INTR OD UCTION. xvii 



naturally put an end, for the time being, to the general in- 

 dulgence in field sports. The inclosure of waste lands, the 

 drainage and cultivation of marshes, the great improvement in 

 fire-arms, and particularly the introduction of shot, all con- 

 tributed to lessen the interest once so universally taken in 

 this sport. Fashion also, no doubt, had a good deal to do 

 M^ith the decline of Hawking, for so soon as the reigning 

 sovereign ceased to take an interest in the sport, the courtiers 

 and their friends followed suit. Nevertheless, it never really 

 died out, and from that time to the present it has never ceased 

 to be practised by a few admirers of the old sport in various 

 parts of the country, while during the last few years signs have 

 not been wanting of its increasing popularity. 



In addition to those already mentioned, the portraits of one 

 or two of its staunchest supporters during the present century 

 will be found amongst the illustrations here given ; notably 

 the Scottish falconers, Fleming of Barochan, John Anderson, 

 and Peter Ballantine (who died in 1884) ; and the English 

 masters of the craft. Colonel Thornton, of Thornville Royal, 

 Yorkshire, and Edward Clough Newcome, of Hockwold, in 

 the county of Norfolk, concerning whom some details will be 

 found in the " Notes to the Illustrations." 



Of the other plates to this volume, it may be said that the 

 writer's aim has been to give authoritative representations of 

 falconers of various nations, in their national costumes, and 

 with the hawks and falcons used by them ; occasionally 

 also to figure such curiosities connected with the sport as 

 may be of interest not only to falconers, but also to lovers 

 of art. 



As an aid to those who are but imperfectly acquainted 

 with the technical terms employed in the exercise of this 

 ancient sport, it is hoped that the English Glossary and 

 polyglot Vocabulary at the end of this volume will prove 

 of service ; the more so, since many of the words therein 

 contained are not to be found in the ordinary dictionaries. 



It may be expected, and indeed it has been already hinted 

 to the writer, that in the course of this Introduction to 

 the Literature of Falconry, some introduction to the Sport 



b 



