DEER IN SUMMER. 59 



mountain ash. It is pleasant in the shade 

 to feel the cool air and listen to the water 

 far below. 



Is that a spot of red yonder in an opening 

 between the oaks is it a stag? Colour it 

 is of some kind against the fern, but my 

 eyes have become so weary with intently 

 gazing that I think they would recognise 

 any hue as the red for which they are look- 

 ing. After resting them a few moments on 

 the brake and grass at my feet, I look again, 

 and see at once that it is a piece of faded 

 furze ; the yellow bloom is going, and it 

 was this that deceived me. No apparent 

 connection exists between red and yellow ; 

 it proves how weary the visual nerves must 

 be when they can only determine that it is 

 colour, and cannot distinguish hues. I have 

 been gazing intently for an hour, scarcely 

 closing the lids, and under the bright light 

 of a summer noon. It is not just glancing 



