PORTER AND THE BISHOP 271 



he, uninvited, but for all that warmly welcomed by the 

 trainer, was one day a deeply interested spectator of 

 the horses while they were taking their gallops. He 

 was due at Kingsclere to conduct a Confirmation 

 service. As he was driving along the road from 

 Overton he descried the string of horses at work, 

 with Porter mounted in command. His Lordship 

 stopped his carriage, stepped briskly across the 

 Downs, and introduced himself. It is not known 

 whether Dr. Wilberforce, with Kingsclere in his 

 diocese, had previously made himself acquainted 

 with the racing ' connection ' of Park House ; but he 

 certainly manifested the most cordial interest in the 

 business of the moment, asked a number of curiously 

 intelligent questions about the horses, and in short 

 conversed with Porter on no other subject than the 

 trainer's vocation. For the time being the Bishop 

 was one of the laity, with a genuine English sports- 

 man's interest in the thoroughbred. It was the trainer 

 himself who put an end to the interview. Suddenly 

 recollecting that he had a telegram to despatch from 

 the village, he said ' Good day ' and galloped off, 

 leaving Dr. Wilberforce to return to his carriage, 

 which meanwhile had been waiting for him in the 

 road. When Porter arrived at the post-office in 

 Kingsclere, which is opposite the church, he found 

 the vicar, with other clergymen and an expectant 

 crowd, in a state of mind bordering on dismay. 

 What had become of the Bishop ? Had he seen 

 the Bishop ? Prodigious was the relief of the 

 assemblage when they learnt that not only had the 



