Book II.] AGAIN BECOMES FAMOUS. 79 



The improvement already effected in horse breed- 

 ing at the royal paddocks must have been considerable, 

 as Henry VIII. was enabled to send (November, 1526) 

 Francis the First a present of eighteen horses.* In 

 1539 he received twenty-five "beautiful Spanish 

 horses " from the Emperor Charles V.| 



Sebastian Giustinian, Venetian ambassador in Eng- 

 land, in a despatch dated September 10, 15 19, in a 

 description of the king, says, " he was extremely fond of 

 hunting, and never took that divertion without tiring 

 eight or ten horses, which he caused to be stationed 

 beforehand along the line of country he meant to take. 

 He was also fond of tennis, at which game it was the 

 prettiest thing in the world to see him play, his fair 

 skin glowing through a shirt of the finest texture. He 

 gambled with the French hostages to the amount, 

 occasionally, it was said, of from 6000 to 8000 ducats 

 in a day." \ 



In certain articles " devised by his royal highness,§ 

 with the advice of his council, for the establishment of 

 good order and reformation of sundry errors and mis- 

 uses in his household and chambers," dated " apud 

 Eltham, mense January [an°] 22 Henry VIII." it 

 appears that at this date, coursers, young horses, 

 hunting geldings, hobbies, Barbary horses, stallions, 

 geldings, mail, bottle, pack, Besage, and two stalking 



* S.P. Venetian, vol. iii., 1436, 1437. 



t Itinerary, sub. ann. 



X Venetian State Papers, No. 1286, vol. ii., p. 557. 



§ The title Majesty was not given to our kings till a reign or two 

 after. Twenty-four loaves of bread a day were allowed for the royal 

 greyhounds. 



