THE EAGLE. 123 



children, it does not appear that the Eagles were 

 able to fly with them to any great distance; but in 

 Ireland a large Eagle was seen to alight and take up 

 a lamb, and carry it away in a straight direction 

 towards the high range of the Morne mountains. 

 The men who saw it, pursued, and kept it in view; 

 when at length, haying in vain attempted to soar 

 upwards to the summit of one of the highest moun- 

 tains, it dropt its burden at the edge of a wood, 

 quite unhurt. The distance it had flown was judged 

 to be upwards of two miles. 



They frequently attack smaller animals, but often 

 suffer severely in consequence, from the struggles of 

 the prisoners to escape, and several instances have 

 occurred of their being killed by weasels and stoats, 

 which they had incautiously pounced upon. One 

 was related by the gamekeeper of a Scotch noble- 

 man, who, when out on the moors, observed an 

 Eagle rise from the ground with something it had 

 seized as its prey. For a time, it flew away steadily, 

 when suddenly it became evidently much agitated, 

 and after irregularly fluttering for a short time^ 

 spired upwards in a straight line to a vast height, 

 and then ceasing to flap its wings, fell headlong to 

 the ground. Struck with so unaccountable an 

 occurrence, the keeper made what haste he could to 

 the spot, and found the Eagle quite dead, and a 

 wounded stoat struggling by its side. On examin- 

 ing the body of the Eagle, he soon discovered the 

 cause of its fall. The stoat, when in the air, had 

 contrived, according to its usual custom in attacking 

 rabbits, hares, rats, and other small animals, to open 

 an artery or vein, and kept firm hold of the wound 

 it had inflicted. 



