d on its
prey, magnificent in anger and daring, Sumichrast abandoned the game to
it as a recompense for its courage. The bird, not at all satisfied at
being so close to us, buried in the body of its victim its claws--so
enormous in comparison to its own size--shook its wings and rose, at
first with difficulty, when, its flight becoming more easy as it
ascended higher, it carried off its quarry behind the trees.

Lucien, who from the ground beneath had followed all the changes and
chances of this combat, soon joined us.

"How was it that that great bird allowed itself to be conquered by such
a small adversary?" he asked of Sumichrast.

"Because it was a coward."

"But both have the same plumage, and almost the same shape; I took the
small bird to be the young of the other."

"The last is a falcon, and the other is a kite. They belong, in fact, to
the same family; but the falcon is noble and courageous, while the kite
is perhaps the most cowardly of all birds of prey. Falcons were once
used for hunting; for, as you have just seen, they have no fear of
attacking adversaries much larger than themselves. Added to this, they
are easily tamed."

"But eagles are much stronger than falcons?"

"Eagles are birds of prey which do not at all merit the reputation which
poets have endeavored to make for them; although they may be stronger,
they exhibit much less bravery than falcons, and only attack animals of
small size."

"Yet, surely the eagle is the king of birds; is it not able to look
straight at the sun?"

"Yes, thanks to a membrane that shuts down over the pupil of its eye.
Among all nations the eagle is the symbol of strength and courage: but
still the falcon possesses the latter of these qualities in a much
higher degree; it is the falcon which is the real king of birds among
ornithologists. The Mexicans, as you know, depict upon their banners an
eagle sitting upon a cactus and tearing a serpent."

"Is this intended as an emblem of strength and courage?"

"No, it has another origin. When the Aztecs, who were thought to be
natives of Northern America, arrived in Mexico (which then bore the name
of Anahuac), they wandered about a long time before they settled. One
day, near a lake, they found a cactus growing on a stone, and on the
cactus an eagle was sitting. Guided by an oracle, a city was built,
which was called Tenochtitlan, and subsequently Mexico."

My historical lecture was interrupted by a distant shot.