Part 30

It is found in various parts of Europe and America. It is said to lay only two eggs during the whole year, and frequently produces only one young bird; it is, however, widely dispersed, and was met with at Botany Island by Captain Cook. It lives chiefly on fish: its usual haunts are by the sea-shore; it also frequents the borders of large lakes and rivers; and is said to see so distinctly in the dark, as to be able to pursue and catch its prey during the night. The story of the eagle, brought to the ground after a severe conflict with a cat, which it had seized and taken up into the air with its talons, is very remarkable. Mr. Barlow, who was an eyewitness of the fact, made a drawing of it, which he afterwards engraved.

In their native districts these noble birds are generally seen near the sea-shore, or upon the rocky precipices on the margin of the inland lakes, from whence they pounce upon the fish while swimming near the surface of the water. Aquatic birds also become their frequent prey. They generally choose the most inaccessible cliffs for building their nests, laying one and sometimes two eggs, entirely white, and nearly the size of that of a goose; one of these, in Selby’s possession, was laid by a bird after it had been in confinement twenty years.

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Montagu, speaking of the cinereous or sea-eagle, says, “The specimen from which this description is taken, was killed by Sir Robert Littleton’s game-keeper in Shropshire. It was accompanied by a letter from Sir Robert, the purport of which was, that his servant being out shooting, saw two large birds feeding on the carcase of a sheep, which appeared recently killed; that having nothing but small snipe-shot with him, he turned back, intending to go home for larger; that the eagles then followed him, and frequently came so near, that he concluded they meant either to attack him or his dogs. Suddenly losing sight of one, he judged it was very near him behind, and being somewhat alarmed, turned and shot at it in a hurry; after which the bird flew some hundred yards, and dropped. On his approach it was vomiting blood; and he killed it after a struggle of half an hour.” He adds, that it was the larger of the two.

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John Maxwell, Esq., of Ardbraccan, in Ireland, favoured us with two young birds of this species alive, taken the preceding year on a mountainous precipice, or craggy cliff, called Slieve Donard, impending over the sea, in the county of Down. That gentleman informed us that two men, covered with sackcloth and armed, were lowered by ropes to the aërie which, with considerable difficulty, they robbed of two young, leaving only one addled egg behind. The old eagles being so furious as to create serious alarm, neither the nest nor colour of the egg were noticed. Some fragments of flesh were in the nest.

The eaglets were covered with a glossy, dark, murry-coloured down. A basket was attached to the ropes that conveyed the men down: into this the young birds were put; but from the violence and amazing strength of the parent birds, they were with difficulty carried off. These birds were not twelve months old when we received them. On their first moulting they became much darker, particularly about the breast and thighs, the latter almost wholly of a dusky black. At two years old, the base of the bill became yellow; in the third year there was not any material change. At this time one of them killed and devoured the other, probably from some neglect in feeding them, as before that event they lived together in perfect harmony.

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From the astonishing height these and some other birds fly, we are led to believe that they are capable of living in a much lighter atmosphere than any other animals. From the top of some of the highest mountains in Scotland, we have seen several of them soaring together at so great a distance as to appear scarce larger than a swallow. It is said to prey indiscriminately on land animals, fish, and aquatic birds, and probably every animal of inferior strength suffers from its rapacity.

Two of this species contending in the air over Loch Lomond, in the Scottish Highlands, became so firmly grappled to each other by their talons, that they were precipitated into the water. The uppermost regained the power of its wings, but the other was taken alive by a Highlander, who witnessed the scene, and who waited till the wind had wafted him near the shore. This curious account was received from an officer who bought the eagle.

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Although this is an extremely bold bird, it will not venture to contend with a dog or a fox in its natural state. An eagle and a fox were observed to be regaling themselves on the carcase of a goat, that had fallen down a precipice in the Highlands of Scotland. The latter frequently obliged the other to desist, and retreat a little, but it was not sufficiently alarmed to prevent returning; and it occasionally threw itself into bold and picturesque attitudes of defence, spreading the wings and tail, and erecting every feather.

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Montagu says, “Two living eagles were sent to us from Ireland, and were, on their arrival at Bristol, detained by an officer of excise, upon a plea that there was a duty upon all singing-birds. Had this happened on the other side of the water, it might have been termed an Irish story. The unfortunate birds would, however, have been starved at the custom-house, if application had not been made to the head of that department in the port of Bristol, offering to pay any demand for their release, if legally detained for their vocal abilities. By this officer it was most wisely determined, after some consideration, that eagles could scarcely be considered as singing-birds.”

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The eagles in the Isle of Rum have nearly extirpated the stags that used to abound there.

They generally build in clefts of rocks near the deer forests; and make great havoc among them, the white hares, and the ptarmigans. Willoughby gives the following curious account of the nest of this species:—“In 1668, in the woodlands near the River Derwent, in the peak of Derbyshire, was found an eagle’s nest, made of great sticks, resting one end on the edge of a rock, the other on two birch trees; upon which was a layer of rushes, and over them a layer of heath, and upon the heath rushes again; upon which lay one young one and an addled egg; and by them a lamb, a hare, and three heath poults. The nest was about two yards square, and had no hollow in it.”—_Bewick_—_Montagu_—_Willoughby_—_Selby_—_Pennant._

EAGLE-EYED, _a._ Sharp-sighted as an eagle.

EAGLET, _s._ A young eagle.

EAR, _s._ The whole organ of audition or hearing; the spike of corn, that part which contains the seeds.

EARTH, _v._ To hide in earth; to force an animal to his concealment or den—as to earth a fox or badger.

EARWIG, _s._ A sheath-winged insect.

ECARTÉ, _s._ A game at cards.

_Ecarté_ is played by two persons with a pack of thirty-two cards, as at piquet. It is customary to have two packs, and of different colours for the sake of distinction. The pack to be first dealt with is placed on the right hand of the dealer, and the other at his left. Though only two persons can play at the same time, it is not unusual to admit one or more into the game, the winner or loser, as may be agreed, resigning his seat to the next in rotation, and this is called _playing a fool_. The game consists of five points, unless it be otherwise agreed upon by the players.

OF CUTTING FOR THE DEAL.

1. He who cuts the highest card is entitled to the deal. In most games the lowest card takes the deal, but it is the reverse at ecarté, the deal being considered an advantage on account of the king, of which we shall speak hereafter.

2. He who does not show the card he cuts, is considered as having cut the lowest in the pack.

3. He who shows two cards in cutting is considered as having cut the lowest of the two.

4. The cut for the deal is good, even with a defective pack.

5. In playing a rubber, the deal goes on regularly as at all other games.

6. The order of the cards is as follows: king, queen, knave, ace, ten, nine, eight, seven.

OF THE DEAL, THE MISDEAL, AND THE TURN UP CARD.

1. The person who gains the deal shuffles the cards, presents them to his adversary to cut, and then deals ten cards, five to his adversary and five to himself. He distributes them by three and two, or two and three, at his option, beginning with his adversary, turns up the eleventh card as the trump, and places the remainder of the pack or stock, as it is called, at his right hand.

2. The order of dealing observed at the beginning of the game must be continued as long as the game lasts. For instance, if the dealer began with three and two, he cannot change and give two and three; and _vice versâ_.

3. If there be one or more faced cards in the pack, and it be discovered before either hand has been seen, the deal is void, unless it be the eleventh card, which, being the one that is to be turned up, can effect no alteration in the game.

4. If it be not discovered till after the discard has been put out, and the faced card or cards come to the dealer, the deal is good, and the faced card or cards must form a part of his hand. If, on the contrary, a faced card come to the elder hand, he may, at his option, consider the deal good, or call a new deal; for this reason, that the fault being committed by the dealer, the elder hand ought not to suffer for it.

5. It sometimes happens, that the dealer turns up one or more cards in dealing. If they chance to be his own cards, the deal is good, for the knowledge thus acquired by his adversary, of one or more of the cards in his hand, can be prejudicial only to himself, and he ought to submit to the penalty of his fault: if he turn his adversary’s card, the deal goes on, but it is optional with the adversary to allow it to stand, or to call a new one. Some persons contend, that the moment a card is seen there ought to be a new deal. This is by no means a just rule. An unfair or not strictly scrupulous player, who might know some of the cards in the pack, might perhaps purposely turn up a card or two in dealing, if he found he was giving good cards to his adversary, and would incur no penalty but the trouble of dealing again.

6. When a player deals out of turn, and it is discovered before the trump card is seen, there must be a new deal: but if not discovered till after the trump card is known, or before the parties have discarded or played, the pack, just as it is, is left for his next deal, and the game proceeded in by the right person dealing with the other pack: if the play have commenced, or the discard been put out before the discovery, the deal is good.

7. Should there be a misdeal, and it be discovered before either party has seen his hand, it may be made good by restoring the cards to the order in which they would have fallen had no misdeal been made.

8. If the elder hand perceive that the dealer has not given him as many cards as he asked for, and the mistake be discovered before the dealer has seen the cards he has to take in, it may be rectified in the same manner as in the preceding case.

9. If the cards have been seen by both parties, and the dealer should have a deficiency, it is in the option of the adversary, either to allow him to supply the deficiency, from the uppermost cards of the stock, or oblige him to lose the deal; if the dealer should have a card too many, his adversary has the option of drawing a card from his hand by chance, or obliging him to lose the deal.

10. If the elder hand should have a deficiency, it is optional with him to supply it from the stock, or claim the deal; if he have too many cards, he may either discard them, or claim the deal.

11. If however it can be proved, that the fault did not originate with the dealer, as, for instance, where the elder hand has asked for three cards and has only discarded two, or has asked but for two and discarded three, then the elder hand shall lose one point, and not be allowed to reckon the king.

12. He who after having taken in his cards for his discard, plays with more than five cards, loses a point, and also the right of marking the king.

13. When the dealer turns up two or more cards, instead of one for the trump, it is optional with the adversary to claim what would have been the turn-up card, if the order had not been deranged, or to place the cards seen at the bottom of the stock and have a new cut, or to call a new deal.

OF THE KING, AND THE TURN UP OR TRUMP CARD.

1. He who turns up a king gains and marks one point: he who holds the king of the suit turned up, gains and marks one point.

2. The king must be declared before it is played, by the holder of it saying, I hold the king: it may also be declared after it has been played; but, in that case, it must be the leading card, and not have been covered by the adversary’s card; for if covered before declared, the point cannot be marked.

3. This rule applies only to the elder hand; the second player must always declare the king before he plays it; but it is his interest not to declare it till after his adversary has played his first card.

4. The suit of the turn up card, or trump, is superior to all the other suits.

OF DISCARDING.

1. If the elder-hand be dissatisfied with his cards, he proposes to exchange them in whole or in part, by saying, I discard, or I propose, or if you please, or any other equivalent phrase. If the second player be also dissatisfied with his hand, he accedes to the proposal by saying, How many? He then gives the elder hand as many cards as he demands, and afterwards takes as many as he wants himself to the full number of the whole hand, five cards each, if requisite.

2. He who has once proposed cannot refuse the cards given him.

3. If after the first exchange the elder hand be still not content with his cards, he may ask for more three or four times successively, till the thirty-two cards are exhausted, but the dealer, from first to last, is always at liberty to accept or refuse.

4. Each player before he takes in new cards, must throw his discard on the table apart from the stock, and the cards put out must all be mixed together. The discard made, neither player can demand more or less cards than he requested, nor is he allowed to look at those which have been discarded.

5. It sometimes happens, that, after several exchanges have been made, the elder hand having proposed again, and the dealer having inconsiderately asked, How many, there are not cards enough left to satisfy his demand. In this case he who has proposed is not the less bound to have other cards; but as he cannot have them from the stock, there being no stock left, he is obliged to supply the deficiency from his last discard.

6. He who looks at his discard, after he has made it, is obliged to play with his hand exposed on the table.

7. When, after the first deal, the elder hand proposes, and the other refuses, the one who refuses loses two points, if he do not make three tricks.

8. In the same manner when the elder hand plays without proposing, he loses two points, if he do not win three tricks.

9. If, in giving new cards to the proposer, the dealer turn up a card for the trump, in mistake as at the original deal, he cannot refuse a second discard, should his adversary demand it.

OF THE MANNER OF PLAYING.

1. The elder hand plays first.

2. The first player is bound to play in the suit he names; for instance, if he should say hearts, and play clubs, or any other suit, he is obliged, if his adversary insist on it, to take up the card he has played, and to play in the declared suit.

3. If the adversary deem the card played more advantageous to his own hand than the declared suit, he plays to it, and the card once covered cannot be recalled in order to play a different suit.

4. He who plays before his turn is only obliged to take up his card again, if it have not been played to; but if it be covered, the trick is good. In this case, as in the preceding one, both players having been in fault, one for having played and the other for having allowed him to play out of turn, no penalty is incurred.

OF THE SCORE AND VOLE.

1. When both parties have done discarding, he who wins three tricks reckons one point; if he win every trick he reckons two points, and has won the vole.

2. Two points only can be made in the same deal, unless you hold the king. To make two points without the king or three with the king, is called winning the vole.

OF THE REVOKE AND UNDER-FORCE.

1. It is not allowable to revoke, or to under-force.

2. When one of the players has revoked or under-forced, as soon as it is discovered the cards are taken up and played over again; but the person in fault, if he win the vole, counts only one point for it, and nothing if he win the point only.

GENERAL RULES.

1. For the cut to be good, at this as at every other game, two cards, at least, must be left of the pack.

2. Each player has a right to ask for new cards as often as he pleases.

3. When a player takes tricks that do not belong to him, and reckons them as his own, a bystander has a right to mention it; and so as to any other unfair play.

4. He who, under whatever pretence, looks at his adversary’s tricks, is bound to play out the hand with his cards exposed on the table.

5. A card escaping from a hand, and falling under the table, is not considered as played, unless it has been played to, or has covered, wholly or in part, the adversary’s card.

6. If a player from mistake or ill humour should throw down and mix his cards, the adversary scores two points.

7. He who quits the game loses it; but should there be bets depending, the adversary is bound to continue the game with some one of the bystanders, for the benefit of the persons so interested.

8. When the pack is defective, by consisting of too many, or too few cards; the deal in which it is discovered is void, but the preceding ones stand good.

OF BETTING.

1. He who bets on one of the players has a right to advise him in playing the game.

2. He who wins a bet is bound to give his adversary his revenge, but the loser is not obliged to take it.

3. The players have the privilege of accepting bets in preference to a bystander.

4. Betting being optional and not arbitrary, the bets that are made must be mentioned at every game.

5. Every case not provided for by the foregoing rules ought always to be decided against the player who is in fault.—_Hoyle._

ECHINUS, _s._ A hedgehog; a shell-fish set with prickles. _Vide_ HEDGEHOG.

EDDY, _s._ The water that, by some repercussion, or opposite wind, runs contrary to the main stream; generally a favourite cast in fly-fishing.

EEL, _s._ A serpentine slimy fish, that lurks in mud.

Very little is yet known of the natural history of the eel; indeed, the element in which they live almost precludes us from that access to them which is necessary to enable us to observe their habits and economy. The eel is evidently a link between the fish and serpent, but, unlike the former, it can exist a long time out of water, which its nocturnal migrations prove, though probably a certain degree of moisture on the grass is necessary to enable it to do this.

The haunts of the eel are among weeds, under roots, stumps of trees, in holes and clefts of the earth, both in the banks, and at the bottom in the plain mud, where they lie with only their heads out, watching for their prey; they are also to be found under great stones, old timber, about bridges, flood-gates, weirs, and also mills, except when the water is rendered thick by rains, for then they come out, and will bite eagerly. They are in best season from May until July: a running line should be used, which must be very strong, and the hook No. 3, or 4, with a plumb or pistol bullet upon it. They are to be angled for on the ground, and two or more rods may be employed (if ground bait be thought necessary, it should be the same as for the barbel); the prime bait is the lob-worm, and they bite eagerly all day, in dark cloudy weather, after showers, attended with thunder and lightning, when the water is high and discoloured; but those who venture upon night angling, will have far greater success when the weather is warm and the night dark. They are then to be angled for upon the shallows, where there is a current, or by the side or tail of a stream, with a sandy or gravelly bottom, with the bait on the ground; they will be felt to tug sharply when they seize the bait, give time (which is necessary both in day and night angling), and there will be no doubt of sport from night-fall until day-break, when they directly flee to their hiding places.

The largest eels are caught by night lines. It is of little consequence where they are laid, as they will succeed in streams (where the eels rove in search of prey), as well as in still waters, and they will take frogs, black snails, worms, roach, dace, gudgeon, minnows (which two last are best), loaches, bleaks, and millers’ thumbs. A sufficient quantity of links of twelve hairs should be doubled, and a hook tied to each link; these are to be noosed at proper distances to pieces of cord of fifteen feet long; bait the hooks by making an incision with the baiting needle under the shoulder and thrusting it out at the middle of the tail, drawing the link after it; the point of the hook should be upright towards the back of the baitfish; fasten one end to the bank or a stub, and cast the other into the water, but not to the extent of the line (as eels will run a little before they gorge): the lines should be taken up early in the morning; such of the lines as have eels at them will be drawn very tight. Dark nights in July, August, and September, are the best for this kind of fishing.

Another method of taking eels, when the water is clear and low, is called snigling, and is performed with a stick about a yard long, with a cleft at each end, and a strong needle well whipped to a small whipcord line from the eye down to the middle. In baiting, run the head of the needle quite up into the head of a lobworm, letting the point come about the middle; then put the point of the needle into the cleft at either end of the stick, and taking both stick and line together in one hand, put the bait softly into holes under walls, stones, &c., where eels hide themselves; if there be an eel there, he will take the worm and needle out of the cleft. Draw back the stick gently (having slackened the line), and give time for his swallowing the bait; then strike, and the needle will stick across his throat. Let him tire himself with tugging, previous to any attempt to pull him out, for he lies folded in his den, and will fasten his tail round anything for his defence. The largest eels are generally taken about the hollow stone-work of old bridges (the angler being in a boat), and are sometimes caught in considerable numbers.