416 RACING CAREER OF SIR W. H. GREGORY. 



The second extract is from a letter dated — 



"Harcourt House, Jan. 8, 1844. 



" Our Bill is to be bold, manly, and straightfor- 

 ward, staying proceedings under the Queen Anne 

 statute without costs, and legalising betting on 

 horse - races, foot - races, sailing matches, cricket 

 matches, coursing, and all other manly and whole- 

 some sports. I cannot, therefore, see the neces- 

 sity of you and Bowes skulking, you in Ireland 

 and Bowes in Paris. You would both be of much 

 more use here canvassing for support to our Bill, 

 which, thus far, but for me, would have been left 

 to its fate. As yet no satisfactory arrangement 

 has been made as to the great expense already 

 incurred, and as to how it is to be met. — Yours 

 very sincerely, G. Bentinck." 



In these letters Lord George confirms the re- 

 peated views of his ardent and intense character 

 given by Mr John Kent in the earlier chapters of 

 this work. It remains for me to add a few further 

 words about Sir William Gregory himself, and I 

 will begin with the following brief account of the 

 way in which he got possession of Clermont, per- 

 haps his luckiest purchase. His version is as 

 follows : — 



" On the day following the Cesarewitch of 1845 

 I chanced to walk from my lodgings at Newmarket 



