CHAPTER III 



FEBRUARY 



It lias been a bitterly cold night, and as the 

 sun shines on a clear keen morning, and glistens 

 in the hoar-frost which covers the trees, it might 

 seem an nnpropitious time for visiting the ponds, 

 in searcli of microscopic prey. We will, however, 

 try our luck, and take a brisk trot to the top 

 of Hampstead Heath, where the air is still keener, 

 and the ice more thick. Arriving at the highest 

 point, London appears on one side enveloped in 

 its usual great coat of smoke, through which St. 

 Paul's big dome, with a score or two of towers 

 and steeples can be dimly made out; while looking 

 towards Harrow-on-the-Hill, or Barnet, we see the 

 advantage of country air in the sharpness with 

 which distant objects cut the blue sky. We leave 

 the large ponds for another time, and hunt out the 

 little hollows among the furze and fern. One looks 

 promising from the bright green vegetation to be 

 discovered under the sheet of ice, which is almost 

 firm enough to bear human weight. 



