154 HAWKING. 



that it might not escape. The natural disposition 

 of the Hawk would induce it to cany off its game, 

 when caught, hut this was checked by the skill and 

 kind treatment of the falconer, so that the Hawk, as 

 soon as it had taken the live lure, always returned 

 to its master, knowing that it was sure to be well- 

 fed as a reward. 



Having completed its education, when at home, it 

 was placed on a perch without a hood. Straps of 

 leather or silk, called jesses, were put about its legs, 

 for the purpose of holding it, and bells were also 

 attached, so small as not to impede its flight; besides 

 this part of the Hawk's furniture, the person who 

 carried it was provided with thick gloves, to prevent 

 its talons from hurting the hand, and these were 

 often very costly and highly embroidered. 



Attached as were our ancestors to this sport, it 

 was by no means confined to England. In Denmark, 

 we have seen from the attention paid to their impor- 

 tation, how highly good Hawks were prized. In 

 France, too, it was as eagerly and expensively pur- 

 sued, and even the Turks followed the example of 

 Christendom. 



A certain Sultan, called Bajazet Ilderim, main- 

 tained a corps of 7000 falconers, about the time it 

 was so fashionable in Europe; and to this day, in 

 the plains of Turkey, travellers may meet with 

 parties of falconers, with Hawks upon their wrists, 

 in pursuit of hares, and a particularly large kind of 

 Lark, at which their Falcons are trained to fly. 



Wild and shy as Hawks are, it will scarcely be 

 credited, that at one time, the common Gledes or 

 Kites were numerous in London streets. This hap- 



