370 
TESTIMONIAL TO PROFESSOR PRITCHARD. 
the position to which study, application, energy, and perseverance will 
attain, and the esteem which follows the faithful performance of duty. 
The address which I have to present you is as follows: 
TO WILLIAM PRITCHARD, ESQ., MR.C.V.S, 
Professor or Anatomy and Equine Pathology in the Royal 
Veterinary College, London. 
Dear Sir, —We, the undersigned Students of the Royal Veterinary 
College, desire to express our deep regret at the loss we sustain by your 
retirement from a position which you have so long and so ably occupied. 
We ask you to accept a portrait of yourself as a slight expression of our 
respect and esteem, as an acknowledgement of the uniform kindness, 
and ever ready assistance you have always afforded us, and as a token of 
our best wishes for your future success. To this, sir, is appended, I 
believe, the signature of nearly every student of this College. 
In reply, Professor Pritchard rose and said: Gentlemen, on this 
occasion I address you with mingled feelings—my mind somewhat in a 
maze, indeed, to be expressed in one word “ Chaos/ 5 so that while I try 
to respond to the very handsome address just delivered, I do so under a 
certain amount of difficulty ; but allow me to assure you such is more to be 
attributed to the workings of the flesh than the promptings of the 
spirit. I have been a teacher in this institution for twenty years, and 
from what has taken place before, and especially that of to-day, it is 
gratifying to me to think, in fact, I cannot help coming to the conclusion, 
that my efforts to please have been crowned with success. Some of you 
may consider it egotistical to say so, but when I tell you that I first 
begun at this College at the bottom round of the ladder as Demon¬ 
strator, and when appointed Deputy Professor I was presented with a 
Testimonial. Again a Testimonial awaited me when elected to fill the 
place of a Professor, and I was also met with one when I entered into 
my present position. I came here with the view of finishing my days 
“ that is, my useful days, 55 in this institution, and I have worked with the 
view of improving the position of the Veterinary Student and the future 
Veterinary Surgeon. You have no idea of the amount of work I^have 
had to do, the correspondence I have had, the advice I have given to 
young gentlemen, and to old one’s too, helping the profession, as I still 
hope to help it. But, gentlemen, although my duties have been labo¬ 
rious, let me tell you I look back upon them, with more than pleasure, 
as there is no grander feeling, no greater happiness, than that of helping 
one’s fellow-man. You will, I am sure, excuse the pride I feel in taking 
this your very handsome Testimonial with me on resigning my position 
in this College. If it had been simply a sheet of paper with your names 
on it, and the words, “We are satisfied, 55 I should have been proud of 
it, but this beautiful scroll, and the way in which the signatures have 
been appended to it, puts me in a position to show it to my friends, and 
not only to my friends, but to my enemies, for I suppose that I am 
like other people, and have them ; but their comments upon me now 
must be made with their backs turned on this address, which expresses 
your opinion of me; and although you think I have done something 
for you, I look upon it as doing my duty. We are now about to 
separate, but it is only a separation as far as my going out of this 
College is concerned, and whether in this College or elsewhere vou still 
carry with you my sheerest wishes ; and if my advice can be of any 
service to you, I pray you will call upon it. And, gentlemen, I now 
have to thank you. Shakespeare said, “ I am poor in thanks, but I 
thank you.” I thank you too on my wife’s account, who will be pleased 
