FIFTY YEARS OF A SHOWMAN'S LIFE 



and did away with a certain amount of over- 

 lapping of duties not conducive to economy 

 of either time or money. The Council also 

 determined to inaugurate the new regime by 

 dispensing with a contractor for the erection of 

 the show yard buildings and becoming their own 

 contractors with a steward of works to supervise. 

 This arrangement has been in operation ever 

 since, and has resulted in a saving to the Society 

 of some thousands of pounds. 



So for the first few years of my tenure of office 

 I had to " scorn delights and live laborious days," 

 in order to bring things up to that level of efficiency 

 which is represented by the phrase " smooth 

 working." For the first three months after I 

 took up residence in Bath, I spent a good deal 

 of time in railway-carriages, in order to fulfil 

 some Oxford responsibilities including the editing 

 and general management of a newspaper of 

 which I could not all at once divest myself. 

 Hence I had a somewhat strenuous time before 

 settling comfortably down in the saddle. Happily, 

 my assistant secretary, to whom I have already 

 referred, as having enabled me to surmount the 

 special difficulties, which beset me when I first 

 turned showman, retained her old post after our 

 migration to Bath. Inasmuch as I found my own 

 staff, this was a distinct advantage from more 

 than one point of view. She was nob long in fully 

 justifying her claim to the title in a new sphere, 

 and for many years the knowledge and experi- 

 ence she had gained in show work did much to 

 mitigate the stress and strain inevitable when 

 there was much overhauling and re-organization 



108 



