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THE ZooLoGisT—FEBRUARY, 1872. 2937 
a quarry, for when flown at game the flight was against the wind; 
and to “prey at fortune” signified to leave her to shift for herself, 
without the assistance of beaters and spaniels to flush the game for 
her to swoop at. Thus explained the passage is expressive of the 
ignominious dismissal of one who has hitherto been a dear 
favourite, but it would be hard for anyone to gather this meaning 
from it who knew nothing about falconty. 
Mr. Harting has very well made out his case that Shakespeare 
was a close observer of nature and a thorough sportsman. An 
ornithologist of the present time would have been glad to have 
found passages in his writings which would have shown how 
common some birds were when he wrote, which are now no longer 
to be met with in this country. But Shakespeare’s knowledge of 
England seems to have been pretty well restricted to the central 
counties and to the metropolitan district.. He could hardly have 
visited the great fen country, then undrained and at times one 
continuous sea, without having been struck by the clouds of water- 
fowl he would have seen. Nor could he often have crossed the 
downs, which in those days must have been tenanted by numerous 
bustards, without having noticed these fine birds, and if ever there 
existed such a sport as hunting them down with grayhounds, we 
feel certain that had he witnessed it we should have encountered 
some allusions in his writings. It would have brought more clearly 
to our eyes the Avifauna of the England of Shakespeare, if the 
crane and the bustard had been mentioned by him: but if we are, 
by our ornithological sentiments impelled to express such a regret 
as this, we may yet, from what the great poet has described, picture 
scenes of bird-life which are very different to what we meet with 
now. In Shakespeare’s times, we have it from his own words, 
the circling kite must have been a conspicuous object in every 
landscape; and hawking parties as frequently to be observed in 
rural districts as sportsmen, with gun in hand and the due following 
of keepers and dogs are now to be seen in the shooting season. 
We easily gather from Shakespeare’s writings that falconry was the 
sport par excellence of England at his time: probably the science 
had even then passed its zenith, and was already on the wane, 
before the recent introduction of fowling-pieces and the growing 
spirit for enclosing wash-lands; yet it was still the characteristic 
relaxation of the high-born and wealthy, and was almost the only 
field-sport which our ancestors possessed. Mr. Harting, by a full 
