Читать книгу Norfolk Annals (Vol. 1&2) - Charles Mackie - Страница 174

1.—A remarkable funeral took place at Shelfanger. The body of Mr. Smith, a farmer, was conveyed from Fersfield in a waggon drawn by his own team. The coffin was covered with a waggon tilt, and sacks of straw served as seats for his children and grandchildren. Behind the waggon walked his riding horse as chief mourner, and the singers of the congregation chanted a funeral dirge. “He was a person who in habits, manners, and opinions exhibited a singularity that was not easily paralleled.”

4.—Died at St. Gregory’s, Norwich, aged 61, Mrs. Chesnutt, wife of Mr. John Chesnutt. For many years she was a favourite dancer on the Norwich stage.

—At a special assembly of the Corporation of Norwich, it was decided to present to the Prince Regent an address, congratulating him upon “the late glorious victories with which the Almighty had been pleased to crown the arms of his Majesty and his Allies.”

5.—Died, of wounds received at Bayonne, Ensign Hardy, 31st Regiment of Foot, son of Mr. James Hardy, of Hethersettt.

6.—Died, at his house at Catton, Mr. Jeremiah Ives Harvey, Alderman of Conisford Ward, Norwich. He served the office of Sheriff in 1779, and was Mayor in 1783. He was in his 69th year.

7.—A curious incident occurred at the funeral of Benjamin Edwards, for 20 years coachman to Lord Suffield at Blickling. “The corpse was conveyed from the house to the church for interment, followed by thirty servants in their liveries. After the Rev. Mr. Churchill had retired from the grave an old acquaintance came forward and performed a promise which had been made by each party, which was done as follows:—He enquired his age, and was informed it was 64. He then took a bottle of rum from his pocket and threw it upon the head of the coffin. From the fall the bottle broke and the rum was distributed upon the lid of the coffin. He said ‘God bless him. I have performed my promise as I am sure he would have done had I gone first.’”

8.*—“A few days since the harriers of Mr. J. Gooch unexpectedly found an outlying deer in Hempnall Wood, which they immediately drove from covert, and it afforded a most capital chase without a break for an hour and forty minutes, through sixteen parishes and a hard run of 28 miles.”

—*“Lieut. Robert Blake, of the 3rd Regiment of Foot, was so severely wounded in the action near Bayonne that he had his leg amputated.”

9.—Very severe weather was experienced this month. On the 9th at nine p.m. the thermometer fell 20 degrees below freezing point, and the severity of the frost rendered the river impassable between Norwich and Yarmouth. On the 19th occurred a heavy fall of snow, which blocked the roads and prevented traffic. The mail bags were brought to Norwich on horseback; the London waggons which should have arrived on the 19th came in on the evening of the 20th, drawn by teams of twelve or fourteen horses. Carriers who had arrived in the city were unable to return; the Yarmouth coach was preceded by an empty waggon which, drawn by six horses, made a road for it. A second sharp frost occurred on February 15th, and continued to the 25th, when the thermometer registered 17 degrees below freezing point.

10.—Mr. Crisp Brown was elected an Alderman for Coslany Ward, Norwich, in place of Mr. Jeremiah Ives Harvey, deceased.

13.—A general thanksgiving took place for the late victories. The Mayor and Corporation of Norwich attended service at the Cathedral, and at the various churches and chapels in the city collections were made for the poor.

—The portrait of Mr. T. W. Coke, M.P., painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence, was presented to the county magistrates by the subscribers, and placed in the Grand Jury chamber at the Shirehouse, Norwich.

26.—At a meeting held at the Guildhall, Norwich, presided over by Mr. Steward Alderson, it was decided to establish a similar society to the Norwich Benevolent Society, but upon a more extensive and permanent plan. Visitors were appointed for each parish, and £2,400 was raised.

—News was received at Norwich of the conclusion of Peace between this country and Denmark, and St. Peter Mancroft bells were rung in celebration.

29.—A main of cocks was fought at the Swan Inn, Norwich, between the gentlemen of Cambridgeshire and the gentlemen of Norwich, for 10 guineas a battle and 100 guineas the odd. Cambridgeshire won with five battles to the good.