CHAPTER II. 
HAWKS AND HAWKING. 
o those who have ever taken part in a hawking 
excursion, it must be a matter of some surprise 
that so delightful a pastime has ceased to be popular. 
Yet, at the present day, perhaps not one person in 
five hundred has ever seen a trained hawk flown. In 
Shakespeare’s time things were very different. Every 
one who could afford it kept a hawk, and the rank 
of the owner was indicated by the species of bird which 
he carried. To a king belonged the gerfalcon f"to a 
prince, the falcon gentle ; to an earl, the peregrine ; to 
a lady, the merlin ; to a young squire, the hobby; while 
a yeoman carried a goshawk ; a priest, a sparrowhawk ; 
and a knave, or servant, a kestrel. But the sport was 
attended with, great expense, and much time and attention 
were required of the falconer before his birds were per¬ 
fectly trained, and he himself a proficient. 
This, combined with the increased enclosure and 
H 
