1891-92.] 399 



the origin of falconry, came to the conclusion that it was intro- 

 duced by Ulysses after the siege of Troy — an opinion endorsed 

 by several subsequent writers. According to Von Hammer, the 

 Turks were the first masters of the art, and imparted it to the 

 Persians, who in turn instructed the Greeks and Arabs. This 

 view receives some confirmation from a recently published 

 French translation of an Arabic MS. of the tenth century on 

 "Hunting and Hawking," by Mahomet ben Mangali. In this 

 work it is stated that " the first falconer was a King of Persia." 

 During one of his excursions he was greatly interested in 

 watching the movements of a wild falcon. He saw it perch on 

 a bough " with the air of a sovereign on his throne," where it 

 waited an opportunity to seize a passing bird. He saw it at 

 length seize one, and, having made a meal of it, fly down to 

 the river, drink, and bathe, and again return to the tree. 

 Struck with admiration of its majestic appearance, patience, and 

 power over other birds, the king was seized with a desire to 

 possess it. His fowlers gratified his wish by snaring it. He 

 caused it to be tied to a perch near him, and succeeded in 

 taming it, learning lessons from its many good qualities. This 

 king was said to have been of a violent temperament, but, 

 through watching this bird, to have become a wiser and better 

 sovereign. The reader then drew attention to the introduction 

 of the sport into the British Islands. About the middle of the 

 eighth century, in a letter written by King Ethelbert of Kent to 

 Saint Boniface of Mayence, the Sovereign asks him " to send 

 over two falcons to fly at the crane," for, said he, " there are 

 very few birds of use for this flight in this country." King 

 Alfred the Great was remarkable at a very early age for his 

 proficiency in hawking, as well as in other fashionable amuse- 

 ments. He is even said to have written a treatise on the 

 subject, although there is no such work in existence now that 

 can with any degree of certainty be attributed to him. Asser, 

 in his life of this King, writes — " His felicity in hunting and 

 hawking, as in all the other gifts of God, was incomparable, as 

 I myself have seen." His grandson, Athelstan, was also much 



