HOUNDS AND THEIR NATURE 109 



kinds of hounds which men beyond the sea call 

 hart hounds, good and restrained hart hounds/ 

 They hunt no other beast but the hart, and there- 

 fore they are called hart hounds and bold hounds, 

 for they be bold and good and wise for the hart ; 

 they be called restrained, because if the hart fall 

 among the change they should abide still ^ until 

 the hunter come, and when they see their master 

 they make him welcome, and wag their tails upon 

 him, and will by-piss the way and the bushes, 

 but in England men make them not so. These be 

 good hounds of our land^ but not so good as the 

 bold hounds aforesaid. They be well wise, for they 

 know well that they should not hunt the change, 

 and they are not so wise as to dissever the hart 

 from the change, for they abide still and restive. 

 These hounds I hold full good, for the hunter 

 that knows them may well help them to slay the 

 hart. None of all these three kinds of hounds 

 hunt at the hart in rutting time, unless it be the 

 good bold hound,^ which is the best of all other 

 hounds. The best sport that men can have is 

 running with hounds, for if he hunt at hare or 

 at the roe or at buck or at the hart, or at any other 



1 G. de F. : " cerfs baus restifz " is the name which he gives 

 these hounds. 



^ G. de F. adds : "and remain quite quiet." 



3 " Le chien baud," G. de F., p. m. See Appendix : Run- 

 ning Hounds. 



