324 HABITS OF LORD GEORGE BENTINCK. 



" Harcourt House, Jamiary 31, 1846. 



" John Kent, — You deserve and I give you 

 the very greatest credit for the zeal, skill, and 

 ability with which you have detected the traitor 

 in our stable. 



" Now we have found him, we shall be fools 

 indeed if we cannot ruin him and all his gang. 



" Of course we must continue to sham the ut- 

 most confidence in him, and then we must take 

 good care to put him wrong in everything of any 

 importance. 



"It is too late to put him on the wrong scent as 

 regards Best Bower in connection with the Chester 

 Cup, unless we can manage it by making Miss 

 Elis win the trials a long way. It will be too late, 

 also, to attempt setting him wrong as to Blackbird 

 and the Voluptuary colt ; but I think with Nereus 

 and Hose of Cashmere we might have fine game 

 with B. and E. They must both have a ride or 

 two on Nereus when half trained, so that he may 

 be beaten a long way in all his trials. Neither 

 will it be too late- to deceive him about Planet. 

 However, I must leave all this to you, as I see you 

 are now quite master of the situation. — I am, your 

 obedient servt., G. Bentinck." 



To this letter I replied by suggesting some 

 slight alterations in the programme, and begged 

 his Lordship to let me know what was the amount 

 of the reward which he proposed to give to the lad 



