UNCLE THOMAS TELLS ABOUT THE GOLDEN EAGLE, AND NARRATES VARIOUS STORIES ILLUSTRATIVE OF ITS FEROCITY AND POWER. Uncle Thomas had scarcely finished his last series of Tales, when he was gratified by a visit from the Mama of his young auditors, to introduce her two little Girls, who, having heard their Brothers speak so much of the delightful Stories which he told them, had prevailed on her to come with them to request that Uncle Thomas would be so good as to permit them to accompany their Brothers when they came to visit him. “I am afraid, Uncle Thomas,” said Mama, “that we already trespass too much on your Uncle Thomas declared that he was delighted to hear that the Boys were interested in the Stories which he told them, and that he would be still more gratified to be honoured with the company of the young ladies. Mary and Jane, who during Mama’s long speech had been carefully noting the various articles with which Uncle Thomas’s little room was furnished, were almost overjoyed to hear “Ah! I see,” said Uncle Thomas, “it is about Birds I must tell you next. I can tell you many interesting stories about Birds; but Mama waits; we must not detain her at present.” “When shall we come again then, Uncle Thomas?” asked Frank. “When you please, Frank,” said Uncle Thomas. “Suppose we say to-morrow night; “Oh, quite, Uncle Thomas!” said Mary; “it will be quite convenient for us whenever it is so to you.” Mama having given her assent to this arrangement, the little party, full of smiles, bade Uncle Thomas good morning. On the following evening, accordingly, they again met, and when they had duly greeted their kind old Uncle Thomas, and seated themselves round his elbow-chair, he began:— “Birds, my dear children, of which I promised to tell you some stories, are perhaps the most interesting class of animals in creation, whether we consider them in regard to their habits or to the curious structure of their bodies, by which they have been fitted by Nature for the place which God has assigned them, or to the Instincts which have been implanted in them. In most “Ten thousand warblers cheer the day, and one The live-long night; nor those alone whose notes Nice-fingered art must emulate in vain; But cawing rooks, and kites, that swim sublime In still repeated circles, screaming loud; The jay, the pie, and e’en the boding owl, That hails the rising moon, have charms for me.” “Birds,” continued Uncle Thomas, “have been divided by some naturalists into Land and To this long and rather uninteresting detail Mary and Jane listened as patiently as possible. But no sooner was it finished, than the latter seized the opportunity to ask Uncle Thomas whether the Eagle was not the largest Bird in the world, and whether it was a native of Britain, as she had heard a story lately of one having carried off a child to its nest to feed its young? “The largest of the Birds of Prey, undoubtedly,” said Uncle Thomas, “is the Golden Eagle. It inhabits all the wilder parts of “Are they very large, Uncle Thomas?” asked Jane—“Larger than this bird?” pointing to a fine Falcon, which occupied a prominent place in the little museum already referred to. “Yes, dear!” said Uncle Thomas; “they are much larger, very much larger than that. Like all other animals, they are of course subject to variations in size; their development in some measure depending on the plentifulness or scarcity of their food during the time they are in the nest, and indeed during the whole period until they arrive at their full growth; but the average size of the mature Bird is usually about three feet in length, measuring from the point “They must be very powerful animals, Uncle Thomas,” remarked Mary. “So strong, that they frequently carry off lambs and other small animals to their nests,” said Uncle Thomas; “and it is said that they have even occasionally carried away children. About a hundred years ago an incident of this kind is said to have occurred in Norway. While a boy about two years old was passing between his father’s cottage and a field at no great distance, in which his parents were at work, an Eagle pounced upon him and flew off with him. His parents, attracted by his shrieks, saw their dear child carried off to an inaccessible rock, and notwithstanding all their efforts, they were unable to rescue him.” “And was the poor dear child killed, Uncle Thomas?” asked Jane. “It appears from the story that he was,” said “I am happy to say, however,” continued Uncle Thomas, “that all attacks of the kind do not terminate so fatally. A child which was carried off by an Eagle in the Isle of Skye, in Scotland, was borne by the huge bird across a lake on the banks of which it sat down, probably for the purpose of feeding on its prey, “It was very fortunate they were so near,” remarked Harry. “It was so,” said Uncle Thomas, “and the parents were in this respect more fortunate than those of another child which was carried off by an Eagle from the side of its mother, who was at work in the fields. She saw the huge bird pounce down on her little darling, but before she could run to its assistance it was carried off, and she heard its cries as it was borne out of her sight, and she saw it no more. This took place in Sweden. “Though the Eagle has long had the character of being a very bold and courageous bird,” continued Uncle Thomas, “it really does not deserve its good name. It is sometimes “Do they ever attack men?” asked Frank. “Unless when they are forced to put forth their strength in self-defence, which is an instinctive operation which even the weakest animals display,” replied Uncle Thomas, “they never attack man; at least the only instance which I recollect of their threatening to do so is related by Captain Flinders, in his account of his voyage to New South Wales. While he and some of his officers were walking on shore, a large Eagle, with fierce looks and out-spread wings, was seen bounding towards them; when it arrived within a few yards it suddenly stopped and flew up into a tree. They had hardly got rid of this one, when a second flew towards them as if to “I suppose they were afraid, then,” said Mary. “Captain Flinders imagined,” said Uncle Thomas, “that the Eagles had at first mistaken him and his officers for Kangaroos; and as the place seemed then quite uninhabited, he conjectured that the Eagles had never seen a man before; and he observed that they fed on those animals, as on the appearance of one, the Eagle stooped down at once and tore it in pieces in an instant. “That the Eagle can defend itself very vigorously, however,” continued Uncle Thomas, “is proved by an adventure which a young man had with one in the Highlands of Scotland. He had gone out very early one morning to shoot Rock Pigeons, accompanied by a Dog of the terrier breed. As he stood watching the Pigeons, an Eagle came floating over the brow of the precipice. He took aim and fired, and the bird fell to the ground with a broken wing. He attempted to master it with his hands, but it “It must have been a very strong Bird,” remarked Jane. “It is perhaps only under the influence of extreme hunger, or in defense of themselves or their young,” continued Uncle Thomas, “that the Eagle ever attacks human beings. Probably to the former of these is to be attributed the attack of one on a little boy of which I will now tell you:— “A few years ago, as two boys, the one about seven and the other five years old, “He must have been a bold little fellow,” said Jane. “Do you think you should have fought as determinedly, John?” asked Mary. Uncle Thomas, seeing that this story of the valiant defence of the little boy excited so much interest among his little auditors, produced a portfolio, in which he kept a few choice prints, one of which contained a representation of the boy defending himself against the Eagle. When they had done admiring it, Uncle Thomas continued:— “Powerful as the Eagle is, it is frequently vanquished by the animals on which it seizes. It has been observed while soaring into the sky with its prey suddenly to falter in its flight, and then to fall to the earth as if pierced with a ball by some skilful marksman. A gamekeeper to a Scottish nobleman, who witnessed a scene of this kind, hurried to the spot, and found the Eagle quite dead, and a Stoat, an animal of the Weasel kind, severely wounded, struggling by its “I wonder such a large and powerful animal as the Eagle did not kill the little Stoat before it had time to seize its neck,” said Harry. “Recollect, Harry,” said Jane, “that Weasels are very nimble creatures. As we were walking through Langton Wood lately, we saw one running about, but it soon got among some loose stones and concealed itself.” “Perhaps,” said Uncle Thomas, “the Eagle had missed its aim when it pounced upon its prey, and thus held it insecurely, for so powerful is the force with which it darts upon its object, that it usually kills its victim at one blow. When it fails to do this, a contest generally ensues; and powerful as the Eagle is, it does not always come off successful. On one “A contest, somewhat of the same kind,” continued Uncle Thomas, “was observed between an Otter and an Eagle. It was witnessed by a party of gentlemen who were enjoying the amusement of fishing in one of the Scottish Lakes. An Eagle, hovering over the lake, descried an Otter sleeping on the sunny side of a bank near the water’s edge, and pounced upon it. Thus attacked, the Otter stood on the alert, and prepared to give battle to its assailant, when another Eagle appeared, and joined in the attack. The unfortunate Otter, finding himself assaulted on both sides, immediately retreated to his favourite element. On reaching the water, it attempted “I have heard Mama say that there is a tame Eagle at —— Castle; I wonder how such a wild creature can be tamed!” remarked Jane. “There have been frequent instances of the Eagle being tamed,” said Uncle Thomas, “and sometimes even when taken after having arrived at maturity. One of this sort, which was taken in Ireland, had its wings cut, and was put into a large garden, where it soon became domesticated. Its wings gradually grew again, and the Eagle sometimes flew away for a fortnight at a time, but always returned. The children of the family frequently met it in their walks about “In Norway,” continued Uncle Thomas, “the people represent the Eagle as very sagacious, and as using the most curious devices to secure its prey. It is said, for instance, to attack and overcome Oxen in the following manner. It plunges into the sea, and after being completely drenched, rolls itself on the shore till its wings are quite covered with sand. It then rises into the air, and hovers over its unfortunate victim, and, when close to it, shakes its wings, and throws stones and sand into the eyes of the Ox; and, having thus blinded it, terrifies the animal “It is a very sagacious stratagem indeed,” said Mary; “I really do not see how it could proceed more efficiently if it was endowed with reason. “But is it true?” asked Harry. “You are right Harry,” said Uncle Thomas; “that ought always to be the first consideration. So much fable has been mixed up with the accounts of the habits of animals that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish the true from the false. In the present case, for instance, the fact rests on the statement of a traveller named Von Buch, who assures us that the circumstance was related to him, in nearly the same terms, at places distant from each other. But, on the other hand, it is so contrary to the general habits of the Eagle that it seems most unlikely to be true; “Would it, indeed, Uncle Thomas?” asked Jane; “Swans and Geese go into the water, and are not drowned.” “No, my dear, they are not,” said Uncle Thomas; “because their habits rendering it necessary for them to spend much of their time in water, the Creator has furnished them with an abundant supply of oily matter, with which they cover their feathers, so as to prevent the moisture from penetrating them; but Birds which are not intended to inhabit the water are not so provided, and would soon become unable to fly, even if they remained exposed to a severe shower of rain, without seeking shelter. The Osprey, or Sea-Eagle, which feeds upon fish which it catches in the sea, is provided in this manner; but then it could not be true of the Osprey either, because for this reason, the water “Is it not true, then?” asked Mary. “I do not say that it is absolutely untrue,” said Uncle Thomas; “because the person who relates it states that it was confirmed to him by various witnesses, in different places; but I think it is very unlikely, to say the least of it. “However much we may differ as to the sagacity of the Eagle,” continued Uncle Thomas, “there can be but one opinion as to its affection for its young, and the valour with which it defends them against all assailants. Ebel, in his work on Switzerland, relates a story of a chasseur, or hunter of that country, which illustrates this fact very strikingly. Having discovered a nest belonging to one of these terrible birds, and having killed the male, the hunter, by name Joseph Schoren, crept along the jut of a rock, his feet bare, the better to keep himself firm, in the hope of catching the young ones. He Uncle Thomas went on to say that he had not yet quite finished all his stories about the |