“No, my dear, they are not,” said Uncle Thomas; “because their habits rendering it necessary for them to spend much of their time in water, the Creator has furnished them with an abundant supply of oily matter, with which they cover their feathers, so as to prevent the moisture from penetrating them; but Birds which are not intended to inhabit the water are not so provided, and would soon become unable to fly, even if they remained exposed to a severe shower of rain, without seeking shelter. The Osprey, or Sea-Eagle, which feeds upon fish which it catches in the sea, is provided in this manner; but then it could not be true of the Osprey either, because for this reason, the water does not saturate its feathers, and the sand would not adhere to them.” “Is it not true, then?” asked Mary. “I do not say that it is absolutely untrue,” said Uncle Thomas; “because the person who relates it states that it was confirmed to him by various witnesses, in different places; but I think it is very unlikely, to say the least of it. “However much we may differ as to the sagacity of the Eagle,” continued Uncle Thomas, “there can be but one opinion as to its affection for its young, and the valour with which it defends them against all assailants. Ebel, in his work on Switzerland, relates a story of a chasseur, or hunter of that country, which illustrates this fact very strikingly. Having discovered a nest belonging to one of these terrible birds, and having killed the male, the hunter, by name Joseph Schoren, crept along the jut of a rock, his feet bare, the better to keep himself firm, in the hope of catching the young ones. He raised his arm, and had already his hand upon the nest, when the female, pouncing on him from above, struck her talons through his arm, and her beak into his loins. The hunter, whom the smallest movement would have precipitated to the bottom, lost not his presence of mind, but remained firm, rested his fowling piece, which fortunately he held in his left hand, against the rock, and with his foot directing it full on the Bird, touched the trigger, and she fell dead. He brought away the Eagles, but the wounds which he had received confined him for several months. M. Ebel adds, that these hunters are men of whom the savages of America might learn lessons of patience and courage in the midst of danger and privation. The greater part of them come to a tragical end. They disappear, and their disfigured remains, which are now and then found, alone intimate their fate.” Uncle Thomas went on to say that he had not yet quite finished all his stories about the Eagle; but as the evening was now far advanced, it would be necessary to delay them till their next meeting. CHAPTER II. UNCLE THOMAS TELLS ABOUT THE OSPREY, OR SEA-EAGLE, AND ABOUT THE WHITE-HEADED, OR BALD EAGLE OF AMERICA.