FIFTY YEARS OF A SHOWMAN'S LIFE 



offer myself for the vacant office of secretary, a 

 personal friend, who knew the Society well, 

 solemnly abjured me not to think of it, for, says 

 he, " Jonathan Gray will worry you into your 

 grave." Said I, " I have never yet seen the man 

 who could bring me to that pass, and I don't 

 expect to do so on this earth, so, if that's the 

 only obstacle, I shall chance it." Which I did, 

 and have never regretted it ; besides which, at 

 the moment of writing, I am alive still. Jonathan 

 departed years ago, much to my sincere sorrow, 

 for he was not only one of the best friends the 

 Society ever had, but one to whom I became 

 personally attached by ties not merely of regard 

 but affection. 



Then there was the Hon. and Rev. J. Y. 

 Boscawen, the most kindly and sympathetic of 

 mortals, with a knowledge of floriculture, utilized 

 for the benefit of the Society, as varied as it was 

 unique. Last, but not least of the three, was 

 Captain John Best, the typical Englishman, the 

 " strong " man, in that sense of the term which 

 means force of character, power of grasp, and a 

 capacity to sum up the possibilities of a situation 

 in double-quick time and to act as promptly. 

 In those emergencies, when delays are dangerous, 

 and some one has to act without waiting for orders 

 as will sometimes happen even in the best- 

 regulated societies I never feared, when once I 

 had his backing, to take my courage in both hands, 

 in full confidence that, when the question came up 

 to Council for revision, he would see the matter 

 through with an outspoken fearlessness which 

 would bear down all opposition. He was a 



204. 



