The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1904-06-19

slLilhluue Oh tue eagle ana us young.
The text is Deuteronomy xxi, IL, "As
the eagle stirreth up her nest"
The war goddess has crowned the ca
Gle monarch of the air His throne
is the inaccessible cliff, his diadem the
noontide sun, his footstool the morn
ing clouds, his playground the vast ex-
panSe Of infinite space His keenness
Of eye, holiness Of flight, sharpness Of
claw. mercileSs deStructiveness of bcak,
cause him TO be dreaded in mountain
Gus lands, as the huge jaws and pow
erful claws of the lion cause him to be
dreaded in the African forests.
But. though the eagle has been called
the monarch Of the mir, as the lion has
been called the monarch of the fields,
Yet the eagle, like the lion, never had
royal pedigree. BY that word royal"
| mean noble, brave and fearless an
cestry. The eagle is not of heroic
mold. He is cringing, fawning, con
temptible coward. Though no Is a
raptorial bird and loves II banquet off
the quiyering flesh of newly slain
carcass. the blood which flows through
his own arteries is pumped from era
ven heart, In terror this mighty wing
cd flier will flee before the little king
bird, hardly larger than 4 bedwarfed
English sparrow. Confined in cage
with "A small barnyard 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 regulations are undeserycd al.
together" once wrote an obSeryant
naturalist. Let US not in this con
nection trouble now about statesmen,
poets or authors, but take from natural
history familiar illustration, that of
the eagle. The great strength Of the
eagle enables it to prey upon creatures
that have no power Of defending them
selves from his terrible swoop, but we
must not allow ourselves on this ac-
count as our fathers did, 10 magnify
him into type Of magnanimity and
courage. In true courage he is not
superior to most Of the smaller hawks,
and certainly inferior to the falcons
which will drive away this so called
monarch Of the air when he APP
proaches too near their nests. So that
really, when we remember what
fame the eagle has always had for
magnanlmity ana for courage, it is
obvious. In view Of the facts, that he,
like many other birds and men, has
obtained a reputation which is unde-
served
Eagle Protects His Young.
But, though the eagle is a coWardly
bird in reference to his own life, no
sooner does he become parent than
he is transformed into daring, valiant
protector of his young. No sooner are
the dull white colored eggs deposited
In the nest which the twain have build
cd upon the tops of the dizzy heights,
or upon the ledge of a precipiCe than
the parent birds are ready to protect
those nests at any cost. | remember
years ago seeing a powerful picture
called THE One Strand" A noun
tainecr of the faroff northeast had
been lowered over the side of a cliff to
rob an eagles nest Of its eggs, No
sooner was he lowered by a rope over
the cliff and dangling in midair, with
the surging sea hundreds of feet be-
meath him beating its waves upon the
jagged rocks. than the father and
mother birds saw the would be de
stroycr OF their home. They started
for their enemy. Aye, ii was a royal
battle-a battle for life. The eagles
were eircling about his head The
sturdy m0untanccr 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, all but one strand. With horror
stricken eyes he saw that strand grad
ually unravcling. Tie whole scene
was so realistically portrayed that |
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
orms the craven bird into fierce, In
repd champion. capable of sublime
self sacrifice In defense of It's offspring
Yet in our text we find him, in spite
of that tender affection, disturbing
the young birds aud turning them oft
Of their home What does the Bible
mean by comparing this strange con
duct with Gods proyidentia dealing:
Why does God. as a loving Father,
treat his children in this seemingly
rough way as the eagle bird pushes her
offspring? For You must remember
that we do not have to go entirely to
this figure Of the eagle bird to be
taught tie lessons that Gods hand
sometimes smites a loving blow, as
wei! MS gives loving careSs. In the
hpistle TO the Hebrews we are taught
that clastisement is one of the proofs
Cod gives us Of his affection whom
the Lord loyeth he chastcneth, and
soourgcth every son whom he re-
ceiycth." In his famous sermon upon
the mount Christ says there is bless
ing in falling tears and in prosecutions
aud in heartaches and in all affection
rs well as In smiles and perpetual sun
shine and iridesccnt joys
Work Makes Character.
First. God. like the parental eagle,
stIrs up our nests In order that we