BLUE GOWN'S DERBY 123 



Gown. As for myself, I was transported into 

 the " seventh heaven," for this was my first 

 " classic " triumph. Everybody was generous 

 with congratulations, and altogether it was a 

 great day for Kingsclere. 



The Danebury people, on the other hand, were 

 in sore trouble. As if the bursting of the Lady 

 Elizabeth bubble was not a sufficient punishment. 

 Admiral Rous, boiling with indignation because 

 of the belated scratching of The Earl, wrote a 

 letter to The TimeSy in which he plainly indicated 

 his belief that the Marquis of Hastings had been 

 made the dupe of Mr. Padwick and John Day. 

 At the end of the letter were the sentences: ** In 

 justice to the Marquis of Hastings, I state that 

 he stood to win ;^3 5,000 by The Earl, and did 

 not hedge his stake money. Then you will ask, 

 * Why did he scratch him } ' What can the 

 poor fly demand from the spider in whose web 

 he is enveloped } " 



The Marquis and Mr. Padwick at once sent 

 rejoinders to The Times, The former described 

 the Admiral's letter " as a tissue of misrepresenta- 

 tion from first to last. There is no single circum- 

 stance mentioned as regards my two horses, Lady 

 Elizabeth and The Earl, correctly stated. . . . 

 The Earl was scratched by my express desire and 

 authority, and no one either prompted me or 

 suggested to me to adopt that course.'* This 

 was fairly explicit, but Mr. Padwick went further. 



