THE FLIGHT OF BIRDS 69 



sky — if you are only fortunate enough to 

 see all this, you will, for once, behold 

 aesthetic grace incarnate. 



Dignity 



I once saw an eagle in flight. As the 

 distance was great and the light decep- 

 tive, the markings were indeterminate, 

 but it was either a bald eagle or a golden 

 eagle. Most noticeable was the spread of 

 the wings, reminding one of Shakespeare's 

 "full wing'd eagle" in Cymbeline. Tak- 

 ing the wings alone, they expressed simply 

 power. It was, doubtless, this power 

 which the Negro preacher had in mind 

 when he prayed for his hero, Gilbert 

 Haven (dialect partly dropped) : "Bless 

 our Bishop! May he go through this 

 world like a pigeon on de wings ob de 

 eagle!" 



In an eagle's flight, though, there is 

 more than an exhibition of power. This 

 eagle I saw was flying from one range of 

 mountains to another range. It chanced 



