454 MR. FRIEND AND THE GOVERNORS OF THE 
liberty of bringing their affairs before the public if I did ; I must, 
therefore, restrict myself entirely, on this part of the subject, to my 
own. I presented you with testimonials of the highest and most 
flattering character to myself, from every surgeon and medical 
man in this place, and also from one of the most popular authors 
of the present day on the Horse, Cattle, and Sheep, and many 
years Editor of The Veterinarian. I referred you, at the 
same time, to many works written by myself on anatomical, patho- 
logical, and physiological subjects of greater variety, and certainly 
more new or controverted, than, perhaps, were written by any 
other veterinary surgeon during that time, not strictly an author. 
I also referred you to many testimonials to my researches and 
ability in the same work, written by practitioners of high stand- 
ing in the profession, personally strangers to me, and who could 
have been influenced by no motives at the time in the opinions 
so stated, but supposed merit in the articles in question. My 
College testimonials I noticed but briefly, as you are well aware 
that such as are given for the time being, are, as a matter of 
course, in the possession of every graduate. 
Are you prepared to shew to the world that the gentleman you 
selected on that occasion did produce testimonials of a higher 
character, and more to the purpose than these referred to ? Or 
did you, in the prosecution of the high trust that you have taken 
upon yourselves, to provide a fit and efficient teacher to the future 
aspirants to veterinary instruction — a trust so intimately con- 
nected with the well-doing of an important part of the property of 
this country — did you, I say, think it worth your while to refer 
to them at all? Did you, in fact— for I feel constrained to be 
plain with you — read any one of them ? 
I am debarred, on every account, from making use of the 
testimonials presented by the other competitors, or I might pos- 
sibly put more important questions to you than these. I assure 
you, that when I applied to you in answer to your advertise- 
ment, I had no idea that the simple reading of the testimonials 
sent in would lead to a final decision on your part. I supposed 
that, as one important situation which the successful candidate 
must occupy being that of a lecturer, you would require a public 
test of the abilities of the several candidates in that depart- 
ment. I may have been in error, however, as to my esti- 
mate of your powers of discrimination in realizing merit at first 
sight. 
I must leave no chance of misunderstanding here. With 
regard to Mr. Simonds, I never had the pleasure of an intro- 
duction to that gentleman but once; and the result of that in- 
terview was such as to leave an impression on my mind highly 
