242 
THE BEAUTIFUL LADDER. 
sipping from flower to flower to commemorate 
this happy hour of creative sportiveness. 
“ We feed on the gross and material, in order 
that we may live on the beautiful and the spir¬ 
itual ; and no one can have a proper conception 
of the all-abounding goodness of our Heavenly 
Father unless this higher purpose is traced out 
in all his work. The body is the servant of the 
soul, and it requires the greatest watchfulness 
to keep it in proper subjection, for it is ever 
striving to become master; and when it once 
succeeds, it exacts the most grovelling service 
as its trophy of victory. With a proper con¬ 
ception of the relations of the material to the 
spiritual, the study of this exquisite order of 
birds cannot fail to inspire us with the most 
devout thoughts. 
“ The humming-birds are found, in the warm 
season, as far north as Alaska, and extend 
their range southward as far as Patagonia, the 
greatest numbers and variety being found in 
New Granada. In our Middle States only two 
varieties are seen—the ruby-throated and the 
linne humming-birds. Although they are among 
the least attractive in the group, they are every¬ 
where hailed with admiration for their brilliancy 
