74 NATURE NEAR LONDON. 



are fringed with them. The leaves on the longer 

 boughs above fall off and voyage down the brook, 

 but those on the lesser twigs beneath, and only a 

 little way from the ground, remain on, and rustle, 

 dry and brown, all through the winter. 



Under the shelter of these leaves, and close to the 

 trunk, there grew a plant of flag the tops of the 

 flags almost reached to the leaves and all the winter 

 through, despite the frosts for which it was remark- 

 able, despite the snow and the bitter winds which 

 followed, this plant remained green and fresh. From 

 this beech in the morning a shadow stretches to a 

 bridge across the brook, and in that shadow my trout 

 used to lie. The bank under the drooping boughs 

 forms a tiny cliff a foot high, covered with moss, and 

 here I once observed shrew mice diving and racing 

 about. But only once, though I frequently passed 

 the spot ; it is curious that I did not see them 

 afterwards. 



Just below the shadow of the beech there is a 

 sandy oozy shore, where the footprints of moorhens 

 are often traceable. Many of the trees of the plan- 

 tation stand in water after heavy rain ; their leaves 

 drop into it in autumn, and, being away from the 

 influence of the current, stay and soak, and lie 

 several layers thick. Their edges overlap, red, brown, 

 and pale yellow, with the clear water above and 

 shadows athwart it, and dry white grass at the verge. 

 A horse-chestnut drops its fruit in the dusty road; 

 high above its leaves are tinted with scarlet. 



It was at the tail of one of the arches of the bridge 

 over the brook that my favourite trout used to lie. 



