QQ HALIAETUS ALBICILLA. 



hand the bundle of heath, with a cord attached to it, 

 and the peat burning in the middle, and with the other* 

 pushing himself from the angular projection of the rock. 

 At length he arrives on the shelf, and calls to those above 

 to slacken the rope but keep fast hold of it. Then, 

 creeping forwards, and clinging to the unstable tufts of 

 Statice Armeria and fescue, he looks downwards, and 

 ascertains the precise position of the nest, in which are 

 two eaglets covered with down, skeletons of fishes, 

 birds, and lambs, lying heaped around them. At 

 sight of the human face, which to their imagination is 

 any thing but divine, the young eagles shrink back in 

 terror, cowering beneath the projecting angle that part- 

 ly roofs the nest. Their enemy now retreats, disposes 

 the bundle of heath in a loose manner, blows the peat 

 into a flame, and partially encloses it. Once more he 

 approaches the brink, casting an anxious eye towards 

 the old eagles, which are wheeling in short circles, and 

 uttering confused and piercing cries ; then, blowing the 

 flame, kindles the bundle of combustibles, and rapidly 

 lowers it right into the nest. The young birds scream 

 and hiss, throwing themselves into attitudes of de- 

 fence. The heath smokes and crackles, and at length 

 blazes into full flame ; then the sticks, seaweeds, wool, 

 and feathers, of the nest catch fire, and the ascending 

 column of smoke indicates to the ropemen above that 

 the deed is doing. Flames and smoke conceal the 

 young birds from the avenger's gaze, but he stirs not 

 until they have abated, and he sees the huge eyry with 

 its contents reduced to ashes. He then calls to his 

 friends, who tighten the rope, and preparing himself 

 for the ascent, is hauled up, encountering no small dan- 



