110 IN AUSTRALIAN WILDS 



assist in pulling the flattie ashore. Dry weather had 

 caused the swamp waters to recede, and the boat had 

 to be dragged over a quarter of a mile through river 

 gums. It was hard work. The little boat seemed 

 to be weighted with lead, and we were glad to rest 

 when, at length, it floated among water lilies. Travers- 

 ing a narrow channel, we emerged on to a broad 

 expanse of dark, still water, the heart of the swamp; 

 a "lake" girdled by tall Eucalypts, instead of sloping 

 banks. Near the centre the water was several feet 

 in depth, and everywhere the surface was covered with 

 aquatic plants. Millions of yellow lilies glowed in 

 the sunlight, while here and there were clusters of 

 green reeds, quivering like spears held by palsied 

 hands. Beneath the surface was another world, 

 jungles of roots and twining stems, inhabited by tiny 

 creatures of many shapes and colours. There were 

 Water Boatmen [Rhynchota] , Water Beetles [Dytis- 

 cldsK], dragon-fly nymphs, Water Scorpions [Nepa], 

 and a host of other forms. On the surface Pond- 

 Skaters [Gerris] glided and cut figures with easy 

 grace. The air teemed with dragon-flies, some with 

 brown bodies, others clad in emerald, scarlet or 

 sapphire mail. They were glorious to behold a fleet 

 of fairy aeroplanes manoeuvring in the sun. 



This lonely swamp, aglow with colours, was 

 surely a place for youthful poets, an enchanted region 

 for dreamers. The still water, whose colour was that 

 of Homer's "wine-dark sea," reflected the sky and, 

 gazing down, we saw "cloud-capped towers and gor- 

 geous palaces." While Rob poled the flattie I rested, 

 trailing a hand in the water, and letting Fancy roam. 

 Here it was not hard to believe in fairies or the 

 gossamer City of Dreams. And when two objects, like 

 flakes of foam among the green rushes, shone ahead, 

 the spell was unbroken for a minute. Then I gazed 

 through the glasses, and cried, "Egrets!" The white 

 birds, identified as Herodias syrmatophorus [timorien- 



