VII. A DAY AT LYNN.

One of the most curious corners of old England is known, and has been known to the community for many years, as King’s Lynn, Norfolk, on the borders of the Wash.  It was a great place for traders.  By means of it in the olden time many a tun of good red wine came into the country, and it is still a great place for trade, as it has fine docks, available to steamers with a tonnage of 2,000 tons.  Thus Lynn is a great port for the landing of foreign sugar (which ought to be made at home) from Hamburg.  A hundred years ago its annual shipping² revenue was only exceeded by the ports of London, Liverpool, Bristol and Hull⁴.  It is also easily available by means of railway communication, which renders it accessible from all quarters—the Great Northern, the Midland, and the Great Eastern all find their way to Lynn.  The population has rather declined since the last census⁵; but still the town is a large one—upwards of 18,000 in population—and one wonders how all the people hidden away in its shops and narrow streets can manage to find a living.  The fact is, it is the centre of an enormous agricultural district, and thus twice a week has a large extra population, drawn⁶ thither⁷ by the attractions of its Saturday and Tuesday markets.  There seems to be no great manufacturing industry, the chief being that of Mr. Savage⁸, who employs about three hundred people, all engaged in the manufacture of various p. 43kinds of roundabouts and steam velocipedes, such as are seen at our country fairs.  It is the most important business of the kind in the Eastern Counties, and of it the people of the Town of Lynn are justly proud.  Nevertheless, to most of us the charm of Lynn is chiefly antiquarian.  Its wonderful old churches are well worth visiting.  In the good old times Lynn was a fortified⁹ town, and there are still abundant remains¹⁰ of the old walls, as well as a handsome Gothic structure, known as the South-gate.  Unfortunately the East-gate, an equally fine specimen¹¹ of ancient architecture, was demolished¹² in the first year of the present century.  In the centre of one of the public walks, well shaded by trees, which in summer cast a grateful shade, stands an ancient chapel¹³, known as the Red Mount, a great resort for pilgrims.  Stowe tells us it was in the reign¹ of King John that Lynn was fortified.  The cup used by the Mayor on the occasion of municipal festivities is said to have been the gift of that monarch¹⁴, as is likewise the sword usually borne before the Mayor.  In the Museum is preserved one of the old ducking stools, which have gone out of fashion in consequence of the increasing good temper of the ladies in these latter days.  There is an immense deal to see in Lynn.  I would gladly have tarried there longer, especially as I obtained good quarters at the Temperance Hotel, which seemed to be much patronised by commercial men.  I found many of them there after the day’s work was over, reading one or other of the good books provided for them by the Christian¹⁵ Commercial Travellers’ Society, a society which does much good in many ways.  Lynn has a good hospital and a fine library.

Lynn has given birth to some notabilities, at any rate.  In 1752 Fanny Burney was born there, who wrote novels which still find readers.  The fair Fanny lived to be the friend of Dr. Johnson and Mrs. Thrale, and, as Madame D’Arblay, left us diaries and letters which give us a vivid idea of life when George III. was king.  As is the case generally, nothing in her childhood p. 44indicated that she would, while still a young woman have secured for herself an honourable¹⁶ and permanent place among English writers.  Then there is the great African explorer and artist, Thomas Baines, whose name, says a writer in The Cape¹⁷ Monthly Magazine, must ever be associated with the explorers of the country north of the Cape Colony, in the same rank with Livingstone, Chapman, Anderson, and Green—a man to whom the wilderness¹⁸ brought gladness and the mountains peace.  He was a native of that nursery of the Anglo-Saxon race whose energy he so truly inherited—Norfolk.  He was born at Lynn in 1822.  “His father,” writes his biographer, “also a man of considerable energy, was the master of a small vessel¹⁹ belonging to that port, and no doubt his marine²⁰ life, as well as the striking scenery of the Norfolk coast, gave a tinge²¹ to the early artistic²² tendencies of his son.”  As was the case with our great painter of cattle, it was while he was learning coach painting that he became an artist.  He landed at the Cape, where he managed to obtain a scanty²³ living by painting African landscape, and teaching drawing.  And then, when there was war with the natives, he won reputation by painting the leading incidents of the engagements.  It is to the credit of Lynn that on his return to his native town, in 1857, he was presented with the Freedom of the Borough²⁴.  Alas²⁵! his career as an explorer and discoverer was cut short by African fever, and he now sleeps in Durban Cathedral, where a monument records his memory.  Eugene Aram was an usher²⁶ in the Lynn Grammar School; Sawtree, a Wycliffe priest, burnt at Smithfield in 1400, came from Lynn; and Bishop²⁷ Goodwin, just deceased, was born at Lynn in 1818.  John Copegrave, a Provincial²⁸ of the Austin Friars, and author of the Chronicle of England, and Geoffry, a great grammarian, and author of a Latin-English Dictionary, were natives of Lynn.

Politically, Lynn has rather a celebrated²⁹ history.  Formerly³⁰ it was a close borough, belonging to the Walpole family.  The great Whig Minister represented p. 45it in Parliament, as did also his equally celebrated son.  Lord George Bentinck, it may be remembered, sat for Lynn, also the great diplomatist Sir Stratford Canning, known and feared in Turkey.  But Lynn has opened its eyes and burst its old traditions.  For the first time in its history it has a Liberal majority on its Town Council; of course the Noncons. in the place have had much to do with this.  I find that no less than six of the members of the Congregational church, under the care of Rev³. A. Furner, are members of the Corporation.  Congregationalism in such a city of churches and antiquity³¹ as Lynn is, has not been much of a success.  Baptists and Independents were both at a low ebb³², but they are reviving greatly, and the night I was there I attended a meeting in the mission-hall, where I found a clergyman and his Dissenting³³ brethren standing³⁴ side by side.  The Baptists, who are now doing well since Rev. Thomas Perry has been amongst them, have an interesting history.  In 1687, Mr. Thomas Grantham, a General Baptist Minister, well-known in Lincolnshire, and related to some of the first families in that county, came to Lynn at the period referred to, and obtained permission to preach in the town-hall.  He died at Norwich in 1692.  In 1690, a persecution³⁵ broke out against the Baptists at Lynn, and James Markam, their minister, was proceeded against under the Conventicle Act, for attempting to establish “a new religion,” on the deposition³⁶ of two informers, and a fine of ￡20 was levied³⁷ on the house in which they met, ￡20 on the preacher, and 5s. on each hearer.  In 1818, there were many high Calvinists among the Lynn Baptists, and some of the most devoted³⁸ friends of the cause, believing such sentiments to be an unfair view of the Gospel and injurious, withdrew, and went to the Independent Chapel.  In 1839, the veteran preacher, Thomas Wigner, came to Lynn, little anticipating, he tells us, that in the then state of his health he would be there long, but he was there many years.  Lynn has a union chapel, and it must be remembered, to its credit, that its pulpit was occupied by Rev. William Hull, a very superior preacher indeed, p. 46of whom the late Dean Stanley declared that he was the Robertson of the Nonconformist Church.

One of the most celebrated of Lynn residents was, perhaps, the Rev. William Richards, M.D., who was for twenty years pastor³⁹ of the General Baptist Church in that town.  He commenced his career in Wales, not many miles from Haverford West.  In 1773, at the age of 24, he entered the Bristol “Academy.”  Two years later he became co-pastor at Pershore, with the late Dr. John Ash, author of the English Dictionary.  Perhaps it was through contact with Dr. Ash that he first conceived the idea of writing his very popular Welsh-English Dictionary.  In 1776, he settled at Lynn, and during his residence there wrote, besides many other works, a “History of Lynn” in two octavo volumes, printed in 1812, at Lynn, by W. G. Whittingham.  He willed his library to the Brown University, Rhode Island, from which university he received his doctor’s degree.  He died in 1818, in Wales, where for supposed unsoundness in the faith—a groundless charge, however—he suffered a good deal.  Dr. Richards was a man of exemplary life, of much learning and of downright independence of judgment⁴⁰, and from all I can learn of him he deserved to be remembered at Lynn and throughout the country.  Since his time, there has been advance in politics in Lynn, as well as elsewhere.  When the judicious⁴¹ Dod published his Electoral Facts, the town had one newspaper—Conservative, of course—with a circulation of 654 copies; now it has a Liberal newspaper as well, and both papers enjoy a large circulation; and owing to the facilities afforded by the Great Eastern Railway, Lynn has its London morning papers down by nine o’clock.  At the period of the passing of the Reform Act, Lynn had a voting force of 660.  One of the best things I saw in Lynn, as I was groping my way in the uncertain light, was the fine schoolroom of the Congregational Church, filled with a cluster of clean, happy looking girls, all hard at work sewing.  I knew no living soul.  I felt I was an intruder, and popped out as speedily as I popped in; but I have the picture p. 47before me as I write, of happy girls under the sanction of the Christian Church, preserved from the contagion⁴² of the streets, learning to work.  Christianity has been dogmatic long enough, a little mild and benevolent⁴³ socialism will not do it much harm.  This old world town may be described as a city of churches, and one of its most characteristic remains is Road Mount Chapel, a curious octangular structure containing a beautiful but tiny perpendicular⁴⁴ apartment, that once contained the rood of our lady of Lynn.  Every schoolboy knows how unwarily, King John nearly lost his life in crossing Lynn Wash, and did lose all his baggage, devoured⁴⁵ by the unexpected flood.

1 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

2 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

3 rev   

v.发动机旋转，加快速度

参考例句：

• It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
• Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。

4 hull   

n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳

参考例句：

• The outer surface of ship's hull is very hard.船体的外表面非常坚硬。
• The boat's hull has been staved in by the tremendous seas.小船壳让巨浪打穿了。

5 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

6 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

7 thither   

adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的

参考例句：

• He wandered hither and thither looking for a playmate.他逛来逛去找玩伴。
• He tramped hither and thither.他到处流浪。

8 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

9 fortified   

adj. 加强的

参考例句：

• He fortified himself against the cold with a hot drink. 他喝了一杯热饮御寒。
• The enemy drew back into a few fortified points. 敌人收缩到几个据点里。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 specimen   

n.样本，标本

参考例句：

• You'll need tweezers to hold up the specimen.你要用镊子来夹这标本。
• This specimen is richly variegated in colour.这件标本上有很多颜色。

12 demolished   

v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• The factory is due to be demolished next year. 这个工厂定于明年拆除。
• They have been fighting a rearguard action for two years to stop their house being demolished. 两年来，为了不让拆除他们的房子，他们一直在进行最后的努力。

13 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

14 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

15 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

16 honourable   

adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的

参考例句：

• I don't think I am worthy of such an honourable title.这样的光荣称号，我可担当不起。
• I hope to find an honourable way of settling difficulties.我希望设法找到一个体面的办法以摆脱困境。

17 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

18 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

19 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

20 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

21 tinge   

vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息

参考例句：

• The maple leaves are tinge with autumn red.枫叶染上了秋天的红色。
• There was a tinge of sadness in her voice.她声音中流露出一丝忧伤。

22 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

23 scanty   

adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的

参考例句：

• There is scanty evidence to support their accusations.他们的指控证据不足。
• The rainfall was rather scanty this month.这个月的雨量不足。

24 borough   

n.享有自治权的市镇；(英)自治市镇

参考例句：

• He was slated for borough president.他被提名做自治区主席。
• That's what happened to Harry Barritt of London's Bromley borough.住在伦敦的布罗姆利自治市的哈里.巴里特就经历了此事。

25 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

26 usher   

n.带位员，招待员；vt.引导，护送；vi.做招待，担任引座员

参考例句：

• The usher seated us in the front row.引座员让我们在前排就座。
• They were quickly ushered away.他们被迅速领开。

27 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

28 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

29 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

30 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

31 antiquity   

n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹

参考例句：

• The museum contains the remains of Chinese antiquity.博物馆藏有中国古代的遗物。
• There are many legends about the heroes of antiquity.有许多关于古代英雄的传说。

32 ebb   

vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态

参考例句：

• The flood and ebb tides alternates with each other.涨潮和落潮交替更迭。
• They swam till the tide began to ebb.他们一直游到开始退潮。

33 dissenting   

adj.不同意的

参考例句：

• He can't tolerate dissenting views. 他不能容纳不同意见。
• A dissenting opinion came from the aunt . 姑妈却提出不赞同的意见。

34 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

35 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

36 deposition   

n.免职，罢官；作证；沉淀；沉淀物

参考例句：

• It was this issue which led to the deposition of the king.正是这件事导致了国王被废黜。
• This leads to calcium deposition in the blood-vessels.这导致钙在血管中沉积。

37 levied   

征（兵）( levy的过去式和过去分词 )； 索取； 发动（战争）； 征税

参考例句：

• Taxes should be levied more on the rich than on the poor. 向富人征收的税应该比穷人的多。
• Heavy fines were levied on motoring offenders. 违规驾车者会遭到重罚。

38 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

39 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

40 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

41 judicious   

adj.明智的，明断的，能作出明智决定的

参考例句：

• We should listen to the judicious opinion of that old man.我们应该听取那位老人明智的意见。
• A judicious parent encourages his children to make their own decisions.贤明的父亲鼓励儿女自作抉择。

42 contagion   

n.(通过接触的疾病)传染；蔓延

参考例句：

• A contagion of fear swept through the crowd.一种恐惧感在人群中迅速蔓延开。
• The product contagion effect has numerous implications for marketing managers and retailers.产品传染效应对市场营销管理者和零售商都有很多的启示。

43 benevolent   

adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的

参考例句：

• His benevolent nature prevented him from refusing any beggar who accosted him.他乐善好施的本性使他不会拒绝走上前向他行乞的任何一个乞丐。
• He was a benevolent old man and he wouldn't hurt a fly.他是一个仁慈的老人，连只苍蝇都不愿伤害。

44 perpendicular   

adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置

参考例句：

• The two lines of bones are set perpendicular to one another.这两排骨头相互垂直。
• The wall is out of the perpendicular.这墙有些倾斜。

45 devoured   

吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光

参考例句：

• She devoured everything she could lay her hands on: books, magazines and newspapers. 无论是书、杂志，还是报纸，只要能弄得到，她都看得津津有味。
• The lions devoured a zebra in a short time. 狮子一会儿就吃掉了一匹斑马。