ourselves. The prince first cried out to the huntsman, ordering him to commence the sport, and he immediately galloped at full speed to the other huntsmen, who were there in great number, and who all of them at once gave the halloo, and let loose both the mastiffs and grey-hounds, and a merry thing it was to hear the cry of so many different kinds of dogs, for they have a great many kinds of most excellent hounds. Some of them, called "kurtzi", are only intended for hunting hares; they are very handsome, with hairy tails and ears; generally bold dogs, but not adapted for going over much ground. When the hare shows herself, three, four, five, or more dogs are slipped, and set after her on all sides; and when she is taken, there is loud hallooing, as if they had taken a large wild beast. If the hares happen to run out somewhat slowly, the prince immediately calls to any one whom he may see in the thickets, holding a hare in a bag, and cries out to him, "hui! hui!" which means that he is to let the hare loose. Thus the hares sometimes come out as if they were asleep, and leap about amongst the dogs, just as goats or lambs do in the midst of the flocks. He is thought to have done the cleverest day's work whose dog catches the greatest number of hares. The prince himself openly praised the ambassador whose dog caught the greatest number.
When the chase was over, all mustered together, and brought the hares they had caught into one place; and when they were counted, the number amounted to about three hundred. The prince's horses which were used on that occasion were not so numerous or so handsome as I should have expected; for on my first embassy, when I was present at a similar entertainment, I saw a far greater number of beautiful horses, especially of that race which we call Turkish, but which they call "argamak". There were also a great number of falcons, some white and some purple, and remarkable for their size, such as we call gyr-falcons, and they "kretzet",
