FIFTY YEARS OF A SHOWMAN'S LIFE 



The world of work whether it be large or 

 small, official or otherwise and however safe- 

 guarded it may be, must needs have its cares and 

 anxieties, its trials and troubles. These are the 

 common heritage of man, whatever his position, 

 whatever his accomplishments, and are to be 

 regarded as necessities if our probation here on 

 earth is to fulfil its purpose. An ex-Premier, in 

 a finely-conceived address to the youth of an old 

 University, has, in words impossible to surpass 

 in felicity of expression, told us of " the best 

 and most enduring of gifts " that education can 

 bestow upon those engaged in the battle of life, 

 and he sums them up as follows : " The company 

 of great thoughts, the inspiration of great ideals, 

 the example of great achievements, the consolation 

 of great failures." In these days, when so many 

 of the gateways of knowledge formerly bolted 

 and barred are thrown open, the acquisition of 

 what such a galaxy of riches represents is much 

 less difficult than it was in times of yore. " So 

 equipped," said the speaker, "you can face 

 without perturbation the buffets of circumstance, 

 the caprice of fortune, the inscrutable vicissitudes 

 of life." And, though we may not find in such 

 a prescription a panacea for every woe, those who 

 speak from experience will admit that they know 

 of nothing so well calculated to temper life's stress 

 and strain. 



It oft-times takes years before events can be 

 viewed in their true perspective, and I cannot 

 look down the avenue of time represented by a 

 fairly prolonged life without a deep feeling of 

 thankfulness for those interventions of Providence 



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