The Life of Fred Archer 301 
this week has been the melancholy death of Fred Archer, and 
never have I noted more signs of genuine grief than when it 
transpired at Albert Gate on Monday afternoon that he had 
passed away by his own hand whilst under the influence of 
delirium. So much has been written on the subject that I 
will not fill our pages with a lengthened account of his career, 
but briefly express my own unfeigned sorrow for the death of 
the brightest ornament of his profession, and one who made 
many real friends by his undeviating truthfulness, his modesty 
under adulation which might have turned weaker heads, and 
his gentlemanly bearing in every relation of life. 
" As a jockey I never saw his superior, and I have seen 
James Robinson, Sam Chifney, Frank Butler, Alfred Day, 
Custance, Tom French, Tom Aldcroft, and the immortal 
George Fordham show their brilliant skill on the pigskin. 
Many others may have shown as grand horsemanship in special 
instances, but as an all-round jockey Fred Archer has no equals 
in my opinion. One main secret of his success was his un- 
deviating attention to business, always seeing that his weight 
was right, his horse properly saddled, and that he reached the 
post in good time. 
" The starters will miss him, as he set a bright example of 
submission to those in authority, never attempting to take 
advantage until the flag was dropped ; yet so skilful was he, 
so keenly did he watch the starter's movements, that he knew 
when to go, and won scores of races by his judgment at the 
starting-post. In the actual race, too, how different was his 
riding to that of the many headless horsemen that call them- 
selves jockeys, and I pause to think how many races I have 
seen him snatch out of the fire, and drop a tear of unfeigned 
sorrow to think I shall never see his brilliant horsemanship 
again. 
" Born at Cheltenham in 1857, when eleven years old he 
won a steeplechase at Bangor on a noted pony. Maid of Trent, 
and two years later, in 1870, he won a nursery at Chesterfield 
