THE LATE WILLIAM GOODALL 467 



Mr. Henry Chaplin was then Master; and in 1870 he 

 was appointed first whipper-in to the Belvoir. After four 

 seasons in this capacity he came as huntsman to the 

 Pytchley ; and some ten months ago he was presented by 

 a grateful, appreciative field with nearly £1300 in gold, 

 and a silver salver, on which was inscribed : " Presented 

 to Will Goodall in testimony of the high character, good 

 conduct, and great ability he has shown during the twenty 

 years he has been huntsman to the Pytchley, and of the 

 respect and esteem in which he is held by all classes of 

 the community." 



As a rider he possessed in an extraordinary degree the 

 knack of being with his hounds, whenever it was at all 

 possible for any one so to be ; and this without laying him- 

 self out for competition with the over-ardent spirits among 

 his field. In other words, he was more constantly near 

 his hounds than any one else ; and yet he jumped few 

 fences actually first. He appeared to realise that, as his 

 part was to hunt the hounds, it was certainly not worth 

 his while to get down often©r than necessary, and that 

 first investigation and experiment might well be left to the 

 younger and more hot-headed of his field. And thus, in 

 spite of his riding full weight for his inches (his exact weight 

 we never knew, but it could scarcely have been fourteen 

 stone), and in spite of his seldom if ever losing place in a 

 run, he generally got through a season in Northampton- 

 shire with not more than two or three falls, some seasons 

 without even one, a performance little less than wonderful. 

 Yet we remember, when he whipped-in to the Belvoir, 

 came we across the jMelton Brook, or even the Whissen- 

 dine wearing its ugliest aspect, and we all stood shivering 

 on the brink and awaiting a lead, it has been uttered more 

 than once, " Here, Will ! This is your place ! Give us a 

 lead ! " And he gave it with the same merry chuckle with 

 which afterwards he would point to the " little bitches " 

 streaming out of harm's way, with a blazing scent upon 

 the Pytchley pastures. Merriness and joy were with him 

 the essence of the chase ; and from him it was infectious — 

 a fact that in no small degree will account for the swollen 

 popularity of some of the more attainable Pytchley fixtures. 



