THE JESSES. 
59 
In the modern “ jesse,” however, there are no knots. It 
is fastened in this wise. The leg of the hawk is placed 
against the “jesse,” between the slits A and B. The end A 
is then passed through the slit B, and the end C in turn 
through the slit A. The swivel, with its dependent leash, is 
then attached to slit C ; and the same with the other leg. 
Othello says :— 
“ I’d whistle her off, and let her down the wind, 
To prey at fortune.” 
Falconers always flew their hawk against the wind. If 
flown down the wind, she seldom returned. When, there¬ 
fore, a useless bird was to be dismissed, her owner flew 
her “ down the wind ; ” and thenceforth she shifted for her¬ 
self, and was said “ to prey at fortune.” 
The word “ haggard,” as before observed, is of frequent 
occurrence throughout the Plays of Shakespeare. In the 
Taming of the Shrew (Act iv. Sc. 2), Hortensio speaks of 
Bianca as “this proud disdainful haggard .” In Much Ado 
about Nothing (Act iii. Sc. 1), Hero, alluding to Beatrice, 
says— 
“ I know, her spirits are as coy and wild 
As haggards of the rock.” 
In Twelfth Night (Act iii. Sc. 1), Viola says of the 
Clown :— 
“ This fellow’s wise enough to play the fool; 
And to do that well craves a kind of wit : 
