156 THE RURAL DISTRICTS OF BATH. 



to account for this singular appearance; on the contrary, mist was rising 

 from the river and darkness increasing. Being much puzzled, and seeing 

 a countryman approaching, I drew his attention to the trees, and inquired 

 if he knew the cause of the singular whiteness of all the branches. "Oh 

 yes," said he, "that is from the Martins; all those spots we see are their 

 white breasts as they perch upon the branches. They have enticed all 

 their young ones from their nests, and have been teaching and exercising 

 them upon the wing; they will return no more to their nests, and are 

 now settled for the night in a body, so as to be ready for flight in the 

 morning, and will all be off at early dawn." Nearer examination confirmed 

 the truth of this statement; these white spots which had so perplexed me 

 were indeed the breasts of these aerial travellers. Upon asking if he had 

 ever witnessed a similar occurrence, "Oh yes," said he, "in a withy bed 

 lower down the river, I have seen them gather together in the same 

 manner." 



Having noticed the statement of a correspondent in "The Times," "that 

 he had seen a small flock of Swallows on the 30th. of March, near Dor- 

 chester," I was induced to watch for their return here more narrowly than 

 usual, and on the 11th. of April saw them for the first time. There had 

 been a sharp frost the night before, but the sun rose with majestic bril- 

 liancy in a clear, blue, cloudless sky, the genial warmth of his rays gave 

 evidence of his being in our northern hemisphere. Myriads of gnats and 

 other insects were on the wing, and a more beautiful day in April was 

 never seen. It was Sunday, and immediately after leaving church, I pro- 

 ceeded to the dell spoken of, and never do I remember the glory and 

 loveliness of the handiworks of Divine Providence opening with greater 

 attractions. 



As I stood on the bank of the brook lost in feelings of deep reverence 

 and admiration, a Martin caught my eye; following the course of the 

 stream I saw more, and upon arriving at the junction of the brook with 

 the river, had the happiness of seeing our welcome visitors in great num- 

 bers, skimming and dipping the water, and wheeling in the air with all 

 their characteristic rapidity of flight and quickness of evolution. The 

 contemplation of so busy a scene of animated nature was delightful, aud 

 induced me to remain until near sun-set. Gilbert White says, "That 

 during forty years attentive observation, he never saw them before the 

 1 3th. of April." The fact of having seen them before so close an observer 

 and eminent authority would have been worthy of record, but for the 

 announcement of the "Dorchester Naturalist." 



The road from Bath to Weston is a favourite drive; beyond the village 

 a steep lane leads to Lansdovvn. Other lanes branch off to villages ad- 

 joining, and numerous tracks and footpaths intersect the fields, leading to 



