8 RECORDS OF THE CHASE 



shall rout and blow as loud as he may with great joy 

 and liking. And I assure you that he thinketh to none 

 other sin, to none other evil. And when the hart shall 

 be overcome, and shall be at bay, he shall have great 

 liking; and when the hart is spayed, and dead, he un- 

 doeth him and maketh his quarry, t and requireth or 

 rewardeth his hounds, and so he shall have great 

 liking. And when he cometh home he cometh joyfully, 

 for his, lord hath given him drink of his good wine at 

 the quarry. And when he cometh home he shall do off 

 his clothes, and his shoes, and his hose, and he shall 

 wash his thighs and his legs and peradventure all his 

 body. And in the meanwhile he shall order his supper 

 with worts and of the neck of the hart, and of other 

 good meats, and of good wine and ale. And when he 

 hath well eat and drank he shall be glad and well at 

 easei. Then shall he go take the air in the evening of 

 the night, for the great heat that he hath had. And 

 then shall he go drink, and lie in his bed in fair fresh 

 clothes, and sleep well and sadly and stedfastly with- 

 out any evil thoughts of sins; wherefore I say that 

 hunters go into Paradise when they die, and live in this 

 world most joyfully of any other men." 



There is a business-like manner diffused throughout 

 the above remarks which proclaims our author to have 

 been a practical man and an enthusiast in the sport 

 which he describes. He observes that the hounds 

 should settle to the scent before the horseman rides 

 after them, a precaution which every sportsman 

 admires. Many of the customs prevail even at the 

 present time, not the least conspicuous of which is the 

 drink of good wine at the breaking up of the quarry, 

 whether it be fox or stag. 



A change of dress and the salutary effects of an 

 ablution were luxuries, even in those days, duly appre- 

 ciated. Doubtless they passed their evenings in jovial 

 conviviality. 



At the period when the book in question was written, 



t Quarry, curee, kyrre, or quyrreye; the ceremony of givinp; the 

 hounds their reward, so called because it was originally given to the 

 hounds on the hide or citlr of the stag. \yo.'\ 



