objection against it, he is to be admitted, by -subscribing his name to these rules and orders, expressing his -approbation of them and resolution to live up to -them.—6<i>thly</i>, That six times a year every member meet -at St. Margaret’s Church to take the holy sacrament -together, extent upon unavoidable hinderance.—7<i>thly</i>, -That the major part of the society shall upon any necessary -occasion have power to make a new rule or order with the -approbation of a minister of the Church of England, which shall -be equally binding with the present upon every member of the -Society.—8<i>thly</i>, That the rules and orders be read -over at least six times every year at the usual meeting of the -Society, and every member have liberty to take a copy -thereof.—9<i>thly</i>, That the person who hath the -greatest number of lots next the Stewards, shall be deputy in the -absence of one of the Stewards.—<i>These are the Rules and -Orders of a Religious Society in King’s Lynn</i>, <i>under -the patronage of the reverend Doctor Littel</i>, <i>Anno -Domini</i> 1704.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>The author has more materials relating to this remarkable -society, but what has been here given throws a sufficient light -upon its character and its objects. Such a society in every -parish would be no way dangerous to either church or state.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1015a"></a><a href="#citation1015a" -class="footnote">[1015a]</a> It must not here be concealed, -that his reputed heterodoxy, especially in regard to the -Athanasian trinity, might also be among the causes, if it was not -indeed the very chief cause of his failure in the point of -ecclesiastical preferment. That he was decidedly averse to -Athanasianism, and made no secret of that aversion, is very well -known; a remarkable instance of which was related by his son Dr. -Edmd. Pyle in a letter to one of his female friends, dated August -4. 1747; a copy of which has fallen into the hands of the present -writer. The passage alluded to is as follows—</p> -<blockquote><p>“My F—r has been excessive hoarse and -stuffed and oppressed on the lungs, and after physic had in vain -attempted his relief, he went abroad, the weather being fine, to -view his new ch—h, <a name="citation1015b"></a><a -href="#footnote1015b" class="citation">[1015b]</a> where they are -putting up a magnificent p—lp—t, as the finishing -stroke. There the sight of the Tr—ty in Un—ty -emblematically displayed in the front pannel of the said -p—l—p—t put him into such a passion, that you -would have sworn, that with distemper and indignation he must -have been suffocated: but G—d be praised nature got the -better both of the m—st—y and the disease, and the -conflict produced, what medicines could not, a free and large -expectoration, which was succeeded by a fit of as clear and -audible raving, as a man would wish to hear from a sound -protestant divine, on so provoking an occasion.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>This letter-writer to be sure was an arch and wicked dog; but -there can be no doubt of his statement being founded on fact: and -when it is considered how their reputed heterodoxy affected -Clarke, Whiston, and others of Pyle’s eminent -contemporaries, it will not appear very strange that his rewards -were not equal to his merits, or that his preferments were few -and inconsiderable.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1015b"></a><a href="#citation1015b" -class="footnote">[1015b]</a> This was St. Margaret’s -then rebuilt.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1017"></a><a href="#citation1017" -class="footnote">[1017]</a> The correspondence between -these two eminent men did not close here. It is certain -that some letters afterwards passed between them, as appears from -the fragment of Mr. Pyle’s answer to one he had received -from the primate, and which reads thus—</p> -<blockquote><p>“I no sooner received the great favour of -your Grace’s kind and good Letter than I wrote to the -person intimated therein, and deferred my dutiful answer to it no -longer than till I was enabled to acquaint you with his truly -filial reply, that he should never find greater pleasure than -that of complying with every desire of a father, and the -honorable friends of that father.—Meantime I am sorry for -the ill state of my friend <i>C—st—l</i>, which gives -occasion to this affair. I loved the man: my Sons honoured -him much. I thank your Grace for your very good remembrance -of me and my Sou. Age, my Lord, confines me at home, when -yet good providence blesses me with eyes and faculties, still -enabling me to read, and even to preach once a day -generally. I read every thing and make use of the glorious -prerogative of private judgment, the birth-right of -protestants. I pass free sentiment upon <i>Mddltn</i>, and -on all his opponents stronger or weaker. So I shall upon -what he is going to say on the only piece of that great man of -L— that ever gave me pleasure.—I read -<i>Disquisitions</i>, and when I’ve done fall to my prayers -and wishes, that the good thing desired may be put into the hands -of the able, knowing, and impartial, that no -church-<i>tinkers</i> may be suffered to mend some few holes and -leave others open, at which some vital part of the noble -christian scheme may run out and be lost. But no wish of -mine is so ardent as that your Grace may live with that excellent -[mind <a name="citation1018"></a><a href="#footnote1018" -class="citation">[1018]</a>] of <i>Tlltsn</i>, which is in you, -to preside in, to direct this same good thing, and bring it to -perfection.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Of the residue of this letter we know nothing: this part of it -sufficiently shews whereabout Mr. P. and the Primate stood as to -the points afterwards agitated in the <i>Confessional -&c.</i> This epistle is supposed to have been written -about 1753, three years before the death of Mr. P. and four years -before that of the Abp. than whom it does not appear that a -worthier prelate ever occupied the See of Canterbury.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1018"></a><a href="#citation1018" -class="footnote">[1018]</a> There is a word wanting here in -the MS. Copy, which probably was <i>mind</i> or <i>spirit</i>; -alluding it is supposed to Tillotson’s liberal mindedness, -and wish to get rid of the Athanasian Creed, &c.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1020"></a><a href="#citation1020" -class="footnote">[1020]</a> Something is here wanting; -<i>vacate</i> perhaps or <i>relinquish</i>.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1021"></a><a href="#citation1021" -class="footnote">[1021]</a> The same MS. volume, or -Collection, from which the above has been taken, contains the -following curious fragment or P.S. of a letter of the date of -1742 from the same respectable prelate, to the same -correspondent, as we presume, for it has no -superscription.—</p> -<blockquote><p>“I find by the direction of one of your -correspondents, whose hand and head I guess at, how great a man a -C—n of S— must be, that his titles must follow him -into all countries. The other, whose hand and head I pretty -well know, has more sense than to adorn the outside of his -letters in that manner.—I remember a story of a clergyman -of great form in <i>Surry</i>, who directed a post letter to -<i>Abp. Sancroft</i>—<i>To his Grace</i>, <i>my Lord Abp. -of Canterbury</i>, <i>Primate of all England and -Metropolitan</i>:—which letter a man famous for imitating -hands happened to see brought to the post-office at <i>Epsom</i>, -and finding a little room left after the word -<i>metropolitan</i>, added the words <i>to boot</i>, which caused -great wrath in old Sancroft, and a thorough reprimand to the poor -man next time he appeared at <i>Lambeth</i>, who could not -distinguish the addition from his own hand. B. -W.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="footnote1024"></a><a href="#citation1024" -class="footnote">[1024]</a> Of those letters of his which -have fallen in this writer’s way all are of a date -posterior to his removal from this town, except that which -contains the account of the contested election in 1747, of which -we have already given large extracts.—Of the rest the most -remarkable is dated 24. July 1756, at Chelsea, where the Bp. of -Winchester has a town house, with whom he then resided as his -chaplain. Who his correspondent was does not appear; but he -writes to him as follows—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Dear Sir, I returned to this place a few -days ago from Winch—r, after taking possession of a warm -stall in the Cathedral, and a very good house in the close. -My going thither was delayed a fortnight, by a feverish disorder, -attended with some very odd and disagreeable circumstances of -inflamation, from which I thank God I am very well -recovered. I find that as my constitution is, I must, now -and then, sacrifice something in point of health, to the plenty, -that flows in this noble house. However I am not worse upon -the whole, than when I lived in Norfolk: in that respect and all -others I am sure I am a <i>thousand times better</i>. -Winch—r and all the large towns in that county were full of -<i>Hessian troops</i>, whose appearance and sober behaviour was -pleasing. I saw them in several different -circumstances. <span class="smcap">First</span> In their -military <i>Exercise</i>, out of the City, in a spacious plain on -the top of a hill, every fine morning. <span -class="smcap">Secondly</span>. At their <i>devotions</i>, -on Sundays, in the Body of the Cathedral; which was a most grave -and edifying sight. Their service, (both of such as are -<i>Lutherans</i>, and of others of them that are -<i>Calvinists</i>,) is in the way of our -<i>Dissenters</i>—1<i>st.</i> a <i>psalm</i>, very long, in -which every Soldier bore his part; each having a book, and -behaving in that, and the other parts of the service, with all -possible decency and attention. I saw about 700 each time -that I was present. They sing very well. The psalm -was set by a Serjeant of Granadiers, a noble stately fellow; who -had a vast pair of whiskers like birch brooms. All their -granadiers wear this distinction in their faces. When the -psalm was ended, a very solemn divine (tho’ he had no -whiskers) in a black cloak, gave us a sermon in their language; -after a prayer, which ended with the <i>Lord’s</i> Prayer; -at which they all went down on their knees on the floor. -The preacher used no great action, but he had a very great voice, -great earnestness, and was in a great sweat. Then followed -another psalm, much shorter than the first, and all was closed -with a prayer shorter also than the former.—There was a -Collection of money, but for what purpose I know not -certainly. There were few of the common-people but gave -something. It is said to be made for the preacher’s -service, by some; others say it has relation to the Sacrament, -which they receive monthly; but I saw not the administration of -it. The generals and officers were all present and behaved -with all seriousness. The officers are very genteel and -frugal; yet generous enough to give the ladies of the place a -Ball once a week.—Another circumstance I saw them in was at -a Ball, in a garden, from 6 to 9 o’Clock, which was by far -the prettiest entertainment I ever was at. The Dean of -Winch—ter has a fine and large Garden, which is a place of -resort on summer evenings, for all the persons of fashion (which -are many) in the city. It consists of a large lawn, at the -end of which, (or rather through which) passes a quick river, -that has a Chinese bridge over it, and is formed into two -cascades, as it runs along. There is also a large grove, -fine walks of gravel, and two or three alcoves. Here the -officers desired leave to introduce the music, and give the -ladies a Ball. The Dean consented, and all the gentry and -quality in and about the place were put together there. And -for the three hours I spake of, 25 couples danced on the lawn on -one side of the river, the musicians standing on the other. -There were 25 hands, and all good ones. They have learnt at -home the tunes of our English Dances, which are practised there -in compliment to our sovereign and country. In the dancing -one could not but observe, how true the officers stept both to -the time and tune: whereas the dancing of the English gentlemen, -and most of the ladies too, was what one may call <i>Romps run -mad</i>. The day before I came away, the troops from all -the towns were encamped, about a mile and a half from the city, -which afforded me a mornings amusement of the most agreeable -sort. The Dean and Prebendaries, who have each of them a -good income; [and I’ll assure you, most of ’em, live -up to it, as Peg B— said of the Week’s Preparation] -have done these Foreigners honour at their Tables with high -gentility. They almost all come to the Cathedral, and one -of ’em who sat next me, by some broken English of his, and -some bad <i>latin</i>, both of his and mine, was made to -understand all the ceremonies that were performed <i>by</i> and -<i>upon</i> me in the church, on the sunday I took -possession. He seemed better satisfied with all other -things, than with our surplices, scarves, and scarlet hoods; -which he looked upon with somewhat of an evil eye: For, you know, -that from the days of good Q. B—ss to these days some of -the protestants abroad have objected to our Ecclesiastical -Dresses as <i>Popish</i>—and some even of our own Divines -have boggled at them in her time.—They have brought no -<i>women</i> with them, but a few of the soldiers wives, who are -very clean, large, and fleshy. They put on when they get -abroad a Straw Bonnet, which shades and almost hides their faces, -and a callico or printed linen cloak, very long and -full.—The persons at Winch—r of the female sex [like -those of another place that we know] are all, or would all pass -for, fine gentlewomen. And I could not for my life help -being diverted with a question asked by the simple <i>Hessian -Women</i> concerning them. <i>Pray</i>, said they, <i>have -you none but ladies of quality in this place</i>? The -answer was, that there was but one lady of quality [Lady -Jernegan] in the city. <i>Well</i>, said they, <i>we -thought they were all such</i>; for in <i>our country</i>, they -who are <i>always dress’d out</i>, and <i>going from -home</i>, <i>are ladies of quality</i>: so we thought that ye -were all quality.—One of the superior officers quartered at -Southampton (where the resort of company to drink and bathe in -the sea water, has benefited the place and spoilt the people) -seeing all the gentlewomen of the town gadding abroad -o’mornings, to the public rooms, or idle visits, bought up -all the <i>Thimbles</i> he could get; and one morning when -abundance of them were together in a public place, he presented -each with a Thimble, saying, it must needs be, that they wanted -the requisites to employ them properly <i>at</i> home, or they -would not be constantly <i>from</i> home. This pretty -reproof has produced a great deal of mirth, but very little -reformation, that I heard of, among the Southhampton -<i>Quality</i>.—The emoluments of churchmen as well as -others who live in Hampshire, [at Winch—r especially] ought -to be good. For (put all articles together that belong to -house-keeping) and things are dearer there, than with you, by 7 -and 6 pence in the pound. There is very little difference -between the rate of eatables, coals. &c. there and in -London. Fowls of all sorts, pigs, rabbets, are very high -priced, and fish is 6<i>d.</i> a mouthful, tho’ Southampton -is so near. For the fine folks that come down from London -have in a very few years more than doubled the rate of that sort -of food, even upon the place. But the worst circumstance -belonging to both that city and county, is that there are many -<i>Roman Catholicks</i>. One of that persuasion would have -hired my prependal house at a considerable rent, for the term of -the bishop’s life, till the end of which I shall not fit it -up for my own use. I sent such an answer that I shall -ne’er be applied to again by any body of that stamp: -‘any other person of fashion shall have it for half the -money, and be thanked into the bargain.’ In looking -over what I have writ, I find I have filled a sheet; this -surprizes me, for I did not intend to fill more than a -side. If you have as much patience as you used to have, may -be you have read it all. You can’t do a more -acceptable thing than to write to me, at any time, and at this -time, it will be a sort of charity, I being greatly dejected in -<i>spirit</i>, at the state of public affairs. Our Common -prayer says, what is entirely true, ‘There is none that -fighteth for us but only God:’ and I wish I could be sure -we had him on our side. God bless us all. God bless -you and yours, and all that you and I love, and that love -us—But, as <i>Falstaff</i> says, ‘a pox on all -cowards.’—So says your most humble servant, E. -P.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>To the preceding we beg leave to subjoin the following letter, -or rather <i>fragment</i> of a letter. That it is -<i>from</i> the same hand seems sufficiently certain from both -external and internal evidence. It was written in 1756, -probably to his father, and it might be one of the last, if not -the very last that passed between them. We insert it the -more readily because so honourable to Bp. Hoadly’s memory, -and not otherwise to that of Dr. F.—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Dr. <i>Thackery</i>, who keeps a school an -<i>Harrow</i> on the <i>Hill</i>, has one living and 14 -children. A man bred at Eaton, and a great scholar in the -Eaton way, and a good one every way, a true Whig, and proud to be -so by some special marks of integrity. He was candidate for -the Headship of King’s, and would have beat all men but -George, and George too, if Sir R. W. had not made George’s -promotion a point. Since this disappointment he took the -school of <i>Harrow</i> to educate his own and other -people’s children; where he has performed all along with -great reputation. The Bp. of W. never saw this man in his -life; but had heard so much good of him, that he resolved to -serve him some way of other, if ever he could—but said -nothing to any body. On friday last he sent for this Dr. T. -and when he came into the room, my lord gave him a parchment, and -told him he had long heard of his good character, and long been -afraid he should never be able to give him any serviceable proof -of the good opinion he had long conceived of him: That what he -had put into his hands was the <i>archdeaconry of Surry</i>, -which he hoped would be acceptable to him, as he might perform -the duty of it yearly, at the time of his leisure in the Easter -Holidays. Dr. T. was surprized and overcome with this -extraordinary manner of doing him a favour, that he was very near -fainting as he was giving him institution.—Tis 130<i>l.</i> -a year, with dependencies that may bring in a deal of -money.—1756.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="footnote1030"></a><a href="#citation1030" -class="footnote">[1030]</a> What led the author to this -supposition or conclusion was an anecdote said to have been -written by Dr. H. himself; in these words—</p> -<blockquote><p>“In Turner de morbis cutaneis See Wts. -related by Langius of a woman longing to bite a baker’s -shoulder.—Somewhat like this was the case of Mrs. Forest -the wife of an alderman (or baliff as they are called in -Scotland) of <i>Haddington</i> in <i>East Lothian</i>; who having -had 4 or 5 daughters, and then with child of a boy, and lying by -her husband awake, while he was fast asleep, in a summer-morning, -his shoulder lying bare, she long’d to taste of it, and -after a great desire could not forbear fixing her teeth. He -waking jump’d out of bed thinking she was mad, but being -soon convinced of what was the matter, easily forgave the fact, -but would not venture a second trial. After dressing and -taking care of the slight wound, he soon after made a jest of the -news to his companions at the tavern: but while they were a -whetting, news was brought him that his wife was miscarried of a -boy; upon which he merrily said, ‘d—mn it, if I had -known it was a boy her longing should have been -satisfied.’—This I had from the woman herself upon -enquiry: for the story was notorious about the time I was born, -1669. G. H.—M. Dr.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="footnote1037"></a><a href="#citation1037" -class="footnote">[1037]</a> Those traits in his character -have been often elucidated by divers well known anecdotes, two or -three of which we will here take the liberty of -inserting.—One of them is given in a letter of Dr. Pyle, if -we are not mistaken, of the date of 1752, addressed perhaps to -his father.—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Your old friend Sir W. B. came to my Lord -Bp. of Winch—r some weeks ago, and told him that he waited -upon him for a pension payable out of his estate to the College -of Physicians. My Lord said, he never heard of any such -pension paid out of his revenues; and as to an estate of his own, -he had none. Yes, says the knight, you are chargeable -herewith out of such an estate. My Lord said, he had no -estate any where of his own, and as Bp. of W. he had no such -estate as was named. Bp. of W—! quoth the knight; why -then lam wrong; you are not the person. I wanted Sir Cecil -Bishop, and they told me he lived here. Is Sir C. B. a -clergyman, says my Lord? No, says the knight. Why -then Sir you might have seen your mistake immediately, and so -your Servant. This dog certainly wanted to see how the Bp. -look’d, and thence judge of his being likely to live or -not, on account of some estate that somebody he knows, is to buy -or renew, who hold of the Bp. of W. and nobody but a man of his -parts and assurance could, have got to the sight of him;” -[<i>July</i> 1752.]</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Another anecdote of him is related by Bp. Warburton in a -Letter to Hurd; dated Prior Park, Nov. 18th 1767.—</p> -<blockquote><p>“When you see Dr. Heberden pray communicate -to him an unexpected honour I lately received. The other -day word was brought me from below, that one Sir William Browne -sent up his name, and would be glad to kiss my hand. I -judged it to be the famous physician, whom I had never seen, nor -had the honour to know. When I came down into the drawing -room I was accosted by a little, round, well fed gentleman, with -a large muff in one hand, and a small Horace open in the other, -and a spying-glass dangling in a black ribbon at his -button. After the first salutation he informed me that his -visit was indeed to me, but principally, and in the first place, -to Prior Park, which had so inviting a prospect from below: and -he had no doubt but on examination it would sufficiently pay the -trouble he had given himself of coming up to it on foot. We -then took our chairs; and the first thing he did or said, was to -propose a doubt to me concerning a passage in Horace, which all -this time he had still open in his hand. Before I could -answer he gave me the solution of this long misunderstood -passage: and in support of his explanation had the charity to -repeat his own paraphrase of it in English verse, just come hot, -as he said, from the brain. When this and chocolate were -over, having seen all he wanted of me, he desired to see -something more of the seat; and particularly what be called the -<i>Monument</i>, by which I understood him to mean, the -Prior’s tower, with your inscription. Accordingly I -ordered a servant to attend him thither; and, when he had -satisfied his curiosity, either to let him out from the park -above into the down, or from the garden below into the -road. Which he chose I never asked; and so this honourable -visit ended. Hereby you will understand, that the design of -all this was to be <i>admired</i>. And indeed he had <i>my -admiration</i> to the full; but for nothing so much, as for being -able at past eighty to perform this expedition on foot, in no -good weather, and with all the alacrity of a boy, both in body -and mind.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>[Before we dismiss this anecdote, it ought to be observed that -the bishop was somewhat incorrect in two instances at least: 1st. -in representing our knight as a <i>little man</i>; 2<i>ndly.</i> -in saying that he was then <i>past eighty</i>. Those who -knew and remember him, speak of him as a <i>tall man</i>; and it -is certain that he wanted several weeks of seventy six when he -visited Prior Park.]—The next anecdote and the last that we -shall here relate, came from the late Thomas Hollingworth, many -years a respectable bookseller in this town, and who settled here -under Dr. Browne’s patronage. He used to say that the -first time he had to make out his bill after the doctor had been -dubbed a knight, he wrote <i>Sir William Browne debtor to Tho. -Hollingworth</i>. When he delivered it into the -knight’s hand, he looked at it a short time, and then -looking at him said, Mr. H. you might have said <i>the -honourable</i> Sir Wm. Browne. I beg your pardon Sir Wm. -replied the bookseller, but upon my word I did not know that it -was customary to prefix to the name of a knight the word -<i>honourable</i>. As to that, rejoined the knight, -tho’ it be not customary, it would yet have been -pleasing.—That to be sure was childish and ridiculous -enough; but we believe that with all his eccentricities and -foibles, Sir. Wm. B. was far from being one of the most -disreputable or unworthy characters that were to be found among -the gentlemen of this town and its vicinity during his long -residence here.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1039"></a><a href="#citation1039" -class="footnote">[1039]</a> The rough draught, or fragment -of a translation of the inscription is longer, but the rest the -present writer could not well make out.—The above seems -enough to give the reader a pretty just idea of the tenor of the -whole.—Before we entirely dismiss this article, or take our -final leave of Sir Wm. we should not omit to notice the much -admired impromptu, or extemporaneous epigram produced by him when -a regiment of horse happened to be quartered at <i>Oxford</i>, -and the king having purchased the noble library of Bp. -<i>Moore</i>, made a present of it to the university of -<i>Cambridge</i>. The epigram was an answer to one that had -been made by a Dr. Trapp, a witty, torified clergyman, on that -occasion, in these words,</p> -<blockquote><p>“The king, observing with judicious eyes<br -/> -The wants of his two universities;<br /> -To <i>Oxford</i> sent a <i>troop of horse</i>, for why?<br /> -That <i>learned</i> body wanted <i>loyalty</i>:<br /> -To Cambridge he sent <i>books</i>, as well discerning,<br /> -That that right <i>loyal</i> body wanted -<i>learning</i>.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Which drew from Sir Wm. the following reply, said so have been -much commended, even by Dr. Johnson.</p> -<blockquote><p>“Contrary methods justly George applies,<br -/> -To govern his two universities;<br /> -To <i>Oxford</i> is dispatched a troop of horse,<br /> -Since <i>Tories</i> own no argument like <i>force</i>;<br /> -To <i>Cambridge</i> Ely’s learned books are sent,<br /> -Since <i>Whigs</i> admit no force like -<i>argument</i>.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="footnote1052"></a><a href="#citation1052" -class="footnote">[1052]</a> The loose livers, (or whores -and rogues of the parish, as some would call them) used to bring -their <i>bastard</i> children to him to <i>christen</i>, or make -them christians, although they discovered no desire or -inclination to live soberly, righteously, and godly, or become -christians themselves. This he thought very improper and -objectionable, and no less than a direct profanation of a -religious rite; and therefore refused to christen such children, -unless their parents made a profession of repentance, and -solemnly promised to forsake those irregular and vicious courses, -and lead for the future virtuous and pious lives. Some -willingly complied with his requirement, upon whose children -therefore he performed the said rite. Others could not be -prevailed upon to submit to this requirement, for which reason he -left their children unchristened, which gave great umbrage, not -only to their parents and such like folk, but even to his own -ecclesiastical superiors, up to the very bishop—all blamed -him for having any scruples about such frivolous, harmless, and -indifferent matters as these. Some also even of the most -decent among his parishioners disapproved of his refusing to -christen the said bastard children, it being, as they said, -punishing the poor things for the sins of their parents. -Forbidding those of loose or immoral lives to come to the -Lord’s Table was another circumstance that gave great -offence, and caused him no small trouble. One of these was -the greatest man in the parish, or head Squire of the place; and -a very fierce and dashing fellow he certainly was. He, by -way of retaliation and revenge, set himself about picking holes -in Mr. R’s coat. They were not indeed of an immoral, -but rather an uncanonical nature. Mr. R. had allowed a -certain worthy person to partake of the Lord’s Supper -<i>sitting</i> instead of <i>kneeling</i>. He also had -<i>not</i> made a point of wearing the <i>surplice</i> while -performing the burial service and some other duties. He had -likewise taken the liberty of using the word <i>honour</i> -instead of <i>worship</i> in the marriage service, and moreover -of curtailing occasionally the liturgic part of the public -service. These deviations were magnified into serious -misdoings, and looked upon by his superiors in a very -unfavourable light. Wherefore his conduct was afterwards -more closely scrutinized; and from the examination and confession -of his church-wardens the following articles of accusation were -extracted, upon which he was proceeded against in the -ecclesiastical court—1. That he did not read the Litany on -<i>Wednesdays and Fridays</i>: 2. That he did not constantly wear -the surplice in all his administrations: 3. That he did not -usually administer the communion on <i>Christmas-day</i>, unless -it fell on <i>Sunday</i>. Nor on <i>Whit-Sunday</i>. -4. That he did not read over the <i>Canons</i> and -<i>Articles</i> twice a year. 5. That there were two -children unbaptiz’d in the parish, which he refused to -baptize. 6. That he was in the habit of conversing (or was -on friendly terms) with one Mr. Richardson, an excommunicate -person.—[Now this person was a worthy, pious dissenting -minister, who had been persecuted for conscience sake, or for -nonconformity, and excommunicated: and it was expected that no -clergyman would converse or associate with him, unless he -recanted: which was a sort of morality or religion which Rastrick -did not approve, and therefore did not choose to practise.] -The first time he appeared before the spiritual Court at Lincoln -to answer to the above articles or charges, he had nothing to do -but only to retain a <i>Proctor</i> against the next -court-day. When that time came, it fell out to be the very -day when king James’s Declaration for liberty of conscience -came first down into the country, which must have been in the -spring of 1687. At this his second appearance he found the -court very much down in the mouth (as he expresses it) and far -from the heat and violence in their proceedings that he -expected. They did however proceed to business, and went -over each of those charges, but came to no determination: not -thinking perhaps the then aspect of things favourable enough to -warrant a rigorous decision. However that was, Rastrick was -now becoming more and more dissatisfied with the terms of -conformity, and began soon to think of availing himself of the -royal Declaration of liberty of conscience to quit his public -station in the church, as he actually did before the close of -that same year. After which he seems to have continued -disengaged till 1701, when he settled with the Presbyterian -congregation in this town.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1055"></a><a href="#citation1055" -class="footnote">[1055]</a> The author therefore requests -the reader to correct his mistake at p. <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page1002">1002</a></span> in dating -Rastrick’s arrival here in 1710 or 11.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1058"></a><a href="#citation1058" -class="footnote">[1058]</a> Something similar has occurred -here within the present year (1811,) only with this difference, -that the disaffected gained their point, and obliged the minister -to resign and withdraw; whereas Mr. R. maintained his ground and -retained his situation, in spite of all opposition, to the -last. But he was constantly supported by the most -respectable part of the congregation.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1059"></a><a href="#citation1059" -class="footnote">[1059]</a> As a manuscript it is very -curious for the neatness and smartness of the writing, especially -as it appears to be written when the author was above 70 years of -age. The beginning of the Preface, where matter -corroborative of what was above suggested occurs, reads -thus—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Perceiving that Antinomianism is in a great -part grown to be the completion of the dissenting interest in -England, as far as my observation reaches, to the great reproach -of the reformation, and scandal of the opposers of its progress: -and that many who pretend to be against it are yet fond of the -doctrines and opinions on which it is founded; grounding all -their divinity on the decrees of God alone, abstracted from his -rule of government; falling in with the hypothesis of necessity -and fate, on which Hobbes founded his Atheism: making all -God’s government to be merely physical, to the destruction -of all religion and morality: not enduring to hear of a -justification by works in any sense, though it be undeniably a -scripture doctrine and expression, <i>Jam.</i> 2. -24:—asserting such an imputation of Christ’s -righteousness as is essentially and formally altogether -unscriptural; and the like: by which means sinners are hardened -in their sin, comforted against necessary fears conducive to -their safety; charity, alms-deeds, and all good works at a fatal -stop; people taught to presume without ground; calling a good -conscience, or a consciousness of keeping Christ’s -commandments, the building on a rotten foundation: tho’ -Christ saith the contrary. <i>Math.</i> 7, 24. -Learned, able, and faithful ministers rejected and discouraged, -and illiterate persons that will indulge men in their -soporiferous notions set up in their room—I say, perceiving -and musing on these things, and <i>exercised</i> by a party of -weak christians under the aforesaid impressions; understanding -the state of christian doctrine amongst us, and the divided -condition of the Churches about it, and casting my eyes upon that -text in <i>John</i> 15, 10. as one of the plainest and fullest -decisive of these controversies: so many thoughts sprung up in my -mind upon it, that to preserve them. I immediately set pen -to paper and wrote down above twenty of the following -propositions before I took it off; to which the rest were quickly -added. By which time I purposed to preach from that text, -and lay them all before <i>my own congregation who so much needed -it</i>: which I did with different success; viz. the usual -distaste of the <i>discontented party</i>, but so much to the -satisfaction and acceptance of others, my worthy friends, that I -was greatly and constantly importun’d to present them to -their eyes, as I had done before to their ears. And having -been called to preach at a meeting of ministers at -<i>Nottingham</i> on the 26th of June 1718, I made no particular -preparation for it, but took a text out of the 22 chap. of -<i>Math.</i> part of the parable of the marriage feast, the whole -of which I had preached over at home, but now only so much of it -as would afford me matter suitable to the whole congregation, -both ministers and people. And being by my brethren desired -to publish my Sermon, I was forced to deny them their request at -that time, because what I had delivered was pick’d out of a -great many discourses, and what I thought most proper for the -auditory at that time only, but would have been a maining to the -whole. Yet I did not despise their motion, nor lay aside -all consideration of it. The importunity of some of them -ran so much in my mind, that . . . I thought if I must -write I might digest the matter of that sermon into the following -Treatise, without deviating from the design of it, but rather -conveniently adding to the principles of it, which I have done, -hoping that they will accept it here, with the rest, by which the -doctrines of that sermon are better stated, cleared, and -confirmed, than they would have appeared to have been if that -sermon had gone alone. So in this way I shall answer the -desires of my friends at home and my reverend brethren abroad at -once; and do what service I can to the Church of God before I -die.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>The whole preface is very long, this being but a small part of -it. But this is enough to shew that there was in this -congregation a party that disapproved of his ministry, as well as -another that highly approved of it, and that he experienced a -great deal of discomfort from the former, who appear to have been -very calvinistically or antinomianly inclined, and withal very -contentious, as their descendants or successors have been almost -ever since.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1060"></a><a href="#citation1060" -class="footnote">[1060]</a> Some of those thoughts relate -to the <i>Theory of Comets</i>, which he supposed to be worlds in -a state of conflagration and dissolution; and he thought it -probable our Earth will hereafter become a comet and be seen as -such in remote regions of the universe. This comet state of -a Heavenly body he considered as a state of judgment, and -indicating the previous apostacy and irreclaimable impenitence or -rebellion of its rational inhabitants, which caused the very -world they inhabited to be so devoted to destruction. Each -of those devoted worlds, he thought, had its <i>saviour</i> and -offers of mercy sent to it long previous to that awful and fatal -catastrophe. Christ he believed to be the saviour only of -this world, from which he draws some curious inferences -favourable to his own system.—According to his notion the -same comet could not be expected to appear twice in our system: -nor would that, perhaps, even in this day, be very easily -refuted.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1061"></a><a href="#citation1061" -class="footnote">[1061]</a> He was buried in St. -Nicholas’ Chapel towards the west end, where his grave -stone is still to be seen, with a long Latin Inscription or -Epitaph, of which the following translation has been given many -years ago by the late Dr. <i>Thomas Gibbons</i>, exclusive of two -expressions here added.</p> -<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">“<i>Here lie the -remains</i><br /> -<i>of the revd.</i> <span class="smcap">John Rastrick</span>, -<i>M.A.</i><br /> -<i>Born at Hackington near</i> Sleaford<br /> -<i>in the county of Lincoln</i>;<br /> -<i>and educated at</i> Trinity-College <i>in Cambridge</i>.<br /> -<i>He was formerly vicar</i> of Kirkton<br /> -<i>in the same county</i>, <i>fourteen years</i>:<br /> -<i>And afterwards</i>, <i>as he could mot comply</i><br /> -<i>with some regulations of the</i> Church of England<br /> -<i>with a safe conscience</i>,<br /> -<i>Was an undefatigable preacher of the gospel</i><br /> -<i>in this town twenty-six years</i><br /> -<i>To a christian church in separation from the -establishment</i>.<br /> -<i>He was a man of eminent piety</i>,<br /> -<i>charity</i>, <i>and modesty</i>;<br /> -<i>of approved integrity</i>,<br /> -<i>of remarkable study and pains</i>;<br /> -<i>And an adept in almost every part of learning</i>,<br /> -<i>But especially the mathematics</i>.<br /> -<i>He was a pleasant companion</i>,<br /> -<i>A truly christian divine</i>,<br /> -<i>An eloquent and powerful preacher</i>,<br /> -<i>A faithful and vigilant pastor</i>,<br /> -<i>An intrepid reprover of vice</i><br /> -<i>And as warm an encourager of virtue</i>.<br /> -<i>Having finished his course</i>,<br /> -<i>Imbittered</i>, <i>alas</i>! <i>with many trials</i>,<br /> -<i>He joyfully yielded up his soul to God</i>,<br /> -August 8, 1727. <i>Aged</i> 78.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="footnote1063"></a><a href="#citation1063" -class="footnote">[1063]</a> On a slip of paper, in his hand -writing, pinned to a blank leaf fronting the title page are the -following directions to his son—</p> -<blockquote><p>“My dear son William, I suppose you will be -inclined when I am gone to publish the following Treatise called -‘Plain and Easy Principles, &c.’ If you do, -I leave it to you to tell the world, that these are the notions -that I am most inclined to; and that it was the division among -the ministers at Salter’s Hall, that begat them, and put me -upon a more deliberate perusal of Dr. Clarke’s and Mr. -Jackson’s books, &c. as well as Dr. Waterland’s: -and that my case was just the same with that of Mr. Peirce of -Exeter, &c.—It’s probable that you may write an -Epistle of your own to the Reader (and so stile it, as mine it -stiled the Preface). In that Epistle you may account for my -sentiments as now mentioned, and add what more of your own you -please. But I would not have you publish my book till you -have let some learned pious persons peruse it and give their -approbation.—Mr. Sam. Wright’s thoughts you will find -in his Letter, and my undigested notions in that matter, you will -find in his said Letter before my book: if you can put them into -order you may, and may punish them in the nature of an appendix: -<i>as also you may a great part of my last Thoughts about the -Trinity and Son of God</i>. Or let Mr. Wright put them in -Order.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>N.B. The above words in <i>italics</i> have the pen drawn -through them, and may therefore be considered as cancelled.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1064a"></a><a href="#citation1064a" -class="footnote">[1064a]</a> See the <i>preface</i> to a -modern poem called <i>Sleep</i>.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1064b"></a><a href="#citation1064b" -class="footnote">[1064b]</a> Of those little poems, one is -entitled <i>The Dissolution</i>; and as the name of <i>Martha -Rastrick</i> is affixed to if, we may presume it was a present, -perhaps a new years gift to that daughter. The greatest -part of it we will here take the liberty of inserting, thought we -have no reason to think that the author had the remotest idea of -its publication. Yet as it cannot dishonour his memory, and -has lain in MS. now nearly if not quite a <i>hundred years</i>, -it may be placed here as a curious relic. It runs as -follows—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Happy the man to whom the sacred Muse<br /> -Her nightly visits pays,<br /> -And with her magic rod<br /> -Opens his mortal eyes:<br /> -He nature at one glance surveys,<br /> -And past and future, near and distant views.</p> -<p>I’m mounted on Fancy, and long to be gone<br /> -To some age or some world unknown,<br /> -Swifter than time and impatient of stay,<br /> -To the west, to the uttermost limits of day,<br /> -To the end of the world I’ll hasten away:<br /> -Where I may see it all expire<br /> -And melt away in everlasting Fire.</p> -<p>’Tis done! I see a flaming Seraph fly,<br /> -And light his Flambeau at the Sun;<br /> -Then hastening down to the curst globe<br /> -His blazing torch apply—<br /> -See the green forests crackling burn,<br /> -The oily pastures sweat<br /> -With intolerable heat:<br /> -The mines to hot volcanos turn;<br /> -Their horrid jaws extended wide,<br /> -The sulphurous contagion spread.</p> -<p>Why do the aged mountains skip,<br /> -And little hills like their own sheep,<br /> -Like lambs, which on their grizzly head<br /> -Once wanton play’d?<br /> -Expanded vapours, struggling to the birth,<br /> -Roar in the bowels of the earth.</p> -<p>And now the Earth’s foundations crack assunder,<br /> -Burst with subterraneous thunder.<br /> -Dusky flames and vivid flashes<br /> -Reduce the trembling Globe to ashes<br /> -Fiery torrents rolling down,<br /> -The naked valleys drown;<br /> -And with their ruddy waves supply<br /> -The channels of th’exhausted sea.</p> -<p>Seas, to thin vapours boil’d away,<br /> -Leave their crooked channels dry:<br /> -And not one drop returns again,<br /> -To cool the thirsty Earth with rain.</p> -<p>And must all Earth th’impartial ruin share?<br /> -Spare ye revengeful angels, spare!<br /> -Spare the Muses blissful seat:<br /> -Let me for <i>Wickham’s</i> peaceful walls intreat.<br /> -No, ’tis in vain: and <i>Bodley’s</i> spicy nest<br -/> -Of learning too must perish with the rest;<br /> -—The <i>Oracles of God</i> alone<br /> -An hasty Angel snatch’d away,<br /> -And bore them high through parted flames<br /> -To the Eternal throne.</p> -<p>Behold! fond soul, all thou didst once admire,<br /> -The objects of thy hope and thy desire;<br /> -Houses and lands and large estate;<br /> -The little things that make men great:<br /> -The empty trifles are no more,<br /> -But vanish all in smoke, scarce lighter than before.</p> -<p>Was it for this the Statesman wrackt his thought?<br /> -Was it for this the Soldier fought?<br /> -While grumbling drums like thunder beat,<br /> -And clanging trumpets rais’d the martial heat?</p> -<p>Now Nature is unstrung,<br /> -The Spheres their musick lose,<br /> -The Song of ages now<br /> -Ends in a solemn close.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="footnote1069"></a><a href="#citation1069" -class="footnote">[1069]</a> He had left Lynn the year -before, so that the congregation had but <i>four</i> ministers in -a <i>hundred years</i>, whose labours here were nearly of equal -duration: <i>J. Rastrick</i> 26 years; <i>W. Rastrick</i> 25 -years; <i>A. Mayhew</i> 25 years; <i>W. Warner</i> 24 -years.—The <i>Baptists</i>, in little more than 40 years, -have had at least half a score ministers, and the -<i>Methodists</i> ten times as many.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1070"></a><a href="#citation1070" -class="footnote">[1070]</a> Coxe’s Memoirs of -Walpole.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1073a"></a><a href="#citation1073a" -class="footnote">[1073a]</a> Biographical account of Sir B. -Keene, by Bailey Wallis D.D. who married his niece, a daughter of -the rev. Venn Eyre, formerly lecturer of Lynn.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1073b"></a><a href="#citation1073b" -class="footnote">[1073b]</a> Of their intellectual -character, or mental endowments not much seems now to be -known. The father being an alderman may furnish a sort of -presumption, that he must have been a person of no common or mean -parts: the mother has been spoken of as possessed of a -well-cultivated mind; which seems to be corroborated by the -following extract of a Letter from her to her son, the -ambassador, in 1745, when this town assumed such a warlike -appearance; as was observed at p. 920.—</p> -<blockquote><p>“This place, heretofore famous for the arts -and blessings of peace, is now entirely in the guise of -war. Every thing has a military air. The ditch before -the walls is scoured; but there are unhappily so many hay-stacks -just by, that a few Highlanders, or French, by casting two or -three of them into the deepest part of it, might be masters of -the town in about four hours. The bridge of St. Germans and -those above it are to be cut down, if we hear any of the rebels -have escaped through the Fens, and are coming towards us. -But the river is fordable in many places, and several of them are -near the town. The body of the people are formed into 5 -regiments, which are commanded by proper officers, chosen out of -the body politic. Those whose spouses bear rule over them -being disposed into one regiment called greys. Those heroes -spend their mornings and evenings in the Guildhall, there -learning the trade of war, under able and experienced -masters. No merchant sells deals, salt, pitch or tar, -without a weapon by their side. Shopkeepers have taken to -the sword, and divide their cags of soap with their blades. -You can’t purchase a joint of meat, or a loaf of bread, or -a pound of candles but of an armed man. Even clergymen are -engaged in these death-doing measures. One bears a -captain’s commission. Another is a sutler. Most -of the fair and timerous persons of the other sex, who had any -wits a while ago, have very few remaining now. An ancient -Lady indeed of the illustrious house of the R— commands a -fortress adjoining to the town-wall, in which are some veteran -troops, natives of Spain. <a name="citation1074"></a><a -href="#footnote1074" class="citation">[1074]</a> With these -she supports herself and wonderfully animates her neighbours -whose courage fails; and let the enemy come when they please, -’tis generally believed she will be in a condition to make -a sally.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="footnote1074"></a><a href="#citation1074" -class="footnote">[1074]</a> “Bottles of Mountain -Malaga.”</p> -<p><a name="footnote1075"></a><a href="#citation1075" -class="footnote">[1075]</a> On his promotion he was -congratulated by his venerable relation, the elder Pyle, to which -the bishop returned the following answer—</p> -<blockquote><p>“My dear uncle, I return you my hearty -thanks for your kind congratulation on my advancement to the see -of C. and was proud of shewing my respect and veneration for you -by doing a small piece of service to so worthy a young man as my -C. P. [cousin Philip] I hope these cold winds will not set -you back again and I may once more visit you and survey you as I -did then, in the light of an ancient prophet or patriarch. -Truly I have often wished that my fortune had permitted me to -have enjoyed you more than I have done, to have sat at your feet -and suckt in the true unpoluted streams of goodness and religion, -which you have poured forth for so many years, so much to your -own reputation and the welfare of others. Be assured you -leave a Nephew behind you who is determined to support the cause -of Truth and Righteousness, and has courage enough to attack the -f. [false] principles both of gt, and rn. [government and -religion] that universally prevail among ch. Divs. [church -Divines] With my most sincere Benediction I am. Dear -Sir. your affectionate Nephew 28 Mar. 1752.</p> -<p style="text-align: right">E. C.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="footnote1079"></a><a href="#citation1079" -class="footnote">[1079]</a> A degree which was exactly the -reverse of the initials of his name D.LL.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1081"></a><a href="#citation1081" -class="footnote">[1081]</a> Dr. H. was respectable in the -line of his profession, not only as a practitioner, but likewise -as a writer; though he was not rewarded according to his -merit. Many of his works, at his death, were left in -manuscript, most of which still remain in that state; but some -have been since published, in addition to those that appeared in -his life time. Of his published works the following are -thought the most remarkable—1. “A paper on a -<i>puncture in the bladder</i>,” inserted in the Phil. -Trans. vol. 66.—2. “A paper on the disease called -<i>the mumps</i>,” inserted in the Edinb. Phil. -Trans.—3. “A paper on the <i>use of mercury and -opium</i>,” published in Dr. Duncan’s Medical -Commentaries.—4. “A Treatise upon -<i>Scrophula</i>,” published in London by Dilly.—5. -“A Treatise on the <i>Eau-brink-Cut</i>,” published -at Lynn, in 1793.—6. “Observations on the <i>Marsh -remittent Fever</i> and on the <i>Water Canker</i>, -&c.” published by Mawman, London, 1801.—7. -“Letters on the cause and treatment of the <i>Gout</i>, in -which some digressive remarks on other medical subjects are -interspersed;” published by Whittingham, Lynn, and Sold by -Crosby, London, 1806. Before we close this brief memoir of -Dr. Hamilton we may just observe that he, as was before said of -Mr. Rastrick and another person, sometimes left his profounder -studies and amused himself in writing verses, of which a specimen -may be seen at the beginning of his “Observations on the -Marsh Remittent Fever.” In the same work, at page 89, -we also learn how long it was that Dr. Hepburn practised physic -in this town, and consequently at what time he settled here, -which appears to have been about the spring or early part of the -year 1694, whence was about 25 years of age. This had -escaped the author’s observation till after the memoir of -Dr. Hepburn had been printed off, otherwise he would not have -represented the doctor’s settlement here as taking place at -or <i>about the commencement the last century</i>, which is six -years at least later than the time when it did take place. -This is mentioned here for the purpose of correcting that -mistatement, and enabling the reader to fix the true date of Dr. -Hepburn’s first settlement here.—The passage referred -to in Dr. Hamilton’s book reads thus,</p> -<blockquote><p>“The late Dr. George Hepburn, who practised -physic at Lynn upwards of 65 years, <a name="citation1082"></a><a -href="#footnote1082" class="citation">[1082]</a> and whose -medical ability, sagacity, and judgment, were equalled by few, -and surpassed by none of his contemporaries, told me that he was -so folly convinced of the great efficacy, as well as perfect -innocence and safety of large doses of the Peruvian bark, that -being attacked by an intermittent fever himself at an early -period of his medical career in this town, and at a time when he -had, in an epidemic season, a great deal of practice in the -country, took at one dose an ounce of the Peruvian bark in -powder, mounted his horse immediately after it, went to visit his -patients, and had no more of his disease.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="footnote1082"></a><a href="#citation1082" -class="footnote">[1082]</a> <i>During so extraordinary a -course of practice and longevity he must have seen the whole -population of the place buried two or three times over</i>.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1085"></a><a href="#citation1085" -class="footnote">[1085]</a> Their godships or high -mightinesses would do well however to be constantly upon their -guard against that formidable natural enemy of theirs, the high -bailiff of Marshland, who has before now overpowered and -overthrown as potent beings as any of them. If they escape -the mighty hug, or unfraternal embrace of this formidable -adversary, this ancient lord and master and demon of this lower -region, they may think themselves peculiarly fortunate, and need -not fear afterwards to breathe the deleterious air of any other -spot in Britain, or even in the very island of Walcheren -itself.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1088"></a><a href="#citation1088" -class="footnote">[1088]</a> This female and virgin saint is -said to have been born at Antioch in the 3rd century. Some -say her father was a heathen priest, while others say that it was -Theodosius patriarch of Antioch. All agree that she was a -christian; and some assert that she was very beautiful, which -excited in Olybius, preside of the east, under the Romans, a -desire to marry her; but finding she was a christian, deferred it -till he could persuade her to renounce her religion. Not -being able to accomplish that object, he first put her to extreme -tortures, and then beheaded her. She has the same office -among the papists, as Lucina has among the heathens, viz. to -assist women in labour: So she seems to be the patroness, or -tutelar saint of the midwives. Her holiday, (20th July) is -very ancient, not only in the <i>Roman</i>, but also in the -<i>Greek</i>-church, who celebrate her memory under the name of -<i>Marina</i>. She suffered in the year 278. [See -Wheatly on the common Prayer, p. 69—also Mackerell’s -History of Lynn, p. 4.]—Her victory over the Dragon by -means of the cross has probably only a figurative meaning.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1089"></a><a href="#citation1089" -class="footnote">[1089]</a> Of the former and present state -of this church, the following descriptions have been given by -writers who had visited and examined it, and had consequently -undertaken to give of it a correct account.—</p> -<blockquote><p>“This church (says <i>Mackerell</i>) -deserves to be taken particular notice of, as it is of no mean -extent, being a very large, stately, and magnificient pile, -built, as most cathedrals in England are, in the perfect form of -a cross, and contains in <i>length</i> within the walls, by -mensuration 240 feet; in <i>breadth</i>, including the cross, 118 -feet, and in <i>height</i> from the highest battlements 52 -feet. About the middle or cross isle it is graced with a -very fair and lofty <i>Lanthorn</i>, all covered with lead, -mounted on four main arches within the body of the church, in -which hangs the <i>Clock-Bell</i>, which may be heard all over -the town. The height of this ornamental fabrick is 132 -feet. It was neatly painted within with several coats of -arms and other decorations in 1621.—At the west end is a -tower of stone 82 feet high; on the outside of which towards the -street, is placed a Moon-Dial, shewing the increase and decrease -of that planet, with the exact hour of the day to all that pass -by, actuated within by clock work, and new beautified and gilt in -1710. On this tower is a very high and regular spire, of -timber, all covered with lead, resembling a pyramid, in height -193 feet; [but] in all, from the superficies of the ground, it is -275 feet, including the spindle of iron with a cross on the top, -and under it a vane in form of a hand, both gilt, which was new -set up in 1630; the former one having continued full 70 years, -being erected in 1568. [rather 1558.] The model of the -spire is surprizing. Near this [and parallel with it on the -north side] is the Bell-Tower, built of freestone 86 feet high, -in which formerly were <i>five</i> very large bells, of which the -biggest was called <i>the Margaret</i>, and was for her curious -sound one of the fairest of that kind, and might be heard (the -wind favouring, as I have been assured) full ten miles -distant. Others had likewise their distinct names, as -<i>the Trinity</i>, <i>the St. Thomas</i>, <i>&c.</i> -So christened, I suppose, as was usual before the -reformation. But the <i>biggest</i> and the <i>least</i> of -these were purposely broken, and with some addition cast into -others, to make a ring of <i>eight</i>, which was effected in -1663.—This noble structure is illuminated with above 70 -arched windows, and others, all formerly of painted glass, -representing the pictures of saints in sacred scripture, with -other holy men and women, martyrs and confessors; of which that -high and lofty one on the south side and cross isle is [was] very -remarkable, [exhibiting] as I am informed, the whole history of -<i>St. Margaret</i>, the patroness of this church; and that -circular one over the altar [containing] the genealogy of the -kings of Israel, is now to be seen almost all entire, where also -underneath the same are depicted the Town-Arms, and on the south -windows in the Quire are still remaining several coats of arms in -lively colours, and very fair.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>[In the time of the civil wars most of the painted glass in -those windows was, it seems, taken down and replaced with white -glass, the former being looked upon, by those who were then in -power here, as savouring too much of <i>popery</i> and -superstition. See <i>Mackerell</i>, p. 8, &c.—Of -its present state Mr. <i>Britton</i> writes as follows.</p> -<blockquote><p>“The <i>church</i> was a large spacious -structure, and though curtailed of its original dimensions, is -still a noble pile. Internally it displays a nave, with -ailes, which constitute the present place for service; a chancel -or choir, with ailes; a transept and two towers at the west -end. The roof is supported by 22 columns; of which those -east of the transept are formed by a cluster of five shafts -each. In this part of the building are some ancient carved -stalls, and several flat monumental stones, with inscriptions; -also some very large and fine brasses. At the east end is a -circular window, with ten transverse mullions. This part of -the church is divided from the transept by a wooden screen, which -was erected in 1622. A lofty tower, or <i>lanthorn</i>, is -said to have been originally at the intersection of the cross -ailes; and a high <i>spire</i> to have surmounted one of the -western towers. The latter display different styles of -architecture, and the lower parts of them are very ancient. -The buttresses of the angles to the southern tower consist of -several small shafts of columns. The church formerly -contained numerous brasses <a name="citation1091a"></a><a -href="#footnote1091a" class="citation">[1091a]</a> and -inscriptions, some of which remain.” <a -name="citation1091b"></a><a href="#footnote1091b" -class="citation">[1091b]</a></p> -</blockquote> -<p>This account, we presume, is pretty fair and correct as far as -it goes, and our limits will not well allow us here to attempt -any further enlargement. We will, however, just add, that -the interior of this church is, for so large a building, kept in -a style of uncommon cleanliness and neatness.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1091a"></a><a href="#citation1091a" -class="footnote">[1091a]</a> <i>Since Mr. Britton wrote -this passage</i>, <i>an unprincipled and sacrilegious Sexton made -much havoc among those brasses</i>, <i>many of which he carried -away and sold</i>; <i>but being detected</i>, <i>he was so -ashamed and frightened</i>, <i>that he actually went and hanged -himself</i>.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1091b"></a><a href="#citation1091b" -class="footnote">[1091b]</a> See Beauties of England, vol. -xi, page 293.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1093"></a><a href="#citation1093" -class="footnote">[1093]</a> From the period in which he -flourished, the date of his canonisation, and the great regard -then paid to the memory of new saints, (compared with the date of -the original erection of this chapel,) it appears more than -probable that the personage in question was St. Nicholas called -<i>Peregrinus</i>, who became famous in Apulia, and of whom -<i>Jortin</i> says—</p> -<blockquote><p>“He was a Greek, born in Attica. His -parents were poor, and he had not learnt to read, or been bred to -any trade. When he was eight years of age, his mother sent -him out to take care of the sheep. From that time he began -to sing aloud, <i>Kyrie eleison</i>, which he did night and day; -and this act of devotion he performed all his life long. -His mother not being able to make him leave it off, thought that -he was possessed of the devil, and carried him to a neighbouring -monastery, where the monks shut him up and chastised him, but -could not hinder him from singing his song. He suffered -punishment patiently, and immediately began again. -Returning to his mother, he took a hatchet and a knife, and -clambering up a mountain, he cut branches of cedar, and made -crosses of them, which he stuck up in the highways, and in places -inaccessible, praising God continually. Upon this mountain -he built himself a little hut, and dwelt there sometime all -alone, working perpetually. Then he went to Lepanto, where -a monk joined himself to him and never forsook him. They -passed into Italy, where Nicholas was taken sometimes for an holy -man, and sometimes for a madman. He fasted every day until -evening; his food was a little bread and water, and yet he did -not grow lean. The nights he usually passed in prayer, -standing upright. He wore only a short vest, reaching to -his knees, his head, legs and feet being naked. In his hand -he carried a light wooden cross, and a scrip at his side, to -receive the alms that were given him, which he usually laid out -in fruit, to distribute to the boys who went about with him, -singing along with him <i>Kyrie eleison</i>. His oddities -caused him to be ill used sometimes, even by the orders of the -bishops. He performed, [as was said] various miracles, and -exhorted the people to repentance. At last falling sick, -and being visited by multitudes who came to beg his blessing, he -died, and was buried in a Cathedral, with great solemnity: and -according to custom (our author adds) a great number of miracles -was wrought at his tomb.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>This is related under 1094, which we take to be the year of -his death, or canonization. See <i>Jortin</i> Rem. Eccl. -Hist. 5. 66. Such was our St. Nicholas: a more harmless and -far better saint, without doubt, than <i>Dominic</i> and many -others that might be mentioned; so that his memory, -<i>comparatively speaking</i>, ought to be held in very high -estimation.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1095"></a><a href="#citation1095" -class="footnote">[1095]</a> Had the wielders of the -whitening brush totally effaced this impious representation, or -had the reformers of the time of Edward the sixth, or of Charles -the first completely obliterated it, they had done a good thing, -and deserved our commendation; and so would our present rulers -were they to do the same; for what can be a more absurd and -impious object in a place of worship, or any other place, than a -picture or image of the Almighty!</p> -<p><a name="footnote1097"></a><a href="#citation1097" -class="footnote">[1097]</a> The passage alluded to is as -follows—</p> -<blockquote><p>“1585 Feb. 21. An order made III and -IV Ph. and Mary conc. the derision of St. Margts. parish and the -parish of St. Nic. and yt. of late yt. order notwithstanding -prcell of the <i>Checker-warde</i> and of <i>New -Condutt-warde</i> have been accounted prcell of St. Nic. Chap. -ctrarie to the same order: yt. is ord. yt. those 2 wards -aforesaid shall hollie be accounted of St. Margt’s parishe -and shll paie clarcks wages and other charges, as prishrs. of the -parish of St. Margt. according to ye sd. resited -order.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="footnote1098"></a><a href="#citation1098" -class="footnote">[1098]</a> That affair is thus related in -the record—</p> -<blockquote><p>“1579, May 23. Controversye about the -Tytle of St. Nicolas church yard. Opinion of the Recorder -19. June. Maior Ald. C. C. stand to their Tytle and Int. in -S. N. ch. yd. and defend it by Law of Arms.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="footnote1103"></a><a href="#citation1103" -class="footnote">[1103]</a> p. 391.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1109"></a><a href="#citation1109" -class="footnote">[1109]</a> In the White Friars Yard Chapel -at Norwich, where he used to preach, a monumental inscription in -memory of him was set up long after his death by his grandson the -late Grantham Killingworth Esq. the chief part of which is as -follows—</p> -<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">A <span -class="smcap">Memorial</span><br /> -<i>Dedicated to the singular merits of</i><br /> -<i>A faithful confessor</i>, <i>and laborious servant of -Christ</i>,<br /> -<i>Who with true christian fortitude endured persecution</i><br -/> -<i>Through many perils</i>, <i>the loss of friends and -substance</i>,<br /> -<i>And ten imprisonments for conscience sake</i>;<br /> -<i>The rev.</i> Mr. <span class="smcap">Thomas -Grantham</span>,<br /> -<i>A learned Messenger of the Baptized Churches</i>,<br /> -<i>And pious founder of this church of believers baptized</i>,<br -/> -<i>Who delivered to king Charles the second</i><br /> -<i>Our Declaration of Faith</i>,<br /> -<i>And afterwards presented to him</i><br /> -<i>A Remonstrance against Persecution</i>.<br /> -<i>Both were kindly received</i>, <i>and redress of grievances -promised</i>.<br /> -He died Jan. 17. 1692, aged 58 years:<br /> -And to prevent the indecencies threatened to his corpse,<br /> -was intered before the west doors,<br /> -In the middle aile of St. Stephen’s Church, in this -city,<br /> -Through the interest, and much to the credit of<br /> -The rev. Mr <span class="smcap">John Connould</span><br /> -By whom, with many sighs and tears,<br /> -The burial service was solemnly read to a crowded audience:<br /> -When at closing the book he added,<br /> -“This day has a very great man fallen in Israel.”<br -/> -For after their epistolary dispute, in sixty Letters, ended,<br -/> -That very learned vicar retained<br /> -The highest esteem and friendship for him whilst living,<br /> -And was by his own desire buried by him, May 1703.</p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="footnote1112"></a><a href="#citation1112" -class="footnote">[1112]</a> A narrative of this memorable -affair has been published by Mr. Finch, and may be had of him, or -of the booksellers.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1113"></a><a href="#citation1113" -class="footnote">[1113]</a> With whom such connection might -be desirable for this infant society; and it certainly would not -be dishonourable, or inconsistent with their avowed aversion to -religious thraldom; as it would require no sacrifice of their -religious liberty or christian freedom: both parties being -equally advocates for the full enjoyment of that inestimable -right, and most invaluable blessing.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1116"></a><a href="#citation1116" -class="footnote">[1116]</a> Of the <i>origin</i> and -<i>progress</i> of Methodism in the kingdom, see a brief account -at page <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page934">934</a></span> of this work.—It is a -remarkable instance of deep policy in the history of methodism, -that the sect, when young and weak, placed itself under the wing -of the established church, and bitterly inveighed against all who -separated from it; but when it acquired strength, so as to feel -itself able to go alone, it threw off the mask, and scrupled not -to avow and prove itself, to all intents and purposes, a -dissenting sect.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1120a"></a><a href="#citation1120a" -class="footnote">[1120a]</a> Should they soon assume a -different character, or become disposed like their neighbours to -congregate and form themselves into a distinct society, for the -purpose of instructing their dear townsmen by public lectures, -respecting that better way of thinking with which they deem -themselves so well acquainted, an admirable opening for putting -such a project in execution now presents itself—that of -buying or hiring the Methodist Chapel, which is expected to be -disposed of to the best bidder as soon as the new edifice is -completed, or perhaps sooner.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1120b"></a><a href="#citation1120b" -class="footnote">[1120b]</a> Yet Hiram was dead many -centuries before Euclid was born.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1121"></a><a href="#citation1121" -class="footnote">[1121]</a> So it may be supposed that -Euclid and Solomon, and Hiram and Mannon, and Marcel and king -Athelstan lived all about the same time!—an idea too -monstrous surely, for English, or even Masonic credulity to -imbibe or adopt!—See <i>Prichard’s</i> description of -Masonry. 21st. Edit, p. 3, &c.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1126"></a><a href="#citation1126" -class="footnote">[1126]</a> Its constituents during the -first stages of its existence bore the following -names—<i>Asty Harwick</i>, <i>Abel Hawkins</i>, <i>Geo. -Foley</i>, <i>N. Elstobb</i>, <i>Sam. Browne</i>, <i>Peter -Elyson</i>, <i>Rich. Marshall</i>, <i>John Mountaine</i>, <i>Nic. -Anderson</i>, <i>John Bagge</i>, <i>Dan. Swaine</i>, <i>Jos. -Lee</i>, <i>Wm. Taylor</i>, <i>Rob. Fysh</i>, <i>Edm. Elsden</i>, -<i>Tho. Day</i>, <i>Rich. Sands</i>, <i>Henry Fysh</i>, <i>Robert -Hamilton</i>, <i>Rich. Allyson</i>, <i>Wm. Ward</i>, <i>Scarlet -Browne</i>, <i>Geo. Patteson</i>, <i>Tho. Berneye</i>, <i>Tho. -Hawkins</i>, and <i>Jos. Taylor</i>.—Most of these seem to -have continued in the society to the last, though some were -expelled for different reputed delinquencies.—It is curious -enough to observe their mock formalities in the administration of -their laws, and the maintenance of the government and discipline -of the society, as they appear in their written transactions, -which are still extant. A few specimens here may not be -ungrateful to the reader—At one time <i>Asty Harwick</i> is -indicted, tried, found guilty, and fined, for <i>carrying home -the sword</i>, <i>contrary to the rules of the -society</i>—at the same time <i>Richard Marshall</i> is -indicted, tried, found guilty, and fined, for <i>throwing a piece -of pipe at Mr. Deputy governor</i>—another time <i>Samuel -Browne</i> is indicted, tried, found guilty, and fined, for -<i>tearing the bill before it was discharged</i>—another -time <i>Joseph Lee</i> is indicted, tried, found guilty, and -fined, for <i>interrupting Mr. deputy govr. -Harwick</i>—another time <i>Jos. Lee</i> is indicted, -tried, found guilty, and fined, for <i>pulling the governor</i> -Capt. Nic. Anderson’s <i>wig awry</i>—same time -<i>Asty Harwick</i> and <i>John Bagge</i>, were indicted, tried, -found guilty, and fined, for <i>insulting the secretary in his -office</i>—another time <i>Mr. Bagge</i> was indicted, -tried, found guilty and fined, for <i>not attending</i> the then -governor, Mr. Richard Marshall, with the sword, Mr. Bagge being -then sword-bearer.—Those who were indicted and tried were -<i>all found guilty</i>, <i>with only one exception</i>, which -was in the case of <i>Wm. Ward</i>, (April 14, 1750) who was -indicted, tried, and <i>acquitted</i>, under the charge of -<i>affronting the then govr.</i> Mr. Bagge, by conferring upon -him the unworthy and degrading office of <i>deputy -secretary</i>.—Thus did some of our most hopeful and -reputable townsmen employ themselves between 60 and 70 years -ago. Whether their successors or representatives of the -present day employ themselves more worthily, may deserve some -consideration. As to our courtiers and statesmen, it cannot -well be supposed that they would have any great objection to our -gentlemen and all the rest of the nation employing their leisure -time in such a frivolous manners, as it would leave them at -liberty to pursue their course with less observance or -interruption. After all, had our society of -<i>True-Britons</i>, been still continued we are not sure but -they might have proved by this time, as useful to themselves, and -as beneficial to the community at large, as either of our present -Lodges of Free Masons.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1129"></a><a href="#citation1129" -class="footnote">[1129]</a> For further information -relating to the original history of these two houses the reader -is referred to the account of St. Gyles and St. Julian’s -gild, in a former part of this work.—p. 422, &c.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1130a"></a><a href="#citation1130a" -class="footnote">[1130a]</a> This gentleman did not acquire -his wealth here; nor did he follow the example of our Aldersons, -our Cases, our Freemans, our Adlens, our Bowkers, our Bagges, -&c., who went out of the world apparently without ever -remembering the poor, or wishing to leave behind any memorials of -their names in such charitable bequests.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1130b"></a><a href="#citation1130b" -class="footnote">[1130b]</a> Some years ago, as one of the -present pensioners told this writer, the governor of that time -went so far as to talk of furnishing those chambers with that -desirable appendage, but that the <i>reader</i> of that period, -with one of the women, (both of whom had a fireplace in their -rooms,) most unfeelingly dissuaded him from it, and he gave it -up.—The present occupier of one of those rooms is said to -have been for a long time confined to it, if not to her -bed. The want of a fireplace must doubtless be severely -felt by her.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1131a"></a><a href="#citation1131a" -class="footnote">[1131a]</a> In another place he is called -<i>Loningston</i> and <i>Lovingstone</i>.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1131b"></a><a href="#citation1131b" -class="footnote">[1131b]</a> Over against the above passage -is inserted the allowing note, seemingly in the same -hand—“The above 10<i>l.</i> annuity is applied to the -clothing of the poor yearly, and payd by the chamberlain, to the -overseers of St. Margaret’s parish.” Then it is -added,—“I take this to be the 10<i>l.</i> payd to the -Treasurer of St. James’s Workhouse, by the name of -<i>Loningston</i> or <i>Lovingstone</i>, which I take to be the -same.” But this modern note-writer, and conjectural -commentator, ought to have known that St. James’s Workhouse -could not be called an <i>Almshouse</i> or <i>Hospital</i> in -1594, nor till near a whole century after. The said annuity -must therefore have undergone some foul play.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1132a"></a><a href="#citation1132a" -class="footnote">[1132a]</a> There are happily still some -such contributors, and among them one conspicuous above the rest, -to whose unostentatious charities the poor pensioners in all our -almshouses are not a little indebted for their comforts; as this -writer could easily perceive by what dropt from divers of them, -in the course of conversations he has had with them at different -times. It is here neither needful nor proper to mention the -name.—Of the <i>land</i> charged with the 10<i>l.</i> a -year to this almshouse, the following memorandum occurs in the -said MS. volume; written seemingly about 1729:</p> -<blockquote><p>“I find 76 acres on the S. marsh; viz. -Godfrey Hill, 5 acres; 7<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i>—Tho. Miles, 5 -acres; 7<i>l.</i> 0<i>s.</i>—Jer. Ink. J. King, and J. Lay, -14 acres; 16<i>l.</i>—Widow Carleton, 16 acres; 18<i>l.</i> -2<i>s.</i>—R. Richmund, 36 acres; 39<i>l.</i>—Total -76 acres: 88<i>l.</i>—This I take to be the land to -maintain this almhouse.”—A little after we find the -following memorandum,—“Payd the Hoipital 1729, -19<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> per week, for 52 weeks; 51<i>l.</i> -2<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i>—Mr. Quartereder, -5<i>s.</i>—Straw money, 6<i>s.</i>—9 Chald. coles, -boatidge, and porter, 9<i>l.</i> 16<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>—200 -Sedge, 1<i>l.</i> 4<i>s.</i>—12 brooms, 1<i>s.</i> -4<i>d.</i> 4 Skeps 20<i>d</i>; 2<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i>—this -is the fixt yearly pay, 62<i>l.</i> 16<i>s.</i> 10<i>d.</i> -besides other incident charges, repairs, &c.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>On the whole therefore it appears, that the poor occupiers, or -pensioners of this almshouse were much better off 80 or a 100 -years ago, than they have been for many years past, as well as -that our rulers were than better disposed towards them than they -have been latterly.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1132b"></a><a href="#citation1132b" -class="footnote">[1132b]</a> Since that period, the -<i>weekly</i> allowance of these pensioners appears to have -differed at different times—down to 1772 it was 19<i>s.</i> -3<i>d.</i> in all, or about 18<i>d.</i> each: From 1772 to 1791, -1<i>l.</i> 5<i>s.</i> 5<i>d.</i> or about 2<i>s.</i> each: From -1791 to 1803, 1<i>l.</i> 8<i>s.</i> 5<i>d.</i> or about -2<i>s.</i> 3<i>d.</i> each: From 1803 to 1811, 1<i>l.</i> -12<i>s.</i> 3<i>d.</i> or 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> ¾ -each.—But here it ought to be observed, that the -<i>Reader</i> has had always allowed him 1<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> a -week more than the women. He has also a Chalder of Coals -allowed him, as has likewise each of the women who have -fire-places in their chambers. <i>Nine</i> chalders a year -are allowed this house in all;—the rest are appropriated to -the kitchen or common fireplace.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1135"></a><a href="#citation1135" -class="footnote">[1135]</a> Of two of these we learn, that -the <i>first</i> was established on the 1<i>st.</i> of June 1795 -for a <i>hundred</i> members, who receive relief in sickness, -lying-in, old age, and upon the death of their husbands. -The fund is supported by a small monthly payment of their own, -and annual subscriptions from <i>honorary</i> members.—The -<i>second</i> beneficial society for the same number of poor -women, (100;) was established July 1, 1799, affording the same -allowances to them, except the pension in <i>old age</i>, which -it was found by experience could not be supported without the -assistance of many honorary members. It was hoped that this -society would be able to support itself; in which case the -advantages resulting from it might have been extended to any -number of poor women who might choose to embrace them. But -either the allowance must be still further reduced, or the -monthly payment increased, before it will be released from the -necessity of requiring at least occasional benefactions.—It -is to be hoped therefore that it will not fail of obtaining every -necessary aid and support.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1136"></a><a href="#citation1136" -class="footnote">[1136]</a> Of the number of these -societies, and their respective meeting places, the following -account is supposed to be pretty correct—<i>Two</i> at the -<i>Crown Tavern</i>; <i>one</i> at the <i>Three Tuns</i>; -<i>one</i> at the <i>Three Pigeons</i>; <i>two</i> at the -<i>Valiant Sailor</i>; <i>one</i> at the <i>Coach and Horses</i>; -<i>one</i> at the <i>Tailor’s Arms</i>; <i>two</i> at the -<i>Plough</i>; <i>one</i> at the <i>Angel</i>; <i>two</i> at the -<i>Oak</i>; <i>one</i> at the <i>Dog</i>; <i>four</i> at the -<i>Three Fishes</i>; <i>two</i> at the <i>Sun</i>; <i>two</i> at -the <i>Green Dragon</i>; <i>one</i> at the <i>Boar’s -Head</i>; <i>one</i> at the <i>George and Dragon</i>.—in -all 23. There may be more, but we have not been yet able to -find them out.—As to the number of <i>Inns</i> and -<i>Public Houses</i> now in the town, they are said to be near -70, but they were formerly much more numerous: even as many as 87 -some years ago. This decrease is not to be ascribed to a -decrease of our population, but rather to a decreasing propensity -in the inhabitants to frequent those houses, owing probably, in -part at least, to the great increase of <i>conventicles</i>, and -the increasing frequency of <i>evening services</i> in those -places, where a large proportion of the inhabitants find -themselves entertained much more innocently, profitably, and -agreeably, than at the public house:—all which however -cannot be supposed very pleasing to our publicans and -common-brewers.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1138"></a><a href="#citation1138" -class="footnote">[1138]</a> There are, it seems, many -benevolent societies so named in different places; and some of -them unconnected with Methodism—of which there is one of a -very respectable appearance at <i>Liverpool</i>, among whose -members is the name of the celebrated <i>William -Roscoe</i>. In the <i>annual account</i> of this society -for 1809 appears the following remarkable passage—</p> -<blockquote><p>“The <i>Subscribers</i> to the -<i>Stranger’s Friend Society</i>, are, in general, already -well acquainted with the nature, design, and excellency of the -institution. It may not, however, be unnecessary to state -once more, for the information of that part of the public, whose -attention has not been hitherto duly excited towards this -charity, that its object is, <i>to visit</i>, <i>at their own -homes</i>, <i>the</i> <span class="GutSmall">SICK</span> -<i>and</i> <span class="GutSmall">DESTITUTE POOR</span> of all -countries and denominations, (<i>the Methodists only -excepted</i>, in order to exclude even the suspicion of sectarian -partiality,) and administer such relief and consolation as their -wants and sorrows may appear to require.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>But how the <i>exception</i>, in regard to <i>Methodists</i>, -could <i>exclude all suspicion of sectarian partiality</i>, we -cannot clearly understand.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1140"></a><a href="#citation1140" -class="footnote">[1140]</a> This appears from the following -passage in an old MS. extracted from the Hall Books—</p> -<blockquote><p>“1580. Sept. 26. Mr. Iverye -recd. 4<i>l.</i> to buy books necessarye to be in the school for -his scholars. This day he accounted for the bookes, and -also repaid ye sd. moneye: 5<i>l.</i> allowed him for reparations -and other necessarie charges by him bestowed about his -house.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Decr. 15. 1587, it was agreed in the Hall to provide an -<i>usher</i>, with a salary of 8<i>l.</i> a year. The first -usher was <i>John Gybson</i>, clerk, but after a few months he -had 5<i>l.</i> <i>given him</i>, <i>for the town to be discharged -of him and family</i>. His successor was <i>Rich. -Emott</i>, B.A. whose salary was advanced to 10<i>l.</i> a -year. He was succeeded in the spring of 1593, (or rather -1594) by <i>John Man</i>, B.A. of Bennet Col. Cambridge, with the -same salary. It does not appear who, if any, immediately -succeeded him; but 18 Decr. 1612, the Hall agreed to choose an -<i>usher</i>, whose salary, (he boarding himself,) should be -16<i>l.</i> a year. The person chosen was probably Edwd. -Labourne, who held that situation in 1617, and had 5 marks gives -him towards his commencing M.A.—He appeared to be much -approved and held his place in 1626, and perhaps much -later. Of his successors we have no regular account.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1142a"></a><a href="#citation1142a" -class="footnote">[1142a]</a> Our school, in Knox’s -time was rendered very remarkable by having <i>Eugene Aram</i> -for its usher; a man of uncommon acquirements and learning, but -still more distinguished by his unhappy and miserable exit, and -the horrid flagitiousness of at least one part of his life. -He was apprehended here in 1759, under a charge of <i>murder</i>, -committed in Yorkshire, 14 years before, and tried and convicted -at York the ensuing assizes, and soon after executed. His -defence at his trial was plausible and masterly; but it could -avail against the preponderating evidence of his guilt. The -extent of the learning in which he had made eminent proficiency -was wonderful, considering the disadvantages under which he -acquired it; and he died a melancholy proof that a very learned -man may yet be desperately wicked, and commit the most heinous -crimes.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1142b"></a><a href="#citation1142b" -class="footnote">[1142b]</a> It is remarkable that this -seminary, founded about 232 years ago, has had but <i>three -masters</i> for the greatest part of that time—viz. <i>Edw. -Bell</i>, <i>John Horne</i>, and <i>David Lloyd</i>: who presided -here in the whole 125 years—and all the rest but 107.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1146a"></a><a href="#citation1146a" -class="footnote">[1146a]</a> It ought to have been for a -much larger number.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1146b"></a><a href="#citation1146b" -class="footnote">[1146b]</a> The amount of the expenditure -for the last year was 73<i>l.</i> 19<i>s.</i> 3<i>d.</i> ½ -which seems a large sum for a mere Sunday school. Half the -sum, it is presumed, would go much further, and do far more good, -if the Lancasterian plan were adopted.—Some such measure is -understood to be now in the contemplation of some of our good -townsmen.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1147"></a><a href="#citation1147" -class="footnote">[1147]</a> <i>Mr. Keed</i>, senior, and -Mr. <i>S. Newham</i>, were two of the most active promoters of -this institution, and the late <i>Dr. Bagge</i>, much to his -credit, was one of its very zealous patrons, and used to -subscribe for the support of it <i>Five Guineas</i> a year.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1150"></a><a href="#citation1150" -class="footnote">[1150]</a> At some former periods, and -especially before the reformation, our corporation members or -officers appear to have been more numerous than at present, and -some of them differently denominated. Hence in some records -of the time of Henry V. we read of <i>aldermen of the Gilds</i>, -twenty four <i>Jurats</i>, twenty seven -<i>Common-council-men</i>, <span class="GutSmall">TWELVE</span> -<i>burgesses</i> annually elected, whose business it was to -choose the new mayor, and nominate divers other officers, -including even the <i>town-clerk</i> and -<i>chamberlain</i>. These twelve were chosen as follows: -The Alderman of the gild of merchants chose <i>four</i> -burgesses: those four chose <i>eight</i> more, making their whole -number then <i>twelve</i>.—These twelve chose the mayor, -&c. for the ensuing year, after taking an oath which was -tendered to them thus—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Serres [i.e. Sirs,] ye shall well and -truiye, upon your discressions, without affection, favour, -fraude, or male engyn, chese our mayster the Mayre for the yeear -coming from Mighelmass forth, a burgess of the 24, abyll, -sufficient, and profitable, for the worship and profitt of the -commons; and also ye shall chese 4 sufficient burgesses to -occupye the office of Chamberlein for the same yeear, a comon -Clerke and two Sergeants, thereof one shall be clerke of the -Markett and keeper of the East Yates, a porter for the South -Yates, and anoder for Doucehille’s Yates: which officers -chosen, theyr names with my mayster the Mayre that shall be, ye -shall present; so God ye help at the holy dome.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>The oath tendered to the said <i>four</i> burgesses was worded -thus.—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Serres—ye shall well and trulye, upon -your discressions, chese and call to you <i>eight</i> abyll -burgeys, without any affection, fraude, or male engyne, of the -most indifferent, and not suspect persones, for the election of -my mayster the Mayre that is to come; so God you help at the holy -dome.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>The oath tendered to the Gild <i>alderman</i> (or rather, as -it would seem, <i>aldermen</i>) empowered to choose the above -four burgesses, was thus expressed—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Serres;—ye shall well and trulye upon -your discressions, without any affection, favour, fraude, or -male-engine, chese and call up <i>four</i> burges, abyll, of the -most indifferent, and not suspect persons, for the election of my -mayster the Mayre: so God you help at the holy dome.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>The oath tendered to each of the 24 <i>Jurats</i> was as -follows—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Serre;—ye shall be ready and buxom to -my mayster the Mayre at all tymes when ye be called by him, or -warned by the Sergeante, for the nedes and worship of this towne -and the commonaltie thereof, and well and trulye councill him, -for the proffitte and worshipe of this towne after your -discression, and the counsell of this towne trulye kepe; so God -you help at the holy dome.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>As to the 27 Common-councilmen, their oath ran in much the -same strain, only referring to their particular designation, as -overseers or superintendents of all <i>taxes</i>, -<i>tallages</i>, <i>dymes</i>, <i>fiftenes</i>, <i>loones</i>, -<i>reparacions</i>, <i>amending of houses</i>, <i>walles</i>, -<i>brigges</i>, <i>fletes</i>, and <i>dyches</i>, -<i>&c.</i></p> -<p>That tendered to the <i>Sergeant</i> began thus—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Ser; ye shall swere that ye shall be redy -and buxom to my mayster the Mayre at all tymes, and truelye warne -the 24 and 27 to come to the gild halle, or into any other -place.” &c. &c.—</p> -</blockquote> -<p>That tendered to the <i>Keeper of the East Gate</i> was -expressed thus—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Ser; ye shall well, duelye, and truelye -kepe the East Yates, and the Gannock Yate, and lete out and in -the pepyll in dewe tyme, and lete the Couses shake in dewe tyme, -to scoure the fletes of this towne, and oversee the markett, that -the vitalls that come to the towne by land or by water be not -ferestalled, nor hydde in no prive place, and every day be -attendant on your mayster the Mayre, and all other things truelye -to do and use that belongeth or perteyneth to the office of the -portership, and keper of the markett; so God you help at holy -dome.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>The oath tendered to the <i>keeper of the South Gate</i> was -in this form.—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Ser, ye shall well and trewlye kepe the -South Yates, and lete the pepyll in and oute in lawful tyme, and -buxom be to my mayster the Mayre, and to his commandments, for -the proffitte and worshipe of this towne; so God you help at holy -dome.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>The oaths tendered to the rest of our officers and -functionaries of those times are in a similar strain, and they -are very curious, but are too long to be all inserted here. -All the other officers being sworn by the <i>town-clerk</i>, the -oaths are so expressed as to denote that circumstance; but the -case in respect to <i>his own oath</i> being different, it is -varied in its form accordingly, and thus worded—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Ser, I shall be obedient to you as my -mayster Mayre, and truelye write and trewe recorde make and trewe -councell gyffe after my discression, when I am cleped thereto or -boden, and all other things truelye do and use that perteyneth to -the office of common clerk of this towne, and the councell of the -towne truelye kepe: so God me help at holy dome.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Such were our forms of swearing before the -reformation.—As to a <i>Lord High Steward</i>, it does not -appear that there was here then any such officer or functionary; -which appears to have sprung up about the time of the -<i>first</i> or <i>second</i> <span class="smcap">Charles</span>: -and it seems an empty insignificant office.—Quere, if its -origin was not suggested or occasioned by the -<i>bishop’s</i> <span class="smcap">High Steward</span> of -former times?</p> -<p><a name="footnote1154a"></a><a href="#citation1154a" -class="footnote">[1154a]</a> A like refusal to serve the -office of <i>alderman</i> is liable to a fine not exceeding -40<i>l.</i> and that of a common-council-man 20<i>l.</i></p> -<p><a name="footnote1154b"></a><a href="#citation1154b" -class="footnote">[1154b]</a> The mayor, recorder, aldermen, -common-council-men and all other officers and their deputies, -take the oaths of allegiance and supremacy when they enter into -office, and thereby have all the laws, liberties, usages, & -customs, granted and confirmed to them, without lett or -molestation.—See Charles 2nds <i>first</i> Charter; also -Mackerell, 213.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1155"></a><a href="#citation1155" -class="footnote">[1155]</a> <i>Lovecop</i>, or -<i>Lovecoup</i> is what some now <i>improperly call Lastage</i> -two a-penny per quarter on corn carried out by -<i>unfreemen</i>.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1157"></a><a href="#citation1157" -class="footnote">[1157]</a> The <i>mart</i> is said to have -been formerly kept in <i>Damgate</i>; but latterly, for a great -length of time, it has been kept in the <i>Tuesday market -place</i>. Thither, at the opening of it, the mayor and his -brethren set out from the Hall in solemn procession, when the -following <i>proclamation</i>, according to <i>Mackerell</i>, is -made by the crier—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Whereas by a charter granted unto this -corporation by king Henry viii. in the 27th. year of his reign, -that the mayor and burgesses of the burgh of <i>King’s -Lynn</i>, and their successors, might from thenceforth for ever, -have, hold, and keep, within the said burgh, <i>one mart</i>, -<i>or fair</i>, to begin upon the day next after the feast of the -purification of the blessed virgin <i>Mary</i> yearly, and to -continue six days then next following, with all the liberties, -jurisdiction, and privileges, there contained in the Letters -patents, granted by the said king unto the said mayor and -burgesses; any act of parliament before that time made to the -contrary notwithstanding; as by the transcript of the said patent -under the great seal of England, more at large -appeareth:—Now Mr. Mayor, the Aldermen and -Common-council-men of this burgh <i>Do Publish and make -Known</i>, That the said <i>Fair or Mart</i> to be holden this -year, doth <i>Begin</i> this present <i>Day</i>, and shall -continue for the space of <i>Six Days</i> from hence next -following, with the ancient liberties, jurisdictions, and -privileges thereof, and of holding the court of <i>Pie-Powder</i> -for the hearing, trying, and determining, of all accidents and -suits incident thereunto.—Also the mayor commandeth all -common victuallers, that they utter and put to sale no other -victuals but such as shall be sweet and wholesome for man’s -body, and that they do afford the same at reasonable prices; and -keep all assizes according to law.—And that all weights and -measures which shall be used, be lawful and sealed according to -the laws and statutes in that behalf made.—And also that -all persons do forbear to put to sale, or shew forth wares on the -Lord’s day.—And further, that all such persons as may -be justly suspected of evil behaviour, do avoid this burgh and -the liberties thereof; and that all others do keep within their -several lodgings from <i>nine</i> of the clock every evening -until six of the clock next morning. <span -class="smcap">God Save the King</span>.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Afterwards in the <i>Common Stath-yard</i>—</p> -<blockquote><p>“All persons that have any Lastage, Wares, -or Linen Cloth, to sell by wholesale, shall lay the same in the -Common-stath-yard, or in Warehouses, Booths, or Chambers there, -as heretofore hath been used, or as they or any of them shall be -thereunto appointed. <span class="smcap">God Save the -King</span>.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Lastly in the <i>Custom House Porch</i> [or rather at the -<i>Cross</i>]—</p> -<blockquote><p>“All manner of persons that have any Action, -Suit, or Plaint, to enter or prosecute for any matter, cause, or -thing, arising within the jurisdiction of the court of -<i>Pie-Powder</i>, here to be holden for and during the time of -this <i>open Mart</i>, <i>or Fair</i>, let them repair to this -place, and the same shall be retorted. <span -class="smcap">God Save the King</span>.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="footnote1160"></a><a href="#citation1160" -class="footnote">[1160]</a> ☞ But here again, before -he proceeds further, or begins the next section, the author begs -leave to acknowledge that be was mistaken at page <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page1140">1140</a></span> in -supposing the Lynn Grammar School to have been established in -1580, or about the middle of the reign of Elizabeth. He has -since discovered that this seminary existed in 1570, in which -year, on Monday next after the feast of St. Michael, or -Michaelmas-day, at the commencement of the mayoralty of <i>Edward -Waters</i>, <i>Ralph Johnson</i> was chosen master, in the room -of Mr. <i>Bacster</i>. How long the latter held the -mastership does not appear. If we suppose ten or a dozen -years, and that this <i>Bacster</i>, or <i>Baxter</i>, was the -first master, it would fix the origin of this school about the -commencement of that queen’s reign, which seems not an -unnatural supposition. The reader therefore is requested to -correct what may appear contrary to this statement in the page -above referred to; and also in the last line of that page instead -of 1570 to read 1590.—The author also apprehends that he -was not quite correct at page 1133 in supposing the South Lynn -Almshouse not originally endowed with any land of money.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1161"></a><a href="#citation1161" -class="footnote">[1161]</a> Exclusive of <i>fishing -smacks</i>.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1162a"></a><a href="#citation1162a" -class="footnote">[1162a]</a> Comparative view of the -imports and exports to and from Lynn from 1761 to 1811, with the -revenue thence arising.</p> -<table> -<tr> -<td><p style="text-align: center">In the year</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: center">Tons of <i>Wine</i> -imported.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: center">Chaldrons of <i>Coals</i> -imported.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: center">Quarters of <i>Corn</i> -exported.</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: center">Amount of Revenue.</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>1761</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">810</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">64,100</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">207,700 <a -name="citation1162b"></a><a href="#footnote1162b" -class="citation">[1162b]</a></p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">£37,600</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>1771</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">1030</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">103,900</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">151,900</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">58,800</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>1781</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">350</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">69,400</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">118,800</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">36,900</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>1791</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">1030</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">90,600</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">183,200</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">56,600</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>1801</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">1280</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">79,100</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">195,600</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">74,800</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>1806</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">560</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">103,700</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">147,600</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">84,200</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>1811</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">450</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">115,500</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">212,500</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">75,300</p> -</td> -</tr> -</table> -<p>The correctness of the above may be relied upon; and so it is -supposed may also that of the following table, which has appeared -in the <i>Norfolk Tour</i>, and is there said to have been -extracted from the Lynn Custom-house books, and is to be -considered as the <i>yearly average</i> which has been exported -to foreign markets and coastways, for the years 1791, 1792, and -1793.</p> -<table> -<tr> -<td></td> -<td><p style="text-align: center">Quarters</p> -</td> -<td colspan="3"><p style="text-align: center">Per Quarter</p> -</td> -<td colspan="3"><p style="text-align: center">Amount</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td></td> -<td></td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><i>£.</i></p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><i>s.</i></p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><i>d.</i></p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><i>£.</i></p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><i>s.</i></p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right"><i>d.</i></p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Wheat</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">30,016</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">2</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">4</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">66,035</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">4</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Wheat flour</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">3,138</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">2</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">16</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">8,786</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">8</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Barley</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">112,944</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">1</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">4</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">135,532</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">16</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Malt</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">10,703</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">2</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">21,406</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Rye</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">12,298</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">1</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">5</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">15,372</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">10</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Peas</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">3,855</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">1</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">8</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">5,397</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Beans</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">4,708</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">1</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">4</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">5,649</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">12</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Vetches</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">73</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">1</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">10</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">109</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">10</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td><p>Rape Seed</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">2,423</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">1</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">16</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">4,361</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">8</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td></td> -<td></td> -<td></td> -<td></td> -<td></td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">262,650</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">8</p> -</td> -<td><p style="text-align: right">0</p> -</td> -</tr> -</table> -<p><a name="footnote1162b"></a><a href="#citation1162b" -class="footnote">[1162b]</a> <i>Of which</i> 125,000 -<i>were exported to foreign parts</i>.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1168"></a><a href="#citation1168" -class="footnote">[1168]</a> Here we must own that the -service in our churches, defective as it is in many respects, has -yet greatly the advantage over that of our meeting houses in -regard to the <i>reading</i> of the scriptures; for large -portions of them are there read every time: and even in the -cathedral service we may find a nearer resemblance of the -primitive practice than in most dissenting chapels, in the -<i>frequency</i> of the administration of the <i>Lord’s -supper</i>, which is there administered weekly, as it was in the -first age, and a good while after. There is something very -queer and whimsical in the <i>lunatic</i> administration of that -ordinance in most dissenting congregations as well as parish -churches.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1169"></a><a href="#citation1169" -class="footnote">[1169]</a> The knowledge and mental -culture of these assuming beings have been said to be chiefly -derived from <i>Cocker</i> and the <i>venal newspapers</i>; but -the present writer looks upon that as an incorrect and hyperbolic -representation; though he suspects that but few of them possess -very expanded minds. In time, it is to be hoped, they will -become more wise, liberal, public-spirited, and patriotic.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1170"></a><a href="#citation1170" -class="footnote">[1170]</a> Seventy two baskets per week, -upon an average, each of 40 pounds weight, have been, we are -told, sent from hence by the coaches to London, which in the -whole year amounts to 65 tons 12 hundred and eight pounds. -It is supposed that no other port or place beside has ever -supplied the metropolis with so large a quantity of the said -article, and that Boston, though it is known to deal largely in -the same line, yet falls much short of the quantity here -specified.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1173"></a><a href="#citation1173" -class="footnote">[1173]</a> We are told that by the report -of the commissioners for auditing the public accounts in 1784, -the annual duties of Lynn exceeded those of all the other English -ports, except <i>London</i>, <i>Bristol</i>, <i>Liverpool</i>, -and <i>Hull</i>.—They might then amount to about -40,000<i>l.</i> But they have since more than doubted that -sum.—See Britton’s account if Lynn, p. 299, and the -table here at page <span class="indexpageno"><a -href="#page1162">1162</a></span>.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1174"></a><a href="#citation1174" -class="footnote">[1174]</a> It may be however not -altogether improper just to observe here that the <i>Gaol</i> or -prison, and <i>Bridewell</i> or House of Correction, stand -contiguous to the town-hall. This building makes a -respectable appearance on the outside, and probably no less so -within; but that it is really so, the present writer cannot -positively say, having never had the curiosity to visit the -inside of it.—Here he begs leave to observe in addition to -what he has before said of our <i>Grammar-school</i>, that that -seminary now appears to have existed before the reformation, as -may be concluded from the following note extracted from the -Hall-books, and transmitted to the author by the present worthy -town-clerk.—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Friday next after the Feast of holy Gregory -the pope, anno 25 Hen. 8. [i.e. 1534.] Lynn Bishop: the Mayor, -Aldermen, and Com. Council have elected in to their Charnel -priest William Leyton, Chaplain; he to have it from Lady Day next -coming, during his life natural, except cause reasonable, and he -to perform the testament of old <i>Mr. Thorsby</i>, and -<i>maintain a grammar school</i>; and further to keep the house, -and tenements, in sufficient repairations in all things as he -can, as it has been used.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p><a name="footnote1176"></a><a href="#citation1176" -class="footnote">[1176]</a> The first of them runs -thus—</p> -<blockquote><p>“Every subscriber to this Library shall pay -<i>one guinea</i> annually in advance, or in proportion to the -time of the year when his subscription commences. And after -the general meeting in 1798, each subscriber shall pay <i>half a -guinea</i> on his admission, and the same annual subscription as -above. The sum to be paid upon admission to be afterwards -increased by <i>five shillings</i> and <i>three pence</i> every -year, until it shall amount to <i>two guineas</i>. But the -property which each subscriber has in the Library may be -transferred to any other person, who shall subscribe and conform -to these rules; in which case such new subscriber shall pay -nothing upon admission.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>The 17th is as follows:—</p> -<blockquote><p>“No book or pamphlet, except it be a -duplicate, shall on any account be alienated from the Library, -without the consent of every subscriber. But if ever the -number of subscribers should be reduced to <i>Five</i>, and -continue at or below that number for <i>three</i> years together, -the whole Library shall be transferred to the Mayor and -Burgesses, to be added to that of St. Margaret’s -church.”</p> -</blockquote> -<p>Thus the want of liberality in the Mayor and Burgesses, who -neglect to contribute towards any augmentation of their own -Library, will eventually be made up, probably, by this -institution, most of whose members, it is presumed, are -unconnected with the corporation. Had the latter shewed -some liberality in furnishing this society with a convenient -place for a library, there would have been certainly a more -colourable pretence for this article, or proviso.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1177"></a><a href="#citation1177" -class="footnote">[1177]</a> Old Lynn is said to contain 345 -souls, and Gaywood about 500.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1184"></a><a href="#citation1184" -class="footnote">[1184]</a> Here it may be expected that -some notice should be taken, and some use made of Mr. <i>Zachary -Clark’s</i> lately published <i>Account of the Norfolk -Charities</i>, which makes some mention of those of this town and -suburbs. That account indeed, as it relates to this place, -is very incomplete; but we shall here insert such of the articles -as are not included in the preceding statement.—He mentions -a house given by deed, by <i>William Cleave</i>, in 1616, and -vested in the Minister and Church-wardens of St. -Margaret’s; the rent, 4<i>l.</i> 4<i>s.</i> per annum, to -be distributed by them among the poor of that parish:—also -that in 1689, the mayor and burgesses granted a duty of -4<i>d.</i> per chalder on all coals imported here, by owners of -ships, or part of ships, not paying to the poor’s rates, -towards the maintenance of the poor in St. James’s -Workhouse, and which is vested in the governor and guardians -thereof. The average amount of the last three years was -214<i>l.</i> 8<i>s.</i> 3<i>d.</i>—Also 6<i>l.</i> payable -annually out of Grey Friars, given by the mayor and burgesses in -1705, towards the support of the aforesaid -workhouse.—Likewise for the same purpose, the annual sum of -10<i>l.</i> being a gift, during pleasure, of the <i>High -Steward</i> of the town, and commencing in 1724.—Also that -<i>John Kidd</i> esq. in 1715, bequeathed 36<i>l.</i> vested in -the mayor and burgesses, the interest 36<i>s.</i> to provide -6<i>s.</i> worth of bread, in two-penny loaves, to 36 poor -people, the six Sundays in Lent. The principal vested in -the mayor and burgesses.—Also 100<i>l.</i> vested as the -last, a legacy by <i>Peter Ward</i> in 1720; 50<i>s.</i> of the -interest to be given in bread to the poor, viz. 25 two-penny -loaves the first Sunday in every Calendar month; and 50<i>s.</i> -for teaching two poor boys writing and arithmetic.—Also a -legacy of 150<i>l.</i> vested in the mayor and burgesses, left by -<i>Sarah Dexter</i>, in 1753, the interest to be paid to the poor -men in Framingham Hospital, (<i>Broad Street Almshouse</i>) and -to the poor women in St. James’s Hospital, (<i>the -Bedehouse</i>.)—Also a legacy of 36<i>l.</i> vested as -before, and left by <i>James Stapleton</i>, in 1778, the interest -to be distributed to the poor by the Chapel wardens.—Also -of the South Lynn Almshouses he says, that the founder left -20<i>l.</i> to be secured on a freehold, and the income therefrom -to be applied, one half for the repairing of the said almshouses, -and the other half to provide coals for the inhabitants of -them. This legacy was put out to interest till 1641, by -which time it had accumulated to 55<i>l.</i> 5<i>s.</i> -This latter sum purchased 5 acres of land, in Wiggenhall St. -Germans, the rent whereof, nearly 4<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i> per -annum, is applied as above directed.—As to <i>West -Lynn</i>, (or<i> Old Lynn</i>,) he mentions there 4 acres of land -at Islington, vested in the minister and parish officers, for the -benefit of the poor; left for that purpose by <i>John Swaine</i>, -in 1678. The rent is supposed to be regularly distributed -according to the will.—He also mentions a legacy of -5<i>l.</i> 5<i>s.</i> for the use of the poor there, left by the -late <i>Henry Whall</i>, Deacon.—Also in <i>Gaywood</i>, -(which may be deemed another suburb of Lynn,) he mentions the -following charities—<i>Tho. Thurston</i> D.D. in 1714, by -his will, left 40<i>s.</i> yearly for ever, toward cloathing -three of the poorest inhabitants; which money is payable by the -mayor of Lynn.—Also 2 roods of land there, annually let to -the highest bidder, and the rent applied for the benefit of the -poor.—Also a <i>house</i> in Lynn, the rent of which -(8<i>l.</i>) is received by the officers of Gaywood, and applied -as above: but when, or by whom these donations were made he gives -no account.—So much for the Lynn Charities; of which this -is the best account we have been able to procure. As to -such as belong to the respective almshouses, that are not here -particularized, the reader is referred for information respecting -them to the account that has been already given of those -houses.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1190"></a><a href="#citation1190" -class="footnote">[1190]</a> <i>She was possessed of many -virtues</i>, <i>and was universally respected</i>: <i>to her we -owe the introduction of side-saddles</i>: <i>our women before -used always to ride astride like the men</i>.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1191"></a><a href="#citation1191" -class="footnote">[1191]</a> <i>However this affair was -finally settled between the bishop and mayor</i>, <i>these -articles seem clearly to shew that a</i> sword <i>then really -formed a part of the Lynn regalia</i>, <i>which has been by some -thought very doubtful</i>.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1200"></a><a href="#citation1200" -class="footnote">[1200]</a> <i>The author begs leave to -acknowledge a mistake of his at page</i> <span -class="indexpageno"><a href="#page763">763</a></span>, <i>in -placing Cromwell’s visit to Lynn before the siege</i>, -<i>whereas it was in fact about half a year after that -event</i>. <i>This correction invalidates several of the -remarks and conclusions in that section</i>.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1215"></a><a href="#citation1215" -class="footnote">[1215]</a> See <i>vol.</i> I. <i>page</i> -572, &c.</p> -<p><a name="footnote1216"></a><a href="#citation1216" -class="footnote">[1216]</a> The errata has been applied in -this transcription.—DP.</p> -<pre> - - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HISTORY OF LYNN, VOL. 2 [OF 2]*** - - -***** This file should be named 62372-h.htm or 62372-h.zip****** - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/6/2/3/7/62372 - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive -specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this -eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook -for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, -performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given -away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks -not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the -trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country outside the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and - most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no - restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it - under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this - eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the - United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you - are located before using this ebook. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and The -Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the -mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, but its -volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous -locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt -Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to -date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and -official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -For additional contact information: - - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - -</pre></body> -</html> |