HUMMING-BIRD. 39 
Thrown off your guard you stoop to examine your 
prize, when lo! your hand is empty and your 
bird nearly out of sight before you have time to 
recover from the astonishment. 
“Towards the humble-bee he manifests the 
utmost ill-will, a veritable ‘dog in the manger’ 
spirit, driving him away from one flower after an- 
other till the bee in pure desperation turns on his 
persecutor. There are surely sweets enough for 
all, and he knows it. Still it may be possible that 
his animosity is aroused more by a personal aver- 
sion he has to the bee than by more selfish con- 
siderations. We will give him the benefit of the 
doubt. He is fond of silence, and will often sit 
half an hour together on a dead twig wrapt in 
the profoundest meditation, and doubtless the in- 
cessant droning of the bees disturbs his reflections 
and irritates him beyond endurance. I had once 
in my garden a ribbon-bed of white and rose col- 
ored Lamium. In its unsullied beauty it was like 
a dream of poetry. Every flower was pertect 
with an unsurpassed and delicate loveliness. Orie 
sunny morning I observed an unusual number of 
humming-birds and bees working among the blos- 
soms. Presently there was a commotion! The 
humming-birds had united to drive the bees away, 
darting at them furiously, uttering at the same 
time their spiteful, piping cries. ‘The bees, intent 
on seeking their breakfast, at first gave up good- 
naturedly and flew to some other flower, only to 
