192 THE EAG LE. 



the plunder of any other bird; and when once it has 

 made a meal of any animal, it never returns to it again, 

 but leaves it to be devoured by those rapacious birds 

 whose appetites may be less delicate than his own. 



The eagle is naturally a solitary animal ; and it is as 

 extraordinary to see two pair of eagles on the same 

 mountain, as two lions in the same forest ; both bred- 

 for war, they are enemies to society, and are alike 

 fierce, proud, and incapable of being easily tamed. 

 Great patience and perseverence are necessary to 

 make this bird in any degree subservient to man ; 

 and after the utmost labour and assiduity on the part 

 of the falconer, when carried into the field it too often 

 defies controul, and either turns its force against the 

 hand that restrained it, or taUes its flight and never re- 

 turns to him again. 



Of all the animals that fly, the eagle is allowed to 

 ascend the highest, and from that circumstance the 

 ancients have called him the bird of heaven ; yet as 

 he has but little suppleness in the joints of his legs, he 

 finds some difficulty in rising from the ground, though 

 his strength is so great that he is able to carry off 

 geese, cranes, hares, lambs, and kids ; and even in- 

 fants themselves, when left unattended, have fallen 

 victims to their rapacity and strength. An instance is 

 recorded in Scotland, of two children having been car- 

 ried away by two eagles, who were pursued in their 

 flight, and had only time to lodge them in their nests 

 before they were overtaken ; and the little innocents 

 by that means were restored to the arms of their af- 

 frighted parents, without the least appearance of hurt. 



Smith, in his history of Kerry, tells us, that a poor man 

 in that county procured a comfortable subsistence for his 

 family, daring a season of scarcity, by robbing an eaglet 



