THE HISTORY OF THE BELVOIR HUNT 



the farmers by the courageous and unwavering championship 

 of the agricultural interest he had given, and his hounds met 

 with a warm welcome wherever they went. 



Mr. Sloane Stanley has, from his intimate personal know- 

 ledge, given so good a sketch of the Duke that I prefer, in 

 doing my part, simply to let the following letters tell the 

 story for themselves, only adding such comments and ex- 

 planations as may serve to make them useful and interesting 

 to the reader. 



The first letters to Cooper which came to hand were those 

 of Lord Henry Bentinck, with whom Cooper had learned 

 much. There was no one who taught his servants more than 

 Lord Henry, for he was accustomed to have them in after the 

 day's hunting and point out what had been amiss with their 

 proceedings. Scarcely anything escaped his eye. Cooper 

 had evidently pleased this severe critic, for we find Lord 

 Henry consulting him on the hounds to be used. Lord 

 Henry also valued Goodall's judgment highly, as we know, 

 and from Belvoir he laid the foundations of that Blankney 

 kennel of which, when I saw them, the old Berkeley kennels 

 were full, Mr. Harding Cox, when master, having introduced 

 it largely and with great judgment. 



" Lincoln, 



'■'December 26th, 1859. 

 " Cooper, — 



" The foxes have been killed down so dead at Leaden- 

 ham and Beckingham that it is scarcely probable that your 

 hounds should run into the Stapleford Moor country, but, as 

 it is not impossible that they might do so from Statton, it is 

 as well to warn you that it will not be prudent to suffer them 



to cross the road into Norton Disney. Lord 's woods are 



full of traps and poison. 



" I return you a list of my hounds, and have marked with a 

 cross (X) those stallions whose blood is quite removed from 

 your own. 



" I should be much obliged to you if you would send me a 

 second list of your own hounds, marking for me the two-year- 



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