6 RECORDS OF THE CHASE 



boore, the wolf, the ffox, the gray (or badger), the cat, 

 the martin, and the otir." 



The prevalence of superstition must have been con- 

 siderable; in the description of the gray, commonly 

 called the badger, the following strange observation 

 appears : 



" Men say that if a child that had never worn shoes, 

 and the first shoes that he should wear were made of 

 the gray's skin, that child should heal horses of the 

 farcy if he should ride upon them ; but thereof I make 

 no affirmation." 



Hunting he earnestly recommends as an antidote for 

 all the evils of mind and body, in which most authors 

 on the mysteries and science of wood-craft, whether 

 ancient or modern, fully concur. In those times, when 

 the science of medicine was very little understood or 

 practised, every healthy exercise calculated to invigor- 

 ate the body was of the utmost importance ; and 

 although the devotees of Hygeia might have performed 

 many exploits in their hunting excursions widely 

 different from those of the present day, the same object 

 was accomplished. The fashion of the sport matters 

 but little, so that the benefits appertaining thereto are 

 secured. Upon this subject we glean the following 

 remarks : 



" Now shall I prove that the hunter, that is a good 

 hunter, may not be idle nor dreaming, nor may not 

 have evil imaginations, nor be after any evil works ; 

 for the next day before that he shall go on hunting, he 

 shall lie him down in his bed, and he shall not think 

 but for to sleep, and for to do his office well and 

 beseemly as a good hunter should do. And he shall not 

 have to think but on the deeds and needs that he is 

 ordained to do. And he lies not idle, for he hath to 

 imagine to rise early well to do his office, without think- 

 ing of other things sins or evil deeds." 



Following up the advantages of an active life, to 

 divert men's minds from sinful cogitations, the ancient 

 author continues : 



