KING WILLIAM IV. AND THE DUKE. 349 



attachment felt by the " Sailor -King " for the 

 fifth Duke of Bichmond, that his Majesty was 

 induced to bestow his patronage upon horse-rac- 

 ing, and to retain the Royal stud at Hampton 

 Court, which is now one of the most successful 

 and best conducted establishments of its kind in 

 the world. King William IV. was often heard 

 to declare that his friend, to whose meritorious 

 career this chapter is dedicated, was, as a noble- 

 man, sans 2)eur et sans reproche ; that is to say, 

 with no other object in view than the good of his 

 country, the maintenance of his own fair fame, 

 and the education of his family, so that they 

 might grow up good men and good women. It 

 was at the instance of the fifth Duke that William 

 IV. gave a grand dinner to the Jockey Club on 

 May 28, 1833, of which a full account will be found 

 in Mr Greville's ' Diaries.' 



In a book entitled ' Horse -Racing : its History ; 

 with Early Records of Principal and other Race 

 Meetings,' published anonymously by Messrs 

 Saunders & Otley, of Brook Street, London, in 

 1863, I find the following passage: "There were 

 but two noteworthy events connected with the 

 Turf in the year 1836. The first was the speech 

 of King William IV. at Egham races, to which 

 further allusion will presently be made ; the 

 second has reference to a dinner given by the 

 same monarch to the Jockey Club at St James's 

 Palace on June 9. It would appear that at this 



