A gamekeeper was on the moors in Scotland, when he observed an eagle rise from the ground with something he had seized as his prey; for a time he flew steadily, but suddenly became agitated, fluttered for a time, spired upwards in a straight line to a vast height, then ceasing to flap his wings, he fell headlong to the ground. Struck with so unaccountable an occurrence the man hastened to the spot, and found the eagle quite dead, with a wounded stoat struggling by his side; the stoat, when in the air, had fixed himself on his assailant's throat, and completely turned the tables on him. Eagles, if they can take a fine fish at a disadvantage, will not hesitate to vary their diet; but unexpected difficulties sometimes arise and prevent their enjoyment of the little treat, of which a pleasant story is told by Brand, as having happened off the Orkney Islands.

"About six years since an eagle fell down on a turbot sleeping on the surface of the water, on the east side of Brassa; and having fastened his claws in her, he attempted to fly up; but the turbot awakening, and being too heavy for him to fly up with, endeavoured to draw himn down beneath the water. Thus they struggled for some time, the eagle labouring to go up, and the turbot to go down, till a boat that was near to them and beheld the sport, took them both, selling the eagle to the Hollanders then in the country."

An instance of the boldness of eagles is mentioned by Mr. Lear, in his very interesting "Journal of a Landscape Painter." When sketching the formidable fortress of Khimára in Albania, there came two old women with the hope of selling some fowls, which they incautiously left on a ledge of rock just above their heads, whilst they discussed the terms of the purchase with Anastásio, Mr. Lear's dragoman. When behold! two superb eagles suddenly floated over the abyss-and-pounce-carried off each his hen; the unlucky gallinacea screaming vainly as they were transported by unwelcome wings to the inaccessible crags on the far side of the ravine where young eagles and destiny awaited them.

Near Joánnina, Mr. Lear saw jays and storks and vultures in vast numbers. Owing to a disease among the lambs, the birds of prey had gathered together, and a constant stream of these harpies passed from the low grounds to the rocks above. One hundred and sixty were counted on one spot, and as with outstretched necks and wings they soared and wheeled, their appearance was very grand.

One of the most surprising facts connected with birds of prey is that wonderful acuteness of vision which enables the eagle, for example, when soaring in the clouds to discern, and to pounce with unerring precision, on so small an object as a grouse upon the ground. When looking for its prey, the eagle sails in large circles, with his tail spread out, and its wings scarcely moving. Thus it soars aloft in a spiral course, its gyrations becoming less and less perceptible until it dwindles to a mere speck, and is at length lost to view; when suddenly it reappears, rushing down like lightning, and carries off in its talons some unhappy prey; the raptorial birds are, however, endowed with a very beautiful modification of the eye in relation to this power of vision. The globe is surrounded with a circle of bony plates, slightly moving on each other, whereby its form is maintained, and the muscles at the back of the eye are so arranged that by their pressure the front of that organ can be ren

dered more prominent than is ever seen in Mammalia, or they can be quite relaxed, and the front of the eye rendered nearly flat. The first condition fits it for discerning near objects, the second endows it with telescopic sight, by the peculiar adaptation of the refractive media, and is that which exists when the bird is hovering on high.

The Bald eagle, the emblem of America, is remarkable for his great partiality to fish, and his superior strength enables him to turn the industry of the osprey to his own account, by robbing it of its prey. The following spirited description of such a scene is from the pen of the poet-naturalist, Wilson. "Elevated on the high dead limb of some gigantic tree, that commands a wide view of the neighbouring shore and ocean, he seems calmly to contemplate the motions of the various feathered tribes that pursue their busy avocations below the snow-white gulls slowly winnowing the air: the busy tringæ coursing along the sands; trains of ducks streaming over the surface; silent and watchful cranes, intent and wading; clamorous crows and all the winged multitudes that subsist by the bounty of this vast liquid magazine of Nature. High over all these hovers one whose action instantly arrests all his attention. By his wide curvature of wing, and sudden suspension in the air, he knows him to be the fish-hawk, settling over some devoted victim of the deep. His eye kindles at the sight, and balancing himself with half-opened wings on the branch, he watches the result. Down, rapid as an arrow from heaven, descends the object of his attention; the roar of its wings reaching the ear as it disappears in the deep, making the surges foam around! at this moment the eager look of the eagle is all ardour, and, levelling his neck for flight, he sees the fish-hawk once more emerge, struggling with his prey, and mounting in the air with screams of exultation. These are the signal for our hero, who, launching into the air instantly gives chase, and soon gains on the fish-hawk: each exerts his utmost to mount above the other, displaying in these rencontres the most sublime aërial evolutions. The unencumbered eagle rapidly advances, and is just on the point of reaching his opponent, when, with a sudden scream, probably of despair and honest execration, the latter drops his fish: the eagle poising himself for a moment, as if to take a more certain aim, descends like a whirlwind, snatches it in its grasp ere it reaches the water, and bears his ill-gotten booty silently away to the woods."

The awful gulf into which the waters tumble at the Horse-shoe Fall of Niagara, is a favourite resort of the eagles. They may be seen sailing about in the mist which rises from the turbulent waters, with an ease and elegance of motion almost sublime.

"High o'er the watery uproar silent seen,
Sailing sedate in majesty serene,

Now midst the pillared spray sublimely lost,
And now emerging, down the rapids tost,
Glides the bald eagle, gazing calm and slow
O'er all the horrors of the scene below,
Intent alone to sate himself with blood
From the torn victims of the raging flood."

The attraction that leads these birds to the Falls, is the swollen carcases swept down the river, and precipitated over the cataract. Wilson saw an eagle seated on a dead horse, keeping a whole flock of vultures at a distance till he had satisfied himself; and on another

occasion, when thousands of tree-squirrels had been drowned in their migration across the Ohio, and hosts of vultures had collected, the sudden appearance of a bald eagle sent them all off, and the eagle kept sole possession for many days.

Notwithstanding the poetical description we have quoted from the pen of Wilson, it is to be feared that the bald eagle is but a reprobate, and too well deserves the following character, given to it by the celebrated Benjamin Franklin :

"For my part (says he) I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country. He is a bird of bad moral character; he does not get his living honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead tree, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the labours of the fishing-hawk; and when that diligent bird has at length taken a fish, and is bearing it to its nest for the support of his mate and young ones, the bald eagle pursues him and takes it from him. With all this injustice he is never in good case, but, like those among men who live by sharping and robbing, he is generally poor, and often very lousy. Besides, he is a rank coward; the little king bird, not bigger than a sparrow, attacks him boldly and drives him out of the district. He is, therefore, by no means a proper emblem for the brave and honest Cincinnati of America, who have driven all the king birds from our country; though exactly fit for that order of knights which the French call chevaliers d'industrie."

These bald eagles are indeed sad thieves, not confining themselves to fish or such small deer. Mr. Gardiner, of Long Island, saw one flying with a lamb ten days old, and by hallooing and gesticulating, caused the bird to drop it, but the back was broken. The same gentleman shot one seven feet from tip to tip of the wings, which was so fierce, that when attacked by a dog it fastened his claws into his head, and was with difficulty disengaged. Another case is on record, when one of these eagles pounced upon a strong tomcat and flew away, but puss offered such a vigorous resistance with his teeth and claws, that a regular battle took place in the air; at length, tired of struggling, and extremely incommoded by the claws of the cat, the eagle descended to the earth where the battle continued, but was terminated by some men who captured both combatants, much the worse for wear.

In New Jersey, a woman weeding in her garden had set her child down near, when a sudden rush and a scream from the infant alarmed her, and starting up, she beheld the child being dragged along the ground by a huge eagle. Happily the frock, in which the bird's talons were fixed, gave way, and, alarmed by the outcry of the mother, he did not offer to renew the attack, but flew away.

The chief redeeming feature in the character of the bald eagle is its love for its young. During the process of clearing a piece of land, fire was set to a large dead pine tree, in which was an eagle's nest and young; the tree being on fire more than half way up, and the flames rapidly ascending, the parent eagle darted around and among them until her plumage was so much scorched that it was with difficulty she could escape, and even then attempted several times to return to her offspring's assistance.

Dr. Richardson relates an adventure which befel him, showing the determination with which the gyr-falcon will also defend its off

spring. "In the middle of June, 1821," says he, "a pair of these birds attacked me as I was climbing in the vicinity of their nest, which was built on a lofty precipice on the borders of Point Lake. They flew in circles, uttering loud and harsh screams, and alternately stooping with such velocity that their motion through the air produced a loud rushing noise. They struck their claws within an inch or two of my head, and I endeavoured, by keeping the barrel of my gun close to my cheek, and suddenly elevating the muzzle when they were in the act of striking, to ascertain whether they had the power of instantaneously changing the direction of their rapid course, and found that they invariably rose above the obstacle, with the quickness of thought, showing equal acuteness of vision and power of motion."

To those who know how low in the scale of intelligence the Marsupial animals rank, it is not very flattering to the dignity of the lords of the creation to find that we have been at times confounded with them, even by so keen-sighted and quick-witted a bird as an eagle. An anecdote related by Captain Flinders, is an amusing illustration of such a blunder, which must, by the way, have sorely perplexed the birds; the scene is laid on "Thistles Island."

"In our way up the hills to take a commanding station for the survey, a speckled yellow snake lay asleep before us. By pressing the butt-end of a musket on his neck I kept him down, whilst Mr. Thistle, with a sail needle and twine sewed up his mouth, and he was taken on board alive for the naturalist to examine. We were proceeding onward with our prize when a white eagle, with fierce aspect and outspread wing, was seen bounding towards us, but stopping short at twenty yards off, he flew up into a tree. Another bird of the same kind discovered himself by making a motion to pounce down upon us as we passed underneath; and it seemed evident they took us for kangaroos, having probably never before seen an upright animal in the island of any other species. These birds sit watching in the trees, and should a kangaroo come out to feed in the day time, it is seized and torn to pieces by these voracious creatures." *

The following lines by Southey, elegantly advert to a myth of the ancients, which obscurely shadows forth that transition which human nature is destined to undergo in our progress from one condition of existence to another. Like the bird, we shall leave behind us in this world, all that is gross, impure, and perishable; and as she is fabled to rise from the waters, so we hope to rise from the earth, purified, glorified, and immortal.

"Even as the eagle (ancient storyers say),

When faint with years she feels her flagging wing,
Soars up toward the mid-sun's piercing ray.
Then filled with fire, into some living spring
Plunges, and casting there her ancient plumes,
The vigorous strength of primal youth resumes."

"A Voyage to Terra Australis, vol. i. p. 138."

VAUXHALL IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.

BY ALFRED

CROWQUILL.

Vauxhall.-Want of Police.-The two Heroes.-Covered Walks.-Prince of Saxe Gotha.- Highwaymen. - Pressgang. -The Duke and his own Music. The Prince of Wales.-Watchmen and Highwaymen.-The allegorical transparency to the Prince.-Price of Admission raised.-The bold Militiaman.-George III. and Hatfield. The Anthem of Thanksgiving.-The noble patronesses.-The Volunteers at Vauxhall.-The Sham fight.-Ganerin's Ballooning.- Distinguished patrons.-Low Company.-The closing nights.--A Footman's apology.--The Prince's Birth-night galas. - The Costume described. --The propriety of our Grandmothers.

THERE appears to have been a sad lack of management in the proprietor of Vauxhall for his own and the public's protection, even as late as 1764; for whenever the young bloods of the day took it into their heads to be frolicsome, there was no efficient restraining power to curb their mischievous sallies. In a notice of the gardens of that date, we find that "About one o'clock on Friday morning, about fifty young bloods, &c., tore up the railing, and did other damage at Vauxhall, occasioned by Mr. Tyer's having railed in the dark walks, to prevent indecencies, so much complained of last year."

Neither were these bloods content with committing flagrant breaches of the peace, under the excuse of the Vauxhall punch; for we find a mention made of two gentlemen (?) quarreling with a waterman about a fare from Vauxhall, who drew their swords; and the poor fellow, after breaking one, in endeavouring to secure the other, had his hand cut in a terrible way, and the victorious heroes got off in triumph. This occurred July, 1766.

It was not until 1768 that the present covered walks were attempted, being only hitherto an avenue of trees. A newspaper notice of the 16th June, 1768, observes thus:-"An improvement is preparing at Spring Garden, Vauxhall, to consist of an elegant canopy, of a curious device, over the walks of that part of the gardens called the Grove; which, besides being a pleasing object, will render that delightful spot agreeable in wet weather, and secure the company from the danger arising from wet and dews, at the same time that the rural beauties of the place will rather be improved than destroyed." In the following August these gardens were honoured by a visit from the King of Denmark, "who went attended by the Prince of Saxe Gotha, Lady Harrington, and several other ladies and gentlemen of distinction. The cascade was played off again for his amusement, after which he came up to the orchestra and heard a fine piece of music by the celebrated performer on the hautboy, and a trio by Mrs. Pinto, Mrs. Weechsel and Mr. Vernon ; and afterwards supped in the great room behind the pavilion, where the band of music played during his stay.

It appears that no small degree of danger was incurred by the frequenters of Vauxhall on their return from this favourite place of amusement to the distant city of London. It is reported in the