ng the young untrained falcons. The moment they had secured their
prey, they were called off it and given chickens' flesh to eat on the
lure. The same System was adopted for hunting the heron or crane (Fig.
159).

[Illustration: Fig. 149.--Falconers dressing their Birds.--Fac-simile of a
Miniature in the Manuscript of "Livre du Roy Modus" (Fourteenth Century).]

It will be seen that, in order to train birds, it was necessary for a
large number of the various kinds of game to be kept on the premises, and
for each branch of sport a regular establishment was required. In
falconry, as in venery, great care was taken to secure that a bird should
continue at one object of prey until he had secured it, that is to say, it
was most essential to teach it not to leave the game he was after in order
to pursue another which might come in his way.

To establish a falconry, therefore, not only was a very large poultry-yard
required, but also a considerable staff of huntsmen, falconers, and whips,
besides a number of horses and dogs of all sorts, which were either used
for starting the game for the hawks, or for running it down when it was
forced to ground by the birds.

[Illustration: Fig. 150.--Varlets of Falconry.--Fac-simile of a Miniature
in the Manuscript of "Livre du Roy Modus" (Fourteenth Century).]

A well-trained falcon was a bird of great value, and was the finest
present that could be made to a lady, to a nobleman, or to the King
himself, by any one who had received a favour. For instance, the King of
France received six birds from the Abbot of St. Hubert as a token of
gratitude for the protection granted by him to the abbey. The King of
Denmark sent him several as a gracious offering in the month of April; the
Grand Master of Malta in the month of May. At court, in those days, the
reception of falcons either in public or in private was a great business,
and the first trial of any new birds formed a topic of conversation among
the courtiers for some time after.

The arrival at court of a hawk-dealer from some distant country was also a
great event. It is said that Louis XI. gave orders that watch should be
kept night and day to seize any falcons consigned to the Duke of Brittany
from Turkey. The plan succeeded, and the birds thus stolen were brought
to the King, who exclaimed, "By our holy Lady of Clery! what will the Duke
Francis and his Bretons do? They will be very angry at the good trick I
have played them."

Eur