120 FAMOUS KACING MEN. 



September 2nd, at the " little flat -fronted house " in Queen Street, 

 Mayfair, which had been so long his town residence. He was, 

 as we have stated, an inveterate gambler — he ran through two 

 if not three fortunes ; he wasted on the turf and at the card- 

 table abilities which might have secured him a high and honour- 

 able fame. Yet, for all that, when he died, his loss was keenly 

 felt and sincerely deplored by thousands, from the Queen herself 

 to the humblest Northamptonshire tradesman. And the reason 

 is not far to seek — -Greorge Payne was a sterling English gentle- 

 man, sincere and unaffected in bearing, upright in his dealings, 

 the soul of honour, and, as one of his oldest friends said of him 

 years ago, beloved by men, and idolised by women, children and 

 dogs. 



GENERAL PEEL. 



THE " twin services " of the Army and Navy have each given to 

 " the sport of kings " one of its brightest ornaments. The Navy 

 has the honour of having supplied it with him who has justly been 

 termed the Dictator of the Turf, whilst to the Army it owes General 

 Peel, the life-long friend and companion of George Payne and 

 Admiral Pons, who in sagacity, shrewdness, and kindness of heart 

 knew no superior, and who equalled his two old friends in his 

 devotion to horse-racing and in knowledge of its intricacies. The 

 Right Honourable Jonathan Peel was the fifth son of the first Sir 

 Robert Peel, upon whom, in return for his steady support in the 

 House of Commons, and for much valuable advice in connection 

 with the management, under no ordinary circumstances, of om- 

 national finances, IN'Ir. Pitt conferred a baronetcy in 1800. Jonathan 

 was born on the 12th of October, 1799. His eldest brother, after- 

 wards the great Sir Robert, was educated by his father for a 

 political career, and the other three brothers had already embraced 

 different professions when Jonathan joined the army as ensign in 

 a marching regiment. He was but a boy of fifteen when he 

 received his first commission in the memorable month of June, 

 1815, just three days before the battle of Waterloo. The peace 

 that followed prevented him from seeing service, and his subse- 

 quent steps in his profession were obtained by purchase. But, in 

 1854, General Peel repeatedly applied to Lord Panmure for per- 

 mission to join the British army before Sebastopol; his applications, 

 however, were coldly refused, on the alleged ground of his age, 

 though he was still a hale and vigorous man in his fifty-fifth year, 

 far better fitted by his iron constitution for endming the hardships 

 of a campaign than hundreds of younger men. Few frequenters of 

 Newmarket twenty years ago will fail to remember the General's 

 erect figure, unprotected by even the lightest greatcoat, though 

 the keen October blasts were sweeping across the Heath with a 



