Axcester and
its neighbourhood are rich in Roman remains--the town stands, indeed,
on the old Fosse Way--and, tempted by early success, Narcissus rode
his hobby further and further afield. Now, at the age of forty-two, he
could claim to be an authority on the Roman occupation of Britain, and
especially on the conquests of Vespasian. The circle of--the
Westcotes' acquaintance gathered in the fine hall of Bayfield--or, as
Narcissus preferred to call it, the atrium--drank tea, admired the
pavement, listened to the alleged exploits of Vespasian, and wondered
when the brothers would marry. Time went on, repeating these
assemblies; and the question became, Will they ever marry? Apparently
they had no thought of it, no idea that it was expected of them; and
since they had both passed forty, the question might be taken as
answered. But that so personable a man as Endymion Westcote would let
the family perish was monstrous to suppose. He kept his good looks and
his fresh complexion; even now some maiden would easily be found to
answer his Olympian nod; and a vein of recklessness sometimes cropped
up through his habitual caution, and kept his friends alert for
surprises. In the hunting-field, for instance,--and he rode to hounds
twice a week,--he made a rule of avoiding fences; but the world quite
rightly set this down to a proper care for his person rather than to
timidity, since on one famous occasion, riding up to find the whole
field hesitating before a "rasper" (they were hunting a strange country
that day), he put his horse at it and sailed over with a nonchalance
relieved only by his ringing laugh on the farther side.
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