FIFTY YEARS OF A SHOWMAN'S LIFE 



books, giving such essential particulars as the age, 

 sex, etc., of each animal, but omitting all mention 

 of the owner or breeder. Not a moment was to 

 be lost in supplying this deficiency, and with volun- 

 tary help and by dint of sitting up all night myself 

 each judge found his special book awaiting him on 

 his arrival the following morning. It may be 

 inferred from this how often my heart was in my 

 mouth. Had it not been for that casual remark 

 of a steward, there would have been a complete 

 deadlock, and judges, exhibitors, stewards and 

 everybody else concerned would have thirsted for 

 my blood, whilst my worst enemy could hardly 

 have desired a finer advertisement of a new 

 secretary's incompetence. In my then sensitive 

 state of mind, the horror which possessed me when 

 I realized the narrow escape I had had may be 

 imagined, whilst 1 was oppressed by the harrowing 

 thought that at any moment I might suddenly be 

 landed in an equally serious difficulty without time 

 to extricate myself. 



Night and day I slogged away, nearly wearing 

 myself out in a strenuous effort to stave off the 

 ever-impending catastrophe which would scatter 

 my shallow pretensions to the four winds. But, 

 happily, somewhat early in life, I had got a good 

 grip of an old country saying, " It's dogged as does 

 it," and the thought of this, as I applied the 

 principle it represented, was distinctly encouraging 

 in its hopeful possibilities. I knew that, although 

 I was no genius, I had staying powers and a 

 capacity for taking pains, the only possible hope for 

 a man when the divine afflatus had not descended 

 upon him, and, having brought these to bear, in 



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