Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1904-06-16
C|.,,alrnaQe

BY Rev.
Frank De Witt Talnaee, o. d.

ng with his children and the way in
which he fits them for the battle of life
De graphically described under the
timilitudc of tho eagle and It's Dung.
'rho text is Deuteronomy XX1ii. II, "As
the eagle s"tirrcth up her nest"
The war goddess has crowned the ca
Eln "lnonarch of the air" His throne
l. the inaccessible cliff, his diadem the
nnontide sun. his footstool the morn
Ing clouds, his playground the vast ex.
pauSe of infinite space. His kecnncss
of eye, holiness of tight. sharpness of
claw. mercilcSs dcstruc,ivcneSS of bcak,
rausc him to be dreaded in mountain
pus lands. as tn" huge jaws and pow
erful claws of the lion cause him to be
dreaded in the African forests.
But. though the eagle has bean called
he monarch of the air, as the lion has
lcon called the monarch of the fields.
Set the eagle. like the lion. never bad
loyal pedigree. By that word royal
J mean Il noble. brave and fearless an
rcstry. The eagle IS not Of heroic
mold. He is q cringinC. fawuing, con
;nmptibie coward. Though he is q
raptorial bird and loves to banquet off
,hc GuiVcrinC flesh Of q newly slain
carcass. the blood which flows through
lis own arteries is pumped from n era
Ven heart. In terror this mighty wing
pd fier will ice before the little king
bird. hardly larger than a hcdwarfcG
English sparrow. Confined In n cage
with Il small bainyard fowl, the do
nestle bird has been known to make
the eagle beg for mercy as a school
yard bully will whine before an out
ragged youth half his size.
Many reputntions are nndescrved al
together once wrote an %obscrvant
naturalist. Let us not in this con
ncctlon trouble now about statesmcc.
poets or authors. but take from natural
history n familiar illustration. that OF
the eagle. The great strength. of the
eagle enables 1t 10 prey upon creature,
that have no power of Defending them
selves from his terrible swoop, but we
must not allow ourselves on this nc-
count. as our fathors did. to magnify
him into a type OF ~magnanimity and
courage. In rue courage he is not
superior TO most Of the smaller hawks.
and certainly inferior to the fnicons
which viii iriy. away tins SO called
monarch of the air vhcr he ap-
pruachcS too ncaf their nests So that,
really. when we remclnbe: what a
fame the eagle has always had for
m-agnaninity anG for courage. it il
obvious, In view Of the facts, th9t he,
like many other birds and men, has
obtained a reputation which is undo
served.
Eagle Protects His Young.
Bun. though the eagle IL q covardly
bird in rcfcrouc" To his own life. no
SCORER docs ~ become a parent than
he is transformed into a daring. valiant
protector OF his youn.. 80 sooner are
the dull white colorc,i eggs Deposited
" tho nest which the twain have build
Cd upon the tops of the dizzy heigt Is,
Or upon thr lodge Of a preripicr. than
lne parent birds are ready to protect
Hose nests at am cost. remember
1carS ago seeing a powerful! picture
ral!cd Tie Ono Strand" y noun
iaiDoCr of the faro.S northeast had
been lowered ovel the side OF a cliff TO
rob IN eagles Test OF its eggs. 10
sooncr was he lowered by a rope over
the clili and dangling in midair. with
the SURFING sea hundred of feet be
Meath him beating its waves upon the
Jagged rocks, thau the father and
mother birds saw the would be de-
stroyor of 1ncir home. They started
for their enemy. Ave. il was a ROYAL
battlc-a battle for life. The eagles
We're c|ircljng about his head. The
sturdy m0untainecr was swinging his
knife round and round over his head.
But once he swung the knife too far.
The keen edge Of the blade cut the
rope. al but one strand. With horror
stricken eyes he saw mat strand grad
ualIy ~unravcling The whole scene
WIS so realistically portrayed thnt |
could almost hear the Triumphant
screams of the parental birds as their
human enemy was about 10 be dashed
upon the rocks below.
Yes. Yes: parental affection trans
forms the craven bird INTO a fierce, in
trepid champion. capable of sublime
Heif, sacrihce in defense of it's offspring.
Yet in our text We find him. in spite
of thai tcndrr affection, disturbing
the young birds and turning them out
of their home. What does the Bible
moan ny ring fins stroDve ron.