TO A HUMMING BIRD 



REATION rare! 



O fairy bird — elusive phantom bright, 

 Now darting through my open window, 



where 

 The drooping rose-spray scents the wood- 

 land air; 

 Now poising, fixt in space, a living gem 

 Well fit to grace a June queen's dia- 

 dem; 

 Now, like a sentient, pulsing ray of light, 

 Disporting 'mong the flow'rs, too swift for 

 sight. 

 To mingle there 



Thy emerald with the gold, thy scarlet, 

 pure, 

 With warm shade, where the lilacs hide from 



view 

 The crumbling wall — thy bronze, with pur- 

 ple hue 

 Of fragrant iris — thou, indeed, alone 

 The name of fairy queen of birds 

 shouldst own! 

 E'er peerless shall thy magic spell endure 

 My wayward fancy ever to allure, 

 O vision fair. 



[11] 



