Tour through the Eastern Counties of England, 1722Defoe, Daniel
History
Tour through the Eastern Counties of England, 1722
Defoe, Daniel
England -- Description and travel -- Early works to 1800
One Mr. White, a surgeon, resides also in this town. But before I speak
of this gentleman, I must observe that I say nothing from personal
knowledge; though if I did, I have too good an opinion of his sense to
believe he would be pleased with being flattered or complimented in
print. But I must be true to matter of fact. This gentleman has begun a
collection or chamber of rarities, and with good success too. I
acknowledge I had not the opportunity of seeing them; but I was told
there are some things very curious in it, as particularly a sea-horse
carefully preserved, and perfect in all its parts; two Roman urns full of
ashes of human bodies, and supposed to be above 1,700 years old; besides
a great many valuable medals and ancient coins. My friend who gave me
this account, and of whom I think I may say he speaks without bias,
mentions this gentleman, Mr. White, with some warmth as a very valuable
person in his particular employ of a surgeon. I only repeat his words.
“Mr. White,” says he, “to whom the whole town and country are greatly
indebted and obliged to pray for his life, is our most skilful surgeon.”
These, I say, are his own words, and I add nothing to them but this, that
it is happy for a town to have such a surgeon, as it is for a surgeon to
have such a character.
The country round Ipswich, as if qualified on purpose to accommodate the
town for building of ships, is an inexhaustible store-house of timber, of
which, now their trade of building ships is abated, they send very great
quantities to the king’s building-yards at Chatham, which by water is so
little a way that they often run to it from the mouth of the river at
Harwich in one tide.
From Ipswich I took a turn into the country to Hadleigh, principally to
satisfy my curiosity and see the place where that famous martyr and
pattern of charity and religious zeal in Queen Mary’s time, Dr. Rowland
Taylor, was put to death. The inhabitants, who have a wonderful
veneration for his memory, show the very place where the stake which he
was bound to was set up, and they have put a stone upon it which nobody
will remove; but it is a more lasting monument to him that he lives in
the hearts of the people—I say more lasting than a tomb of marble would
be, for the memory of that good man will certainly never be out of the
poor people’s minds as long as this island shall retain the Protestant
religion among them. How long that may be, as things are going, and if
the detestable conspiracy of the Papists now on foot should succeed, I
will not pretend to say.
A little to the left is Sudbury, which stands upon the River Stour,
mentioned above—a river which parts the counties of Suffolk and Essex,
and which is within these few years made navigable to this town, though
the navigation does not, it seems, answer the charge, at least not to
advantage.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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