FIFTY YEARS OF A SHOWMAN'S LIFE 



etc., on duty in the yard make a point of attending 

 it. It is a very simple, hearty service an ab- 

 breviated version of Evensong, with specially 

 selected Psalms and lessons which is joined in 

 by many Nonconformists as well as Church-folk. 

 To enable all to follow it, it is put into print, 

 copies being distributed to all who attend. 

 The Society's chaplain conducts the service, 

 assisted by the vicar or rector of the particular 

 parish in which the show is held, and the address 

 is usually given by the bishop of the diocese. The 

 singing is led by the parish choir with the help 

 of a harmonium, and it is delightful to hear the 

 heartiness with which the country-side folk sing 

 The Old Hundredth," " God, our help," and 

 " We plough the fields and scatter," and with a 

 spirit and appreciation betokening intimate 

 familiarity with both words and music. The 

 Society's stewards act as churchwardens and 

 vergers and as readers of the lessons. In my own 

 time, this latter duty usually devolved upon the 

 late Sir John Lennard, after him upon the late 

 Lord Wynford, and at his death upon the present 

 holder of the title ; singularly good readers all of 

 them. The service has of late years been held 

 in the Working Dairy, the large floor space of 

 which affords full accommodation for all taking 

 part in it. 



A big show yard is a little world in itself ; all 

 sorts and conditions of men, as well as animals, 

 find a place in it, and I have never known a show, 

 out of the many with which I have been associated, 

 that did not furnish some incidents worth recording 

 on account of the pleasant light they shed upon 



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