AN OLD ROAD. 51 



known as " skaters," from their movements 

 (to this day, I blush to confess, I have no 

 other name for them) ; the others were 

 flat, shining, orbicular or oblong, lead-col- 

 ored bugs, " lucky bugs " I have heard 

 them called, and lay flat upon the water, 

 as if quite without limbs ; but they darted 

 over the brook, and even against the cur- 

 rent, with noticeable activity, and doubtless 

 were well supplied with paddles. Once in 

 a while we saw a fish here, but only on 

 rare occasions. The great unfailing attrac- 

 tion of the place, then as now, was the 

 flowing water, forever spending and never 

 spent. The insects lived upon it ; appar- 

 ently they had no power to leave it for an 

 instant ; but they were not carried away 

 by it. Happy creatures ! We, alas, sport- 

 ing upon the river of time, can neither dive 

 below the surface nor mount into the ether, 

 and, unlike the insects (" lucky bugs," in- 

 deed ! ), we have no option but to move 

 with the tide. We have less liberty than 

 the green flags, even, which grow in scat- 

 tered tufts in the bed of the brook ; whose 

 leaves point forever down stream, like so 

 many index fingers, as if they said, "Yes, 



