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HUMMING-BIRDS.
had built her tiny nest of cotton in a secluded dell, and which, at that moment, was engaged in the office of incubation. Void of pity, the negro seized upon his prize, (which, with an expectant mother's love, wou ld not quit her eggs,) broke off the stem of the tree to which the nest was attached, and carried it the distance of ten or twelve miles to his master's house, where it remained for four days ; and although under no confinement, the humming-bird would not forsake her nest, but was conveyed in that situation on board ship, where she must have died of starvation ; for who was to administer to her the ambrosial dews which formed her food ? There are many other creatures whose lives and habits might be given ; but as I have already extended this part of my subject to greater lengths than 1 had intended, I must conclude, or my task would reach to many more pages.