AN 
 
 ILLUSTRATION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Worfcs 
 
 OF 
 
 ROBERT BLOOMFIELD.
 
 Printed by S. Gosncll, Little Queen Street.
 
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 "Published i>v Vmiar./ino.i . and Sharpr, Pauley, 
 .<■ ./ Jturtr .<• J.GrHg, Chapel Smet; 
 
 I's/ltOHVltlf
 
 VIEWS 
 
 IN 
 
 SUFFOLK, NORFOLK, 
 
 AND 
 
 NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE 
 
 Wotts 
 
 OP 
 
 ROBERT BLOOMFIELD; 
 
 ACCOMPANIED WITH 
 
 DESCRIPTIONS: 
 
 TO WHICH IS ANNEXED, 
 
 A Memoir of the Poefs Life, 
 
 BY 
 
 E. W. BRAYLEY. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 Published April 1806; 
 
 BY VERNOR, HOOD, AND SHARPE, POULTRY ; DARTON AND HARVEY, 8RACECHURCU 
 STREET; AND J. STORER AND J. GREIG, ENGRAVERS, CHAPEL STREET, 
 
 PENTONVILLK.
 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 THE very flattering reception which the Illustrations of 
 Cowper and Burns have experienced from the Public, encourages a hope 
 that the same liberal patronage will be extended to the present undertaking) 
 and though we are aware that it is a maxim generally received, that living 
 authors are of comparatively small consideration, we are happy to know 
 that the world have, in the instance of" The Farmer's Boy," conferred 
 on its author that generous countenance and support which perhaps equal 
 merit has in former times sighed for in vain. 
 
 To Capel Lofft, Esq. of Troston Hall, we are much indebted for 
 his useful communications. Mrs. Lathbury, of Levermere Magna ; the 
 Rev. Robert Fellowes, of Fakenham; and Mr. Robert Bloomfield, 
 have equal claims upon our gratitude. 
 
 J. STORER and J. GREIG. 
 
 B
 
 MEMOIR 
 
 OF 
 
 IOBEIT BJLOOMFIEJLB. 
 
 1. o trace the progress of intellect through the successive stages 
 of its growth, from its early dawn to the period of its full expan- 
 sion, is an interesting and useful labor ; inasmuch, as the form- 
 ation of proper precepts for moral conduct, must always depend 
 on our acquaintance with the nature of the mind, whether 
 deriving strength from education, or acquiring superiority from 
 the independent exertion of its own powers. The more humble 
 the state, perhaps, from which any human being has emerged to 
 eminence through the vigor of his talents, the higher must have 
 been his merit ; for the disadvantages of birth and fortune have 
 a far greater influence on the evolution of the mental faculties, 
 than the moralist, who with Pope, makes " Virtue its own 
 reward," is at all times willing to acknowledge. Powerful, indeed,
 
 8 
 must be his genius, who can dissever the brazen trammels that 
 Poverty has forged for her children, and ' outstepping the 
 control of circumstance, make literature his passport to affluence 
 and to fame. 
 
 Robert Bloomfield, the Farmer's Boy y was born at the 
 
 # 
 
 little village of Honington, in Suffolk, on the 3d of December 
 1766. He was the younger son of George Bloomfield, a tailor ; 
 and Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Manby, who was the village 
 school-mistress, and who instructed her own offspring with 
 those of her neighbours. His father died a victim to the small- 
 pox, when the subject of this Memoir was less than a twelve- 
 month old, and his mother was left a widow with six children. 
 
 It is observable that Bloomfield has incorporated the most 
 material events of his life with some one or other of his poems, 
 so that were all the passages selected, and duly arranged, his 
 lustory would want but few additional particulars to be told in 
 the descriptive language of his own muse. Thus, in his " Good 
 Tidings" after alluding to the family distress occasioned by the
 
 9 
 
 fell disease just mentioned, he notices bis parent's death, and 
 the general horror which the contagion inspired, in these words : 
 
 Heav'n restor'd them all, 
 
 And destin'd one of riper years to fall. 
 
 Midnight beheld the close of all his pain, 
 
 His grave was clos'd when midnight came again j 
 
 No bell was heard to toll, no funeral pray'r, 
 
 No kindred bow'd, no wife, no children there : — 
 
 Its horrid nature could inspire a dread 
 
 That cut the bonds of custom like a thread. 
 
 The humble church-tow'r higher seem'd to show, 
 
 Illumin'd by the trembling light below ; 
 
 The solemn night-breeze struck each shiv'ring cheek, 
 
 Religious reverence forbade to speak : 
 
 The starting sexton his short sorrow chid, 
 
 When the earth murmur'd on the coffin lid. 
 
 And falling bones and sighs of holy dread 
 
 Sounded a requiem to the silent dead. 
 
 The lowly occupation of Mrs. Bloomfield, and the number 
 of her children, which was increased by the issue of a second 
 marriage, deprived her of the means of giving her son Robert 
 any regular schooling; and nearly all the tuition that he ever 
 received out of her own cottage, was from Mr. Rodwell, of 
 
 c
 
 10 
 
 Ixworth (now senior clerk to the magistrates of Blackburn 
 hundred), to whom he went for about two or three months to 
 be improved in writing. 
 
 At the age of eleven he was taken into the house of Mr. 
 William Austin, his mother's brother-in-law, a respectable farmer 
 of Sapiston, a little village adjoining to Honington, his mother 
 still continuing to find him " a few things to wear," though even 
 this " was more than she well knew how to do." Mr. Austin, 
 having himself a large family, could pay but little attention to 
 his young kinsman, more than to providing him with food and 
 employment : in this respect, however, the treatment of his 
 servants and of his sons was the same ; " all worked hard, all 
 lived well." 
 
 Twas thus with Giles ; meek, fatherless, and poor, 
 Labor his portion, but he felt no more ; 
 No stripes, no tyranny his steps pursu'd, 
 His life was constant, cheerful servitude : 
 Strange to the world he wore a bashful look, 
 The fields his study, nature was his book : 
 A little farm his generous master till'd, 
 Who with peculiar grace his station fill'd -,
 
 J] 
 
 By deeds of hospitality endear'd, 
 
 Serv'd from affection, for his worth rever'd j 
 
 A happy offspring blest his plenteous board, 
 
 His fields were fruitful, and his barns well stor'd ; 
 
 And fourscore ewes he fed, a sturdy team, 
 
 And lowing kine that graz'd beside the stream : 
 
 Unceasing industry he kept in view, 
 
 And never lack'd a job for Giles to do. 
 
 Farmer's Boy, 
 
 In this humble station our Poet acquired that intimate 
 knowledge of rural occupations and manners, the display of 
 which forms the distinguishing feature through all his writings. 
 If the perceptive faculties of his mind had not been improved 
 by education, they were at least unclouded by its dogmas ; and 
 the sensibility of his soul being awakened by the charms of 
 nature, gave fervor to his thoughts, and he then attained that 
 distinctness of idea and individuality of conception, which became 
 the basis of his subsequent greatness. 
 
 Before the age of fifteen it was requisite to make some 
 change in the employment of young Bloomfield, as Mr. Austin 
 had informed his mother that he was so small of his age, as to 
 be very little likely to be able to get his living by hard labor :
 
 12 
 
 she wrote therefore to her two elder sons, George and Nathaniel, 
 who were then resident in London ; and the former, a ladies' 
 shoemaker, offered to take him and teach him his own business, 
 whilst the latter, a tailor, promised to find him in clothes. On 
 this offer his mother brought him to town, and intrusted him 
 to the care of his brother George, charging him as " he valued 
 a mothers blessing, to watch over him, to set good examples for 
 him, and never to forget that he had lost his father.'" 
 
 Mr. George Bloomfield then lived in an obscure court, near 
 Coleman Street, and worked with four others in a light garret, 
 whither Robert was introduced, and whilst acquiring a knowledge 
 of his trade, became, as he has himself expressed it, though on 
 another occasion, " A Giheonite, and served them all by turns.' 1 '' 
 The most common of his occupations was to read the Newspaper, 
 his fC time being of less value" than that of his brother, or of 
 the other workmen ; and because, when thus employed, he fre- 
 quently met with words that he could not understand, an old and 
 tattered Dictionary was bought for his use, by a constant reference 
 to which he soon attained a greater command of language, and 
 could readily comprehend the meaning of any difficult passage
 
 13 
 
 that might occur. His knowledge of phraseology and enunci- 
 ation was also increased by a regular attendance at the meeting- 
 house in the Old Jewry, on Sunday evenings, when the late 
 Rev. Mr. Fawcett was delivering his eloquent and celebrated 
 lectures. 
 
 The principal, and indeed only books that at this time were 
 at his command, were a History of England, a British Traveller, 
 a Geography, and the London Magazine. These were purchased 
 in numbers by his brother and fellow- workmen ; but with the 
 exception of the Magazine, were read by Bloomfield more as a 
 task than as a pleasure ; yet even from these he attained some 
 knowledge both of Geography and History. The Poet's Corner 
 in the newspapers had the greatest share of his attention, and 
 here some of the first productions of his muse were registered ; 
 but they were not written exactly at the early age which Mr. 
 G. Bloomfield, in his letter to Capel Lofit, has assigned *. At 
 the time they were published, Robert was really in his twentieth 
 year, yet previously to that, even as early as the age of fifteen, 
 he had made some attempts to array his ideas in a poetical garb. 
 
 * See the eighth edition of the Farmer's Boj, where all the pieces alluded 
 
 to are re-printed. 
 
 D
 
 14 
 
 About this time a person who was troubled with fits, took 
 lodgings in the same house with the Bloomfields, and by his 
 horrid screams, and frightful gesticulations, so affected the sensi- 
 bility of Robert, that his brother was induced to remove to a 
 neighbouring court, through the fear of consequences. In their 
 new residence they became acquainted with a man of singular 
 character, a native of Dundee, who had many books, and among 
 them Paradise Lost and the Seasons : These he lent to Robert, 
 who was particularly delighted with the Seasons, and studied it 
 with peculiar attention. The vivid imagery and glowing diction 
 of Thomson, were in strict accordance with his own conceptions 
 of the charms of nature ; but when at a subsequent period he 
 reconsidered the descriptions of the Scottish bard, he felt a firm 
 conviction that the subject had not been exhausted ; and that 
 " the rural occupation and business of the fields, the dairy, and 
 the farm-yard," would still afford a sufficient range for an original 
 and independent poem. 
 
 Soon afterwards a dispute between the masters and the 
 journeymen shoemakers, respecting the right of giving employ- 
 ment to those who had not served a regular apprenticeship, occa-
 
 15 
 
 sioned a temporary suspension in the vocations of young Bloom- 
 field ; and till the disputes were settled, his old master and uncle, 
 Mr. Austin, again invited him to his house at Sapiston. The 
 invitation was accepted ; and in the very fields where his infant 
 mind first opened to the beauties of the country, and imbibed its 
 fondness for rural simplicity and rural innocence, he experienced 
 a renovation of his original feelings, and ' became fitted to be the 
 writer of the Farmer's Boy.'' 
 
 The dispute in the trade continuing undecided, he returned 
 to London after an absence of two months, and was regularly 
 apprenticed to his brother's landlord, in order to secure him at 
 all events from the effects of the litigation. It was understood 
 how r ever that no advantage should be taken of the indentures, 
 and he continued to work with his brother till he had acquired 
 a complete knowledge of his business ; his leisure hours being 
 occasionally employed in learning to play on the violin. 
 
 At this time his brother left London for Bury St. Edmund's ; 
 and about five years afterwards Robert, who had continued to 
 follow his trade, informed him by letter that " he had sold his 
 fiddle and got a wife." Her name was Mary Anne, daughter to
 
 id 
 
 Joseph Church, a boat-builder in the dock-yard at Woolwich. 
 The marriage was solemnized on the 12th of December 1790. 
 
 The early years of this alliance were in some respects embit- 
 tered by the cares of livelihood, and the sickness of a young 
 family, which interrupted his literary amusements, and for a time 
 made considerable ravages on his health. 
 
 Soon came the days that tried a faithful wife, 
 The noise of children, and the cares of life. 
 Then, 'midst the threat'nings of a wintry sky, 
 That cough which blights the bud of infancy, 
 The dread of parents, rest's inveterate foe, 
 Came like a plague, and turn'd my songs to woe. 
 The little sufferers triumph'd over pain, 
 Their mother smil'd, and bade me hope again. 
 Yet care gain'd ground, exertion triumph'd less, 
 Thick fell the gathering terrors of distress ; 
 Anxiety, and griefs without a name, 
 Had made their dreadful inroads on my frame ; 
 The creeping dropsy, cold as cold could be, 
 
 Unnerv'd my arm. 
 
 But winter's clouds pursu'd their stormy way, 
 
 And March brought sunshine with the lengthening day ; 
 
 And bade my heart arise, that morn and night 
 
 Now tbrobb'd with irresistible delight. 
 
 ' To my old Oak Table.'
 
 17 
 
 On the recovery of his strength he resumed his labors in 
 the garret of the house where he then resided, in Bell Alley, 
 Coleman Street. Here amidst all the din and bustle made by six 
 or seven persons, pursuing the same trade as his own, did Bloom- 
 field compose The Farmer's Boy ; committing it to paper as 
 he found opportunity, fifty, or a hundred lines at a time, and 
 arranging them as they were afterwards printed, in the exact order 
 in which they had been referred by imagination to memory. The 
 strength of the latter faculty was indeed particularly exerted in 
 the two last divisions of his poem : the whole of his Winter and 
 great part of his Autumn having been entirely finished before a 
 single verse was written down. 
 
 When the manuscript was completed, it passed through 
 several hands before it was examined by any person of sufficient 
 judgment to appreciate its value ; or, in other words, before it 
 had the fortune to be read by any one enough superior to pre- 
 judice, to allow that a good poem could be composed by an un- 
 educated and unpresuming mechanic. At length, in November 
 1798, it was referred to the well-known Capel LofFt, Esq. of 
 Troston Hall, near Bury ; and under his patronage, and most 
 
 E
 
 ]8 
 
 warmly supported by his influence, it was published in March, 
 1 800. To the taste and superior sense of this gentleman there- 
 fore, are the public indebted for all the pleasure they have derived 
 from the productions of a Bloomfield ; and while the wreath of 
 immortality is decreed to the poet, the civic crown shall encircle 
 the brow of his protector and his friend. 
 
 The publication of the Farmer's Boy proved eminently suc- 
 cessful, and a greater number perhaps was sold in a less space of 
 time, than had ever occurred with any poem previously com- 
 mitted to the press. It attracted the attention of the most exalted 
 personages in the kingdom ; and many of the most eminent 
 literary characters concurred in bestowing the meed of approba- 
 tion upon its author. His domestic affairs were greatly improved 
 by the various presents which he received from those who were 
 emulous to reward the exertion of talents under such untoward 
 circumstances, and conjoined with the profits derived from the 
 sale of the work, enabled him to emerge from the obscurity of 
 his former situation, and to remove to a small house near the 
 Shepherd and Shepherdess, in the City Road. One of the 
 greatest pleasures, however, resulting to Bloomfield from the
 
 19 
 
 printing of the Farmer's Boy, was the opportunity of transmitting 
 a copy to his mother ; which he did immediately after its 
 publication. 
 
 In the year 1802 he published a second volume of poems, 
 under the title of Rural Tales ; these added considerably to 
 his reputation : — his familiar representations of nature giving a 
 charm to his poetry that renders it attractive to every class of 
 readers. A third volume, bearing the appellation of Wild 
 Flowers, has very recently been published, and will be found to 
 possess an equal degree of merit with his former productions. 
 
 The family of Bloomfield consists of his wife, three daughters, 
 and a son ; to the latter, who is unfortunately afflicted with 
 lameness, his father has dedicated his TVild Floivers. His wife's 
 father is also resident in his house, and it will not be thought 
 undeserving of notice, by those for whom the " simple annals of 
 the poor" have interest, that the " Old Oak Table" upon whose 
 " bach" the Farmer's Boy was written, was a gift from this 
 relation towards housekeeping; and to use the words of Bloom- 
 field himself, composed of his 
 
 Worldly wealth, the parent stock.
 
 '213 
 
 From the little that can at present be ascertained of the 
 family of Bloomfield, it appears that the great-grandfather of 
 the Poet, both on the male and on the female side, is the most 
 distant ancestor whose relationship can regularly be traced ; and 
 it is singular that both these relations were taylors, and that they 
 were both placed out to that trade by ladies, whose names are 
 now unknown. Isaac Bloomfield, his great-grandfather by the 
 male line, was apprenticed at Framlingham, in Suffolk ; but in 
 the latter part of his life he was churchwarden during twenty- 
 seven years, of the parish of Ousden, in the same county. He 
 lived to the age of eighty-eight, and had seventeen children alive 
 at one time, of whom James, the youngest, and by a second 
 
 marriage, was father to Mr. Charles Blomfield, who keeps a very ^ 
 
 V 
 respectable school at Bury St. Edmunds, and is at this time a P 
 
 capital burgess of that town. The difference in the orthography 
 
 of the names by the omission of an o, is known to have been 
 
 occasioned by a quarrel between old Isaac Bloomfield, and a 
 
 brother of his, who afterwards settled in the neighbourhood of 
 
 Colchester, where many of his descendants are now living. This 
 
 Isaac Bloomfield was accustomed to tell a story of his childhood,
 
 21 
 
 which has been regularly transmitted to his great-grandson Robert, 
 and is to this effect ; that, " he remembered being at a house at 
 Framlingham, surrounded by a moat, and that a party of horse- 
 soldiers were lodged there who were in the interest of Charles 
 the First, but that the partizans of Cromwell overpowering them, 
 the people of the house fled, and in the confusion the maid 
 gave him a handful of silver spoons, and told him to throw them 
 into the moat to prevent them falling into the hands of the 
 enemy ; he did so, and then ran away himself ;" and this he 
 would observe, on concluding his tale, " was the downfall of our 
 family." What his particular meaning was by this dark, expression 
 cannot now be told ; but it is a very curious and remarkable 
 circumstance, that an event which occurred in America about 
 two years ago, appears to bear a strong reference to the above 
 narrative. Elizabeth Bloomfeld, an elder sister to Robert, is 
 now resident in George Town, Potomac ; and in a letter which 
 she sent to her brother, of the date of February 11, 1805, is the 
 
 following passage : 
 
 " Your Poems, &c. make a great bustle here ; they are 
 printing again at New York, Baltimore, and Philadelphia ; and 
 
 p
 
 22 
 
 before I left Philadelphia the Governor of the State of Jersey 
 sent for me. He is an original in his manner; his name is Bloom- 
 field, and every one of that name he meets with he sends for, 
 and examines his genealogy to find if they spring from the same 
 branch. I assure you I have not been so catechized since I was 
 a baby : he seemed to wish to find himself allied to the Poet, as 
 he was pleased to call you. He is an old man ; he tells me his 
 great-great-grandfather fled from England in the time of the 
 revolution in England, in the time of Oliver Cromwell. He has 
 a town in the Jerseys called Blooirifield, the inhabitants chiefly 
 composed of that name, which he has hunted out : — he finished 
 by telling me, if ever I wanted assistance to apply to him, as he 
 made it an invariable rule to help his country-people all he could, 
 and particularly those of his own name." 
 
 Though this information is defective in not specifying from 
 what part of England the Governor of Jersey deduced his own 
 origin, yet it may be presumed, with great appearance of proba- 
 bility, that it must have been from the eastern coast, as the 
 Bloomfields (with some variation in spelling perhaps) are far 
 more abundant in Suffolk than in any other part of the island ~ t
 
 23 
 
 and if so, that his ancestors were the same as those of the Poet. 
 Among others of the name of Bloomfield, and Blomefield, 
 noticed in Loder's History of Framlingham, John Sutton is 
 mentioned as holding a cottage which was Thomas Buckes, in 
 J 676, and John Blumfield's in 1659. 
 
 To those who are anywise interested in tracing the rise, the 
 decay, and the connexions of families, a few more words on this 
 subject will not be tedious. — Warton, in his History of English 
 Poetry, vol. iii. p. 84, has these words : st William Blomefield, 
 otherwise Battlesden, born at Bury, in Suffolk, bachelor in physic, 
 and a monk of Bury Abbey, was an adventurer in quest of the 
 philosopher's stone. While a monk at Bury, as I presume, he 
 wrote a metrical tract, entitled e Bloomefleld's Blossoms, or the 
 * Campe of Philosophy.' — Afterwards turning Protestant, he did 
 not renounce his chemistry with his religion ; for he appears to 
 have dedicated to Queen Elizabeth, another system of occult 
 sciences, entitled ' The Rule of Life, or the Fifth Essence'.'''' — 
 Ritson, in his Bibliographia Poetica, styles him Sir* William 
 
 * This title, it should be observed, was given to priests in the Catholic- 
 times, as may be evinced by many ancient sepulchral inscriptions.
 
 24 
 
 Bloomfield, and says, he wrote " The Compendiary of the 
 noble Science of Alkemy :" and Bishop Tanner in his Bibliotheca 
 informs us, that after his recantation from popery, he was made 
 c vicar of St. Simon and St. Jude, in Norwich, whence he was 
 ' afterwards ejected by the papists.' 
 
 Now from the birth-place of this Bloomfield being at Bury, 
 it is not improbable but that if the descent could be distinctly 
 traced, he would be found named in the pedigree of the Poet ; 
 and it is possible also, that Blomefield, the Historian of Norfolk, 
 might be descended from a branch of the same stock. — Whether, 
 however, these things are so or not, the author of the Farmer's 
 Boy requires no adventitious lustre to be reflected upon his name 
 from a connection with literary ancestors. Modest and unas- 
 suming in his manners, retired in deportment, warm in his 
 friendship, and humble in his piety, he is convinced that indi- 
 vidual worth must arise from individual merit : and that the 
 inquiry, ' To whom related, or by whom begot,' is only of use 
 when it tends to improve the conduct, and to instruct the heart. 
 
 March 15, 1806. E. W. B.
 
 TheSeat of HCs Grace The Duk\ \fton. 
 
 ■
 
 AN 
 
 ILLUSTRATION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 WORKS 
 
 or 
 
 ROBERT BLOOMFIELD. 
 
 EUSTON HALL. 
 
 Eustcn Hall, in Suffolk, the seat of his Grace the Duke of 
 Grafton, was formerly the property of the Earls of Arlington, 
 but came into the possession of the Fitzroys by the marriage of 
 the first Duke of Grafton with the daughter and heiress of Lord 
 Arlington. The mansion is large and commodious, of a modern 
 date, built with red brick, and without any superfluous decora- 
 tions within or without : indeed, the good sense and good taste 
 of its noble possessor, are conspicuous in every part. The house 
 is almost surrounded by trees of uncommon growth, and the 
 
 G
 
 16 
 
 most healthy and luxuriant appearance ; and near it glides the 
 river Ouse. Over this stream is thrown a neat and substantial 
 wooden bridge, at the foot of which the accompanying View was 
 taken. The scenery about the House and Park combines the 
 most delightful assemblage of rural objects that can well be ima- 
 gined, and is justly celebrated by the author of the Farmer's 
 
 Boy : 
 
 Where noble Grafton spreads his rich domains 
 Round Euston's water'd vale and sloping plains, 
 Where woods and groves in solemn grandeur rise, 
 Where the kite brooding unmolested flies ; 
 The woodcock and the painted pheasant race, 
 And skulking foxes destin'd for the chase. 
 
 The estate of Euston is of considerable extent ; its circum- 
 ference is between thirty and forty miles : it includes a great 
 number of villages and hamlets, over which the Duke presides 
 with an attention nearly approaching to parental care. 
 
 Fakenham wood, near Euston Hall, was the frequent resort 
 of Mr. Austin and his family, at the time that Bloomfield was 
 with him, on a Sunday afternoon, in the summer months. Here 
 the farmer was wont to indulge his juniors with a stroll to
 
 •/ em .>//> .>/>,,/ ,1 lit/ //>/>' ■/■/•(/■ .•/nni/ 
 
 ■ 'Ae //-/ii/f Aifi' gate //i /■/, 
 
 /'/it, /, /iii.i/ii >iy fm ■>,/.. it /■■>!>/ 1/ ■ >" liny 
 
 . ///,l/ ■ ///,:■/ ',1 III/ ,l// '/'"/■' ''/ //''■'I'// 

 
 27 
 recreate them after the labors of the week ; and this was the 
 Poet's favorite haunt in his boyish days, whenever his numerous 
 occupations left him sufficient leisure to muse on the beauties 
 of nature. 
 
 On an elevated situation in Euston Park stands the Temple : 
 this elegant structure was designed for a banqueting-house, and 
 was built by the celebrated Kent under the auspices of the present 
 Duke, who laid the first stone himself in the year 1 746 : it 
 consists of an upper and lower apartment, and is in the Grecian 
 style of architecture. It forms a pleasing object from many points 
 of view in the neighbourhood of Euston, and commanding a 
 wide range of prospect, 
 
 ■ points the way, 
 
 O'er slopes and lawns, the park's extensive pride ! 
 
 Barnham water is a small rivulet which crosses the road 
 from Euston to Thetford : it is in the midst of a " bleak, un- 
 vvooded scene," and justifies the poet's lamentation in its full 
 extent ; for after noticing the resting-place afforded by its 
 shelving brink, and observing how the coolness of the current 
 refreshed his weary feet on a sultry afternoon, he adds,
 
 28 
 
 But every charm was incomplete, 
 For Barnham Water wants a shade. 
 
 In this neighbourhood are several Tumuli of various size ; 
 these, when considered in connection with the purposes for which 
 they were raised, become highly interesting. They have relation 
 to the history of Thetford, and as this is glanced at in the poem 
 on Barnham Water, we shall mention very briefly a few relative, 
 and to our purpose, requisite circumstances. 
 
 Thetford is a town of great antiquity, but has undergone 
 considerable alterations at different periods, and at this time 
 exhibits but little of its former greatness. It is supposed to 
 have been of importance before the Roman invasion, and at that 
 era it was probably situated entirely on the Suffolk side of the 
 river Ouse, though it is now principally in Norfolk. The 
 Romans strengthened and fortified this place for their own 
 security : from them it passed to the Saxons, and afterwards to 
 the Danes, who in the year 871, under Inguar their leader, 
 defeated and put to death Edmund, the last of the East-Anglian 
 kings ; they also destroyed the town, and massacred its inha- 
 bitants. The bodies of those who were slain in this dreadful
 
 2y 
 
 and decisive conflict, were interred under the tumuli already 
 mentioned. Castle Hill, and its appurtenances, which Bloomfield 
 calls the Danish Mounds, were raised by the Danes previously 
 to the battle as an annoyance to the town. Here was a camp 
 of extraordinary strength, with this prodigious mount in the 
 middle : on its summit is a deep cavity, in which a number of 
 men may stand entirely concealed. Castle Hill is judged to be 
 the largest of an artificial kind in this kingdom, and is surrounded 
 by three ramparts, which were formerly divided by ditches : the 
 ramparts are still in good preservation. When beheld from the 
 summit of this hill, the adjacent country presents a cheerless 
 prospect ; and the only recompense obtained by climbing such 
 a steep, is the bird's-eye view it affords of the town, which being 
 close to its base, has a singular and pleasing appearance, dis- 
 playing a charming variety of domestic scenery. Thetford, in 
 its prosperous state, could boast of no fewer than eight Monas- 
 teries, many remains of which are yet visible, particularly of one 
 founded by Roger Bigod. The gateway of this abbey still 
 exists, together with lofty portions of its walls and great part of 
 its foundations. The gateway is tolerably perfect, .and exhibits a 
 
 H
 
 30 
 
 fine specimen of the architecture of its time. Some slender and 
 elegant columns are still adhering to the standing walls, which 
 are composed principally of flint : the foundations evince the 
 monastery to have been of considerable extent. 
 
 On the Suffolk side of the Ouse is the ruin of another 
 monastery called The Place ; this was founded by Uvius, first 
 abbot of Bury, in the time of King Canute, in memory of the 
 English and Danes that were slain in the great battle, in which 
 Edmund the Saxon was defeated : it was originally a house of 
 regular canons, but was afterwards rebuilt by Hugh, abbot of 
 Bury, and inhabited by nuns. Great part of this structure still 
 remains, and is at present in a more perfect state than any other 
 of the monasteries at Thetford ; but being now appropriated to 
 the housing of corn, and other purposes, it is suffering continual 
 mutilations, and perhaps the date of its entire destruction is 
 not very remote. 
 
 Thetford, as we have alreadv intimated, has been the scene 
 of many remarkable transactions, the seat of much contention 
 and bloodshed ; for an account of which the curious are referred 
 to Blomefield's History of Norfolk. The adjacent country affords
 
 SHI 
 
 -I <K 
 
 
 
 11
 
 31 
 
 no materials for description, and it was rather unfortunate that 
 the poet's observations, as detailed in his " Barnham Water" 
 should have been made in a situation where the beauties of 
 nature are not predominant, a circumstance of which he seems 
 perfectly aware : 
 
 Whatever hurts my country's fame, 
 
 When wits and mountaineers deride, 
 To me grows serious, for I name 
 
 My native plains and streams with pride.
 
 32 
 
 SAPISTON. 
 
 This pleasant village is worthy of notice from being the place 
 where Bloomfleld commenced his humble career as the £ Farmer's 
 Boy,' a situation which introduced him to the knowledge of 
 those rural employments and occupations which he has deli- 
 neated with so much /elicity and correctness. 
 
 Here his first thoughts to nature's charms inclin'd, 
 Which stamps devotion on th' inquiring mind. 
 
 It affords an instructive lesson, and is an agreeable retrospect 
 to trace the Poet from his present circumstances, as an author 
 high in the public estimation, to the early years of his life, when 
 he was employed in the field which forms the fore-ground of 
 the annexed Print, to scare birds from the corn ; and where 
 frequently, basking in the sun at the foot of that aged, and now 
 almost sapless, elm, by the focus of a glass he consumed his 
 paper, and his time, unconscious of the purposes to which they 
 were destined by futurity. The scenery round the farm has

 
 33 
 
 been greatly injured within the last twenty-five or thirty years by 
 felling most of the timber. Even at the time that Bloomfield 
 resided here, ash and elm were much more abundant than now : 
 the tall trees near the house are the remaining elms under which 
 the cows were collected for the purpose of milking. 
 
 Forth comes the maid, and like the morning smiles ; 
 The mistress too, and follow'd close by Giles. 
 A friendly tripod forms their humble seat, 
 With pails bright scour'd and delicately sweet. 
 Where shadowing elms obstruct the morning ray. 
 Begins their work, begins the simple lay :— 
 The full-charg'd udder yields its willing streams, 
 While Mary sings some lover's amorous dreams j 
 And crouching Giles beneath a neighbouring tree. 
 Tugs o'er his pail and chaunts with equal glee. 
 
 The window seen at the gable end of the house admitted 
 light into the usual dormitory of the Poet, where he (with the 
 juniors of the family) was wont to find his way to bed at all 
 seasons of the year without a candle. At a short distance from 
 the farm-house stands Sapiston church :
 
 34 
 
 Hither- at times with cheerfulness of soul, 
 
 Sweet village maids from neighbouring hamlets stroll. 
 
 The pride of such a party, Nature's pride 
 Was lovely Poll. — 
 
 This was Mary Rainer, the distracted girl of Ixworth Thorpe, 
 a small village near Sapiston, a character drawn by Bloomfield 
 in the most exquisite and pathetic language ; she still resides at 
 Ixworth Thorpe, but is now in a state of perfect sanity : the 
 Poet acknowledges that he proved an indifferent prophet, when 
 he asserted — 
 
 Ill-fated maid ! thy guiding spark is fled, 
 And lasting wretchedness awaits thy bed. 
 
 ^ % % * ^F 
 
 For in life's road though thorns abundant grow, 
 There still are joys poor Poll can never know. 
 
 Sapiston church, like many others in Suffolk, is covered 
 with thatch, from which circumstance it has many times been 
 nearly unroofed by the pilfering of the jackdaws., In the church- 
 yard lie buried Mr. Austin, the venerable master of Giles, Mrs. 
 Austin, and nine of their infant children.
 
 35 
 
 HONINGl'ON 
 
 Will in future be celebrated as the birth-place of the most simple 
 and captivating of our pastoral poets. The Cottage, which is 
 on the right of the church, as seen in the Print, was purchased 
 as a barn by the grandfather of the Poet, and has since been 
 gradually improving to its present neat and comfortable appear- 
 ance. It was formerly covered with thatch, but a new roof being 
 necessary at a time when straw could scarcely be procured, the 
 Poet, to whom it has since devolved, covered it with tiles, 
 though with great reluctance, as he lamented the loss of its 
 original simplicity. During the harvest of 1782 or 1783, the 
 village of Honington suffered severely by fire. Four or five 
 double tenemented cottages, the parsonage-house and out-houses, 
 a farm-house and all its appurtenances, were levelled in little more 
 than half an hour. This cottage was immediately in the line 
 of the flames, and was saved almost miraculously by the exer- 
 tions of the neighbours, assisted by Mr. Austin of Sapiston, and 
 his men ; it was on fire several times. The Poet's mother then
 
 36 
 
 kept a school at the cottage, and retreated from the distressing 
 scene into the fields with a clock, and the title-deeds of the 
 house in her lap, surrounded by a group of infant scholars, in 
 full persuasion that her habitation was feeding the flames ; but 
 contrary to her expectation, under its friendly roof, where she 
 had long resided, site finished her career of mortality, and was 
 buried close to the west end of the church near her first husband, 
 who died of the small-pox*. A stone has been erected to her 
 memory by the Duke of Grafton, on which is the following 
 inscription, written by the Rev. R. Fellowes : 
 
 Beneath this stone are deposited the mortal remains of Elizabeth Glover, 
 who died December 1804. Her maiden name was Manby, and she was 
 twice married : by her first husband, who lies buried near this spot, she 
 was the mother of six children, the youngest of whom was Robert 
 Bloomfield, the Pastoral Poet. In her household affairs she was a 
 pattern of industry, cleanliness, and every domestic virtue. By her kind, 
 her meek, and inoffensive behaviour, she had conciliated the sincere 
 
 * Bloomfield has some exquisite lines on the death and burial of his father, 
 in his " Good Tidings, or News from the Farm," written in favor of vaccine 
 inoculation. Dr. Jenner was so well pleased with this poem, that, highly to his 
 honor, he presented its author with a durable and gratifying memorial of hit 
 esteem. \
 
 37 
 
 good-will of all her neighbours and acquaintance. Nor amid the busy 
 cares of time was she ever forgetful of eternity. But her religion was 
 no hypocritical service, no vain form of words ! ! ! — It consisted in loving 
 God and keeping his commandments, as they have been made known to 
 us by Jesus Christ, 
 
 READER ! 
 
 Go thou and do likewise. 
 
 Bloomfield has favoured us with permission to copy the 
 annexed portrait of his mother from a picture in his possession, 
 and has himself subjoined the following account of the last stage 
 of her life, together with his first essay in Blank verse, which he 
 has addressed to the Spindle that she left half filled. 
 
 cc 
 
 The portrait of my mother was taken on her last visit 
 to London in the summer of 1804, and about six months pre- 
 vious to her dissolution. During the period of evident decline 
 in her strength and faculties, she conceived, in place of that 
 patient resignation which she had before felt, an ungovernable 
 
 K
 
 3$ 
 
 dread of ultimate want, and observed to a relative with peculiar 
 emphasis, that ' to meet Winter, Old Age, and Poverty, 
 ' was like meeting three great giants.' 
 
 " To the last hour of her life she was an excellent spinner ; 
 and latterly, the peculiar kind of wool which she spun was brought 
 exclusively for her, as being the only one in the village who 
 exercised their industry on so fine a sort. During the tearful 
 paroxysms of her last depression she spun with the utmost 
 violence, and with vehemence exclaimed — f / must spin /' A 
 paralytic affection struck her whole right side while at work, and 
 obliged her to quit her spindle when only half rilled, and she 
 died within a fortnight afterwards ! I have that spindle now. She 
 was buried on the last day of the year 1804. She returned from 
 her visit to London on Friday the 29th of June, just, to a day, 
 twenty-three years after she brought me to London, which was 
 also on a Friday, in the year 1/81 . 
 
 TO A SPINDLE. 
 
 Relic ! I will not bow to thee, nor worship ! 
 Yet, treasure as thou art, remembrancer 
 Of sunny days, that ever haunt my dreams, 
 When thy brown fellows as a task I twirl'd,
 
 39 
 
 And sung my ditties, ere the Farm receiv'd 
 My vagrant foot, and with its liberty 
 And all its cheerful buds and opening flow'rn 
 Had taught my heart to wander. — 
 
 Relic of affection, come; 
 Thou shalt a moral teach to me and mine. 
 The hand that wore thee smooth is cold, and spins 
 No more. Debility press'd hard around 
 The seat of life, and terrors fill'd her brain ; 
 Nor causeless terrors : Giants grim and bold, 
 Three Mighty ones she fear'd to meet ; they came — 
 Winter, Old Age, and Poverty, all came : 
 The last had dropp'd his club, yet fancy made 
 Him formidable ; and when Death beheld 
 Her tribulation, he fulfill'd his task, 
 And to her trembling hand and heart at once, 
 Cried, ' Spin no more ;' thou then wert left half fill'd 
 With this soft downy fleece, such as she wound 
 Through all her days ! She who could spin so well ! 
 Half fill'd wert thou, half finish'd when she died. 
 Half finish'd ! 'tis the motto of the world ! 
 We spin vain threads, and dream, and strive, and die 
 With sillier tilings than Spindles in our hands. 
 
 Then feeling, as I do, resistlessly, 
 The bias set upon my soul for verse, 
 Oh ! should old age still find my brain at work, 
 And Death o'er some poor fragment striding, cry, 
 "Hold! spin no more." Grant Heav'n, that purity
 
 40 
 
 Of thought and texture may assimilate 
 
 That fragment unto thee, in usefulness, 
 
 In strength, and snowy innocence. Then shall 
 
 The Village school-mistress shine brighter, through 
 
 The exit of her boy j and both shall live, 
 
 And virtue triumph too, and virtue's tears, 
 
 Like Heav'n's pure blessings, fall upon her grave.
 
 rs . 
 • /"'/'' " 'in 
 
 ■ '■ , ,t a, :
 
 l\ 
 
 FAKKNHAM, 
 
 A small village contiguous to Sapiston, is situated in a pleasant 
 valley, which is watered and fertilized by a branch of the river 
 Ouse. The meadows afford abundant pasture, and the neigh- 
 bouring uplands are richly cultivated. The whole parish is the 
 property of his Gracc ; the Duke of Grafton, and lying within a 
 mile or two of Euston Hall, experiences much of his attention. 
 The Duke is perfectly easy of access, and lends a ready car, 
 and a benevolent hand, to the complaints and necessities of 
 every suitor. 
 
 In this village, nearly opposite to the church, is a cottage, 
 in which was born the Poet's mother : a sycamore tree stands 
 near the door ; this was planted by her father, who together 
 with his wife lies interred in front of the church. In the an- 
 nexed view of Fakenham prom the Valley, is seen the foot 
 bridge adverted to in the tale of the Broken Crutch ; and near 
 the spot from which the view was taken is a moated eminfeni 
 
 L
 
 42 
 
 formerly the site of a mansion supposed to have been destroyed 
 by fire. 
 
 The moat remains, the dwelling is no more ! 
 
 Its name denotes its melancholy fall, 
 
 For village children call the spot Burnt Hall. 
 
 Several decayed trees are still existing near the inner margin 
 of the moat ; the remains of a circle of elms that, according to 
 the Poet, once completely surrounded the mansion. This he 
 describes as the residence of one of the characters introduced 
 into the tale before mentioned, and has probably taken up his 
 ideas of the ancient hospitality of the place from some tradition 
 still extant in the neighbourhood. 
 
 his kitchen smoke, 
 
 That from the tow'ring rookery upward broke, 
 Of joyful import to the poor hard by, 
 Stream'd a glad sign of hospitality. 
 
 The view of Fakenham from Euston Park was taken 
 near " the darksome copse that whisper'd on the hill," and 
 presents the " White Park Gate" through which the terror- 
 struck villager fled when pursued by the long-eared apparition. c
 
 43 
 
 Loud fell the gate against the post, 
 
 Her heart-strings like to crack, 
 For much she fear'd the grisly ghost 
 
 Would leap upon her back. 
 
 The house seen on the right in the distance is the Parsonage, 
 inhabited by the Rev. R. Fellowes, curate of this parish, a gen- 
 tleman of great literary reputation, of benevolent manners, and 
 much esteemed by his parishioners.
 
 44 
 
 TROSTON HALL. 
 
 This seat is the neat retirement of Capel Lofft, Esq. to whom 
 the public are in a great measure indebted for their knowledge 
 of the Farmer's Boy. The proprietor has been at considerable 
 pains to make every appendage consistent with his own peculiar 
 taste ; to this end he has inscribed almost every tree in his garden 
 and its vicinity to names of classic celebrity, such as Homer, 
 Demosthenes, Cicero, Milton, Cowley, and many others : the 
 large elm in the fore-ground of the View is called the Evelyn 
 Elm, in memory of the antiquary and planter of that name. 
 And to commemorate a visit to Troston Hall by the celebrated 
 philanthropist Howard, in the year 1/86, a Laurel was planted 
 which now bears his name. Two horsechesnut trees and two 
 oaks were planted here by R. Bloomfield in January J 805, which 
 are carefully reared. 
 
 This estate was purchased by Robert Maddockes, Esq. in 
 the year J 680, from whose family it came to its present possessor, 
 by whom a very remarkable anecdote is related of the father of 
 this Robert Maddockes, which exhibits a singular instance of the

 
 45 
 
 fluctuations of family greatness. He is said to have descended 
 from the Madduckes of Wales, who formerly held the sove- 
 reignty of that principality ; but the same combination of events 
 which deprived them of a crown, reduced him below the rank 
 of mediocrity ; for this man, who could boast of a regal ancestr) , 
 was actually reduced to traverse the extent of country from Wales 
 to London on foot in search of employment, at the age of 
 thirteen, friendless and alone ; and having heard that Cheapside 
 was the most likely place to obtain what lie wanted, on his arrival 
 in town he repaired thither : after waiting some time, he observed 
 a merchant soil his shoe in crossing the street. Full of ardour 
 for any circumstance that might give rise to employment, he 
 availed himself of this, and immediatelv ran and cleaned the shoe. 
 The merchant, struck with the boy's humiliating attention, 
 inquired into his situation, and hearing his history, took him 
 into his service : when some time had elapsed he employed 
 him in his counting-house ; and he afterwards became a partner 
 in the firm, and acquired a considerable fortune. 
 
 Mr. LofFt is known in the literary world by various pub- 
 lications of a professional kind as a barrister ; and several poetical 
 pieces and essays of a political nature. 
 
 M
 
 46 
 
 WHITTLEBURY FOREST, 
 
 In Northamptonshire, was a grant from the crown in the year 
 1(385, to the Duke of Grafton, who was made hereditary keeper. 
 The forest is well stocked with timber, and presents a beautiful 
 variety of groves, lawns, and upland swells, enlivened by numerous 
 herds of deer and flocks of sheep. There are several lodges on 
 the Forest ; the principal of them is Wakefield Lodge, which is 
 frequently the residence of the Duke and his family. It was 
 built by Mr. Claypole, son-in-law to the Protector Cromwell ; 
 but many alterations and additions have been made at subsequent 
 periods. The edifice in its present state has a handsome portico 
 in front, supported on four columns of the Tuscan order, and 
 leads to a grand saloon, which occupies nearly the whole area of 
 the building. The grounds about the house are admirably adapted 
 to answer the purposes of utility and pleasure. The gardens are 
 extensive and in excellent order. There is an uncommonly fine 
 grove called the Pheasantry, through which is a winding path of
 
 5 
 
 
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 V 
 
 S| 
 
 N 
 
 
 
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 NX 
 
 
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 fe 
 
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 a mile and a half in circuit, affording a most agreeable walk from 
 the house, as it terminates at a short distance from its beginning. 
 The View is taken from a rising ground nearly two mile- 
 from the Lodge, in the front of which is seen a piece bf water 
 containing eighteen acres ; in the distance on the left is Bow- 
 Brick Hill, in Buckinghamshire. Near the back of the house 
 two or three noble glades concentrate, which branch out in 
 different directions through the extent of the forest. Bloomfiekl, 
 who spent some time at the Lodge in August 1800, expresses 
 the particular delight he found in taking a prospect of the countn 
 at the extremity of this wood. 
 
 Genius of the forest shades, 
 
 Sweet from the heights of thy domain, 
 When the grey evening shadow fades, 
 
 To view the country's golden grain ; 
 To view the gleaming village spire, 
 
 'Midst distant groves unknown to me, 
 Groves that, grown bright in borrow'd fire, 
 
 Bow o'er the peopled vales to thee ! 
 
 This address to the < Genius of the Forest Shades; was 
 made near the foot of Wake's Oak. The « village spire,' is the
 
 48 
 
 spire of Hanslop church, in Northamptonshire, and has since 
 been destroyed by lightning ; the tower only remains. Wake's 
 Oak is reckoned about eight yards in circumference; its age 
 cannot be ascertained, and the origin of its name is equally 
 obscure.
 
 49 
 
 SHOOTERS HILL, 
 
 Peobably so called from the archers frequently exercising them- 
 selves here in shooting with the bow *, is eight miles from 
 London on the high road to Dover. It was in former times a 
 place of much danger and dread to travellers from the narrowness 
 of the road over it, and the many lurking-places afforded to 
 thieves by the woods and coppices with which the hill was covered : 
 many robberies were committed here even at noon-day. In the 
 year 1737 a new road was laid out much wider than the old *ne ; 
 the greater part of the wood has also been cleared off, and the 
 above disorders have since been in a considerable degree prevented. 
 The summit of Shooter's Hill commands a most extensive 
 and variegated prospect, overlooking as large a city and as fine a 
 
 * It is said that King Henry the Eighth and his queen Catharine came to 
 this place from Greenwich on a May-day, and were received by a body of 200 
 archers in green habits, headed by a captain who personated Robin Hood ; and 
 that after the bowmen had exhibited their dexterity before the king, his majesty 
 and his train were conducted into the wood, and entertained in green arbours 
 and booths with venison and wine, and all the parade of gallantry so peculiar 
 to the age.
 
 50 
 
 country as any in the universe. This place was visited by Bloom- 
 field solely for the recovery of his health. 
 
 To hide me from the public eye, 
 
 To keep the throne of reason clear, 
 Amidst fresh air to breathe or die, 
 
 I took my staff and wander'd here. 
 Suppressing every sigh that heaves, 
 
 And coveting no wealth but thee, 
 I nestle in the honied leaves, 
 
 And hug my stolen Liberty. 
 
 The triangular Tower on the brow of the hill is an elegant 
 erection surrounded by a neat plantation, on a sloping lawn^ 
 intersected by gravelled walks. It is an object of considerable 
 interest, as it commemorates a train of exploits of the highest 
 moment to our mercantile transactions with the eastern world. 
 Over the entrance, on a broad tablet of stone, is this inscription : 
 
 This Building was erected m.dcc.lxxxiv. by the Representative of the late 
 
 Sir WILLIAM JAMES, Bart. 
 
 To commemorate that gallant Officer's Achievements in the East Indies, 
 
 During his Command of the Company's Marine Forces in those Seas ; 
 
 And in a particular Manner to record the Conquest of 
 
 The Castle of Severndroog, on the Coast of Malabar, 
 
 Which fell to his superior Valour and able Conduct, 
 
 On the 2d Day of April m. dcc.lv.
 
 
 
 ^
 
 51 
 
 We have subjoined from Orme's History of Hindostan a 
 more explicit account of the conquests here recorded, which must 
 necessarily be introduced by some prefatory matter. 
 
 " The Malabar coast, from Cape Comorin to Surat, is inter- 
 sected by a great number of rivers, which disembogue into the 
 sea ; it appears that from the earliest antiquity the inhabitants 
 have had a strong propensity to piracy, and at this day, all the 
 different principalities on the coast employ vessels to cruise upon 
 those of all other nations which they can overpower. The Mogul 
 empire, when it first extended its dominion to the sea in the 
 northern parts of this coast, appointed an admiral called the 
 Sidee, with a fleet to protect the vessels of their Mahometan 
 subjects trading to the gulfs of Arabia and Persia, from the 
 Malabar pirates, as well as from the Portugueze. The Morattoes 
 were at that time in possession of several forts between Goa and 
 Bombay, and finding themselves interrupted in their piracies by 
 the Mogul's admiral, they made war against him by sea and land. 
 In this war one Conagee Angria raised himself from a private man 
 to be commander in chief of the Morattoe fleet, and was intrusted
 
 52 
 
 with the government of Severndroog, one of their strongest forts, 
 built upon a small rocky island which lies about eight miles to 
 the north of Dabul, and within cannon-shot of the continent : 
 here Conagee revolted against the Saha Rajah, or king of the 
 Morattoes, and having seduced part of the fleet to follow his 
 fortune, he with them took and destroyed the rest. The Saha 
 Rajah endeavoured to reduce him to obedience by building three 
 forts upon the main land, within point-blank shot of Severndroog ; 
 but Conagee took these forts likewise, and in a few years got 
 possession of all the sea-coast, from Tamanah to Bancoote, 
 extending 120 miles,, together with the inland country as far back 
 as the mountains, which in some places are thirty, in others 
 twenty miles from the sea. His successors, who have all borne 
 the name of Angria, strengthened themselves continually, inso- 
 much that the Morattoes having no hopes of reducing them, 
 agreed to a peace on condition that Angria should acknowledge 
 the sovereignty of the Saha Rajah, by paying him a small annual 
 tribute. 
 
 " In the mean time the piracies which Angria exercised upon 
 ships of all nations indifferently, who did not purchase his passes,

 
 KS •FtlT.-I, . 
 - -VVv-i /'/ / .«,,// />f///f />/*///'/ / /*■//■/ 
 
 ■ A. ,.,,/., //i ,/t/rr, /■,/,,, n/,t ,■/ //,, />,/rr 
 
 ■ //I// ■ '/,„/,/,/,) ,>l/////,j t t/,;/ /i. 
 
 • /; // // /■
 
 53 
 rendered him every day more and more powerful. There was 
 not a creek, bay, harbour, or mouth of a river along the coast 
 of his dominions, in which he had not erected fortifications and 
 marine receptacles, to serve both as a station of discovery, and 
 as a place of refuge to his vessels ; hence it was as difficult to 
 avoid the encounter of them, as to take them. 
 
 " Eight or ten grabs, vessels from 150 to 300 tons burden, 
 and forty orfifty gallivats, or large row-boats, crowded with men, 
 generally composed Angria's principal fleet destined to attack ships 
 of force or burden. The vessel no sooner came in sight of the 
 port or bay where the fleet was lying, than they slipped their 
 cables and put out to sea : if the wind blew, their construction 
 enabled them to sail almost as fast as the wind ; and if it was 
 calm, the gallivats rowing towed the grabs : when within cannon- 
 shot of the chase they generally assembled in her stern, and the 
 grabs attacked her at a distance with their prow guns, firing first 
 only at their masts, and taking aim when the three masts*of the 
 vessel just opened all together to their view ; by which means 
 the shot would probably strike one or other of the three. As 
 soon as the chase was dismasted, they came nearer and battered 
 
 o
 
 54 
 
 her on all sides until she struck ; and if the defence was obstinate, 
 they sent a number of gallivats with two or three hundred men in 
 each, who boarded sword in hand from all quarters in the same 
 instant. 
 
 e( It was now fifty years that this piratical state had rendered 
 itself formidable to the trading ships of all the European nations 
 in India, and the English East India Company had kept up a 
 marine force at the annual expense of ,^50,000 to protect their 
 own ships, as well as those belonging to the merchants esta- 
 blished in their colonies. Several attempts were made by different 
 nations to destroy this piratical system ; but all proving unsuc- 
 cessful, the pirate, elated with the idea that his forts were impreg- 
 nable, threw off his allegiance to the Morattoes : it is said that 
 he cut off the noses of their ambassadors who came to demand 
 the tribute he had agreed to pay to the Saha Rajah. The Morat- 
 toes, who were in possession of the main land opposite to Bombay, 
 had several times made proposals to the English government in 
 the island to attack this common enemy with their united forces. 
 Accordingly Commodore James, the commander in chief of the 
 Company's marine force in India, sailed on the 22d of March
 
 55 
 
 1756, in the Protector of forty -four guns, with a ketch of sixteen 
 guns, and two bomb-vessels ; but such was the exaggerated 
 opinion of Angria's strong holds, that the Presidency instructed 
 him not to expose the Company's vessels to any risk by attacking 
 them, but only to blockade the harbours whilst the Morattoe 
 army carried on their operations by land. Three days after the 
 Morattoe fleet, consisting of seven grabs and sixty gallivats, came 
 out of Choul, having on board 10,000 land forces, and the fleets 
 united proceeded to Comara Bay, where they anchored in order 
 to permit the Morattoes to get their meal on shore, since they 
 are prohibited by their religion from eating or washing at sea. 
 Departing from hence they anchored again about fifteen miles to 
 the north of Severndroog, when Rama-gee Pant with the troops 
 disembarked, in order to proceed the rest of the way by land. 
 Commodore James now receiving intelligence that the enemy's 
 fleet lay at anchor in the harbour of Severndroog, represented to 
 the admiral of the Morattoe fleet, that by proceeding immediately 
 thither they might come upon them in the night, and so effec- 
 tually blockade them in the harbour that few or none would he 
 able to escape. The Morattoe seemed highly to approve the
 
 56 
 
 proposal, but had not authority enough over his officers to make 
 any of them stir before the morning, when the enemy disco- 
 vering them under sail, immediately slipped their cables and put 
 to sea. The Commodore then flung out the signal for a general 
 chase ; but as little regard was paid to this as to his former 
 intention ; for although the vessels of the Morattoes had hitherto 
 sailed better than the English, such was their terror of Angria's 
 fleet, that they all kept behind, and suffered the Protector to 
 proceed alone almost out of their sight. The enemy on the 
 other hand exerted themselves with uncommon industry, flinging 
 overboard all their lumber to lighten their vessels, not only 
 crowding all the sails they could bend, but also hanging up their 
 garments, and even their turbans, to catch every breath of air. 
 The Protector, however, came within gun-shot of some of the 
 sternmost ; but the evening approaching, Commodore James gave 
 over the chase, and returned to Severndroog, w r hich he had passed 
 several miles. Here he found Rama-gee Punt with the army 
 besieging, as they said, the three forts on the main land ; but 
 they were firing only from one gun, a four-pounder, at the 
 distance of two miles, and even at this distance the troops did not
 
 57 
 think themselves safe without digging pits, in which they sheltered 
 themselves covered up to the chin from the enemy's fire. The 
 Commodore judging from these operations, that they would never 
 take the forts, determined to exceed the instructions which he 
 had received from the Presidency, rather than expose the English 
 arms to the disgrace they would suffer, if an expedition, in which 
 they were believed by Angria to have taken so great a share, 
 should miscarry. The next day, the 2d of April, he began to 
 cannonade and bombard the fort of Severndroog, situated on the 
 island ; but finding that the walls on the western side which he 
 attacked, were mostly cut out of the solid rock, he changed his 
 station to the north-east between the island and the main ; 
 where whilst one of his broadsides plied the north-east bastions 
 of this fort, the other fired on fort Goa, the largest of those 
 upon the main land. The bastions of Severndroog, however, 
 were so high, that the Protector could only point her upper tier 
 at them ; but being anchored within a hundred yards, the 
 musketry in the round tops drove the enemy from their guns, 
 and by noon the parapet of the north-east bastion was in ruins ; 
 when a shell from one of the bomb-vessels set fire to a thatched
 
 58 
 
 house, which the garrison, dreading the Protector's musketry, 
 were afraid to extinguish : the blaze spreading fiercely at this dry 
 season of the year, all the buildings of the fort were soon in 
 flames, and amongst them a magazine of powder blew up. On 
 this disaster the inhabitants, men, women, and children, with 
 the greatest part of the garrison, in all near 1000 persons, ran 
 out of the fort, and embarking in seven or eight large boats, 
 attempted to make their escape to fort Goa ; but they were pre- 
 vented by the English ketches, who took them all. The Pro- 
 tector now directed her fire only against fort Goa ; where the 
 enemy, after suffering a severe cannonade, hung out a flag as a 
 signal of surrender , but whilst the Morattoes were marching 
 to take possession of it, the Governor perceiving that the Com- 
 modore had not yet taken possession of Severndroog, got into a 
 boat with some of his most trusty men, and crossed over to the 
 island, hoping to be able to maintain the fort until he should 
 receive assistance from Dabul, which is in sight of it. Upon 
 this the Protector renewed her fire upon Severndroog ; and the 
 Commodore finding that the Governor wanted to protract the 
 defence until night, when it was not to be doubted that some
 
 59 
 boats from Dabul would endeavour to throw succours into the 
 place, he landed half his seamen, under cover of the fire of the 
 ships, who with great intrepidity ran up to the gate, and cutting 
 down the sally-port with their axes, forced their way into it ; on 
 which the garrison surrendered : the other two forts on the main 
 land had by this time hung out flags of truce, and the Morattoes 
 took possession of them. This was all the work of one day, in 
 which the spirited resolution of Commodore James destroyed the 
 timorous prejudices which had for twenty years been entertained 
 of the impracticability of reducing any of Angria's fortified har- 
 bours." 
 
 THE END. 
 
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