An Autobiography of an Ancient Athlete & Antiquarian

AUTOBIOGRAPHY Another very unpleasant affair about this time was what happened to our librarian at the Pnblic Library, who tendered his resignation on the 1st March, owing to the long continued, aud at last fatal illness of his wife, render– ing him incapable of fulfilling the dnties of his position. They were a most devoted couple, and we all liked them greatly, and they often came down to Lammas. He came to Norwich as an able and well-skilled assistant, and subsequently sncceeded his chief, an untrained man, who had been appointed in the bad old days, and had no qualifi– cation except an untiring desire to do his duty in a position he was not fit to fill. I did not begin to cycle till the 5th March, and then only for short distances and most of my journeys were by railway, e.g., one to see the great landslip at Cromer on the 7th. The spring was bitterly cold, and my rheumatism most unpleasant. I tried massage but don't think it did me as much good as wood sawing. On the 25th March, I sold Anguish's house on Tombland, a very old interesting– place. It was at one time my idea to have lived in it, and I spent, as usual, a lot of money in putting up a replica of the old oak door there and a wrought iron grill before I bought St. Leonard's Priory. I visited and wrote an account of Hempstead Manor House, but there was little interesting in the place except the curious Gothic arcading of three arches, which I fancied might have been a fragment of the adjacent priory. On the 31st March to 3rd June I was up in London on business and took the opportunity of re-visiting Simpson's. I didn't go to the Oxford and Cambridge boat race on the first, but went instead to the Tower of London to see the old bow staves in the Armoury, and looked in at A.R.B., who had just moved into Cavendish Square, and then on to the South Kensington Museum to meet H.G.R. and his wife. After going over the mediceval things I became very tired, hot and foot sore, and after dining them at '' Slater's," as we could not get in at any more pretentious place, I went on to sleep at my old partner's in Kensington Crescent. It was very wet all the next day, but we went down to Hampton Court by taxi with J.B.R. to see the most interesting bridge over the moat recently uncovered there, and afterwards to an excellent lunch (just missing