papcicenetaencieaeneeTIi Aen

 

OF THE ROE AND OF HIS NATURE 25

for a man maye knowe a male from pe Emelle as
by hure feet and by hure fumes, pat pe haue nota
grete a taille * ne pei gadire no venyson as y haue
sayde, and pe grettest grece that pei mowe haue
wip inne it is whan hure kydeneys be keuered alle
white. Whan pe houndes huntede after pe Roo
buk pei turne ageyn into her haunte and somtyme
pei turne agayn vpon the houndes,? and whan pei
se that pei mow not dure® pan pei voyden pe
contre and renne ryght longe or pei be dede
and ronnen in and out a longe tyme, and breken
pe brokes in pe wise as pe hert dothe. And 3if
pe Roo buk were as faire a best as pe hert I hold
pat it were a fayre huntyng pan of pe hert for it
lasteth al pe yere and it is a good huntyng and of
a greet maystre for pei rennen ryght longe and
gynnously and for alle pat pei mwe here hedes
they reburny[s]h ne repayren not here heere in to
pe newe gras tyme. It is a diuers beest for he
dothe no ping after pe nature of eny opere beest,
and he folowep men in to here houses. For
whan he is hunted til he be ouercome he ne woote *
neuir where he gop. The Roo buckes flesshe is
moost hoolsom to ete of eny opere wilde beestes
flesshe they lyuen with good herbes and withe
other wodes, with vynes, wip breres and wip
hawthorns,° withe leeues® and with al wexyng of
yonge trees.” Whan pe Emel hap hure kiddes she
dop al in pe wyse as y haue said of pe hynde whan
pei ben in bokeyng pei syngen ryght a foule
songe, for it semethe pei goo to as pei were bitte
wip houndes * and whan pei renne al at ease they
rennen euere with lepes, but whan pei bene wery
or folowed with houndes pan pei rennen kyndely °
and some tyme pei croteyn® and goon a paas, and
sumtyme pei hasten hem and lepen nou3t, and pan
men sayn of pe Roo buk pat he hab lost his lepis,
and pei seyn a mysse, for euer he leuep his lepis
whan he is wele hasted, and also whan he is wery.
Whan he renneth at pe begynnyng as I haue said
he rennep with lepis and with rugged and stondyng
eeren, and pe eres” and pe tayle cropyng vp al
white. And whan he hathe renne longe he leithe
his heer slyke doun and nat stondyng ne rugged
and his heres ben not soo white, and whan he may
no longer renne than he comethe and 3eeldeth

know the male from the female by her feet or by
her fumes.

They have not a great taill and do not gather
venison as I have said, the greatest grease that they
may have within is when the kidneys be covered
When the hounds hunt after

all white (with suet).
the roebuck they turn again into their haunts and

sometimes turn again to the hounds.? When they
see that they cannot last® they leave the country and
run right long ere they be dead. And they run
in and out a long time and beat the brooks in the
same way a hart doth. And if the roebuck were
as fair a beast as the hart, I hold that it were a
fairer hunting than that of the hart, for it lasteth
all the year and is good hunting and requires great
mastery, for they run right long and cunningly.
Although they mew their heads they do not re-
burnish them, nor repair their hair till new grass
time. It is a peculiar beast, for it doth nothing
after the nature of any other beast, and he followeth
men into their houses, for when he is hunted and
overcome he knoweth not where he goeth. The
flesh of the roebuck is the most wholesome to eat
of any other wild beast’s flesh, they live on good
herbs and other woods and vines and on briars and
hawthorns® and on beechmast® and on everything
growing on young trees.’ When the female has
her kids she does all in the manner as I have said
of a hind. When they be in bucking they sing
a right ugly song, for it seemeth as if they were
bitten by hounds. When they run at their ease
they run with leaps, but when they are weary or
followed by hounds they run naturally and some-
times they trot or go apace, and sometimes they
hasten and do not leap, and then men say that
the roebuck hath lost his leaps, and they say amiss,
for he ever leaves off leaping when he is well hasted
and also when he is weary.

When he runneth at the beginning, as I have
said, he runneth with leaps and with rugged stand-
ing hair and the target and the tail cropping up
all white.

And when he hath run long his hair lyeth sleek
down, not standing nor rugged and his target does
not show so white.

And when he can run no longer he cometh and

: G. d. F., p. 37, says here: “ Ils n’ont pas trop grant vent.”
a Sete a own country, and often bound back to the hounds”’ would be a better translation
says : 1en they are hunted they turne much and come often directly backe upon the dogges.”’ Edition

I61I, p. 143.

5

3 Fr th Are vey. qc > <
rom the French durer, to last. G.d.F., p. 37, adds here the words: “or have been coursed with greyhounds.”

4 Knows not.

DG, Gl 1% says “ Aconns,”

6 G.d F., p. 38, says “ Aen i A
A , p. 38, says “ beachmast” (faye). In the faulty first edition by Verard it reads “ eves,’ which means

beans, and this is the rendering in Shirley MS.

* In Shirley MS. “ old trees.”

8G. d. F., p. 39, says: “it seems like a goat that hounds have hold of.”

® Naturally. Cent. Dict.

10 Croteyn is a mistake of the transcril
oteyn 1s a - ake a ber, who has made a “‘c” yy a Say Cree
1 Middle English avs, hinder parts called ee ie ae c” out ofa“ t.” In the Shirley MS. it is “ trotteth.”

D