The Life of Fred Archer 245 
That was partly why people liked him so much : he never 
put himself forward. 
" Lord Hastings was very fond indeed of Archer. I think 
he knew that Archer, like everyone else, had his faults and 
I should not be too careful to ignore them. Archer was great 
enough to have the truth told about him. He had not always 
a nice expression ; indeed, at times I think it was almost 
diaboUcal. But I have always been a straight-spoken person. 
" Nearly all Archer's acquaintances were, to put it vulgarly, 
titled people and he practically spent his life among them. 
The way in which some women ran after Archer was amazing. 
They would not let him alone. People in society went simply 
mad about him and hunted after him. It was their fault 
more than his : they would not let him alone. It's just the 
way with some people. 
" He was a marvellous man, and a marvellous jockey. I 
should think there was never anybody a bit like him — one 
of the most extraordinary men that ever lived, and great 
enough to bear having the light thrown upon him. And 
through all the flattery — of course, one would like to describe 
the best as much as possible — and absurdity of all those 
ridiculous women, his manners remained quite unspoilt — 
just perfection. 
" My husband used often to go about with Archer. 
" Lord Falmouth — a shrewd, clever man — was always 
simply devoted to him. He would never hear a word against 
him, and though, as I say, I think Archer had his faults, my 
husband — if he saw them — ignored them and never spoke 
of them, and Lord Falmouth never would own he had any. 
And anything that is written about Archer is all to Lord 
Falmouth's honour and glory too." 
Melton's first appearance of the year was in the Payne 
Stakes. The field only amounted to a quartette, and with 
Lonely, Kingwood, and Present Times saddled at the Ditch 
stables, the visitors to the Birdcage had to content themselves 
