n the representation of their general
manager, declined; and I am proud to remember that my own views on the
subject, pretty forcibly expressed, when my chief discussed the subject
with me, strengthened his convictions and helped to carry the day in the
board room. The indiscriminate and inartistic way in which throughout
the land advertisements of all sorts crowd our station walls and
platforms is an outrage on good taste. If advertisements must appear
there, some hand and eye endowed with the rudiments of art ought to
control them. In no country in the world does the same ugly display mar
the appearance of railway stations; and considering what myriad eyes
daily rest on station premises it is well worth while on aesthetic
grounds to make their appearance as pleasant and as little vulgar as
possible. The question of revenue to the companies need not be ignored
for proper and efficient control would produce order, moderation,
neatness, artistic effect--and profit.

With the principal clerks of the office staff my relations were very
pleasant. The consideration with which I was treated by my chief, and
the footing upon which I stood with him, gave me a certain influence
which otherwise I should not have possessed. Till then there had been
absent from the company's staff any gathering together for purposes of
common interest or mutual enjoyment. The _Railway Benevolent
Institution_ provided a rallying point. I had been appointed its
representative on the Glasgow and South-Western Railway and we held
meetings and arranged concerts in its aid. Then, after a time, we
established for the principal clerks and goods agents and certain grades
of station masters, an annual day excursion into the country, with a
dinner and songs and speeches. "Tatlow is good at the speak," said
publicly one of my colleagues, in his broad Scotch way, and so far as it
was true this I daresay helped me. I was made permanent president of
these excursions and feasts, and often had to "hold forth," which I must
confess I rather enjoyed. We christened ourselves _The Railway
Ramblers_. The fact that I became the Scotch correspondent of the
_Railway Official Gazette_, a regular contributor to the _Railway News_,
and had access to the columns of several newspapers, enabled reports of
our doings to appear in print, and diffused some pleasure and pride
throughout the service. Also I became a weekly contributor of _Scotch
Notes_ to the _Montreal