The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1851-06-11
Wv H,.,slming Birds.

WY Hlllnming Birds.
AS a child, I always had q passion
Tor the Humming Bird. It ever
caused thrill of delight when one of
those glittering creatures, with its
soft hum Of flight, came out frepose
all suddenly hanging. sapphire
stilled upon the air-for here no
wings are seen,-as like u quick,
bright thought, it darts, is still, and
then away!
The mystery Of whence it cometh,
and whittier it gocth,' was lovely
and exciting one to me. How and
where could o thing so delicate live
in o rough, wintry world like this?
How could the glory Of its FURNISHED
plumes remain undimmcd, that it
shot forth arrows of light into my
eyes, while all other things seemed
slowly fading? Where could it
renew its splendors?. In what far
bath of gems dissolved, dipping,
come forth mailed in its varied shine?
How could those tiny wings, Shove
soul.like motion no mortal eye can
follow, bear tho frail spritc through
beating tempests that are hurting the
albatross, with mighty pinions, prone
upon the wave; or that dash the sea-
eagle, shrieking, against its eyric,
cliff? How speeds it straight and
aafe.--the gemarrow Of the tlfs?
Could it be that the tiny birds
lived only on the nectar Of flowers?
It seemed surely, the fitting food for
beauty 50 ethereal. But, then, it
removed them so far from things of
the earth, carthy---their home must
surely be fairyland, and they courscrs
Of the wind for Eriel to 'put glrdle
round the earth,' if this be so. But,
g6f there be no fairies, and these be
s6nly natural forces that propel it SO,
is nectar, or ambrosia even, food of
the substance that could give the
steely toughness to these hair-spring
thews, whose sharp stroke cuts re-
sistlsss way through hurricanes?
These, and q thousand such ques-
tions, throngcd upon me in those in
nocent tines, but my most eager and
continued enquiries were--llow did
they come? Were they born SO,
all bright and ready? Or did they
como like other birds? / conld find
other birds nests and eggs, and |
understood how they came; but |
never could find hum,ning birds
nest. Nor could / find any one else
who ever had found one. There
were traditions that somebody's
grandfather had heard very old
man say, that he had heard it once
upon q time, from an old witch
woman--that to find q humming
birds nest, was as much sign Of
good luck as reaching the end Of a
rain -bow--that you were sure to get
a heap of diamonds from it, instead
of the bag Of gold. Well, as 7 was
for many q, year until actually did
stand with my feet upon the end of
a rainbow, q devout believer in that
This may seem like hnzarding assertion for
of the following M simpie rcaio" Of an m inc Incident
happening to myself was, when twenty years
.ufage. passing on horseback from my naive
b 'tdwn. Hopkinsvie, Ky, to neighborng town,
1:larkspille, Tenn. When about hnlf way. !
'syas suddenly overtnken ty one Of those swift
>sammer storms, peculiar TO the South l was
I&,enin the lane of n very large Tobacco Plan
.tntion, and Knowing that could obtain shelter
lin n country store near the end of il, urged my
horse into run, AMI was coon there. Isprang
down upon the low steps, and pushed my way
fhrough the crowd of farmers collected at the
'door-as people instinctively do, during th.in.
der storm, to witness it's progress. stood just
within tl,c door sill where had obtained foot
ing, and held my horse y rein. The storm was
OF shoIt duration--when the sun burst through
the vapory clouds that fingered heavily yet, and
n dozen voices exclaimed '.thc rainbow! the
rainbow" looked up--I never saw one so
brilliant before-it dazzled mel felt rs if il
was In my eyes. BY this time | had stepped
down from the door sill 10 the step and naturally
looking down, as did so, To my great asinnish
'meni, the rainbow laid along tie ground before
The, crossing the road 10 the fencc-up the rails
0f Which it could be distinctly traced, until it
again became visible up the mir. forming tho arc
which dipped at the apparent hoIzon--nhont
a mile beyond the field. | conld distinctly
trnce that segment of the arc---which seemed to
lay along the ground, nnd mp the frnce-on the
air, Ms j. sprang directly from where my feet
rested II only seemed TO lie upon the ground
from It's perfect transparency The near limb
1na.le itself first visb, on the points of my
boots, ind then sprnhg on. and mp. dire city in
front of me--,iie upper rim of the segmnnts
beihg within few inches Of my face. nj
first thought that the unnsna, briliiancy, and
stddcnneks Of the appearance, had dazzled my
yisis,u and confused il, bnt whc, hear,! one after
ano.her rf The old farmers hchinl me cxclaiming
10 each other \; sac slranClcoess Of tic ,h!ug, !