HOW I BECAME A FALCONER. 55 
a loud whistle during the process; I let them fly at hack, and took 
them up with a net; I carried two of them a good deal, putting 
such jesses as I could make upon their legs, and using a leash with 
@ spring swivel. All this was a wonderful improvement. It is not, 
I think, necessary to hack sparrowhawks ; but I certainly committed 
no fault in doing so—I was right rather than wrong. Had I only 
known how necessary it is to keep these hawks (unhooded) in the 
constant presence of children, strangers, dogs, and so forth, I think 
it very likely that I should have had something like a perfect success ; 
as it was, I rejoiced my heart by killing young house pigeons, thrown 
up from the hand, with some of the female birds when they were in 
in a respectable humour, both hawk and quarry being at perfect 
liberty. 
About this time I made one of the most agreeable friendships of 
which it has ever been my good fortune to boast, which has existed 
for more than sixteen years, and is now based upon matters of more 
importance than falconry. My friend lived then in Northumberland, 
and I made the journey from Northamptonshire to see him. He 
showed me both the peregrine and merlin on the wing, and on the 
block; and it may be easily imagined that I got all the information 
on hawking subjects I could extract. My visit lasted a fortnight, 
so I had plenty of opportunity. My friend also presented me with 
a female merlin, ‘‘ Pearl’? by name—one of the best hawks I ever 
possessed. I went home to fly Pearl at pigeons and larks, to procure 
nestling merlins when the season came and also more sparrowhawks. 
Now I began to feel something like confidence in myself, and I was 
in fact becoming a falconer. Still I had an immense deal to learn ; 
I had only seen the smaller hawks, and those chiefly when I was 
entirely without instruction. But I procured five or six merlins, 
gave them a long hack, and trained them with very considerable 
success—the females to pigeons, the males to larks. Year after year 
I flew merlins in Northamptonshire and (afterwards) in Cheshire ; 
