Chapter II: Part 2

So, whether we wear bright flowers, or eat fruit or honey, or stroll through meadows sweet with clover, the handiwork of the bee follows us and impresses us with the fact that our little friend lives only to give us sustenance, sweetness, and pleasure.

BIRDS AS SHEPHERDS.

In Venezuela there is a species of crane, called by the natives the Yak-a-Mik, which is easily tamed and trained to look after a flock of sheep or take care of the inmates of the poultry yard. When these are placed in charge of this bird it may be implicitly trusted to take them to their feeding places in the morning and bring them safely home at night, not forgetting to hunt for and collect any stragglers. The Yak-a-Mik displays all the traits of character usually associated with the faithful sheep-dog. It can be amusing, too, for, while its usual gait is slow and sedate, it can execute the most fantastic waltzes and strike all sorts of absurd attitudes. A German agriculturist, Herr von Seyffert, had one of these cranes which took charge of a herd of heifers, driving them to and from their pastures. It also kept order in the poultry yard, stopping all fighting and disorder.

THE MISTLETOE.

WILLIAM K. HIGLEY.

From very early times plants, animals, and even minerals have played an important part in the expression of religious ideas and in the execution of religious rites. Among the plants, sacred, and closely allied to the mystic life of a portion of the human race, there is none more interesting and rich in legend than the mistletoe. This was associated with religious observances before the time of Christ and was mentioned by our earliest historians.

There are over seventy species of this peculiar plant. Both the American variety (_Phoradendron flavescens_) and the European, or true mistletoe (_Viscum album_), belong to a family of parasites, so called because they derive their nourishment entirely or in part from some other plant instead of taking it directly from the soil. Owing to the presence of the green coloring matter (_Chlorophyll_), in the stems and leaves, the mistletoe is not entirely parasitic, but is to a certain extent self-supporting, drawing but a portion of its nourishment from the tree on which it grows.

It is found both on deciduous and on evergreen trees. In some locations in Europe it is especially abundant on the apple tree and, if in the right climate, there are few tree species which are exempt from serving as its host.

The mistletoe is an evergreen shrubby plant of slow growth, attaining a length of about four feet and its duration of life is practically that of the tree on which it grows. The leathery leaves and rugged stems are yellowish green in color and, in the axils of the leaves, are the small and insignificant flowers, which ripen about Christmas-tide into pearly white translucent berries. The seeds are probably distributed through the agency of fruit-eating birds which, after eating, wipe their beaks on the trunks and limbs of trees, leaving the seeds snugly planted in the crevices of the bark.

In Scandinavian mythology we find the mistletoe used to cause the death of one of the favorite gods of the Norsemen, Baldur, the god typifying the beautiful, the good, and the wise. In this myth other friendly gods, fearing Baldur's death, with his mother, exacted an oath from animals, plants and minerals that they would not injure him. Unfortunately, however, the mistletoe was forgotten and Loki, the god of evil, knowing this fact and jealous of Baldur's beauty, gathered a branch, and taking it to Hödur, the blind god of brute strength, directed him how to aim it. Baldur was pierced by the mistletoe and fell to the ground, dead.

But it was in "Merrie England" that the mistletoe was held most sacred, most revered. The Druids, the early priests of the Gauls and Britons, were accustomed to retreat to the oak groves for their mystic rites. The mistletoe was not often found upon the oak, but when discovered, was the occasion of special rejoicing and peculiar ceremonies, being cut with a golden hook, and white bulls were sacrificed under the favored tree. We are told by some authorities that as the oak was the symbol of God, the All-powerful, so the mistletoe became the symbol of man, receiving his life and sustenance from God. There are other interesting myths; and, in fact, the mistletoe is closely woven with many beliefs and rites of the Druids.

At Christmas-tide the mistletoe is largely used for decorative purposes, especially in England, where the custom is ancient, and also in our own land, where each holiday season finds more and more of this unique plant gracing chandelier and window, until we, too, may some day find our maids all kissed--

"Under the mistletoe bough."

THE EAGLE.

Bird of the broad and sweeping wing,
Thy home is high in heaven,
Where wide the storms their banners fling,
And the tempest clouds are driven.
--_Percival._

The bald eagle became the bird of our nation in the year 1873. It is at home in all parts of North America. Its nest in the top of a lofty tree is a common landmark in Maine, and on the great mountain peaks of the western states the nest is usually placed upon the rock where no man nor beast is able to climb.

The American eagle lives in America only, but an eagle living in the Old World looks very much like it. The American bird is larger than the one found in Europe. It is believed that the bird of our country sometimes visits Europe, for an eagle is seen there at times that seems to be our own bald eagle.

The birds that have beaks and claws like those of the eagle are very much like the cat family upon the ground. They are all fierce hunters and live upon weaker animals and birds. The greatest of all the cat family is the lion, the king of beasts. The greatest of the cats of the air is the eagle, and he is called the king of birds.

As the cats have claws and teeth for catching and tearing their prey so the eagles have beaks and talons which are strong and sharp. The cats come quickly upon their prey without the least noise. So do the eagles. They come down from the sky like lightning and nothing is swift enough to get away, unless it is warned of the eagle's coming.

An eagle sometimes lives to be over one hundred years old. Many years ago it was said that an eagle never dies of sickness nor of old age, but that its beak grows out of shape in its last years so that it cannot eat.

All people have admired the eagle. The Indians of America have always liked to wear the feathers of the king of birds, and in Scotland the chief was known by the feather of an eagle which he wore in his bonnet.

It often happens that a young eagle looks much larger than its father or mother. This is because the first feathers of the wings and tail are longer than the ones that grow in their place when the young eagle has once shed them. The young eagle is also darker than the old one. This is why some people have made mistakes in writing about them without knowing a young eagle from an old one.

Eagles of the same kind are not always of the same color. Some are darker than others and the markings are not alike. Some young eagles shed their downy feathers early and wear the dress of grown-up birds. Others keep some or all of their baby feathers five or six years. And there are some very old eagles still wearing some of the downy feathers of their first dresses.

Eagles kept in cages lose some of their fierce ways and change the colors of their dress. But they do not forget that they are eagles. A large cat once went under the bars of an eagle's cage to get the meat which had not been eaten by the bird. Down came the eagle, tore the cat to pieces, and ate him in a hurry.

The bald eagle is very fond of fish. I have seen him on a bright day sailing high above a lake where I was fishing. He was so slow and lazy that I did not think he was fishing too. But when he saw a fine large fish near the top of the water he came down like a flash, struck his claws into the fish, and flew away to his mate in a tree upon the land.

Sometimes the eagle gets the fish hawk to do the work for him. Waiting on the branch of some tree upon the shore he sees the fish hawk flying about over the water looking for his prey. As soon as a fish has been caught and the hawk is coming ashore to eat it, the eagle frightens the hawk so as to make him drop his fish. Then the eagle catches it again before it strikes the water.

It is because he is such a robber that some of the people of America did not like to have him chosen to be the bird of our nation. They felt that we ought to have a bird that is good towards all the other birds.

A poor family once lived for a long time by robbing an eagle. The father climbed to the nest and took away the meat which the eagle brought for its young. Every day he got food for his family from the eagle. When the young birds were almost ready to fly he cut the feathers from their wings so they could not leave the nest. Then he tied them in to make sure of his own meat every day. The young ones cried harder when tied and the old ones thought they were hungry and brought them more flesh.

When the young are old enough to fly the old eagles fly above them as if to show them how easily it is done. If the young do not try to fly when the old ones think it time, they are pushed out of the nest as if to kill them. But the young wings flutter so that the bird does not fall hard, and the old bird flies under her young one to prevent any harm.

The eye of this bird is so keen that it can see a small animal much farther than the animal can see the great bird. When out of sight in the sky the eagle can see a hare as it comes out of its hole. It comes down so fast that it sometimes catches the hare before it can get back to a safe place.

When the sky is clear the eagle flies very high, but on cloudy days he keeps nearer the ground. He likes to fly over waterfalls because fish are to be caught as they pass over the falls. At Niagara Falls eagles are often seen because animals are sometimes carried over the falls by the rushing water, and the birds can get them easily.

The eagle likes to face the sun and fly towards it as if he thought he could reach it. For a long time people wondered how he could face the sun so without being made blind. But we know now that he has a covering for his eyes that keeps them from all harm from the strong light. If you watch a chicken you may see it has two eyelids for each eye. So has the eagle. The eagle has a sort of eyebrow of feathers that may help protect his eyes from the strong light.

While the eagle is graceful in flying he is not at all so in walking. Few birds are so awkward on their feet. His great claws are made for catching his prey rather than for walking. He can tear things with them and use them in fighting, but he has not much use for them upon the ground.

When they cannot get the food that suits them best eagles will sometimes steal farm animals. Lambs, or even full-grown sheep are easily carried away. They have been known to attack children and carry them off. But they do not often do this, and they have been known to carry them a little way and then set them down again as if the load were too great or they did not wish to eat them.

A story is told of a man who lived a long time ago, and who had but one child, a little girl. He wished to adopt a poor little baby boy, but his wife did not wish to take care of the boy. He had the baby carried to the top of a tree in which was the nest of an eagle. The baby was placed in the nest so he could not fall, and the man and his wife walked under the tree. The child cried so that the lady heard him. She supposed it had been carried there by the bird. Great haste was made to get the baby down, and the lady was so pleased to think she had saved the child from being eaten by the birds that she kept the little one as her own son.

Eagles hunt in pairs. One flies about near the ground to scare the game from the bushes and trees, while the other keeps watch from above to swoop down on the first thing that comes in sight. While their young ones are in the nest the old birds are very active. They are fierce if anyone comes near the young.

Sometimes they show as much cunning in taking their prey as any of the cat family. In flying down to catch animals upon the ground they take care to fly so that their shadow will not frighten their prey. An eagle has been known to destroy an animal too large to be picked up by flying at the animal fiercely as it stood upon the edge of a steep place. The wings of the bird frightened the animal so as to drive it over the cliff to meet death upon the rocks below.

(_Continued on page 36._)

NUTS.

1. The English walnut (_Inglandaceæ_) has a thin shell. This nut is much esteemed and is an important article of commerce. It yields by expression a bland fixed oil, which, under the names of "walnut oil" and "nut oil," is much used by painters and is a common article of food.

2. The peanut (_Arachis_) is also called ground nut and earth nut. It is cultivated in all warm regions of the globe, and its usefulness is such that it is likely to extend. It was introduced from Peru into Spain, and thence into France. It succeeds in favorable situations and yields from eighty to one hundred fold. Its cultivation is so general in the eastern parts of Africa, and even in the interior, that doubts have been therefore entertained of its American origin, of which, the most eminent botanists seem to be quite satisfied. The fruit is sometimes eaten raw, but generally boiled or roasted. The importance of the plant is chiefly owing to the fixed oil contained in it, which is used for the same purposes as olive or almond oil.

3. The Brazil nut is the fruit of the _Bertholletia excelsa_, a large tree of the order _Lecythidaceæ_, found chiefly on the Orinoco. The shell is very hard, and contains a rich, oily meat in one piece like an almond. The Portuguese early carried on an extensive trade in these nuts. They are now chiefly imported from Para, and continue to form an article of great commercial importance. When fresh, they are highly esteemed for their rich flavor; but they become rancid in a short time from the great quantity of oil they contain. This has been largely extracted for use in lamps.

4. The hickory nut (_Carya alba_) abounds near the great lakes and in some parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The nuts are in considerable demand and are sometimes exported. The shell is thin, but hard, and the kernel sweet. The oil, which was used by the Indians as an article of food, was obtained from it by pounding and boiling.

5. The filbert is the fruit of the _Corylus avellana_ or hazel. The kernel has a mild, farinaceous, oily taste, agreeable to the palate. In England filberts are usually large hazel nuts. The American hazel nuts are of two other species.

6. The chestnut (_Castanea vesca_) is eaten raw, boiled, or roasted, or is ground into meal and puddings, cakes, and bread are made from it. The tree is common to Europe and America.

7. The pecan (_Carya olivalformis_), sometimes called the Illinois nut, a species of hickory nut. The shell is thin and the meat well flavored. The tree grows in North America, chiefly in the Mississippi valley, and in Texas, where it is one of the largest of forest trees.

8. The almond (_Amygdalus_) grows on a tree about twenty or thirty feet high, a native of the East and of Africa, but has now become completely wild in the whole south of Europe. It is planted for the sake of its beautiful flowers, which resemble those of the peach in form and color. The wood of the tree is hard and of a reddish color, and is used by cabinet-makers. But it is chiefly valued on account of the kernel of its fruit, well known by the name of almonds, an important article of commerce. It is mentioned in the Old Testament, and appears to have been cultivated from a very early period. It was introduced into Britain as a fruit-tree before the middle of the sixteenth century, but it is only in the most favored situations in the south of England that it ever produces good fruit. It is successfully cultivated in southern California. Almonds are either sweet or bitter. The bitter appear to be the original kind, and the sweet to be an accidental variety, perpetuated and improved by cultivation.

Filbert.
Peanut.

Pecan.
Hickory nut.
English walnut.]

THE BIRTH OF ATHENA.

BY EMILY C. THOMPSON.

It is a study, interesting to some of our modern scholars, to fathom the depths of obscurity and bring up from the hidden past, from the minds of men long departed, their conceptions of the beings whom they worshiped. Still more interesting is it to surmise and conjecture the origin of these marvelous beings. Charming books have been written upon these subjects and they prove fascinating to the reader who, with vivid imagination, can follow the theories of each author and the long fantastic proofs. The gods of the Greeks, those anthropomorphic beings, throbbing with life, radiant with beauty, the ideal of all that is fair and lovely, and yet the prey of human passions and desires, are a never-ending source of delight to classical students.

All theories start from the supposition that the gods had their origin either in physical or mental phenomena. Many try to trace out the effect which the world of nature with its wonders, its beauties, and its fearful realities, has had upon the savage and primitive mind, and how from these impressions arose the main gods of the Greek religion. Of course there are scholars on the other side who will not admit that there is any physical aspect of any of the gods. So the conflict rages, exciting, even absorbing, but inconclusive. The method of proof must depend largely upon the actual remains of that civilization which are still left for us in the literature and art of that people. The Greeks had an established theogony very early, as we know by the "Theogony" of Hesiod, which still remains. In this the parents of the gods were traced far back, to Gaia, the earth, and Uranus, the sky, who themselves were sprung from Chaos. A minute relationship was figured out between all their deities which is to us almost too perplexing to follow. Many names in this theogony are names taken from nature, as those above, and so the scholars get a basis for their investigations.

Athena was one of the principal goddesses of this race, the virgin goddess of wisdom and of the arts of life, especially honored at Athens, the seat of ancient culture. Could any goddess seem farther removed from anything physical or material?--and yet we find many theories from competent, earnest scholars, brought forward to prove that such a relationship did exist. The birth of this goddess as recorded by the ancient writers was peculiar. At a blow given by Hephæstus (Vulcan) or Prometheus, she sprang from the head of Zeus, the great god of Olympus, clad in her armor, full-grown, and perfect.

A few quotations will tell us the story and show us all upon which the scholars have to base their theories about the origin of the goddess and her nature.

Homer presents Athena to us as the daughter of Zeus, and of Zeus alone, but he does not tell anything about her birth. She seems to be the spoilt darling of her father, or as one German writer calls her, _sein anderes Ich_. She wears the ægis of her father and sometimes all his armor, as she takes an active part in the battles, aiding her beloved Achæans.

Hesiod, Theogony, 886-900; 924-926.

"Zeus, the king of the gods, made Metis first his bride--Metis, most knowing of gods and of mortal men. But when she was about to bear the glancing-eyed goddess Athena, then deceiving her mind by craft, by winning words, he swallowed her, by the shrewdness of Gaia and starry Uranus, for thus they advised him, that no other of the ever-living gods might gain kingly honor in place of Zeus. For from her it was decreed that there should spring clever children; first the glancing-eyed maiden, Tritogenia (Athena), having equal strength with her father and wise counsel; but that then she would bear a son, king of gods and men, with overbearing heart. But first Zeus swallowed her, since the goddess purposed both good and evil for him.... So he himself bore from his head the glancing-eyed Athena, terrible, strife-stirring, leader of the host, the unwearied, revered one, whom the din of battle, wars, and combat delights."

Pindar, Olympian VII, 33-38.

"Then the golden-haired one (Apollo) spoke from the fragrant shrine of the temple, spoke of the voyage from the Lernæan shores straight to the sea-girt island where the king of the gods, the great one, moistened the city with golden snowflakes, when by the arts of Hephæstus, by his brazen ax, Athena springing down the crest of her father's head, uttered the war cry with a mighty shout, and Heaven and Mother Earth shuddered before her."

Homeric Hymn to Athena XXVIII.

"Of Pallas Athena, honored goddess, I begin to sing, with glancing eyes, of many counsels and kindly heart, revered maiden, savior of cities, valiant, Tritogenia, whom Zeus himself bore from his sacred head, clad in her arms of war, golden, all-radiant. Wonder held all the immortals as they looked upon her. She quickly sprang before ægis-bearing Zeus from his immortal head shaking her sharp spear. And great Olympus trembled terribly beneath the weight of the glancing-eyed one, and the earth about resounded fearfully, and the sea was moved, agitated with its purple waves, and the salt water was poured forth on a sudden. The glorious son of Hyperion (the sun) stopped his swift-footed steeds for a long time until the maiden Pallas Athena took her arms from her immortal shoulders and all-wise Zeus rejoiced.

"So hail to thee, daughter of ægis-bearing Zeus! But of thee and of another song I shall be mindful."

Lucian, Dialogi Deorum VIII.

In Lucian's "Dialogues of the Gods" we find the following scene which gives an amusing account of the story in the words of Hephæstus and Zeus.

_Hephæstus._--"What must I do, O Zeus? For I have come with my ax, the sharpest one, if it should be necessary to cleave stones at one blow."

_Zeus._--"That is good, O Hephæstus, but bring it down and cleave my head in twain."

_Heph._--"Are you trying me or are you insane? Tell me truly what you wish of me."

_Zeus._--"This very thing, to cleave my head. If you disobey, not now for the first time will you make trial of my anger. You must strike with your whole heart and not delay for I am tortured by the pains which confuse my brain."

_Heph._--"See to it, O Zeus, lest we do some harm, for the ax is sharp and not without bloodshed."

_Zeus._--"Only strike quickly, Hephæstus, for I know the consequences."

_Heph._--"I am unwilling, but still I shall strike, for what must I do when you bid? What is this? A maiden clad in armor! A great evil, O Zeus, did you have in your head! Naturally were you quick to anger, keeping such a maiden beneath the covering of your brain and armed too. I suppose it has escaped our notice that you had a camp and not a head. She leaps and dances, shakes her shield, brandishes her spear, and is in an ecstasy. And the greatest marvel, she is fair and vigorous--already in this short time. Quick-glancing eyes has she, and a helmet, too, adorns her. Therefore, oh Zeus, as my wages, promise her to me."

_Zeus._--"You ask what is impossible, Hephæstus, for a maiden always it is her wish to remain. I, as far as I am concerned, do not gainsay it."

_Heph._--"I wanted this. I'll manage it and I'll snatch her away."

_Zeus._--"If it is easy for you, do it. Still I know that you ask what is impossible."

A certain Philostratus gives descriptions of paintings which he pretended belonged to a gallery in Naples, and this is one of them: "The Birth of Athena."

"Those astonished ones are the gods and goddesses to whom the order has been given that even the nymphs are not to be absent from heaven, but are to be present with the rivers from which they are sprung. They shudder at Athena, but just now sprung in her arms from the head of Zeus, by the arts of Hephæstus, as the ax shows. No one could imagine the material of her panoply, for as many as are the colors of the rainbow as it changes into different lights, so many colors flash from her arms. And Hephæstus seems in doubt by what gift he should win the favor of the goddess for his bait is spent since her arms have grown with her.

Zeus gasps with pleasure, as those enduring great pain for great gain, and inquires for his child, proud that he bore her, and Hera is not angry, but rejoices as if she had borne the maiden herself. Now two peoples sacrifice to Athena on two citadels, the Athenians and the Rhodians, land and sea; of the one indeed the sacrifices are without fire and incomplete. Among the Athenians fire is painted and the savor of sacrifices and smoke, as if fragrant and ascending with the savor; therefore, as to the wiser and those sacrificing well, the goddess comes to them. It is said that gold was poured down from heaven for the Rhodians and filled their houses and streets since Zeus poured out a cloud upon them because they, too, revered Athena; and the god Wealth stood upon their acropolis, winged, as if from the clouds and golden from the material in which he appears, and he is painted as having eyes, for from foresight he came to them."

Now that practically all the evidence has been brought it is time to investigate the theories propounded by these modern scholars and the various interpretations which they put upon this strange birth of a deity.

Preller looks upon Athena as the goddess of the clear sky. In the cloudy sky, in the midst of the storm and lightning the clear bright heaven appeared, and this was the birth of Athena. The sky is of the greatest beauty in Greece, especially in Attica, so Athena was most honored in this land.

To another German scholar, Welcker, she is the æther and also the spirit, presenting both sides of the nature of her father, being æther, the daughter of Zeus dwelling in the æther and spirit, the daughter of Zeus the most high spirit. He lays a great deal of stress upon etymologies in his method of proof, deriving the name Athena from æther, but as every author has a different derivation for this name equally plausible, it is impossible to have full confidence in this gentleman's theory.

Ploix regards Athena as the twilight, and Max Müller brings forward his inevitable "Dawn" as the true solution of the question, but the view which is presented in Roscher's Lexicon is perhaps the most sensible of all on this side. Originally Athena was the storm-cloud, and her birth from the head of Zeus shows this, Roscher maintains. This interpretation is evident all through the myth. The clouds appear in different forms, sometimes as the head of Zeus the god of the weather, at other times as the ægis. The lightning is the bright hatchet or glittering lance with which the blow is dealt. The thunder is the terrible war cry. That she was born in the west adds to this evidence, as storms came to the Greeks from that direction.

Farnell contends valiantly in support of his theory that Athena represents no physical force in nature, but wisdom. In antiquity he acknowledges that some philosophers did regard Athena in the other light. Aristotle looked upon her as the moon. The stoic Diogenes Babylonius gave a physical explanation of her birth. He recalls also a comment of a scholiast to Pindar, which tells that Aristocles said that the goddess was concealed in a cloud, and that Zeus, striking the cloud, made the goddess appear. He remarks that philosophers then, in their vagaries, were no better than modern scholars, but that the conceptions which the Greek people and poets had are important for us in reaching a true conclusion; so he endeavors to prove that neither in the accounts of the poets nor in the minds of the Greeks was there any physical conception of the goddess.

In the hymn quoted above he reminds us that there is no thunder which could not be left out if this were the description of a storm. He says also that there is nothing physical in the picture which Pindar gives us, unless the terrible cry of a deity must be taken to mean thunder. Lucian tells of no storm, and Philostratus, who is so fond of finding remote allusions does not seem to find any indication of a clash of the elements. The only physical feature in his description is the comparison of the panoply of Athena to a rainbow. So Farnell says: "It may be admitted, then, that these poetical descriptions do not consciously express the physical fact. To make them serve the other theories we must regard their highly wrought phrases as mere survivals of an ancient poetical symbolic diction which did more clearly express this." If this were true, would not the earlier accounts preserve this diction for us? But they do not, for this symbolic language is not found in either Homer or Hesiod. He says: "Is it not more natural to say that as imagination dwelt upon her birth the poets tended to embellish it with the richest phraseology, to represent it as a great cosmic incident in which the powers of heaven and earth were concerned?"

His opponents seem to base all their interpretations upon the later accounts, beginning with the Homeric hymn, for this story which Hesiod gives is in the way as there is no phenomenon in the world of nature corresponding to the swallowing of Metis. Metis is Thought or Counsel and is a personification of this abstract idea as Hesiod shows by calling her the most knowing of gods and men. Preller objects to this, and affirms that this primitive language does not deal with abstractions, and that the adjective thus applied to her by Hesiod simply connects her with the water, as there is a sea nymph of that name. But in all the myths which mention Metis, she appears as Thought or Counsel, and it is absurd in a language which personifies grace, righteous indignation, and law not to allow Metis (Thought) to be a similar personification.

Of course the worship of Athena had been long in vogue before a story of her birth arose. So Farnell reasons out the origin of the story thus: In her worship Athena appeared to have abundant thought and counsel, therefore she naturally became the daughter of Thought or Counsel, the daughter of Metis; she had all the powers of Zeus, therefore she became the daughter of Zeus, and as she had no feminine weakness and inclined to father more than mother, she could not have been born in the ordinary way, and this might have been so if Zeus had followed a fashion common in myth and had swallowed her mother, Metis. The prophecy given in Hesiod as the reason for the swallowing probably arose after the story, as the fulfillment of the prophecy could have been hindered in easier ways, and it is likely that this reason was borrowed from other myths, as, for example, the Cronos story.

The above explanation, Farnell says, is, of course, only a hypothesis, but it has the advantage over the others of being suggested by the most ancient form of the legend and the most ancient ideas concerning the goddess. He adds that the appearance of Prometheus and Hephæstus in later accounts would only strengthen his interpretation, the association of these divine artists with the goddess of wisdom and of the arts of life.

This was a favorite subject with the artists from the earliest times as old vase paintings bear witness. But the famous representation was that in the east pediment of the Parthenon, the work of Phidias. Only fragments of this remain to-day. The central group is entirely lost except for the torso of one god, supposed by some to be Hephæstus, but more probably it is that of Prometheus. So the fragments are of the side groups and not so helpful in recalling the original, but still conjectures and reproductions have been innumerable.

In Madrid a Roman puteal has been found which is believed to present the central group of the east pediment. Upon this Zeus is seated, before him Athena flees away, Victory flies after her to place a crown upon her head and behind Zeus Prometheus with the ax in his hand draws back in fright and turns away. This group of Phidias was, of course, the culmination of this story in art. The later representations are few and supposed to be merely copies of this.

THE WHIPPOORWILL.

What farm boy has not heard this birdless voice echoing from the ghostly shades of the thicket close at hand, or scarcely audible in the distance? Perhaps you have heard it as you have passed between the wood and the hill over there, coming clear from the wood but reëchoing from the hill only the shrill last syllable. Farther away on the distant hill-top you may have taken this last syllable for the piping of the salamander. The "whippoorwill" song belongs with the early May moonlit balmy nights, before the blossoms have lost their best perfume and before farm work has become a mere drudgery.

It vividly recalls the merry May-basketing frolics, apparently so necessary to existence on the farm; the fresh green fields and woodland blossoms; the planting season with all its hidden promises. There is, in the warble of the bluebird, glad promise of returning spring; and in the animated whistle of the phoebe reiteration of the earlier promise; but the whippoorwill tells of that delightful season realized. His is not a complaint groaned forth, but a glad announcement of joy fully come.

My early home nestled in one of those gems of woodland that dot the rolling Iowa prairies. One of my earliest memories of this old home is the twilight choruses of the whippoorwills in the door-yard. They often ventured upon the door-step and sang for minutes at a time, apparently oblivious of the members of the family seated just inside the open door. On more than one occasion more than one bird occupied the door-step at the same time, all the while apparently trying to drown each others' voices in a continuous flow of song. At such times the delightful mellowness which one hears, with the birds in the distance, gives place to an almost painful, penetrating shrillness. The more deliberately uttered song is invariably preceded by a strongly guttural sound not unlike that produced by striking an inflated rubber bag. The near-by song, to my ear, sounds like "_qui ko wee_," the first syllable with a strong "q" sound. I have never heard them sing later than 11 o'clock in the evening nor earlier than 3 in the morning.

It is well-nigh impossible to creep upon a singing bird in the woods, even if it could be seen in the dim light, but it was not unusual, at my old home, for the birds to playfully fly round and round anyone who might be standing out in the yard at twilight. The birds often came so close that the wings seemed to brush the face. The flight is so utterly noiseless that the object of their sport is aware of the presence before he can fully realize what it is.

The whippoorwill inhabits the eastern portion of the United States, west to eastern North and South Dakota and Nebraska, western Kansas, Indian Territory and Texas; north to southern Canada, into Nova Scotia and Manitoba; and south in winter into eastern Mexico and Guatemala. It breeds in the northern and central parts of its range, and rarely to Florida.

The nest is made late in May or early in June, in the Northern states. The eggs are two in number, light gray or white, with brown and lilac markings often arranged in scratchings and pencilings besides the spots and blotches. There is usually scarcely more of a nest than the leaves lying on the ground; rarely nothing but the bare ground.

THE EAGLE.

(_Continued from page 25._)

Eagles are sometimes caught by placing a large cage on edge so it will fall when a string is pulled. A live hen and her chickens are tied to the cage so they may run under when the eagle comes at them. As they run into the cage to escape the eagle, he follows them, the string is pulled, and the eagle finds himself alone in the trap, for the hen and her chickens easily get out between the bars which are too close together to allow him to do the same.

An eagle once attacked a weasel. This little animal is very fierce, and will not give up its life easily. Finding itself in the grasp of the bird, the weasel turned and fastened its teeth in the throat of the eagle. It was lucky for the eagle that the weasel did not cut his throat, but the little animal never let go. Its teeth were locked into the flesh of the eagle so they could not be torn open. Years afterwards the eagle was shot, and it had on its neck a queer locket, the skull of the weasel hanging there by the teeth. Sometimes the weasel cuts a vital part in the bird that picks it up, and then the weasel enjoys the life-blood of his enemy.

We have a gold coin that is named after the eagle. It is worth ten dollars. In fact it is ten dollars in gold. The first one was made in 1792. Half-eagles, quarter-eagles, and double-eagles have also been made of gold at our nation's mints.

In some countries besides America it has been the national bird. When the army of Rome first tried to land in England the men feared the fierce English soldiers. One soldier had an Eagle with him in the boat. He jumped into the sea with his eagle and called to his friends to follow him. They soon put the enemy to flight, and the eagle was praised for helping them win.

The eagle is fond of capturing such birds as the swan. When he finds a swan flying so high that it cannot get to the water and dive out of his reach the eagle flies against the swan from below with such force that the breath is knocked out of the swan in an instant. As the swan falls lifeless to the ground the eagle invites his mate to meet him at the spot and they have a great feast.

The eagle flies swifter than a railway train, but one was once caught by a train before it could rise and get out of the way. The "cannon-ball" train on the Georgia Railway was late. In making up time it swung round a curve in a cut at full speed. A bald eagle was seen on the track by the fireman, who was looking out of the window. The pilot of the engine was upon the bird before he could rise. It struck him, tumbled him upon the frame, and fastened one of his claws into a wooden beam.

Before the eagle had time to get back his senses the fireman climbed along the foot-rail to the pilot. He caught the great bird, and a fierce struggle followed. The bird fought for freedom and the fireman fought for a prize.

The train was going at the rate of forty-five miles an hour. It was hard for the man to keep himself on the engine with one hand on the rail and the other holding the eagle, which tore at him wildly as the engine swung to and fro upon the rails.

The man's clothing was torn to shreds and his hands were bleeding. But he worked his way back to the cab where the engineer assisted him in tying the eagle so he could not get away. But the tying was not easy for two men, for the bird made good use of his great beak and claws.

When spread out on the car floor he measured seven feet from tip to tip of his wings. He was not injured, and is now kept as a splendid prisoner, the king of American birds.

MIGRATORY BIRDS.

In the New World the birds of the temperate zone are rather perplexing in their migratory habits. Many of those which go north to Canada and Alaska in the summer pass the winter in Mexico, Panama, and even South Columbia; while others, as well as a number of migrants from the United States, go over to the West Indies. One of the most wonderful instances of migration is that of the tiny flame-breasted humming-bird (_Selasphorus rufus_), which breeds on the west coast of America as far north as Alaska and Bering Island, and winters in Lower California and Mexico. Thus, with unerring instinct, this diminutive bird, scarcely two inches long, flies twice a year the astounding distance of over 3,000 miles. The birds which belong to the second class--those which breed in the Arctic regions--comprise the swans, many of the waders, and a considerable number of ducks and geese. In Europe these birds spend the winter in all the countries from England south to the Mediterranean and Black seas, some even going as far south as the upper reaches of the Nile. In Asia most of the waders, such as snipe, woodcock, sandpipers, and plovers, as well as the ducks and the geese, spend the winter in India and South China. In America the Arctic birds migrate to the Southern United States and Mexico.

The partial migrants, which form the third class, are rather more puzzling in their movements, for among them we find birds whose motives for wandering are very diverse. Some are unwilling slaves--_i. e._, they get mixed up in the big flights of true migratory birds, and are irresistibly hurried along with them; such are the rooks, starlings, robins, etc., which are so frequently seen in Heligoland in the midst of a flock of swallows, warblers, and other genuine migrants. Another lot of these partial migrants are those which, perhaps, most justly deserve this name; viz., such birds as larks, pipits, titmice, etc., which, although resident with us all the year round, at times greatly diminish in numbers, owing to more than half the individuals changing their abode. For instance, those which breed in Scotland and England wander in the winter over to France, but, unlike the true migrant, always leave some of their number behind.--_Walter Rothschild, The Nineteenth Century._

HOW BIRDS CARRY SEEDS.

Dr. Howard, the new secretary of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, writing of the manner in which seeds are carried to a great distance by birds, recited an experiment of Darwin, which had a curious result. Adhering to the leg of a wounded partridge, Darwin found a ball of earth weighing six and a half ounces. From the seeds contained in this ball he raised thirty-two plants belonging to five distinct species.

THE SHIP OF THE DESERT.

The pack camel travels very slowly, and until you are sufficiently reconciled to the motion to be able to doze on its back, you are constantly tempted to get off and walk. If you want speed, you must buy a racing camel. This seems to belong to a different creation. It is much taller, more alert and more intelligent. It can accomplish 150 miles in sixteen hours without undue effort, and, in the matter of price, compares with the pack camel as the thoroughbred does with the cab horse.

THE SNAPPING-TURTLE.

By reason of the ferocity of disposition of this curious animal, the snapping-turtle (_Chelydra serpentina_) is rather formidable, not only to the smaller creatures which inhabit the same localities, but also to man, its bite causing very severe wounds. It is found in America from Canada to Ecuador, and there are few localities where it is not met with frequently. Swimmers in small lakes are sometimes attacked by it, the habits of the animal both in the water and on land being the same. It is bold as well as fierce, often suffering itself to be lifted from the ground by the object which it has grasped rather than to let go its hold. If attacked, the reptile's long reach and strong jaws enable it to defeat any ordinary foe. The elongated tail of the snapping-turtle has given rise to the popular name, alligator turtle and, being appended to the small, comparatively thin shell, giving an elongated appearance to the body, the specific name _serpentina_ resulted.

When the snapper elevates itself for the attack, with half-open mouth and sullen eyes, there is said to be something fiery and defiant in its attitude, though it is so slow and awkward in recovering itself after missing its point of attack that it presents a most ludicrous appearance. These turtles are remarkably strong. The elder Agassiz states that he observed one bite off a piece of plank more than an inch thick. They also attain considerable size, being the largest inland representative of the order, specimens not infrequently exceeding three feet in length. It is carnivorous in its habits, and is very destructive of fish, small quadrupeds, birds, and reptiles. Many have been the water-fowl which have ventured too close to their voracious enemy. Its appetite is said to be so great that it will even catch young alligators, and devour them in spite of their teeth and struggles.

The flesh of the snapping-turtle is delicate, tender, and of rich flavor. Every fisherman knows that it will take almost any kind of bait, provided it be of animal substance. It, however, prefers fish, and cannot resist a hook so baited.

In the northern United States, from the tenth to the twentieth of June, it has been observed, the female, at early morning, leaves the water and crawls to a sandbank, digs a small cavity with its hind leg, into which the small, round eggs are deposited to the number of twenty-five or thirty, when the sand is drawn over them, the surface smoothed down, and the animal is soon back in the water, the entire operation not lasting over twenty minutes. This method is different from that of our other land turtles. Nothing but sand will suit the purpose of the snapping-turtle. In order to find a suitable spot for the burial of her eggs, the female is often forced to traverse a considerable distance. The sand must be quite dry and exposed to the full rays of the sun. The little ones are hatched in July. The young run by instinct into the water.

Remarkable stories are told of the longevity of the turtle and of its tenacity of life. That they live to near a century is well authenticated. After the head is severed from the body the head will open and shut the mouth and roll the eyes. In one case a stick was held between the open jaws, which closed upon it with violence, and kept hold of it. Meanwhile the headless body was crawling on the ground.

An allied form (_Macrochelys lacertina_) inhabits the tributaries of the Mexican Gulf, extending northward in the Mississippi as far as Missouri.

THE STORY OF LITTLE BILLEE.

CAROLINE CROWNINSHIELD BASCOM.

In the March number of the _Cosmopolitan_ of 1894, I read a most interesting article about a tame humming-bird. I know a number of people who enjoyed it as much as I, so I feel sure all lovers of pets, especially of birds, will be interested in my story of "Little Billee." I have always been passionately fond of animals and would like to make pets of them all. I have cared the least for birds, (except out of doors) and have known very little about them.

I have been ill many months, and my family and friends have done all they could to make the days pass as quickly as possible for me. Early in June my mother found a little brown bird which could not have been more than two weeks old. Thinking it might amuse me she brought him up stairs done up in her handkerchief, and I took him inside the bed. After an hour he seemed very happy and not at all afraid. I looked him over carefully, but found him uninjured. I took him to the open window expecting to see him try to fly away, but he did not seem to have the slightest intention of doing so. From that day to this he has been perfectly devoted to me and my constant companion. At this minute he is sitting on the back of my neck dressing his feathers.

The first day I could not get him to eat anything until night, when he drank milk from an after-dinner coffee spoon. After that he took little pieces of bread soaked in milk from my tongue or lip. I fed him in that way for several days, then he would take it out of my fingers. He lived on bread and milk for two weeks. Now he eats almost everything that I do. All kinds of vegetables, mushrooms, and ice cream. He likes to sit on my hand or shoulder and take them from my fork.

I have some kind of nourishment every two hours and Little Billee knows very well when my maid comes into my room with a salver that there is something on it to eat or drink, and he is wild until he gets on my hand or shoulder. He drinks milk from my tumblers and will not drink water out of anything but my medicine glass. When Little Billee sees me sit down in the morning with an orange on a plate, he flies upon his cage, then over into my lap, and sits on the first finger of my left hand and eats the orange from my spoon. At first he could not crack his own seeds and as he was very fond of them I used to do it for him. Now he can crack them himself, but he prefers eating them outside his cage, and his hemp seed he always brings over and eats on the rug in front of my bed.

Little Billee is very fond of little orange blossom biscuits. I keep some in a tin box under a table by the side of my bed. For several days every time I would reach out of bed and tap on the box Little Billee would come running for a piece. One day I was visiting with a friend and we forgot all about the bird. Soon we heard rap, tap, tap, pop, pop, pop, and there was Little Billee standing by the box waiting for a piece. Since then he comes many times a day. If I send him away with a small piece he returns directly for a large one.