96 GAME BIRDS. 



and towered over the field, with his eyes intensely bent towards the 

 turnip plants, in search of prey. He went over the ground, with 

 evolutions similar to those of a pointer, upon the ground. After 

 a few minutes had elapsed, Colonel Thornhill ordered some boys 

 to enter the field, for the purpose of disturbing the birds, and a 

 partridge at length arose, which was instantaneously seen by the 

 hawk, though at a great distance. The hawk darted after it, and 

 struck it to the earth ; but the partridge recovering, flew, as it 

 were, for protection, amongst the spectators ; here it was pursued 

 by the relentless hawk, and killed. The other hawks were after- 

 wards severally let loose, and all but one of them killed a partridge 

 each. Some of the latter were pursued and killed out of sight of 

 the spectators ; and it is highly worthy of remark, that the hawks 

 had been so well trained, that they invariably returned to the 

 falconer, at his call ; and when out of sight and hearing, he 

 attracted them by throwing, into the air, a lure, something resem- 

 bling a stuffed partridge. 



This diversion was, among the ancient English, the pride of the 

 rich, and the privilege of the poor. We learn, from the book of 

 St. Alban's, that every degree had its peculiar hawk, from the 

 emperor down. The Norwegian breed, the gyr-falcon, is the 

 largest and most powerful of the hunting hawks, and was in high 

 esteem in England ; they were thought bribes worthy a king. 

 Geoffry Fitzpierse gave two good Norman hawks to King John, 

 to obtain for his friend, Walter Le Madeno, the liberty of export- 

 ing one cwt. of cheese ; and Nicholas, the Dane, was to give the 

 king a hawk every time he came to England, that he might have 

 free liberty to traffic throughout the king's dominions. They were 

 also made the tenures by which some nobles held their estates 

 from the crown. 



In a lecture by the late Sir Charles Giesecke, professor of minera- 

 logy and natural history, delivered in the theatre of the Royal 

 Dublin Society, he mentioned having been present at a hawking 

 match in Norway, where the powerful gyr-falcon was flown at a 

 hare, the bird seized the hare by the back, with one claw, and with 

 the other the stump of a tree, and with so great a grasp, that the 

 hare, in endeavouring to escape, actually removed one of the legs 

 of the falcon from its socket, which caused the immediate death of 

 the bird. It was torn to pieces, not being able to extricate its claws. 



Hawking was performed on horseback, and on foot : on horse- 

 back when in the field and open country, on foot when in the woods 

 and coverts. Those on foot carried a stout pole to assist in leap- 

 ng over rivulets and ditches. We learn from Hall, that Henry 



