OTTER. The Duke of York does not tell us anything of the chase of the Otter, but merely refers one at the end of the chapter on "The Nature of the Otter" to Milbourne, the King's Otter-hunter, for more information and says, "as of all other vermin I speak not" (p. 73). The Otter was evidently beneath his notice, as being neither regarded as a beast of venery nor of the chase (Twety and Gyfford, Brit. Mus. MS. Vesp. B. XII.). But the very fact that the King had an Otter-hunter shows that it was a beast not altogether despised, although probably hunted more for the value of its skin and for the protection of the fish than for the sport. The Milbourne referred to by the Duke of York can scarcely be any other than the William Melbourne we find mentioned in Henry IV.'s reign as "Valet of our Otter-hounds" (Privy Seal, 674/6456, Feb. 18, 1410). PARFET, _the perfect_. Twici says: _Une autre chasce il y ad qe homme appele le parfet. Dunkes covient il qe vous corneez en autre maneree.... E isse chescun homme qest en tour vous, que siet de venerie puet conustre en quel point vous estes en vostre dedut par vostre corneer_ (line 111). From comparing the various places where the word _parfait_ is employed in connection with hunting, it may be concluded that to hunt the "_Parfet_" was when the hounds were on the line of the right stag, to sound the "_Parfet_" was to blow the notes that indicated the hounds were hunting the right line. Dryden in his notes to Twici suggests that the chase of the _parfet_ was "in opposition to the chase of the _Forloyng_," that is, when the pack run well together "jostling in close array" (Twici, p. 43). But Perfect in the O. F. works seems to us to invariably be used, as already said, to indicate that the hounds have not taken the change, but are staunch to the right scent. Jacques de Brézé says the stag he is hunting joins two great stags, but although some of the hounds ran silent for awhile, they still continued staunch to their line, and here he uses the word "_parfait_" (Sen. de Nor., p. 13). Modus also uses it in this sense: _Les chiens qui viennent chaçant après le parfait_ (fol. xix. v). And what is most conclusive is the sense given to it in our text: "Should blow to him again the parfyt so that he were in his rightes and ellys nought," _i.e._ the parfyt should only be blown if the hound was on the right line (p. 174).