Ned Proposed that he, Gadd, and I should walk to Ockley, four miles away, and try a ring there, as the best to be done under the circumstances, and this we did. With three of the Ockley ringers we rang a 720 plain bob right through without a word. When we had finished old Gadd looked at me: "Do you mean to say you've never rung that peal before?" he asked. "I've never tried before," I replied. I was delighted to find that I had made a good impression upon so important an individual, and it resulted in a warm open invitation to Newdigate as often as I liked to go. I went there regularly and frequently, and took to proper change-ringing as a duck takes to water. The company of the ringers, too, I found very enjoyable, and they always seemed pleased for me to come. Alec Gadd lent me their ringing book to copy out; this I did, committing the changes to memory. The next time I went up I was aked if I could sing a song. "Yes," I replied, "I'll sing you 'Boney's farewell to Paris,' if you'll let me ring the College Exercise peal with you." "What?" they asked, "can you ring that; that's a rum 'n?" "I know every wrinkle in it, and I can ring every blessed peal you've got in your book," I replied, confidently. So it was agreed. I sang the song, they were delighted; we rang the College peal, and thenceforth I was on the regular staff, so to speak, of the Newdigate ringers. Every Saturday evening I walked there - 8 miles - arriving about 7 o'clock. We rang up to 10 o'clock, and then all of us ringers and friends used to adjourn to the "Six Bells" Public House for a jollification, drinking and smoking and song singing in turn. I was just in my element; I knew so many songs at this time that I sang them a fresh lot every time I went: they knew but few, and these I quickly learnt and added to my stock. << less