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laid it at the foot of a rock close by, where it could rest in the sunshine. Then she vigorously applied her scythe to the scanty grass, which led her on and on till she was at some distance from her child.

4. The eagle, whose nest and hungry brood were not far from the spot, had seen the mother with the babe. From that dizzy height, where the bird only looked like a black point, its far-seeing eye had followed her movements. It saw where she laid the child down on the rock, and it gradually dropped lower and lower; then suddenly it shot down, like a swift arrow, through the air, to the place where the child lay.

5. At last, but too late, the mother heard the whirring of the huge wings, and when she turned round the bird had already fixed its strong claws in the shawl, had seized the child, and flown with it over a fearful abyss. The young woman raised a shriek of anguish. It rang through the clear air, and reached the rocky heights where a few shepherds were feeding their flock of goats.

6. They heard the cry. Full of horror, they sprang up and held their breath. A second shriek quickly followed, and, as they had seen the eagle soaring on high, and knew where her nest was, they at once suspected what had occurred. They left their flocks quietly feeding, and sprang from rock to rock to the meadow, where, on the brink of the abyss, the agonized mother was wringing her hands.

7. "My child! my child!" was the heart-rending cry that met their ears; and they saw at once that if instant help was not rendered her child was lost. The eagle must not be allowed to rest a moment, or else—horrible to think of and neither must she be alarmed by a violent cry, or the danger was equally great-she would let the child drop into the abyss.

8. Thus, presence of mind and courage were necessary. First, some one must fetch a rope, which was kept in a cottage near by, ready for possible accidents; and they must soothe, as well as they could, the mother, to prevent her from yielding to the wild outbreaks of her grief. They silently separated, and so placed themselves that, concealed as much as possible, they could on all sides observe the eagle's nest.

9. They had not lain long in their hiding-places, when the mighty bird of prey sunk, first in wide circles, then in gradually narrowing ones, towards the nest; but at the moment she dropped the child, the shepherds raised such a wild cry, that, swift as an arrow, she flew away from the eyry, and left the child lying in it.

10. Now that the bird was out of sight, and had probably settled down on some distant peak of rock, the moment for action had arrived. With cool courage, Joseph Imthal, a young shepherd, only seventeen years of age, put his climbing-irons on his feet, seized his staff, made of tough wood, with an iron hook at one end and an iron spike at the other; and, having uttered a short prayer to the Lord, began to climb the mountain over a path of awful peril.

11. The mother eagle saw him, and knew what it was all about. Furiously she darted down, and with a hoarse shriek expressed her rage; then she seemed to nerve herself for a death-struggle. She was as eager to save her children as the bold climber was to save the child for its human mother.

12. The eagle darted towards him, but as she approached she was met by showers of stones and wild cries from the shepherds; yet as the enemy advanced nearer her eyry, she again and again renewed her furious attacks, which were always repelled in the same way.

13. At last Joseph reached the eyry, where the scarcely-fledged young of the eagle, frightened at first by the child dropped in the midst of them, were now terrified by the bold youth, whilst the eagle in her rage dashed against the shallow cleft where he had found room to sit. He attacked her so vigorously, however, with his staff, that at last, bewildered and stunned, she seemed scarcely to dare another attack.

LESSON XXXII.

THE BRAVE SHEPHERD.

PART SECOND.

Jutting, projecting beyond the Tăl'ong, the claws of a bird.

main body.

Ŏn'slaught, an attack; an as

sault.

Căv'i ty, a hollow place.
Prov'i děn' tial, brought about
by the grace of God.
Těm po ra ry, lasting for a time
only.

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Bleach'ing, growing white.
Chăm′ois (Shămmy), kind

of antelope found among the
lofty mountains of Europe.
Yawn'ing, opening wide.
He rō'ie, like a hero; bold; dar-
ing.

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NLY one part-and that the least dangerousof Joseph Imthal's heroic effort was performed; How was

the main difficulty was yet to be overcome. he to return? He could not go back by the way he came; that was not to be thought of-it was impossible. The only hope was in a rope let down from the crest of the cliff, by means of which he and the child could be drawn up over the yawning chasm.

2. If a single inch of that rope gave way-if a sharp edge of rock jutting out should cut it-if only one

hand slipped from the rope, or the holders of it for a moment lost their firm foothold; then- the very thought of it makes one giddy standing on firm ground! No wonder that the young hero, who was about to be suspended over it, looked into that fearful gulf, black with its immeasurable depth, and closed his eyes with horror.

3. Boldly and quietly the men climbed up the precipice, while the courageous lad wrung the necks of the young eagles and cast them into the depth below. The eagle saw this, and dashing towards the eyry, struggled with her strong wings to hurl the murderer of her young down the abyss, and only retreated after a battle that tried the young shepherd's strength to the utmost. 4. Then, for one moment, the thought arose in that brave heart that he should attempt to return alone by the way he had come up; but he thrust it from him instantly. "If the child must die," cried he, "then I will die with it." And he looked up into the clear blue above him with this resolve, and prayed for a higher aid than that of man.

5. The eagle darted down with fresh fury. The shouts of the shepherds warned Joseph, and he had just time to hide the babe in the hollow of the eyry, when the mighty bird made such an onslaught on him that he lost his balance, and fell with nearly half his body over the edge of the precipice.

6. But as the eagle dashed down again in blind rage, the terrible shock of her wings threw Joseph back with such force that he was hurled over the nest into the cavity between it and the rocks. He soon recovered himself, which was most providential, for, if the stun had lasted any time, the bird would have seized the child and carried it off.

7. The eagle, encouraged by this temporary advantage, renewed her attacks with impetuous fury. Several times already she had fixed her talons on the outer edge of the nest, and tried to use her beak and the muscular force of her wings on the destroyer of her young. The youth now searched the nest more closely; and to his great joy found in it a short but heavy piece of bough!

8. As his staff had proved to be too long to use with advantage, he regarded the finding of the stick as peculiarly fortunate. At this moment the furious bird again took up a firm position on the outer edge of the nest. A desperate struggle then ensued, in which Joseph used the heavy cudgel with telling effect. A final blow

leveled at the head of his foe, fell so true that the whole body of the huge bird trembled; her wings sank helplessly down; her head drooped back, and, loosening her grasp, she fell into the abyss beneath, where the bones. of her numerous victims were bleaching.

9. An awful dread now filled the hearts of the men above the eyry for the exhausted victor who sat with the child-a strange intruder-in the nest. The eagle which the youth had slain was the smaller of a pair, the female. Each moment the male, much the stronger bird, might return to the nest, and with fresh and mightier powers renew the struggle. Then to draw them up with the rope would be as impossible as when the female eagle was fighting him.

10. But the rope was let down, and Joseph putting his feet, protected by the climbing-irons, into the wide loop fixed at the end, and grasping the child with his left hand, shouted that all was ready. They swung out over the precipice, and the fearful ascent began. The rope sustained the strain, and the strong arms and true hearts above never failed. They were drawn up in

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