252 
THE BEAUTIFUL LADDER. 
of a humming-bird’s egg transcends the Milky- 
Way!’ You may reply with a sneer,‘Why, it 
is nothing but a tiny egg, not bigger than a 
pea, and it is absurd to make such a statement.’ 
True, it is a wee thing, but then mystery is not 
measured by the yard nor estimated by its 
avoirdupois; and sometimes the less the ob¬ 
ject, the greater the marvel which it reveals. 
In this view, the Frenchman’s comparison is 
not so strained, after all. That little white 
ball contains not only a laboratory of chemical 
wonders, but also wraps up within its narrow 
dimensions the awful mystery of life—a life 
environed with marvellous conditions. 
“ Let us look more carefully at some of these 
pearl palaces of the infant bird-races. 
“ It is not often the case that the birds of the 
gaudiest plumage produce the handsomest eggs ; 
indeed, generally it is quite the reverse. As it 
is with the power of song, Nature has a nice dis¬ 
crimination in the application of her compen¬ 
sating laws, and never lavishes all her boun¬ 
ties on one subject or order. The ravenous 
birds are generally of the most sober colors, 
and their voices breathe only the harshest 
notes : but examine their eggs, and they will 
