Great Britain -- Description and travel; Great Britain -- Rural conditions
The day before yesterday I set out for Bergh Apton with Mr. CLARKE, to
come hither by the way of _Beccles_ in Suffolk. We stopped at Mr.
Charles Clarke's at Beccles, where we saw some good and sensible men,
who see clearly into all the parts of the works of the "Thunderers," and
whose anticipations, as to the "general working of events," are such as
they ought to be. They gave us a humorous account of the "rabble" having
recently crowned a Jackass, and of a struggle between them and the
"Yeomanry Cavaltry." This _was_ a place of most ardent and blazing
_loyalty_, as the pretenders to it call it; but, it seems it now blazes
less furiously; it is milder, more measured in its effusions; and, with
the help of low prices, will become bearable in time. This Beccles is a
very pretty place, has watered meadows near it, and is situated amidst
fine lands. What a _system_ it must be to make people wretched in a
country like this! Could he be _heaven-born_ that invented such a
system? GAFFER GOOCH'S father, a very old man, lives not far from here.
We had a good deal of fun about the Gaffer, who will certainly never
lose the name, unless he should be made a Lord.--We slept at the house
of a friend of Mr. Clarke on our way, and got to this very fine town of
Great Yarmouth yesterday about noon. A party of friends met us and
conducted us about the town, which is a very beautiful one indeed. What
I liked best, however, was the hearty welcome that I met with, because
it showed, that the reign of calumny and delusion was passed. A company
of gentlemen gave me a dinner in the evening, and, in all my life I
never saw a set of men more worthy of my respect and gratitude.
Sensible, modest, understanding the whole of our case, and clearly
foreseeing what is about to happen. One gentleman proposed, that, as it
would be impossible for all to go to London, there should be a
_Provincial Feast of the Gridiron_, a plan, which, I hope, will be
adopted--I leave Great Yarmouth with sentiments of the sincerest regard
for all those whom I there saw and conversed with, and with my best
wishes for the happiness of all its inhabitants; nay, even the _parsons_
not excepted; for, if they did not come to welcome me, they collected in
a group to _see_ me, and that was one step towards doing justice to him
whom their order have so much, so foully, and, if they knew their own
interest, so foolishly slandered.
_Bergh Apton, 22nd Dec. (night)._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account