A KNIGHT OF THE GOLDEN DAYS 217 



some time there was no response, but finally a 

 well-filled, large envelope put in its appearance. 

 The letter, which was from Mr. GIBSON, began, con- 

 trary to previous practice, in a very formal manner 



-"Sir: Yours of received. I am not sure 



that I can answer your question. I" but here the 

 ice suddenly melted. Dropping abruptly conven- 

 tional forms, RICHARD was himself again. "Oh, the 

 devil, ALVIN! What's the use! I'll tell you all 

 about it." Whereupon he fell straightway into one 

 of his delightful reminiscent moods and related 

 one of the most interesting Shorthorn stories 

 ever told. This was in 1899, and from that time 

 until the closing hours of his life we were firm 

 friends, serving together for nearly ten years upon 

 the Board of Directors of the International Live 

 Stock Exposition, maintaining all the while a cor- 

 respondence into which he poured all the wealth 

 of an astonishing fund of recollection, as useful in 

 our editorial work as it was entertaining. It is unfor- 

 tunate that these letters have not all been preserved. 

 They were usually too personal in their nature for 

 publication; but the one just quoted affords a fine 

 insight into his generous character, carrying with it 

 the lesson that life is too short for friends to quarrel 

 over mere matters of individual judgment. 



