In some of the accounts published of Aram’s trial, a letter is quoted, as written to one of his friends, confessing his guilt; but this document is understood to have been forged for the purpose of pleasing the illiterate jurymen who condemned him, and who were incapable of appreciating the admirable reasoning contained in his defence. He was executed near York, on the 6th of August, 1759, and afterwards hung in chains in Knaresborough forest. * * * * * “A little word in kindness spoken, A motion or a tear, Has often healed the heart that’s broken, And made a friend sincere. A word, a look, has crushed to earth Full many a budding flower, Which, had a smile but owned its birth, Would bless life’s darkest hour. Then deem it not an idle thing, A pleasant word to speak; The face you wear, the thoughts you bring, A heart may heal, or break.” [Illustration] Bald Eagle. The White-headed or Bald Eagle is spread over nearly the whole northern part of America, but abounds particularly near the falls of Niagara, where it subsists on fish and on such animals as are accidentally floated down the stream. It also feeds upon pigs, lambs, fawns, and other small animals that it can overpower. It builds its nest on the top of a tall tree, of sticks, weeds, and moss. The young are usually three in number, and do not, like many other birds, leave the nest till they are fully fledged. The parent birds are very fierce in their defence, and feed them with the greatest assiduity. This splendid bird is about three feet long, and seven feet from the tip of one wing to the other. The head, neck and tail are pure white, the rest of the plumage is nearly black. The representation of the Bald Eagle forms the national emblem of the United States. The mode in which this bird obtains his prey is thus graphically described by Audubon. The scene is in Mississippi, and the eagle is perched on the top of the tallest tree, on the margin of the stream. “The wild, trumpet-like sound of a yet distant but approaching swan is heard. The eagle shakes the whole of his body, and with a few touches of his bill, he arranges his plumage in an instant. The snow-white bird is now in sight; her long neck is stretched forward; her eye is on the watch, vigilant as that of her enemy; her large wings seem with difficulty to support the weight of her body, although they flap incessantly. So irksome do her exertions seem, that her legs are spread beneath her tail to aid her flight. She approaches, however. The eagle has marked her for his prey. As the swan is passing, he starts from his perch, in full preparation for the chase, with an awful scream, that, to the swan’s ear, brings more terror than the report of the large duck-gun.