54 



Athens amid great rejoicing, where they 

 found a resting place in the famous tem- 

 ple of Theseus, whose ruins are still in 

 existence. 



The old historians state that the Greek 

 poet Aeschylus lost his life through an 

 eagle's mistaking his bald head for a rock 

 and dropping a tortoise upon it in order 

 to break the shell of his amphibious prey, 

 but which broke, instead, the poet's skull. 

 That an eagle, proverbially the keenest- 

 sighted of created things, should mistake 

 a man's head for a stone is absurd be- 

 yond the necessity of comment. The 

 story is probably intended for an allegory, 

 showing how stupidity can overwhelm 

 genius, or a dull criticism smash a lively 

 poet. 



In A. D. 431 there was war between the 

 Emperor Theodosius II. and Genseric 

 the Vandal, and Marcian, the general of 

 the former, was taken prisoner. The un- 

 fortunate captive was doomed to death. 

 At the place of execution an eagle alight- 

 ed on his head and sat there some time 

 undismayed by the tumult around it. Up- 

 on seeing this, and believing that the cap- 

 tive was destined for some exalted for- 

 tune, Genseric pardoned him and sent 

 him home. About eighteen years after- 

 wards Theodosius died, and, as his sister 

 had married Marcian, the latter became 

 Emperor of Constantinople. 



During the wars between the Chris- 

 tians and the Moors, of Spain, a Spanish 

 knight engaged in combat with a gigan- 

 tic Moslem. The conflict remained un- 

 decided for a long time, but at last the 

 Spaniard began to lose ground. At this 

 juncture an eagle, swooping from above, 

 flew into the face of the Moorish giant, 

 and, taking advantage of this sudden and 

 miraculous intervention, the Spanish 

 champion plunged his sword into the 

 heart of his antagonist, thus winning the 

 battle. 



Rudolph, count of Hapsburg, one 

 morning was looking out of his castle 

 window upon the surrounding country, 

 and while thus engaged noticed an eagle 

 circling strangely above a certain place 

 in the forest. Taking some men at arms 

 he proceeded to the spot, where he found 

 a beautiful and high-born lady held cap- 

 tive by a band of robbers. He rescued 



her and afterwards married her. When a 

 new emperor was wanted in Germany he 

 obtained the election through the influ- 

 ence of his wife's relatives. In this ro- 

 mantic fashion began the glory of the 

 present reigning house of Austria. 



I have alluded to the prominence of 

 eagles in the arms of nations and individ- 

 uals. The famous ensign of the Roman 

 legions verified the text of Scripture 

 when, in referring to the eagle, Job says : 

 "Where the slain are there is she," for 

 the Roman bird flew over nearly the 

 whole known world and delighted in de- 

 struction and in threatening it. The By- 

 zantine Caesars sported a double-headed 

 eagle to indicate that they were lords of 

 both the Eastern and the Western world. 

 The Russians adopted the symbol from 

 those princes. About four hundred years 

 ago a lady, who claimed to be the heir of 

 the Byzantine Emperor, married Ivan 

 III., Czar of Russia, who, therefore, as- 

 sumed the Greek arms, which may possi- 

 bly be restored again to Constantinople 

 by Russian arms. 



The United States chose for her em- 

 blem the same imperial and triumphant 

 bird. Some have considered it as not al- 

 together an appropriate device for our 

 republican government. Students of nat- 

 ural history have observed that the eagle 

 is mean and cowardly. He lives, more- 

 over, a life of rapine, plundering birds 

 that are bolder and more industrious than 

 himself. This is rather a bad character 

 for our national bird. 



The ancients would probably be horri- 

 fied at such a criticism of their royal bird, 

 and, after all. it is not surprising that they 

 held him in such reverence. These peo- 

 ple of the long ago had no books nor 

 newspapers, but they were proficient stu- 

 dents in the book of nature. By them the 

 birds were accounted prophets, and by 

 their varied flights they foretold future 

 events and regulated the movements and 

 enterprises of nations. 



We call the wisdom of birds instinct, 

 but they considered it divine intelligence. 

 Nor was it strange that they should take 

 them for the interpreters of fate, seeing 

 that in many things the birds were wiser 

 than themselves, for they seemed to have 



