138 MY LADY IN GEE EN. 



never shows himself ; if he remains in the neigh- 

 borhood, and joins his family later, as has been 

 asserted ; or if he resumes his care-free bachelor 

 life, and sees them no more. 



Only three times was my close watch for vis- 

 iting hummingbirds rewarded, and those were 

 not at all conclusive. One morning, attracted 

 by the shimmering floor of jewel which Lake 

 Champlain presented under the morning sun, I 

 sat looking out over my neighbor's cornfield, 

 where goldfinch babies were filling the air 

 with their quaint little two-note cries, absorbed 

 in the lovely view, when suddenly I heard 

 a whir of wings and looked up to see a hum- 

 mer flying about near the nest where madam 

 was sitting. It made two or three jerks, ap- 

 proaching within six inches, and then darted 

 away. Instantly she followed, but not as if in 

 pursuit. There were no cries. It seemed to me 

 a friendly move, an invitation and a response. 

 Alert as she was, she must have seen the stran- 

 ger, as he or she hovered about, yet she 

 did not resent it. In a few minutes she returned 

 and settled herself on her nest. 



Soon I heard the familiar sound again, and a 

 bird dashed past the window, not going near 

 the nest. My little dame in the apple-tree paid 

 no attention. An hour later a hummingbird 

 appeared, perhaps the same one, without flying 



