THE GOLDEN AGE 



failing which destroyed Tom Moody, and has hindered the 

 career of many a good hunt-servant. Of his own weakness 

 he was thoroughly conscious, and he was quite willing, and 

 indeed anxious, to serve under Goodall when William was 

 promoted from second whipper-in to huntsman over his 

 head. But the Duke and Lord Forester both thought it 

 would be hardly fair to place their young huntsman in so 

 difficult a position, and the arrangement was not sanctioned. 

 This was more particularly the case as for several seasons 

 before Goosey's final retirement Flint had done most of the 

 work in the field. The Duke, always full of kindness, and 

 with the tenderness for an old and faithful servant which was 

 not so much a personal trait as a characteristic of his family, 

 was unwilling to relegate the old man to a retirement which 

 he would feel deeply. Yet, when the time came, no one felt 

 more keenly than Tom Flint himself that his promotion was 

 out of the question, and so he passes out of the history of the 

 Belvoir Hunt. 



As soon as Goodall was fairly established in the post of 

 huntsman, he turned his attention to the improvement of the 

 pack. High as the standard already was, Lord Forester and 

 Goodall were anxious to make it even better. They aimed 

 not merely at a pack which should work hard and kill foxes, 

 but at one which should be of unapproachable excellence, both 

 in work and appearance. 



Two such judges as Mr. Lambton and Sir Richard Sutton 

 had declared that they always felt discontented with their 

 own hounds after a visit to Goosey and his kennel at Belvoir, 

 and Sir Richard, during the time he was at Cottesmore, was 

 known to have sworn by Belvoir blood. The aim of Goodall 

 was to preserve the rare quality of the pack, but to reduce 

 the standard and increase the bone. His first entry, in 1843, 

 consisted of twenty-two couples, all home-bred. In the 

 following year he went to Brocklesby, and in 1845 to Sir 

 Richard Sutton, which was merely another phase of Belvoir, 

 and to his old master, Mr. Drake, whose hounds were Sir 

 Thomas Mostyn's, only greatly improved. For Mr. Drake 

 had gone to Brocklesby for tongue, and was diligently breed- 



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