164 THE QUORN HUNT 



Lord Althorpe succeeding Mr. Payne, Charles Payne 

 was promoted to the huntsman's place, and began that 

 brilliant career which never ceased until he resigned the 

 post of huntsman to Sir Watkin Wynri in 1883. He 

 left the Pytchley and went to Wynnstay in 1865, when 

 "merry" John Walker retired from Sir Watkin's service. 



In Mr. Errington's time they must have begun cub- 

 hunting pretty early, as we find it chronicled that the 

 hounds were not out cub-hunting till August 31. During 

 his first November sport was almost uniformly bad, but 

 a little later on — that is to say, about the middle of 

 December — the hounds met at Widmerpool, when a 

 very small field joined them, not more than twenty, it is 

 said. After a somewhat unsatisfactory morning, a fox 

 was found in Ellar's Gorse ; he ran towards Wymes- 

 wold, and after a check went as hard as he could to 

 Ragdale House and Schoby Scholes ; passed at the 

 bottom of Lord Aylesford's Gorse, and eventually ran 

 to ground in the Belvoir country, after a capital 

 hunting run of two hours, which showed that the 

 hounds could work as well as the slowest pack in the 

 kingdom. 



Mr. Errinpton had his hounds divided into three 

 packs — the dogs, the bitches, and the mixed pack ; but 

 the bitches were generally the favourites. Although the 

 master might not have had the best of luck at the open- 

 ing of his first season, he did better towards its close, 

 some very excellent runs taking place in March and 

 April. On one day in March they met at Lowesby, 

 found at John o' Gaunt's, and ran on, making something- 

 like a twelve-mile point, which was said to have been 

 done in little more than one hour and thirty-five minutes ; 

 while in April there took place from Botany Bay a run 

 that knocked up almost every horse out ; Mountford, the 

 huntsman, was unluckily injured by falling at a fence 

 which scarcely anybody cleared. 



