THE GOLDEN EAGLE. 173 



as his own in other manner. So he sailed by the 

 chamois on his narrow path as near as he dared come ; 

 then again and again ; and as the animal retreated in 

 order to quit his perilous position, the eagle, wheeling 

 round in a smaller circle, met him instantly to hem in 

 and cut off his retreat. By thus rushing past mthin a 

 few feet of him, and filling him with terror, he hoped 

 to bewilder the chamois, and cause him to fall over 

 the precipice, in which case he would have but to 

 descend and carry off his booty. And, in fact, the 

 chamois, from trepidation probably, in turning a corner 

 slipped with one hind-foot over the ledge. He lost his 

 balance and fell headlong over the rocks, as the eagle 

 intended that he should. But after lodging for a short 

 time on an intervening slope, the carcase rolled off, and 

 came toppling down into the lake. The whole pro- 

 ceeding had been watched by two persons from a boat ; 

 they now rowed across to get the chamois, while the 

 eagle, disappointed of his victim, wheeled above them, 

 watching all they did. 



Just as a child likes to enjoy the consciousness of 

 having possession of a cake, and revels for a while in 

 the pleasurable feeling before taking the first bite, 

 feeling sure that delay will not weaken his tenure, so 

 will an eagle very often toy wdth his victim, and though 

 within his grasp, defer the fatal grip. At such times 

 his appetite is probably not very keen ; or he is in a 



