54 Dreaming by the Spring. 



spring-head is not much frequented by birds ; per- 

 haps the clear water attracts less visible insect life, 

 and, the shore of the stream being hard and dry, 

 there is no moisture where grubs and worms ma}- 

 work their way. Behind the fountain the steep green 

 wall of the coombe rises almost perpendicularly so 

 steep as not to be climbed without exertion. At the 

 summit are the corn-fields of the level plain which 

 here so suddenly sinks without warning. The plough 

 has been drawn along all but on th'e very edge, and 

 the tall wheat nods at the verge. From thence a 

 strong arm might send a flat round stone skimming 

 across to the other side of the narrow hollow, and its 

 winding course is apparent. 



Like a deep groove it cuts a channel up towards 

 the hills, becoming narrower as it approaches ; and 

 the sides diminish in height, till at the neck a few 

 rails and a gate can close it, being scarcely broader 

 than a wagon-track. There, at the foot of the down, 

 it ends, overlooked by a barn, the home of innumera- 

 ble sparrows, whose nests are made under the eaves, 

 everywhere their keen eyes can find an aperture large 

 enough to squeeze into. 



Looking down the steep side of the coombe, near 

 the bottom there runs along a projecting ledge, or 

 terrace, like a natural footway. On the opposite 

 side is another corresponding ledge, or green turf- 

 covered terrace ; these follow the windings of the 

 valley, decreasing in width as it diminishes, and grad- 

 ually disappearing. In its broadest part one of them 

 is used as a wagon-track, for which it is admirably 

 adapted, being firm and hard, even smoother than 

 the bottom of the coombe itself. If it were possible 



