the physicians around could tell what was the matter with her.

One day the naturalist was walking in his garden with his darling invalid, and they stopped for some time in the warm sunshine to admire a hummingbird, which, like a winged gem, flashed from bower to bower, dipping its long beak down into the long horns of the honeysuckles so nicely fitted to it. He had long wished to examine more closely this beautiful little bird and to observe its habits; so the naturalist and his daughter made efforts to catch it alive, and Mildred, with a skilful toss of her veil, succeeded.

The little beauty was carried into the house triumphantly. But, alas! very soon after it was taken captive, the pretty thing began to droop. Its feathers lost much of their lustre, its eye became dim, and it seemed about to die. The naturalist brought in fresh clusters of honeysuckle, honey was smeared on its beak, sugared water was held to it, every device his skill could invent was tried;

in vain—thehumming-bird drooped more and more, and lay with filmed eyes on its side. At last it was determined that the little thing should be set free again.

It was gently placed out on the grass, and the father and daughter stood apart motionless, watching closely. The fresh air and grass revived the bird a little, and it hopped feebly along for a few feet, then lay still as if dead; presently it went a little farther,—a yard or two,—the naturalist and his daughter softly following. Then they saw the humming-bird devour a tiny green spider ; when lo, as by magic, its lustres all came back ; its eye brightened, and it darted up again among the honeysuckles, flashing here and there, as if made up of rubies and emeralds!

Then the naturalist and his daughter collected a large number of these little green spiders, and he said, "To-morrow we will try to catch another humming-bird."

But while the father was yet asleep, in the

early morning, Mildred rose up and was soon gliding from bower to bower, flinging her veil here and there, trying to catch one of the hummingbirds. She was so absorbed in these efforts, that the breakfast - bell rang for her in vain; the servant came from her room to report that "Miss Mildred was not there," and the father was just recovering from the shock of such an unheard-of event, when in sprang his girl with a hummingbird safely swinging in her veil.

This indeed was a joy. The humming-bird was placed in a very large cage, which Mildred decorated constantly with fresh honeysuckle and other flowers, while the naturalist kept one corner well stored with green spiders. Every day, while her father was engaged upon other scientific work, Mildred watched the movements and habits of this little creature, and made careful note of them on paper; and every evening she read this day's report to the naturalist. As she read, he now and then

mentioned that it behaved like this or that other bird, of which he told her something; and in this way he fell into the habit of talking to her about many things in nature. After a time, by the help of Mildred's reports, the naturalist wrote an account of the manners and customs of humming-birds, and if any reader of this book knows anything much about that most exquisite of all birds, it came from that essay, and chiefly from Mildred's observations. And I may add that after Mildred had made her observations, and all she and her father could learn about the humming-bird was put in print, they resolved to let the little bird go free. So one day they opened the cage, and it darted out; but the window was left open. After a time the breezy whirr of its wings, seen only as a tinted halo when it flies, was heard, and it returned to its flowery cage. Thenceforth it came and went as it pleased; the cage had become a home.

But what of the invalid? She had disappeared,