150 
HAWKING. 
that it might not escape. The natural disposition 
of the Hawk would induce it to carry 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 he 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 hells 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- 
