Bungay," Warrington said, on which the
publisher answered, "All right, I dare say," and yawned, though he said,
"Go on, Capting."

"--at Runnymede; they are ready to defend that freedom to-day with sword
and pen, and now, as then, to rally round the old laws and liberties of
England."

"Bravo!" cried Warrington. The little child stood wondering; the lady
was working silently, and looking with fond admiration. "Come here,
little Mary," said Warrington, and patted the child's fair curls with
his large hand. But she shrank back from his rough caress, and preferred
to go and take refuge at Pen's knee, and play with his fine watch-chain:
and Pen was very much pleased that she came to him; for he was very
soft-hearted and simple, though he concealed his gentleness under a shy
and pompous demeanour. So she clambered up on his lap, whilst her father
continued to read his programme.

"You were laughing," the Captain said to Warrington, "about 'the
obvious reasons' which I mentioned. Now, I'll show ye what they are, ye
unbelieving heathen. 'We have said,'" he went on, "'that we cannot give
the names of the parties engaged in this undertaking, and that there
were obvious reasons for that concealment. We number influential
friends in both Houses of the Senate, and have secured allies in every
diplomatic circle in Europe. Our sources of intelligence are such as
cannot, by any possibility, be made public--and, indeed, such as no
other London or European journal could, by any chance, acquire. But this
we are free to say, that the very earliest information connected with
the movement of English and Continental politics will be found only in
the columns of the Pall Mall Gazette, The Statesman and the Capitalist,
the Country Gentleman and the Divine, will be amongst our readers,
because our writers are amongst them. We address ourselves to the higher
circles of society: we care not to disown it--the Pall Mall Gazette is
written by gentlemen for gentlemen; its conductors speak to the classes
in which they live and were born. The field-preacher has his journal,
the radical free-thinker has his journal: why should the Gentlemen of
England be unrepresented in the Press?'"

Mr. Shandon then went on with much modesty to descant upon the literary
and fashionable departments of the Pall Mall Gazette, which were to be
conducted by gentlemen of acknowledged reputation; men famous at the
Universities (at which Mr Pendennis could scarcely help