HAWKING. 257 



on his fist, and followed by his son, a young lad, with a 

 third bird, and a brace of old steady dogs. The hawks 

 were all hooded, and with bells at their feet ; the ground 

 was hunted with great caution, and soon the dogs came to 

 a point. The keeper immediately took off the hood from 

 one of the hawks, and threw it into the air. The bird 

 kept flying round in circles, the bells jingling at its feet. 

 The keeper then advanced rapidly towards the dog, and a 

 covey of partridges rose ; the hawk instantly stooped down, 

 and for many hundred yards there was a race, the par- 

 tridges doing their utmost to outstrip the hawk, and the 

 hawk making every exertion to overtake the partridges. 

 At last he began to gain upon them, and when he drew 

 near, made a sudden dash at one, which he seized in his 

 claws, and flew to the ground. The keeper now walked 

 up and secured the falcon, the partridge not being in any 

 way torn or spoilt. Several points were afterwards got, 

 and three more partridges killed ; sometimes the partridges 

 escaped, especially if they rose at a distance, and latterly, 

 when the hawks became tired, they were no longer able to 

 overtake them. When the hawk did not kill the bird, 

 there was more difficulty in recovering it ; but the keeper 

 said he never lost one. He had a lure, which was a small 

 board, about a foot long and half a foot broad, with some 

 red cloth nailed upon it, on which he usually fed them ; he 

 threw this lure into the air, hallooing at the same time, and 

 the falcons coming to it, were secured and hooded. When 

 flown at snipe, the most beautiful aerial evolutions may 

 often be seen, each endeavouring to out-soar the other, 



