266 JOHN PORTER OF KINGSCLERE 



day Ormonde walked over for the Private Sweep- 

 stakes of ;^iooo each, half forfeit, Lord Hastings 

 paying forfeit for Melton and Peck for The Bard. 

 Melton (four years old) and Ormonde were to 

 carry 8 st. lo lb. each and The Bard 8 st. The 

 owners of Melton and The Bard were not anxious 

 that Ormonde should have the opportunity of 

 showing what he could do with their horses. He 

 would have made a rare example of them. This 

 was the last time Archer was on Ormonde's back. 

 On the Wednesday of that week he rode St. Mirin 

 in the Cambridgeshire at 8 st. 7 lb., which was 

 I lb. more than the horse was handicapped to 

 carry. He had had to waste desperately hard to 

 go to scale so light, and then had the mortification 

 of seeing his mount beaten a head by The Sailor 

 Prince, a six-year-old horse carrying 7 st. 7 lb. 

 A few days later Archer was laid low by a serious 

 illness, and in a fit of delirium shot himself. I 

 cannot recall that Archer ever drew a comparison 

 between St. Simon and Ormonde. He was 

 always an enthusiastic admirer of Ormonde, and 

 when riding him never for an instant entertained 

 a thought of being beaten. Ormonde, by the 

 way, could have given St. Mirin 21 lb. and a 

 beating, so that he could have won the Cam- 

 bridgeshire as a three-year-old carrying 10 st. I 

 Shortly after his defeat in the Cambridgeshire, 

 St. Mirin was bought by the Duke of 

 Westminster. If he had a special reason 



