THE HERNERY. Ill 



within which ^Eneas and his " defessi ^Eneade " once 

 sought shelter and repose from the rude tossings of the 

 deep, with more than one brave comrade missing. 



" Hinc atque hinc vastae rupes, geminique minantur 

 In ccelum scopuli." 



While thus fortified on either hand by nature, and 

 rendered completely inaccessible by land, the rough- 

 ness of the sea, which generally lashed itself into foam 

 on the opposing rocks, formed so strong a barrier on 

 the only side from which approach was possible, that it 

 was only in the calmest weather that a boat ventured 

 to make the attempt. Here, then, in a retirement 

 seldom disturbed, the heron could peaceably hatch and 

 rear her young, looking on with sovereign indifference 

 as the waves chafed harmlessly below, and laughing as 

 they strove in vain rivalry to reach her elevated throne. 

 And here, should she ever have to forage at a distance, 

 though the beach at hand could generally supply her 

 with food, she could leave her tender brood with a 

 feeling of security seldom disappointed, save when 

 haply some winged marauder bore off one of her 

 darlings to feed his own gaping young in the summits 

 of the neighbouring mountain. 



The nests, some twenty or thirty in number, built in 

 the ivy, looked like so many huge bundles of sticks and 

 rubbish ; but the most curious sight was to see the 

 birds rise at our approach. The heron, as he flies 

 slowly through 'the air, has usually a somewhat stately 

 bearing; but on the present occasion, as they rose 

 affrighted at the unusual apparition of our boat, the 

 appearance they presented, with head, legs, and wings 

 all stretched to the utmost in opposite directions, was 

 most undignified and ludicrous. The flesh of the 

 heron, though not considered a delicacy, is by no 



