54 



Athens amid great rejoicing, where they her and afterwards married her. When a 

 found a resting place in the famous tern- new emperor was wanted in Germany he 

 pie of Theseus, whose ruins are still in obtained the election through the influ- 

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



The old historians state that the Greek mantic fashion began the glory of the 

 poet Aeschylus lost his life through an present reigning house of Austria, 

 eagle's mistaking his bald head for a rock j have a n u ded to the prominence of 

 and dropping a tortoise upon it in order eag i es in the arms of nat i ons and individ- 

 to break the shell of his amphibious prey, uals . The f amous e nsign of the Roman 

 but which broke, instead, the poet's skull, legions verified the text of Scripture 

 That an eagle, proverbially the keenest- when , in referring to the eagle, Job says : 

 sighted of created things, should mistake "Where the slain are there is she," for 

 a man s head for a stone is absurd be- the Roman bird flew over nearly the 

 yond the necessity of comment. The whole known world and delighted in de- 

 story ^is probably intended for an allegory, str uction and in threatening it. The By- 

 showing how stupidity can overwhelm zan tine Caesars sported a double-headed 



ims, or a dull criticism smash a lively eag i e to indicate that they were lords of 



P T *' A T-% b tn tne Eastern and the Western world. 



In A. D. 431 there was war between the The Russians adopted the symbol from 

 hmperor rheodosms [I. and Gensenc those princes. About four hundred years 

 the Vandal, and Marcian, the general of ago a ladV) who c i a i med to be the heir of 

 the former, was taken prisoner. The un- the Byzantine Emperor, married Ivan 

 fortunate captive was doomed to death. IIL , Czar of Russia, who, therefore, as- 

 At the place of execution an eagle alight- sumed the Greek arms> whkh si _ 

 ed on his head and sat there some time bly be res tored again to Constantinople 

 undismayed by the tumult around it. Up- by Russian arms 

 on seeing this, and believing that the cap- -r u TT , c ' , , 

 tive was destined for soml exalted for- w The fl United States^ chose for her em- 

 tune, Genseric pardoned him and sent bk tbe sam , e im P enal / nd triumphant 

 him home. About eighteen years after- bird ' . Some have Considered it as not al- 

 wards Theodosius died, and, as his sister ****? an a PPPnate device for our 

 had married Marcian, the latter became re P^Hcan government. Students of nat- 

 Emperor of Constantinople. ural h ^ory have observed that the eagle 



During the wars between the Chris- 1S mean and c . owa ^ly. He lives, more- 



tians and the Moors, of Spain, a Spanish ve f r > a ^ lfe , of ra f ne ' Pandering birds 

 knight engaged in combat with a gigan- hat a ^ bo * der and m ^ re mdus 1 tn us than 



tic Moslem. The conflict remained un- limself " fhls * r*J her a bad character 



decided for a long time, but at last the for our natlonal bird ' 

 Spaniard began to lose ground. At this rhe ancients would probably be horri- 



juncture an eagle, swooping from above, & e d at such a criticism of their royal bird, 



flew into the face of the Moorish giant, and, after all, it is not surprising that they 



and, taking advantage of this sudden and held him in such reverence. These peo- 



miraculous intervention, the Spanish pie of the long ago had no books nor 



champion plunged his sword into the newspapers, but they were proficient stu- 



heart of his antagonist, thus winning the dents in the book of nature. By them the 



battle. birds were accounted prophets, and by 



Rudolph, count of Hapsburg, one their varied flights they foretold future 



morning was looking out of his castle events and regulated the movements and 



window upon the surrounding country, enterprises of nations, 

 and while thus engaged noticed an eagle We call the wisdom of birds instinct, 



circling strangely above a certain place but they considered it divine intelligence, 



in the forest. Taking some men at arms Nor was it strange that they should take 



he proceeded to the spot, where he found them for the interpreters of fate, seeing 



a beautiful and high-born lady held cap- that in many things the birds were wiser 



tive by a band of robbers. He rescued than themselves, for they seemed to have 



