In charge of the railway department in 1893 was, as I have said, Mr.
Francis Hopwood. He became Sir Francis in 1906, and from then onwards
advanced from office to office and from honour to honour, until, during
his secretaryship of the Irish Convention in 1917, his public services
were rewarded with a peerage. As railway secretary of the Board of Trade
he was particularly distinguished for tact, strength and moderation.
Singularly courteous and obliging on all occasions, I, personally, have
been much indebted to him for help and advice.
But all was not sunshine and happiness in this busy year of 1892. A dark
cloud of sorrow overshadowed it. On a fateful day in January I lost,
with tragic suddenness, the younger of my two sons, a bright amiable boy,
of a sunny nature and gentle disposition. He was accidentally killed on
the railway.
CHAPTER XXIII.
THE "RAILWAY NEWS," THE INTERNATIONAL RAILWAY CONGRESS, AND A TRIP TO
SPAIN AND PORTUGAL
In Chapter XX I recorded the death of my old friend W. F. Mills, which
took place whilst I was writing that chapter. Now, as I pen these lines,
I hear of the loss of another old familiar railway friend; not indeed a
sentient being like you, dear reader, or him or me, yet a friend that
lacked neither perception nor feeling.
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