FIFTY YEARS OF A SHOWMAN'S LIFE 



by virtue of something beyond this a penetrating 

 shrewdness which saw deep into things, and an 

 honesty of judgment which could not but inspire 

 confidence. Any time-serving, beating-about-the- 

 bush methods were utterly foreign to his nature, 

 for when he had made up his mind he went straight 

 to the point, and dealt with it in language as free 

 from ambiguity as it was possible to conceive. 

 No one could quicker prick a bubble or unmask 

 a sham, as many a backslider has discovered when 

 the colonel sat in judgment, and anyone who 

 thought he could go slantindicularly in his presence 

 was speedily undeceived. But those who steered 

 a straight course and " played the game " could 

 not desire a better champion, and every show 

 yard official, who worked on these lines, knew 

 that he could count upon all the support the 

 colonel could give him. 



I very well remember, as a child, the arrival 

 of the news of the battle of Balaclava, and how 

 thrilled we all were at that splendid piece of 

 heroism, the Charge of the Light Brigade. So 

 it will always be a pleasure to me to remember 

 that I had the privilege of frequent communica- 

 tion with one who was an active participator in 

 that never-to-be-forgotten episode, in the person 

 of the late Lord Tredegar. He was a great friend 

 to agriculture, and especially to the exhibition 

 system, so much so that he organized and carried 

 on for many years, at his own expense, an annual 

 show on his own property, for the benefit of his 

 tenants especially, and which cost him not less 

 than 500 a year. He was much interested in the 

 Bath and West Society, and twice served the 



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