THE LADY ELIZABETH SCANDAL. 311 



"requesting him not to insert the first, is a proof 

 that I did not consider myself justified in desiring 

 it to be published." 



The Earl was not only scratched at the 

 eleventh hour for the Derby, but was also in 

 due time struck out of the St. Leger on the 

 Friday afternoon before the Doncaster race, a 

 certificate of a veterinary surgeon, of date, 

 "London, September 5th, 1868," being published 

 as a reason for the withdrawal of the horse from 

 the great race of the north. When it became 

 known that The Earl had really broken down, 

 some little degree of feeling was expressed by 

 the public in regard to this culminating mis- 

 fortune which had befallen a broken man. And 

 the reader may be reminded that at the date 

 of the withdrawal of Mr. Day's action the Mar- 

 quis had been dead for some weeks, and it might 

 be that that fact of itself led to the cessation of 

 proceedings at law. 



From the sporting journals of the period a 

 glimpse is obtained of the dealings of Lord 

 Hastings with " the ring," and of the indignation 

 of the magnates of the betting world because 

 of his lordship's disinclination to hedge his " very 

 fine bets." One journal, which professed to be 

 well informed of the contents of his lordship's 

 betting-book, said that the ring would have been 

 well pleased to have given him a sum of ;^2o,ooo 

 for his chances of winning the Derby with Lady 

 Elizabeth, on the condition that he would devote 

 the money so obtained to part payment of the 

 arrears of his debts of honour — debts contracted 

 on the turf after his liabilities on Hermit's Derby 

 had been provided for. At the time of the 



