8 THE MONTHLY
happen to stray within forbidden bounds, the first:
glimpse of the inmate of the den makes him take to
his heels with the speed of lightning. In June,
1827, a stranger gentleman, while residing at
Cairnsmuir, came in contact with the eagle before
he knew there was one about the place, and the
onset was so fierce, that he was thrown down, and
his upper garments torn almost to shreds; other-
wise he escaped with a few scratches; and though
his nerves are neither weak nor his arms powerless,
he declared that he would rather face an angry
mastiff than again put himself in the way of re-
ceiving a practical specimen of the lex talionis.
On another occasion, a very old woman, a depen-
dant of the family, was seized by the gown, sudden-
ly upset, and so rudely treated when lying on the
ground, that the eagle, it is thought, would have
made a meal of her face and arms, had not the ser-
vants rushed to the spot, and indignantly driven
the enemy away.
------
Sailors' Omens.---Sailors, usually the boldest
men alive, are yet on their own element very su-
perstitious. At the present day they account it
very unlucky to lose a bucket or a mop. To
throw a cat overboard or drown one at sea is
the same. Children are deemed lucky to a ship.
Whistling at sen is supposed to cause increase of
wind, and is therefore much disliked by seamen,
though sometimes they themselves practise it when
there is a dead calm.
