POPULAR HISTOEY OF BIRDS. 
" FaU'n as he is, this king of birds still seems 
Like royalty in ruins. Though his eyes 
Are shut, that look undazzled on the sun. 
He was the sultan of the sky, and earth 
Paid tribute to his eyrie. It was perch'd 
Higher than human conqueror ever built 
His banner'd fort. Where Atlas' top looks o'er 
Zahara's desert to the equator's line ; 
From thence the winged despot mark'd his prey. 
Above th' encampments of the Bedouins, ere 
Their watchfires were extinct, or camels knelt 
To take their loads, or horsemen scour'd the plain ; 
And there he dried his feathers in the dawn. 
Whilst yet the unwaken'd world was dark below. 
There's such a charm in natural strength and power. 
That human fancy has for ever paid 
Poetic homage to the bird of Jove. 
Hence, 'neath his image, Rome array'd her turms 
And cohorts for the conquest of the world. 
And figuring his flight, the mind is fill'd 
With thoughts that mock the pride of wingless man. 
He clove the adverse storm, 
And cuff'd it with his wings. He stopp'd his flight 
As easily as the Arab reins his steed. 
And stood at pleasure 'neath Heaven's zenith, like 
A lamp suspended from its azure dome. 
Whilst underneath him the world's mountains lay 
Like molehills, and her streams like lucid threads. 
Then downward, faster than a falling star. 
He near'd the earth, until his shape distinct 
