THE 
VETERINARIAN. 
VOL. XXXIII. 
No. 395. 
NOVEMBER, 1860. 
Fourth Series. 
No. 71. 
Communications and Cases. 
OPENING OF THE SESSION AT THE ROYAL 
VETERINARY COLLEGE. 
INAUGURAL ADDRESS BY PROFESSOR SPOONER. 
Gentlemen, —To-day, at this, our Alma-Mater, we com¬ 
mence our session of 1860-1, and I am delighted to greet 
you all on this occasion. My position here, as delivering 
the introductory address, considering that I have now 
been a teacher in, or connected with this institution, for 
a period of thirty years, is in some sense a matter of 
routine; and yet the presence of so many whose faces I 
see for the first time reminds me that I have new elements 
to deal with, and new responsibilities to undertake. To 
my young friends, to whom this day and this event more 
especially belong, I would say, you are the successors of a 
line of pupils, whom we can look back upon as having left a 
living memory of science, and a lasting spirit of study and 
attention within these walls; whom also we can single forth 
from many an honoured position in the world; from many 
a far scene and distant clime; and of whom we can proudly 
say to you, There ! these sterling men once sat in your 
places; let their example burn within you towards what is 
noble and true, and let whatever is unworthy in you be re¬ 
buked by the consciousness that you are the inheritors 
and guardians of the fair professional fame of such 
predecessors. 
To those who are here for the first time, the proceedings 
of the day must doubtless have a great interest, he deeply 
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