Through East Anglia in a Motor CarVincent, James Edmund
General
Through East Anglia in a Motor Car
Vincent, James Edmund
Norfolk (England) -- Description and travel; Suffolk (England) -- Description and travel
Again, as our talk wandered over matters ancient and men of the past, the
name of the famous Abbot Sampson, much noted in his day as a preacher, was
mentioned, and Mr. Corder had a humorous story of his disinterment in
modern times. With the bones of the clarion-voiced preacher, in the same
coffin, was found the skull of a woman, a grim jest perhaps of those who
were left behind him in this world. The bones, pending reinterment in
decent form, were placed in the first convenient receptacle and, only some
time later was it observed, the relics of the preacher had, by the irony of
fate, been placed in a champagne case labelled "extra dry." Chance, very
likely, supplied an epitaph more truthful than is usual.
At Ipswich too my host and friend had prepared a surprise. Not entirely
satisfied with the behaviour of the car which had covered us, as well as
carried us, hitherto, he had telegraphed to London for another, and it
awaited us in the inn yard. It was uncovered, but the sky was now clear, so
we sped in it merrily along the already familiar route to Colchester,
entering Essex, "ful of good hoswyves," as Leland quotes, as we crossed the
river at Stratford St. Mary. Had we turned to the right a little before
this point we should have made ourselves familiar with the beautiful and
very characteristic scenery of those Stourside places Stoke-by-Nayland,
Sudbury, and Long Melford--all interesting places concerning which
something is said later. But all these matters and places come more
fittingly into the chapter describing a series of short day's drives from
Colchester as head-quarters. So do Marks Tey and Braintree through which,
as a matter of fact, we passed that day to Dunmow. In fact the only fact
about this little run which can be mentioned without impoverishing the mine
to be dug from later is an incident. We had the misfortune to meet a man
who was no horseman mounted on a half-broken colt which had the strongest
apparent objection to a motor-car. The man held up his hand. We stopped.
The horse, more frightened than ever, turned and bolted in the other
direction; but then the rider turning on to the grass beside the road,
dismounted hurriedly and we passed on. It was almost a solitary instance in
which, during much motoring of late, I have seen a horse thoroughly
frightened by a car, all the more alarmed probably because, by that curious
intuition which horses possess, it knew its rider to be incompetent. The
incident exemplified the folly of the existing law requiring a car to be
stopped completely whenever a person in charge of a horse, or with a horse
in charge of him, holds up his hand. Almost every petrol-car brought
suddenly to a stop makes far more noise and is far more alarming to a horse
than when it moves at a reasonable pace, and the car-driver, in a voice at
once audible and soothing, cries "Woa, my lad," or something of that kind,
thus convincing the animal that motor-cars are connected with human beings,
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.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account