SIXTY YEARS ON THE TURF 



The Clerk of the Course's office was, so to speak, 

 part and parcel of the Eing, and hence Mr. Merry 

 could not step outside without putting foot in 

 Tattersall's. Davies's idea was to post him as a 

 defaulter to the Stewards, and so prevent him 

 fulfilling his duties. Mr. Merry was as slippery as 

 an eel and cunning as a fox, and, in the end, he 

 had the laugh on Davies. Thus he ran up fencing 

 from his office door to the course, posting a police- 

 man at the entrance gate with strict instructions to 

 allow nobody to pass who was not running a horse ! 

 Consequently, he could not be ordered out of the King 

 for the sufficient fact that he was never in it ! The 

 reason of the stratagem was an open secret, and 

 the incident supplied the humour of the day, Davies 

 laughing heartily when Mr. Merry popped his head 

 over the fence and called out, " Good morning, Mr. 

 Davies ! I'm here ! I hope you're very well this 

 morning, Mr. Davies." Afterwards, when Mr. 

 Merry's luck changed, the outstanding account was 

 settled. 



Shrewsbury is another course with a past, but 

 not a present. Indeed, the ground over which in 

 the long ago we raced and chased is now covered 

 with buildings. The meeting was managed by the 

 father of the present Mr. John Frail, who began the 

 business of his life as a barber. The old gentleman 



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