The hummingbird
Of all animated beings, this is the most elegant in form and most brilliant in colors. The stones and metals polished by our arts are not comparable to this jewel of nature. She has placed least in size in the order of birds, maximum ??? in minimums(?). Her masterpiece is this little hummingbird, and upon it she has hit(?) all the gifts which the other birds may only share. Lightness, rapidity, nimbleness, grace and rich apparel all belong to this little favorite. The emerald, the ruby and topaz lean upon its dress. It never soils them with the dust of the earth and in its aerial life scarcely touches the turphen instant(??). Always in the air, flying from flower to flower, it has their freshness as well as their brightness. It lives upon their nectar and dwells only in the climates where they perennially bloom.
