. The bird. Birds. 116 THE SHORES. prince, a feudal bird; kings esteemed it kingly sport to hunt him, and considered him a meet quany for the ^p^ " ^^^ggj^^^glff"' noble falcon. And so keenly was he hunted, that ah-eady, in the reign of Francis I., he had gi-own rare : that monarch lodged him near his own palace at Fontainebleau, and established there some herom-ies. Two or three centuries pass, and BufFon can still believe that there are no provinces in France where heronries could not be found. In our own days, Toussenel knows of but one in all the country—at least in its northern
. The bird. Birds. 116 THE SHORES. prince, a feudal bird; kings esteemed it kingly sport to hunt him, and considered him a meet quany for the ^p^ " ^^^ggj^^^glff"' noble falcon. And so keenly was he hunted, that ah-eady, in the reign of Francis I., he had gi-own rare : that monarch lodged him near his own palace at Fontainebleau, and established there some herom-ies. Two or three centuries pass, and BufFon can still believe that there are no provinces in France where heronries could not be found. In our own days, Toussenel knows of but one in all the country—at least in its northern districts, in Cham- j)agne : a wood between Rheims and Epernay conceals the last asylum where the poor lonely bird still dares to hide his loves. Lonely ! In that lies his con- demnation. Less gi'egarious than the crane, less domesticated than the stork, he seems to have grown harsh towards liis progeny, towards the mate whom he loves. His brief rare fits of desire scarcely beguile him for a day from his melancholy. He cares little for life. In captivity he often refuses nourishment, and pines away without complaint and without regret. The aquatic birds, creatures of great experience, for the most part reflective and learned in two elements, were, at their palmiest epoch,. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Michelet, Jules, 1798-1874; Giacomelli, Hector, 1822-1904. London ; New York : T. Nelson
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Keywords: ., bookauthormich, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, booksubjectbirds
