FElvI. HUNTING 



meat, and sweating for the terminating and healing 

 of all things. And since hunters eat little and 

 sweat always, they should live long and in health, 

 and in joy, and after death the health of the soul. 

 And hunters have all these things. Therefore 

 be ye all hunters and ye shall do as wise men. 

 Wherefore I counsel to all manner of folk of what 

 estate or condition that they be, that they love 

 hounds and hunting and the pleasure of hunting 

 beasts of one kind or another, or hawking. For 

 to be idle and to have no pleasure in either hounds 

 or hawks is no good token. For as saith in his 

 book Phoebus, the Earle of Foix, that noble hunter, 

 he saw never a good man that had not pleasure in 

 some of these things, were he ever so great and 

 rich." 



We can look back — and no doubt many other 

 fell hunters can do Hkewise — to occasions when 

 we have " eaten little and sweat often" as we 

 toiled across the hills in the wake of the hounds. 

 There is nothing like it for keeping a man in 



fettle," yet in these degenerate days half the 

 young fellows we meet vote fell hunting too hard 

 work. In 1406, when " The Master of Game" 

 was written, foxes were looked upon as vermin, 

 just as they were until a much later date. In 

 the chapter on the fox and his nature, it says, 

 ** Men take them with hounds, with greyhounds, 

 with hayes and with purse nets, but he cutteth 

 them with his teeth, as the male of the wolf doth 

 but not so soon (quickly)." 



Where much rabbit-snaring goes on foxes 

 occasionally get caught in a wire, and go off with 

 the latter drawn tight on a leg. Subsequently 

 the circulation of the limb ceases and mortification 

 sets in, thus there is another " three-legger " 

 to fall an easy victim next time hounds visit the 

 locality. 



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