286 
SECOND ANNUAL MEETING 
rity of the profession imperiously demanded. From this path 
they had not swerved to the right hand or the left, and in conse¬ 
quence of this they had gradually acquired a host of friends 
and supporters, more numerous and respectable than they had 
ever dared to expect: their gratitude to whom was deep, in¬ 
delible. If “ The Veterinarian” was now become valuable 
and useful, their contributors had made it so. They earnestly 
entreated the continuance of that support, and they would endea¬ 
vour to deserve it. 
Mr. Field begged to trespass upon their patience for a few mo¬ 
ments, while he prefaced a toast which would be drunk in bum¬ 
pers. The gentleman to whom he alluded, he had had the ho¬ 
nour of knowing from his boyish days; and as each year passed, 
his esteem for him, and admiration of him, had increased. W e were 
indebted to him for the most important work we possessed on ve¬ 
terinary science, satisfactorily unfolding every principle on which 
our knowledge and treatment of disease must be founded. He 
knew that much of the time of that gentleman had since been 
devoted to the deep and successful study of his profession, and he 
acknowledged with gratitude how ready and anxious he had ever 
been to communicate to others the important results of his en¬ 
quiry and experience. He knew, too, how much he had at heart 
the respectability of the profession, and how much, in his own 
uniform conduct and demeanour, he had upheld and promoted it. 
He had found him, and all who had been connected with him 
had found him, a cheerful and instructive companion, a truly ho¬ 
nourable man } and an ardent and faithful friend . To-night we 
were under other obligations to him. He had presided over us 
with singular ability, and we were indebted to him for much of 
the pleasure of the evening. He considered this to be an im¬ 
portant as well as a pleasant meeting. It would be the nucleus 
round which the veterinary profession would gradually be gather¬ 
ed ; in which the feeling of the general body of practitioners 
would be expressed; and it would be the bond of union among 
all who had the improvement of the profession at heart. He 
begged leave to propose the health of “ The Chairman” with 
three times three. 
