CHINESE SPORTSMAN AND WEAPONS 225 



may have no difficulty in finding their way 

 to him. Thus nothing can be lost but it 

 shall be incontinently found and restored. 



" And so the Emperor follows this road 

 that I have mentioned, leading along in 

 the vicinity of the Ocean Sea (which is 

 within two days' journey of his capital city, 

 Cambulae), and as he goes there is many a 

 fine sight to be seen, and plenty of the very 

 best entertainment in hawking; in fact 

 there is no sport in the world to equal it. 



" The emperor himself is carried upon 

 four elephants in a fine chamber made of 

 timber, lined inside with plates of beaten 

 gold, and outside with lions' skins (for he 

 always travels in this way on his fowling 

 expeditions, because he is troubled with 

 gout). He always keeps beside him a 

 dozen of his choicest gerfalcons, and is at- 

 tended by several of his barons, who ride 

 on horseback alongside. And sometimes, 

 as they may be going along, and the em- 

 peror from his chamber is holding discourse 

 with the barons, one of the latter shall ex- 

 claim : "Sire ! Look out for cranes." Then 

 the emperor instantly has the top of his 

 chamber thrown open, and having marked 

 the cranes he casts one of his gerfalcons, 



