128 iRiDina IRccollections an^ Xlurf Stones 



to the station, someone tapped her on the shoulder. 

 On looking round, she saw Fred Archer laughing 

 all over his face, and, showing those good teeth of 

 his, he said : " Tell the governor I finished up well : 

 I killed a horse yesterday." 



Sure enough he had done so. It was an old 

 hunter called ' Garthorpe,' belonging to Lord Wilton. 

 They had a hard day, and the old horse, who made 

 a noise, became very tired and knocked up. Fred 

 got him into a stable as soon as he could, but he 

 died soon after getting there. When he took the 

 saddle and bridle back to Egerton Lodge, he said 

 to Joe Martin, the stud-groom, " Here you are ; 

 this is the finish of a real good week." 



It was just three weeks before his tragic end in 

 November, 1886, that Archer and myself went over 

 to Ireland together. We were accompanied by Cap- 

 tain De Vere Smith, " Garry " Moore, James Henry 

 Smith ("Jim the Penman "), and George Haughton. 

 Archer crossed the St. George's Channel to ride 

 ' Cambusmore ' for Lord Londonderry, who was 

 then the Lord- Lieutenant, and I went over to act as 

 starter at the October Meeting at the Curragh. We 

 arrived in Dublin on Tuesday morning, October 19, 

 by the mail train, and after breakfasting and looking 

 round the city, we journeyed off to the Curragh. 



