The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1859-04-14
THE BIRD.
PICTURE AND 4 1oh = Il

readers:
..,,.,,o,,ive us wings" Is the cry.uttcred
~, Al, csea,ion. even by the inorganic wor,d. fee
.s mart bodies rush rapidyiuso chemical trans'
which cause them to enter inte the cur
-. ~ niyersa, life, aud give them the wings OF
.enrsr,ent and fermentation. Vegetables Axed to
Inc so hy their root conide their odors and their
reeds to the wind, and strive after nsht re.ssea
70 them by nature. On earth we pity anns's ~no,a
re sts:s slo,hs, or tsrdisradess but II slow
testive to the desire of motion. to the ever disa
,o,a ~ effort to act and advance, the true sro,,
,rAae 10 $50, His powers Of dragging hin,sen
ma point of tAe earth to another, the insS"'ou
nssrur,en,s which re has recently invented 70 a."
,ho.s poverA-ail those e+brtsdo not aininisp ms
adherence to the earth; he Is no' she isS' e'"'"
Ia BIZ the tyranny OF gravitstion' r. .,xnx
There exists on earth only one CHASE % s's S ~,
~ wnan. a. given the facuity Of escaping sy iree
ara r.n;d motion from this universal sadness %
imnotent aspiration; II is the class wntch nous os
h, fhe world merely by the tip OF the wing so 10
speak which ia Graded anu borne on she ar .se.'
Generally without having 70 take any fursher tron~
Sle than TO steer according TO need or caprice -
Easy and sublime mode of life! With what au eye /
,nn., the humbest bird regard and despise the |.
strongest, the swifsess Of qnadrupeds, tiger or
lion How he must smile to see him in his pow |
srlessnees, adkeriag fxedly TO the ground maSlog
IL tremhle with vain and useless roarings and noe
surnal groans. which bear witness to the servhe
condition of the false king Of tie animals, who Is
Dord like all the rest OF u.s. 10 the inferior exis.
and gravitas.-ni
When, at,the close OF the last century, man con
ceiyed the bold idea II ccnfding himself TO tho
winds, of mounting in tbs air, withou. oar or rao'
der or any means of directing bis se, he pro-
claimed that he had found wings at last, had elu,
ded the prohibition of nature. and bad conquered
gravity. Cruel and tragic accidents gave the 10
to this ambitious boast. Then, the wing OF tne
bird was studied; attempts were made to initiate
IT. the tnimitable mechanism was coarsety eoun-
terfeits1 We had the frightfui spectacle 81 a
poor human bird, encountered with long unwieiey
wings, throwing himself from column a hunarso
feet high, futteripg for moment, and then dash~
ed 10 pieces The sad and deadly machine, Win
all it's laborious corspiexity, was very far from
representing that admirable arm (greatiy superior
TO the human arm,) that system OF muscles
which cooperate together to produce so power
fni and so rapid a movement. The human wing,
lax and dropping, was specially wanting IN tue
sN-sowsrfnl muscle which unites the shoulder 10
the chest 1.-THE humerus to the sternum) ana gives
its violent Impulse TO the flashing flight OF ti'e
falcon, The instrument here is so close 10 IL o
motor the oar to the -o'ver, aud is 30 completely
one with it, that by this arrangement the fr'sate-
bird Is able to row at the rate or eighty Isesnes
Der hour, FIVE or six times quicker Shan railway
speed, dstsncing the hurricane, and wi;hoEt rival
except the lightning.
Bot even if our poor imitators could resiiy nave
imitated the wing, they would have been aone
she forWarder. They copied the form, but sot
the internal structure. they believed that the
birds ascending power lay in its flight alone nce
being aware Of the auxiliary secret when nature
conceals IN its e,rmage and its bones. The mys-
terry aud the marve, is the faculty which II pos
sesses of making itself light or heavy at will, by
admitting more or less air into these express re
servoirs. To become light u initiates its volume,
diminishing thereby its relative weight from that
moment ft rises spontaneously in any medium
heasfe. than itself To desceDd. OF tat 1t shrlpks
and makes rself small by discbarGing the air
which sweiled ifs size, aud is thereby beaver, as
heavy az II chooses. Mere Was where tue -faiStahs
81 tatsr MT Wh
the fatal results. They kn6- that bird hoasihg
on the water is vessel, ship they did bot
know that diving in water or hoVetinG I'D ali
it is a balloon. They Initiated tue wing a'ohe.
Init with tbs wing we'll initiated, If the Internal
force Is not superseded, death is only nero ger"
tain result.
for taking in aud dischaTSng air, for swiininiog
with ballast variable at wtfi,--on what does Is
dererd2 On q unique, unEea,d OF power OF
respiration. man who should receive as mnca
air at once, would be stified at tho outset. The
lung of bird, elastic and powerful, assorbs and
imbibes ii with eXhiiarated delight. and Hoods
with It the air-celis of the very bones. Every
successive eecond brings aspiration and renovation
as quick as lightning. The blood cesseiessly
vivifed with fresh cir, imparts to every nuscie
that inexhaustible vigor which is enjoyed by no
other created beings and which belongs only 70
the elements. Herein is the progidy, and not in
the mere wing. Were you gifted with the wing
of the condor, and could follow hm when, from
the summit of the Andes and their Siberian gla-
ciers he flashes down, he falls upon the burning
shores of Peru, traversng in one minute All inc
Temperatures, all the climates OF the gobe preath
ing at breath the fearful mass OF ar Hohsh oF
baked, no matter to him--you would reach the
ground, although unhurt in limb aud without Q
scratch, smitten by apopieZy ns II by tnnnder'
bolt. The smallest bird puts the strongest qusd'
ruped to shame Human tradition is fixed ou this
point Man wills to be, not man, but al angel,
winged spirit. The winged genii of the Persiant
became the cherubim of Judaa. Greece gave
wings to her Psyche, the soul. The SOUL still re-
tains her wingsl she has dashed through til,
gloom Of the middle ages, aud mounts with in'
creasing aspiration. 80, that were bird!' ex'
claims man. No woman doubts that her infant
will become an angel.
tn. wing attains its fual triumph in a most
sonderfa, inhabitsnt of the atmosphere. After u
storm at sea in distant chimes, you may observe,
IN patch of rGvally blue sky, small bird, with
,u,mepse wings, lowering az az altitude OF ten
thousand feet. Is Il a gull? No; its wings are
black Ia II An esgief No; the bird itself is
small 1t 10 the little egie OF the seas, the first
of the winged race, the aHdaclous navigator who
never furls sail, the prince OF the temptest, the
despiser of all danger; the warrior, or the frgae
bird. We have at last reached the limit of the
series of which the wiHgless bird was the start
ing point. Here is a bird that IS nothing hut
wing. No body at all, or hardly any; scaroely as
big a. that of barn door fowl, with prodigious
Wings: sometimes fourteen feet from tip to tip
Such Q bird as this, sustained by nature on such
supports, has nothing to do but to hoas az ease
In which he finds serenity. The poetic metaphor
false when applied to any other bird, is no fgsrf
of speech for him; be literally slumbers upon sise
storm. If he thinks fl to row in earnest, SSs-
tance becomes thing of nought He breakfasts
in Senegal and dimes in America.
This strange being has, moreover, the royal qua l.
ity Of fearing nothing in the world Little, but
ctrong and intrepid, ne braves all the tyTants OF
the air He would despse the condor, ii case of
need before the monster bird could get well on the
srtheiess, surprises you which is. that on closer
inspection, the first member of he winged kingdom
docs not enjoy one particle 81 the peace which would
is cruelty hard, unmercui and restless. His twist
cd attitudes the contornns OF wretched watch
man. who is compelled, on pain of death, to keep O
constant kout the infinite expanse of ocean.
His sight, visibly, strains at telescope range; and
If Ii fail him. the sentence is passed his sombre
visage; nature has condemned him. and he dies.
Take near view OF his person: he has scarcely
any feet. and such as he has are very short and
wetbed. incompetent to walk or perch. With for.
midable beak. he has not the taons of the veriabe
see eagle. False eagle. although superior to the
strength, and 10 unprovided with those invincbe
claws. He can strike and slay but can he seize!
Hence arise the uncertainty aud the hazards Of his
iife which is that OF corsar aud pirate rather
than Of sailor; and the permanent question writ
ten o. his face is shall dino today Shall BE-
and enormous apparatus of wing becomes. on land
an incumbrance and danger. 10 order to take
spot, peak. or rocky cliff. Surprised sand
bank, or o low reef. where he often makes a halt.
the Iftg6tc Dffu HofpIt5s u6IeDcSlesS.
no purpose that he Threatens and strikes right and
left: he 10 knocked on the head with blows of a
stick. Out at sea- these immsnse wings, admirable
al certain altitude. are iltadapted to skim the
waves Once wet through, they would become
heavy and would sink And then, alas Tor the bird |!
he becomes the property OF the ishes he feeds the
Inferior tribes. which he expected TO make is food:
the grave dsvours the sportsman, the catcher is
And ret, what can he do, His daily meals are in
the waves: he must oil ways therefore, be approach.
ing .hsm he 10 obliged constantly to return to-
k&.A ha.. he al mud laszt,
threatens TO engulf him. Consequently, this be ng,
thatis 90 well armed and SO magniticeutly winged,
90 superior to al ms fellows 10 visual power IN "a
pFecarious life. He would perish Of hunger. If he
Ead not the cunning 10 find provider whose rations
he deSours, His ignobie resource is TO attack
heavy and timid bird. the neddy, who his excel
lent fisherman The fiigate- bird, who 10 not supe-
rior In size, parsues him. strikes him on the neck
with his bill nd mai i'm dtspo HI.