betting world were talking of nothing else; that three
conspiracies had been detected, the object of which was to make him
safe--that is, to make him very unsafe to his friends; that Scott's
foreman had been offered two thousand to dose him; and that Scott
himself slept in the stable with him every night, to prevent anything
like false play.

The second letter was written by Dot, at Epsom, on the 4th of May,
thirty minutes after the great race had been run. It was very short;
and shall therefore be given entire.

Epsom, Derby Day,

Race just over.

God bless you, my dear boy--Brien has done the trick, and done it
well! Butler rode him beautifully, but he did not want any riding;
he's the kindest beast ever had a saddle on. The stakes are close
on four thousand pounds: your share will do well to pay the
posters, &c., for yourself and my lady, on your wedding trip. I win
well--very well; but I doubt the settling. We shall have awful faces
at the corner next week. You'll probably have heard all about it by
express before you get this.

In greatest haste, yours,

W. BLAKE.

The next week, the following paragraph appeared in "Bell's Life in
London."

It never rains but it pours. It appears pretty certain, now, that
Brien Boru is not the property of the gentleman in whose name he has
run; but that he is owned by a certain noble lord, well known on
the Irish turf, who has lately, however, been devoting his time to
pursuits more pleasant and more profitable than the cares of the
stable--pleasant and profitable as it doubtless must be to win
the best race of the year. The pick-up on the Derby is about four
thousand pounds, and Brien Boru is certainly the best horse of his
year. But Lord Ballindine's matrimonial pick-up is, we are told, a
clear quarter of a million; and those who are good judges declare
that no more beautiful woman than the future Lady Ballindine will
have graced the English Court for many a long year. His lordship,
on the whole, is not doing badly.

Lord Cashel, also, congratulated Frank on his success on the turf, in
spite of the very decided opinion he had expressed on the subject, when
he was endeavouring to throw him on one side.

"My dear Ballindine," he said, "I wish you joy with all my heart: a
most magnificent animal, I'm told, is Brien, and still partly your own
property, you say. Well; it's a great triumph