10 RECORDS OF THE CHASE 



from the hounds, and hold her from the hound;^ over 

 his head high, and blow the death that men may gather 

 thither. And when they be come, then should she be 

 stripped, all save the head, and the gall and the paunch 

 cast away. And all the remainder should be laid on a 

 great staff, or on a board, whoso hath it, or on the 

 earth ; and there should be chopped as small as it might 

 be, so that it hang together. And when it is so dight 

 then should one of the berners * take it up and hold it 

 as high as he may in his hands, t And when the hounds 

 have bayed as long as the aforesaid master has lust, 

 then should the bemer, as high as he may, pull every 

 piece from the other, and cast to every hound his 

 reward ; and then should the most master blow a mote 

 and stroke, if so be that he thinketh that the hounds 

 have done enough, and else he should rest a while if 

 the hounds were hot, till they are cool, and then lead 

 to the water to lap." 



The performance closely resembles our manner of 

 ' breaking up ' the fox, except that the hounds are 

 encouraged ' to tear him and eat him,' without previ- 

 ously chopping him into mincemeat, " as small as it 

 might be, so that it hang together." There is also a part 

 of the ceremony which appears strange — that of 

 stripping or skinning the hare, all save the head, and 

 that the gall and paunch are to be thrown away. 

 Masters of harriers in the nineteenth century are wont 

 to preserve the carcass for their own cuisine, and think 

 it quite sufficient to reward their hounds with the 

 paunch. The ' chorus of horns ' is likewise dispensed 

 with. Fancy the effect of two hundred hunting-horns 

 aJl sounding at once in the midst of a large pasture 

 field ! The direction for taking the hounds to lap after 

 they have broken up their quarry is good ; when suffi- 

 ciently cool such refreshment may be sanctioned ; but I 

 have seen hounds taken to water before they broke up 

 their fox, when over-heated by their exertions in the 



* Keonelmen. 



t M. S. Cott : here adds: — " And then whoso is most master, blow 

 the death, and anon as he beginneth every man help and holloa." 



