t fact was announced to me by my kindly chief, coupled with
the expression of a wish that he and I might long work together.

On the Scottish railways the financial half-years ended, not in June and
December, as in other parts of the United Kingdom, but at the end of July
and January. This was for the better equalisation of receipts, taking a
month from the fat half-year to the lean, and giving, in exchange, a
month from the lean to the fat. Soon after the first-half-year was
concluded and the accounts published, which was in the month of September
(my first September with the Glasgow and South-Western), Mr. Wainwright
handed to me a large sheet of closely printed figures, giving a detailed
analysis and comparison of the accounts of five of the principal English
and the three principal Scottish railways in columnar form, with a
request that I should take out the figures and compile for printing a
similar statement for the past half-year, from the accounts of the eight
companies. I trembled inwardly for I had never yet looked at a railway
account, but I took them home, and, as in the case of the Acts of
Parliament, found them simpler than I thought; and, with less trouble
than I expected, succeeded in accomplishing the task.

Mr. Wainwright was himself a skilful statistician and tested everything
he could by the cold logic of figures. I was soon surprised to find that
I too had a taste for statistics and acquired some skill in their
compilation. Up to this I had always imagined that I disliked everything
in the shape of arithmetic. At school I was certainly never fond of it,
and since school my acquaintance with figures had been little more than
the adding up of long columns in huge books at the half-yearly
stocktaking in the stores department at St. Rollox, a thing I detested,
and which invariably gave me a headache. Well pleased was Mr. Wainwright
to see that statistics took my fancy. As general manager he had not much
time himself to devote to them, but the office was now well manned and we
were able to establish, and keep up, tables, statistics and returns
concerning matters of railway working in a way which I have not seen
surpassed. These statistics were of much practical use when considering
questions of economy and other matters from day to day.

My first year as general manager's clerk was, I have always thought, the
most important in my railway life. Certainly in that year I learned much
and acquired