HUNTS AND THEIR HISTORY 165 



more genially ruled than by Mr. George Payne of 

 Sulby Hall. He was " pre-eminently the right man 

 in the right place." In 1884 he began his second 

 and longer period of mastership (he had been Master 

 for a short time from 1835 to 1838), and, popular as the 

 Master was, he is now chiefly remembered by the 

 fact that he brought into the Pytchley country the 

 most famous of their huntsmen, Charles Payn. This 

 man, whose name deserves to rank in the annals 

 of sport with the best of his profession, did great 

 things for the kennel. He began with but few hounds, 

 but the next Master, Lord Alford, who succeeded 

 Mr. George Payne, in 1849, bought a large Belvoir 

 draft and from that day Charles was a devoted 

 admirer of the Belvoir blood. The hound that made 

 the kennel was Belvoir Pillager. He hunted for six 

 seasons, which shows that he had a constitution, 

 never felt a thong across his back in or out of the 

 kennel, left more than twenty couple of descendants 

 in the kennel all marked with Belvoir tan and all 

 worthy of their origin. Charles Payn remained with 

 the pack during all the changes of mastership until 

 the close of the present Lord Spencer's first term 

 of office. Not only was he a great huntsman in the 

 field, but he was a particularly fine horseman, as 

 indeed a man has need to be if he is to show sport 

 over Northamptonshire. 



In 1864 came Colonel Anstruther Thomson, who 

 settled at Brixworth and hunted the hounds himself. 

 To write of a man who is still with us is difficult, and, 

 though the time of his mastership is now nearly forty 

 years since, it is never likely to be forgotten. The 

 sport was of a very high order, even had it not been 

 marked by the wonderful Waterloo run. Not the 

 least remarkable feat of that great historic hunt 



