EAGLES AND ART. 273 



it finds the lambs, pigs, geese and turkeys of the farm-yard 

 to be easier prey to its decaying powers than the wild crea- 

 tures it had proudly conquered in the earlier lustrums of the 

 century it is living to a close. 



Now the Koyal Eagle sinks into a petty plunderer, and the 

 final decadence of its grandeur is, when, from the last patch 

 of its forest-home it launches out on stiffened wings above 

 the villages on some " Independence morning," and hears, 

 as it wheels slowly over the gathered crowds, wild shouts of 

 patriotic recognition as the youthful Orator points aloft to 

 the omen of Liberty ! Shouts that but frighten the super- 

 annuated Cloud-King, which rushes on to the nearest covert 

 to hide, until the warty barnacles of age overtake it, and its 

 rusty plumes no longer lift it to the clouds ! 



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