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ON HIS WAY THROUGH THE WORLD 627
and he presently descended under the porte cochere; and the
omnibus—I own, with regret, it was but a one-horse machine—
drove rattling into the courtyard, where the bells of the " Star," the
" George," the " Rodney," the " Dolphin," and so on, had once been
wont to jingle, and the court had echoed with the noise and clatter
of hoofs and ostlers, and the cries of " First and second, turn out."
Who was the merry-faced little gentleman in black, who got
out of the omnibus, and cried, when he saw us, " What, you here ?"
It was Mr. Bradgate, that lawyer of Lord Ringwood's with whom
we made a brief acquaintance just after his Lordship's death.
" What, you here ?" cries Bradgate, then, to Philip. " Come down
about this business, of course ? Very glad that you and—and
certain parties have made it up. Thought you weren't friends."
What business ? What parties ? We had not heard the news.
We had only come over from Periwinkle Bay by chance, in order
to see the house.
"How very singular! Did you meet the—the people who
were staying there ?"
We said we had seen a carriage pass, but did not remark who
was in it. What, however, was the news? Well. It would be
known immediately, and would appear in Tuesday's Gazette. The
news was that Sir John Ringwood was going to take a peerage,
and that the seat for Whipham would be vacant. And herewith
our friend produced from his travelling bag a proclamation, which
he read to us, and which was addressed—
" To the Worthy and Independent Electors of the Borough
of Ringwood.
"LONDON: Wednesday.
"GENTLEMEN,—A gracious Sovereign having been pleased to
order that the family of Ringwood should continue to be represented
in the House of Peers, I take leave of my friends and constituents
who have given me their kind confidence hitherto, and promise
them that my regard for them will never cease, or my interest in
the town and neighbourhood where my family have dwelt for many
centuries. The late lamented Lord Ringwood's brother died in the
service of his Sovereign in Portugal, following the same flag under
which his ancestors for centuries have fought and bled. My own
son serves the Crown in a civil capacity. It was natural that one
of our name and family should continue the relations which so
long have subsisted between us and this loyal, affectionate, but
independent borough. Mr. Ringwood's onerous duties in the office
which he holds are sufficient to occupy his time. A gentleman