MR. MERRY'S AGENTS 245 



my telling him, at Ascot, how greatly all classes of 

 racing-men regretted his leaving the turf, he entered 

 very readily into the matter, and told me the whole 

 reason of his taking the step, which was deplorable in 

 the extreme, as depriving him of his chief if not only 

 pleasure, and the turf of a stanch friend. 



Amongst those Mr. Merry employed, two notable 

 persons, dissimilar in character, yet useful to him in 

 their way, were Norman Buchanan and ' Tass ' (Hazard) 

 Parker, and the two were always in great request before 

 a trial, and at all race-meetings. Buchanan was Mr. 

 Merry's friend and representative in all racing matters. 

 He may have been a descendant of George Buchanan, 

 the regent and historian of his own country, who alone, 

 amongst writers, has accused Queen Mary of a criminal 

 love for Eizzio. At all events, he had a fondness for 

 accusing other people without the shadow of a suspicion, 

 that might well indicate such a descent. He was a wine 

 and spirit merchant at Glasgow, a position he entirely 

 owed to his friend Mr. Merry, who supplied him with the 

 needful for stocking his well-stored cellars. He was fond 

 of racing, but followed Mr. Merry's fortunes more for the 

 sake of benefiting himself than for real love of either the 

 sport or his friend. He accompanied Mr. Merry to all 

 the principal meetings in the South where he ran horses, 

 and often, in his absence, took the management of them 

 altogether. He instructed his commissioners what horses 

 to back, and for what races, and the amount he wished 

 to have put on for Mr. Merry as well as for himself. He 

 also gave directions to the trainer as to which races he 

 wished the horses to run in, and, moreover, told the 

 jockeys how they were to be ridden. Tass Parker, who 

 was another, and deservedly, of Mr. Merry's especial 

 favourites, was usually sent on a day or two before to 



