18 THE GOLDEN EAGLE. 



of a more unusual nature, which exibits the 

 eagle not as the agressor and the conqueror, but 

 as the victim and the prey of an enemy, who 

 seems little fitted by nature to gain an advan- 

 tage over him. We are indebted for the follow- 

 in w particulars, to a writer in the Magazine of 

 Natural History. 



"A group of hay-makers, while busy at their 

 work on Chapel-hope meadow, at the upper end 

 of St. Mary's Loch in Selkirkshire, saw an eagle 

 rising above the steep mountains that enclose 

 the narrow valley. The eagle himself was, in- 

 deed, no unusual sight: but there is something 

 so imposing and majestic in the flight of this 

 noble bird while he soars upwards in spiral cir- 

 cles, that it fascinates the attention of most 

 people. In general, the motion of his wings is 

 hardly perceptible : an impetus is given, but 

 the stroke is far between, and he seems impelled 

 by some invisible power. The spectators were 

 soon aware of something peculiar in the flight of 

 the bird they were observing : he used his wings 

 violently, and the strokes were often repeated, as 

 if he had been alarmed and hurried by unusual 

 agitation. They noticed, at the same time, that 

 he wheeled in circles that seemed constantly de- 

 creasing, while his ascent was proportionably 

 rapid. The now idle hay-makers drew together 



