400 
HAWK. 
accomplish this, the bird was lured. The lure is 
a term used in falconry for a piece of red stuff or 
wood, on which were fixed the bill, talons, and 
wings of the particular bird they meant the hawk to 
pursue ; such as a heron, a pigeon, or a quail ; 
and on this lure the food they intended to give him 
was always fixed, as an inducement for him to re- 
turn when recalled. The sight of his beloved food, 
with the addition of a certain noise, immediately 
brought him back ; and this was continued for a 
few times, after which the voice alone was suffi- 
cient. 
After three weeks’ or a month’s exercise in a gar- 
den, or other enclosed place, the bird was car- 
ried into the open fields, and little bells fastened 
to his feet, that the falconer might be more readily 
informed of his motions. He was always capped ; 
that is to say, his head was covered with leather, 
which fell down over his eyes, and prevented him 
from seeing any object, but the one it was intended 
he should pursue : as soon as the dogs sprung the 
game they were in quest of, the falconer uncapped 
the bird, and tossed him into the air after his prey. 
This was a gratifying moment to the sportsmen, 
who saw him wing his flight, and raise himself aloft, 
till he diminished by degrees from their sight, and 
was no longer visible. Here his keen eye enabled 
him to contemplate the motions of his prey, whom 
the distance of its enemy deluded into an imaginary 
security, till at last he lanches upon it with the 
rapidity of an arrow, and bears it to his anxious 
