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 perfect 

 with an unsurpassed and delicate loveliness. One 

 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 



