VIRTUE AND VICE 271 



all the advantages which an eyess enjoys, she will persist in 

 screaming. Some of them will go so far as to scream with the 

 hood on, though this is rare. As a rule a screaming hawk is 

 not a good performer. And she ought to be a very good one, in 

 order to make it worth the falconer's while to be plagued with 

 her. If you turn her adrift you may possibly, after a few days, 

 catch her again and find her cured ; and if not, you will not 

 have suffered a very severe loss. 



A still more disheartening fault is that of " refusing." People 

 who know nothing at all about falconry are apt to suppose that 

 when once you have " tamed " your hawk, and can call her back 

 to you when you like, the only thing which remains to be done 

 is to walk with her into a field, show her a bird, and let her go. 

 That she should fail to pursue it is a contingency which does 

 not present itself to their minds. It is, however, unfortunately 

 one that constantly occurs, not only with eyesses, but also with 

 the boldest of wild-caught hawks. The novice gets his hawk 

 into a fine state of obedience. She will come a long distance 

 to the lure as soon as it is produced. But when the long- 

 expected day arrives for the first flight at a wild quarry, and 

 perhaps an expectant field of friends turns out to see the sport, 

 the wild bird is put up, the hawk is thrown off with a lusty 

 shout, and, without taking the smallest notice of her intended 

 victim, goes quietly on her way either to wait on for the lure 

 or to take perch in a pleasant spot. Even when hawks have 

 been entered, and have begun to fly in earnest, you cannot be 

 absolutely sure when you cast them off whether they will be 

 in the humour to do their best. They may begin the flight in 

 apparently faultless style, and go up bravely in the most orthodox 

 of rings after the ringing quarry. And then as they seem to 

 be getting on terms with their rook or lark, you may see the 

 fatal spreading of their wings, and have the painful conviction 

 forced upon you that they have shown the white feather and 

 thrown up the game. This vice — of " flying tail to tail," as the 

 old falconers term it — is a most disheartening one for a beginner 

 to meet with ; so much so, that some old writers regard such a 

 hawk as hopeless, and advise giving her away to a friend ! I 

 have found it strongly developed in the only two hobbies I ever 

 tried to train ; and a like result has, to my knowledge, followed 

 in several other instances. These hawks have made rings and 

 followed a wild lark up. But they have never taken even so 

 much as a bad one! I had a merlin which out of 41 flights 

 killed 40 larks. But the one occasion when she missed she 



