I32 THE REIGN OF LAW. 



" The way of an Eagle in the air" was one of the 

 things of which Solomon said, that "he knew it 

 not." No wonder that the Wise King reckoned it 

 among the great mysteries of Nature ! The Force 

 of Gravitation, though its exact measure was not 

 ascertained till the days of Newton, has been the 

 most familiar of all Forces in all ages of Mankind. 

 How, then, in violation of its known effects, could 

 heavy bodies be supported upon the thin air — and 

 be gifted with the power of sustaining and direct- 

 ing movements more easy, more rapid, and more 

 certain than the movements of other animals upon 

 the firm and solid earth ? No animal motion in 

 Nature is so striking or so beautiful as the — 



" Scythe-like sweep of wings, that dare 

 The headlong plunge through eddying gulfs of air."* 



Nor will the wonder cease when, so far as the 

 mechanical problem is concerned, the mystery of 

 flight is solved. If we wish to see how material 

 laws can be bent to purpose, we shall study this 

 problem. 



In the first place it is remarkable that the Force 

 which seems so adverse — the Force of Gravitation 

 * Longfellow's Wayside Inn. — Ser Federigo. 



