194 REMINISCENCES OF A SPOETSMAN. 



In eastern countries falconry appears even yet to retain 

 much of its sway. There it commenced its boldest 

 flight, and there it was that the eagle was taught to 

 stoop at the stag, gazelle, antelope, and wild boar, and 

 there it is, according to jNIr. Johnson's account, that the 

 native Indian gentry still travel with their hawks ; the 

 largest of which are yet trained to kill deer, by pitching 

 on their heads, and pick out their eyes, as I have 

 already stated, was the case in Persia. This gentle- 

 man's account of the hunting retinue of the Nabob 

 Vizier of Lucknow, of which he was himself an eye- 

 witness, makes it equal to that of the Grand Khan in 

 both numbers and grandeur. 



Frederick IL Emperor of Grerman}^, who lived early 

 in the thirteenth century, was also a falconer, and wrote 

 a book on the subject, bearing for its title "de Arte 

 Venandi cum Avibus," which was printed at Augsbm-g, 

 1596. The French also were early devotees to hawk- 

 ing, but whether they preceded us in their knowledge 

 of it is doubtful, although an authority supposes such 

 to be the case, from the fact that many of the tech- 

 nical terms in old English falconry are of French ex- 

 traction, but many more derived from the Saxon masters, 

 rather than from our French neighbours, who were 

 in those days not much more advanced in the arts 

 than ourselves. If, however, they were not coeval with 

 us in falconry, there is good reason to believe they were 

 not far behind us. This sport is often noticed in the 

 capitularies of the eighth and ninth centuries, at which 

 time, says Strutt " the grand fauconnier of France 

 was an officer of great eminence. His usual salary was 

 4000 florins. He was attended by fifty gentlemen and 

 fifty assistant falconers ; he was allowed to keep 300 



