LYING in a valley surrounded by hills, up which the town is gradually climbing, and watered by the picturesque Orwell, which elevates the town to the dignity of a port, and within little more than an hour and a half’s run from London by the Great Eastern Railway, Ipswich may claim to be a place well worth visiting, while to the trader it is known and appreciated as a busy and thriving town. When I first knew it—at a time a little antecedent to the advent of the illustrious Mr. Pickwick—it was not much of a place to look at. With the exception of the space opposite the Town Hall, a handsome building all of the modern time, the people seemed sadly hampered for want of room. In this respect the place has been wonderfully improved of late, as much as any town in Her Majesty’s dominions; not even Birmingham more. It was one of the first places to have an Arboretum, which is well kept up for the health and comfort of its people. Then by the river a pleasant promenade has been formed, where, when the tide comes up from Harwich, bringing with it a faint touch of the briny, you may fancy that you are by the side of the sea itself. That River Orwell is a sight in itself, and is utilised by the young and vigorous as regards boating and bathing in a way conducive to the development of health and muscle alike. The corn market at Ipswich is one of the most important in the kingdom, and the public buildings are numerous, and boast not a little of architectural skill, as, for instance, the Grammar School, the theatre, Tacket Street Chapel—one of the oldest representatives of Nonconformity in the place—the pile of buildings forming the offices of _The East Anglian Daily Times_—the most successful of the East Anglian dailies, which would be a credit even to the metropolis. One of the handsomest piles of buildings in the town is that occupied by the Museum, the Schools of Art and Science, and the Victorin Free Library. Since their completion in 1881, the whole of the valuable books and archælogical treasures belonging to the Corporation have been classified and attractively arranged for inspection by visitors. The old Judge’s chambers have now been turned into a club, which supplies a want felt in such a place. I think Ipswich was one of the first towns to start a Mechanics’ Institute, still in vigorous existence; while all over Europe you may meet with agricultural machines that had their birth in the great works of Ransomes, Sims, and Jefferies—names dear to the farmer all the land over. Ipswich is now also becoming celebrated for its boots and shoes, while its tasteful shops indicate a considerable amount of intelligence and wealth as existing among its people to the present day.