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show, and whether many a horse may not have 

 achieved an undeserved celebrity, or incurred 

 undeserved obloquy. It Is scarcely credible, 

 fortunately, that such a sinister confederacy as a 

 'jockey ring' could endure for long without 

 detection, as the thieves would be sure to fall 

 out over the ' swag ' ; and there is reasonable 

 hope, consequently, that, if such a conspiracy 

 ever existed, it has been ' blown upon,' and exists 

 no longer. 



As for the apotheosis attained by the jockey 

 during her Majesty's reign, there can be no doubt 

 about that. The sporting newspapers went into 

 deep mourning and launched forth into pages of 

 obituary notice at the death of George Fordhafn, 

 known to fame as ' the demon ' and ' the kid ' (not 

 so much from anything infantile about him as from 

 his propensity towards ' kidding,' otherwise simu- 

 lation, when he would pretend to be beaten and 

 would use his whip on his boot instead of his 

 horse's hide), who died at Villa Montrose, 

 Slough, October 12, 1887; and of the still more 

 celebrated Fred Archer, who died November 8, 

 1886, by his own hand, sad to relate, in a 



