NORMAN BUCHANAN 247 



I cannot help thinking that the difficulty had its origin 

 in the discovery by Mr. Merry of many things of which 

 he could not approve ; and that Buchanan's pretensions 

 were entirely wrong. For, whatever Mr. Merry may not 

 have done, or have done wrongfully, to my mind one 

 thing is perfectly certain; and that is, that he always 

 supplied Buchanan, beforehand, with sufficient funds for 

 any and every purpose for which money might be needed. 

 How could it be otherwise ? As is well known, all the 

 accounts were paid on the nail, as it is termed ; and it is 

 equally certain that Buchanan had no money of his own 

 wherewith to settle them, even if he had the wish. I was 

 subpoenaed on the trial for the defence, and attended at 

 Westminster for several days ; but when it came on for 

 hearing it was settled out of court by Buchanan taking a 

 part of his claim, and the threatened exposure averted. 

 As for ' the exposure,' it stands to reason that, in the 

 close connection of the two on the turf, there may have 

 arisen matters, however straight the conduct of the one 

 of them who had a high character to maintain had been, 

 the discussion of which, under the leading of a hostile 

 counsel, might have created discomfort. And it was 

 probably in this belief, rather than that any claim what- 

 ever existed, that the attempt to get the money was made. 

 But Buchanan profited little by it ; for my opinion was 

 that held by many others, and he never got over the 

 disgrace. 



It is difficult to understand how Mr. Merry ever brooked 

 Buchanan's company; for he was not in manners or edu- 

 cation a fit associate for him, unless, indeed, he used him 

 to do what was unavoidable in the shape of dirty work, 

 and so gave him the fancied power, which he used to his 

 own destruction. Buchanan was irritable ; whilst disputes 

 without judgment, and zeal without discretion, led him 



