FIFTY YEARS OF A SHOWMAN'S LIFE 



for me when I first sought its confidence were 

 increased tenfold after I had had experience of 

 the manner of men with whom I had to do and 

 of the work which devolved upon me, and time 

 has only strengthened the bond between us. 

 This is something to be grateful for beyond ex- 

 pression, and I owe to it that my sojourn in the 

 West has been the happiest period of my life. 

 Now, when, as the Irishman put it, "my future 

 is behind me," I can say this without reserve 

 and without risk of misinterpretation of motive. 

 Did I not do so I should feel that I had omitted 

 from these retrospections a thought that ever 

 holds a predominant place in my mind. 



My association with the Bath and West Society 

 has brought me into intimate relationship with 

 many delightful as well as notable personalities, 

 the only melancholy reflection in connection there- 

 with being that death has too frequently inter- 

 vened when a mutual regard had ripened into a 

 cherished friendship. The Council has ever been 

 a band of brothers, and so the meetings of those 

 admitted within the circle have partaken much 

 of the nature of a family gathering, with the 

 pleasant familiarity and give-and-take spirit char- 

 acteristic of a harmonious home circle. I have 

 often heard visitors acquainted with other societies 

 who have been guests at the Council Mess comment 

 upon this characteristic as being exceptionally 

 marked, both at the social board and in the show 

 yard. Hence it is that when any member of so 

 united a community joins the majority there is 

 the sadness of feeling that a happy relationship 

 is severed. How often the shadow has been cast 



322 



