Till winding by some craggy steep, While not a murmur hath disturb'd Farewell, lorn stream, a long farewell! BARNHAM WATER, BY ROBERT BLOOMFIELD. Barnham Water is a small rivulet, which crosses the road from Euston to Thetford; it is in the midst of a "bleak, unwooded scene," and justifies the poet's lamentation in its full extent. In this neighbourhood, is a row of ten or eleven tumuli of various size, which mark the scene of a most sanguinary engagement in 871, in which the Danes under Inguar, their leader defeated and afterwards put to death Edmund, the last of the East Anglian kings, destroyed the town of Thetford, and massacred its inhabitants. bodies of those, who were slain in this dreadful and decisive conflict, were interred in these tumuli. A favourite little boat of the authors. The In the year 1793 the Gippin was converted into a navigable canal. Castle Hill and its appurtenances which Bloomfield calls the “Danish mounds," are supposed by some to have been raised by the Danes, previously to the battle, as an annoyance to the town, and by others to have been the work of the East Anglian kings. 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. It is judged to be the largest artificial mount in this kingdom, and is surrounded by three ramparts, which were formerly divided by ditches: the ramparts are still in good preservation. The mount is about 100 feet in height, and the circumference at the base 984; its diameter measures 338 feet at its base, and 81 on the summit. The enclosing ramparts are still nearly 20 feet high, and their ditches at bottom 60 to 70 feet wide. The ditch round the mount measures 42 feet wide at the bottom. The whole of these works is a mixture of clay and masses of clunch. FRESH from the Hall of Bounty sprung,* Mine was a road without a flower, Where one small streamlet cross'd the way. What was it rous'd my soul to love? What made the simple brook so dear? It glided like the weary dove, And never brook seem'd half so clear. On a sultry afternoon, late in the summer of 1802, Euston-Hall lay in my way to Thetford, which place I did not reach until the evening, on a visit to my sister: the lines lose much of their interest exeept they could be read on the spot, or at least at a corresponding season of the year. Cool pass'd the current o'er my feet, For Barnham Water wants a shade. There, faint beneath the fervid sun, And snatch no feast of mental food? Long and delightful was the dream, And plung'd across the barren fields; Near, on a slope of burning sand, The shepherd boys had met to play, And mark the trav'ller's leafless way. Thetford was formerly the metropolis of the kingdom of the East Angles; and in the twelfth century the See of a Bishop, and a place of considerable note, with twenty churches, (two of which now only remain) six religious houses, and five hospitals. It stands in an open country upon the Little Ouse, which divides the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk; and formerly had a mint, which has produced a great number of Anglo Saxon and English coins from the time of Athelstan to John. On approaching the town, the traveller must be sensibly struck with the vestiges of antiquity, which invite his attention on every side, and which indicate its ancient splendor, and its once flourishing condition. The trav'ller with a cheerful look Would every pining thought forbear, The Danish mounds of partial green, Still, as each mouldering tower decays, Proclaim their wond'rous length of days. Demanded rest,-why did I weep? All rushing came thy hallow'd sighs, "From Framlingham's imperial towers. * In 1101, the castle and lordship of Framlingham, which had till that time constituted a part of the royal domain, were granted by Henry the 1st to Roger Bigod, and were successively possessed by five earls of that powerful family. In consequence of the will of Roger the last earl, it became vested in the hands of Edward the 2nd; and was granted in 1214 together with the other vast possessions of the Bigods, to Thomas of Brotherton, fifth son of Edward, the 1st earl of Norfolk, and marshal of England. After the death of this earl and Mary his wife, the castle and lordship became successively vested in the ladies Joan and Margaret, the first of whom was married to William earl of Ufford, the last to John lord Segrave, whose daughter and heiress marrying John lord Mowbray, was created duchess of Norfolk ; and upon her death the castle, honors and lordship of Framling ham decended to her son Thomas lord Mowbray, created here. ditary earl marshal of England, and duke of Norfolk. The first Roger Bigod founded the abbey at Thetford, in 1104. Four of his successors were interred there, as were many of the Howard family. Full of the mighty deeds of yore, I bade good night the trembling beam; Of what but slaughter could I dream? Whatever hurts my country's fame, My native plains and streams with pride. HOLY WELLS, A Legendary Tale. BY MRS. J. COBBOLD, OF HOLY WELLS, IPSWICH. During the latter part of the Anglo-Saxon dynasty, the Danes, who had become a powerful people in the north, turned their attention southward, and at various times invested these coasts with a view of finally getting possession of the country. Suffolk shared largely in the general calamity, resulting from the depredatory incursions of these lawless plunderers. Within the space of ten years, they pillaged the town of Ipswich twice; first in or about the year 991; and again in 1000. In 1000 Ulfketel, desirous of restoring the fortunes of his degraded country, risked a battle with the Danes |