midnight
But , indeed , all these winged people , that dwell in the vicinity of homesteads , seem to partake of human nature , and possess the germ , if not the development , of immortal souls . We hear them saying their melodious prayers at morning 's blush and eventide . A little while ago , in the deep of night , there came the lively thrill of a bird 's note from a neighboring tree , -- a real song , such as greets the purple dawn or mingles with the yellow sunshine . What could the little bird mean by pouring it forth at midnight ? Probably the music gushed out of the midst of a dream in which he fancied himself in paradise with his mate , but suddenly awoke on a cold leafless bough , with a New England mist penetrating through his feathers . That was a sad exchange of imagination for reality . Insects are among the earliest births of sprung .