142 The Life of Fred Archer 
two, and most people had backed him. On the way home I was 
talking to some men in the train and I said to them : ' I 
should back Vegetarian for the Esher Stakes to-morrow, as I 
have it from Mr. Archer.' I don't know if they backed him, 
but I didn't. I had won on Master Kildare, and I thought I 
would be content with that. But the others who had been with 
us at the hotel went down with Archer to Sandown, which I 
wasn't able to do, and all backed Cradle, and so lost." 
" One evening after Lichfield Races," said the same friend 
of Archer's, " we were standing on the platform of the station, 
waiting for the train to take us to Manchester, when a not 
very prepossessing man came up to Archer and asked him to 
help him to get his ticket. Archer put his hand in his waist- 
coat pocket and handed him half-a-sovereign. The man looked 
at it and said : ' What's the use of that to take a ticket to 
Manchester ? ' ' Oh,' said Fred, ' let me look at it ; what did 
I give you ? ' The man held the half-sovereign between his 
fingers to show him, and Fred calmly took it and replaced it in 
his pocket, saying : ' Thank you.' You can imagine the 
chagrin of the man when he found what he'd lost through his 
greediness and impudence. 
" Once at Ascot, the special first class, directly after the 
last race, was waiting at the platform all ready to start, full 
up with dukes, lords, ambassadors. Members of Parliament 
and all the 61ite of the fashionable world, impatient to be off, 
everyone asking guards and porters why we tarried. ' Waiting 
for two gentlemen,' was the reply. Imagine the consterna- 
tion when Archer and Constable, sauntering along leisurely, 
entered the train, which was immediately despatched on its 
journey. 
" One morning we were having breakfast in the coffee-room 
of the Queen's Hotel, Manchester, when Fred sauntered in. 
Of course, everybody asked him to sit down and have some 
breakfast with us. ' No, thanks,' he said, ' I had mine an hour 
ago.' * What did you have, Fred ? ' ' Oh, a tablespoonful of 
