"S. M. of MR. WILLM. TRUELOVE, gent. a member of the Common Council of the Borough of Ipswich. The office of a chief magistrate was couducted by him with that vigilance and impartiality, as justly procured him the general esteem of the publick. He died much lamented by his friends and the publick, on the 25th August, 1798, aged 78." As previously noticed, Mr. Truelove was buried in St. Lawrence' church, Ipswich: he was four times bailiff. Rushmere is a vicarage the present incumbent, the Rev. Charles Day, LL.B.-patron, the Marquis of Bristol. It is a small parish, with about five hundred inhabitants, and contains about twelve hundred acres of land, chiefly belonging to the marquis. Every resident inhabitant of the parish has the right of commonage on Rushmere Heath; and we wish it could be turned more to the advantage of the industrious cottager. At a short distance from the church is a handsome and modern villa, called the Roundwood: which was built in 1700, and was purchased by Horatio Lord Viscount Nelson, in 1798, and was inhabited by Lady Nelson and his lordship's venerable father, the Rev. Mr. Nelson, from that time to 1800; when it was sold by his lordship, with fixtures and furniture, for £3300, to Mr. Robert Fuller, and it is now in the possession and occupation of W. F. Schreiber, esq. Rushmere Heath was, for many years, the exercisingground for the troops in garrison at Ipswich and Woodbridge, during the last war: and, on several occasions, the present king and his royal brothers have been present at reviews which have taken place here, as mentioned in a former part of this work. On the 23rd of February, 1819, a meeting was held at the Falcon inn, Rushmere, for the purpose of distributing the money received by the parish, for the rent paid by Government, for the use of the Heath as an exercising-ground for the garrison lately stationed in the neighbourhood. The sum amounted to £700, and was distributed amongst about seventy persons. At about two miles' distance from Ipswich, a few yards on the right-hand side of the turnpike road, a gallows for the execution of criminals was erected; and those persons who were convicted of crimes, in the eastern district of the county, and condemned to death, were executed here, previous to 1786; since which period these executions take place in the front of the county gaol. From the long catalogue of crimes committed by those who have suffered at Rushmere, we select the two following instances as the most remarkable. March 24th, 1763, at the assizes at Bury, Margaret Bedingfield, widow, and R. Ringe, husbandman, were found guilty of the murder of John Bedingfield, late of Sternfield: the woman was sentenced to be burnt, and the man to be hanged; and on the 8th of April, she was strangled and burnt, and he hanged, at Rushmere; and this woman was the last malefactor whose body has been burnt according to the sentence. April 21st, 1787, Richard Kedgson was hanged at Rushmere; when he made the extraordinary confession that he had enlisted forty-nine times, into different regiments in England, Scotland, and Ireland, and had obtained three hundred and ninety-seven guineas, as bounty-money, thereby. We just pass the boundaries of this parish to notice a fine old building called Playford Hall; which was built in the sixteenth century, by Sir George Felbrig; from whom it came to the Feltons; and by the marriage of Elizabeth, daughter and sole heiress of Sir Thomas Felton, with John Earl of Bristol, in 1695, it came in succession to the present Marquis of Bristol, together with the estate, consisting of nearly the whole of the parish of Playford, and the advowson of the living, which is held in conjunction with Rushmere, by the Rev. Charles Day, LL.B. It is now become remarkable as the residence of Thomas Clarkson, esq. THE ORWELL. ONE of the pleasantest excursions a stranger can enjoy, is a voyage to Harwich, by the wherry or passage-boat which leaves the Quay, daily, so as to take advantage of the turn of the tide. Each individual pays one shilling for his conveyance; or a party may hire the wherry entirely for their own use, at a moderate expense. From the lack of wind, the passage may sometimes be tedious; but, generally there is plenty of time to dine and spend several hours at Harwich, or to go out some way to sea, and return home agreeably in the evening. The Orwell is bordered the whole way, on both sides, by gently-rising hills, enriched with gentlemen's seats, villages, churches, woods, and parks stocked with deer, and abounding with all kinds of game; and lawns and lovely cultivated spots reach down to the water's edge, embracing every thing that can delightfully diversify a landscape: the stream being completely land-locked, has the appearance of a lake, and is, for its extent, one of the most beautiful salt rivers in the world. It is mentioned by Chaucer, in the prologue to his Merchant's Tale, and by Drayton, in his Poly Olbion; and has been the theme of many a modern poet's muse. We shall, therefore, enrich our pages with occasional poetical extracts, for the purpose of illustration, as well as to exhibit examples of the genius and talents of the poets connected with the town of Ipswich. The merit of the following sonnet, from the pen of the author of A Tribute to the Memory of William Cowper, is sufficient apology for its insertion : : Orwell, delightful stream, whose waters flow, And feel their praise;-yet thou hast one beside, We will first shew how the navigation has been improved, and cleared of many obstructions; and then, by beginning with the left side, where we embark, describe whatever may strike our attention as we glide along the bosom of the stream. In the year 1805, an act was obtained, " for improving and rendering more commodious the port of Ipswich;" and commissioners were appointed to carry it into effect, consisting of the bailiffs and the other members of the corporation for the time being, and Sir Robert Harland, bart. and his heirs, and Sir Philip Bowes Vere Broke, bart. and his heirs, with sixty-four other gentlemen, merchants, and tradesmen, particularly named; with power to raise and collect duties, to be employed towards the improvement of the river; £1500 to be laid out yearly, for that purpose, and the residue of the duties raised, to be vested in the funds, in the name of four commissioners, until £25.000, three per cent. consols shall be purchased, and shall remain funded for ever, and the dividends thereof to be applied to the purposes of the act. Much has been done towards widening and deepening the channel, by excavating and taking away many thousand tons of soil from the bed of the river; and the navigation is rendered much more commodious, and is annually improving, to the great benefit of the port. The money already vested in the funds by the commissioners, amounts nearly to the sum specified in the act, and the whole of the duties will be taken off in September, 1831, leaving the interest of the £25.000 for the annual improvement of the river. We first pass the shipyard formerly in the possession of Mr. Barnard, whose descendants are now proprietors of the extensive establishment at Deptford known by the name of Barnard's Yard. It is now in the occupation of Mr. William Bayley. The next object that strikes the eye, is a lofty pyramid of brick, one hundred and twenty-five feet high, rising from the Gas-works; which were erected in consequence of an act of parliament passed the 28th of May, for lighting the town with gas, and empowering the subscribers to raise a capital or fund not exceeding £12.000, by shares of £10 each. This concern has been conducted with great propriety; the town is extremely well lighted, and it has proved a profitable speculation to the share-holders. A little further on is a neat white house, built where the Fountain inn and the tea-garden formerly were. Upon the elevated ground behind the ci-devant Fountain inn, is a handsome modern villa, built by John Cobbold, esq. formerly of the Cliff'; which is called Holy Wells, and is now his place of residence. This gentleman has lived to the venerable age of a patriarch, and has had the felicity of seeing his very numerous offspring raised into wealth and opulence. - The church of Wykes Bishopwhich is sometimes mentioned in old records is supposed to have been very near this spot; or perhaps it might have |