An Autobiography of an Ancient Athlete & Antiquarian

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 1 45 never forget) to give the city back the land subscribed for by its citizens, which he promised to do at once, and I .don't suppose he ever thought again on the subject. Kext day Hight came to say good-bye as he was permanently leaving Norwich. I missed him greatly, for he was a very well-read and pleasant man, and a very competent artist, but he was bored to death with Norwich people, though he had introduced me to Dr. Starling and "Red :, Smith, for which I was thankful. On the 9th R.H. and I called at Mr. C. L. Buxton's at Bolwick to see his stained glass, one panel which might have been of Sir Robert de Sall being very interesting. It is described and illustrated in Norf. Antiq. Misc. (n.s.) i., p. 98. On the nth I gave a very outspoken lecture on "Norfolk Law and. Lawyers," to what I think was a very ,appreciative audience. I rather anticipated actions for slander for some days after, but none came. On "Trafalgar Day,'' 21st October, my old friend Dr. J essopp made a very ill-considered attack on me (in the interests as he thought of the Norwich Grammar School) :for having stated that Nelson was educated at North Wals·· ham Grammar School, but I had no difficulty in showing he was absolutely wrong in a letter to the papers of the 23rd, and he amply recanted his heresy on the 25th. Another newspaper controversy in which I was involved was about Sir Thomas Browne's skull, I taking the view that there is no evidence that the skull said to be his, and exhibited at the Norfolk & Norwich Hospital, is so. E.M.B., and his wife came to the Cottage on the 28th, and we had a very wet ride, luckily on my new lowered gear. On 2nd November I went up to London to see our outlying run at Selborne, driving over to Privett to meet, and start. I then saw Lieut. Hawtrey, that very fine miler for the first time. I believe he has been killed in the war. On the r 2th Brittain and I photographed the old Norman gateway at Horsham St. Faith's which had been interpolated into a modern school (see Norf. Antiq. Misc. (n.s.), i., p. 25). The Vicar and Churchwardens of St. Peter Mancroft on the 21st November agreed to a case to counsel about ir Thomas Browne's skull being taken at my expense.