OR, A PLEA FOR THE WASTES. 229 



rose in the midst of them, and winged his way to the opposite 

 mountain. Was he a buzzard ? No ; small as he appears, 

 that determined flight, and free flap of the wing, can belong 

 to no bird but the eagle. Peter looked carelessly at him. 

 " Yon's the cock : he'll be for the opposite hill, after bringing 

 the hen her breakfast." He now whipped out his glass, and 

 placing his back upon a hillock, and the glass upon his knee, 

 looked long and anxiously through it. At last, jumping up, 

 shutting the glass with a satisfied jerk, and looking to me with 

 a smile, " She's on, sir." I now took his place, but it was 

 some time, in spite of Peter's minute directions, before I could 

 discern the eyrie. " Look, sir, to the side o' yon bushes in 

 the face o' the craig." It was easy enough to see them ; they 

 seemed " moored " not " in the rifted " but in the solid " rock." 

 When I at length detected the eyrie, it appeared no bigger 

 than a rook's nest ; and how Robertson had discovered " she 

 was on," I was a good deal puzzled to find out. But he told 

 me to keep my eye upon the east side of the nest, and I should 

 see a black ball which would seem higher at some times than 

 others, and which was caused by the eagle raising her head. 

 My qualms returned ; I saw that the eyrie was about thirty 

 yards down in the cliff, that my footing would not be firm, 

 and that, if the bird were so inclined, she might dash into the 

 abyss with the speed of the wind. Peter, however, was talk- 

 ative as ever, evidently in high glee that there was every 

 chance of a shot. 



We now struck off to the left, as if walking away from the 

 eyrie. Having taken a long circuit we edged in, till we got a 

 slope of the mountain between us and our quarry. This 

 achieved, we walked rapidly round till we came to its base, at 

 the side opposite to that where the noble bird was sitting in 

 perfect security and peace. Peter now climbed slowly up, 

 continuing his stories to most inattentive ears. I had some 

 faint recollection, afterwards, of a curious bird with extra- 

 ordinary feet, which frequented the forest, whose history he 



