THE SOUTHDOWN SHEPHERD 197 



drives it along, and the bold, sweeping curves of a distant 

 hill appear, but immediately the rain falls again and the 

 outline vanishes. The glance can only penetrate a few 

 hundred yards ; all beyond that becomes indistinct, and 

 some cattle standing higher up the hill are vague and 

 shadowy. 



Like a dew, the thin rain deposits a layer of tiny 

 globules on the coat ; the grass is white with them : 

 hurdles, flakes, everything is as it were the eighth of an 

 inch deep in water. Thus on the hillside, surrounded 

 by the clouds, the fair seems isolated and afar off. A 

 great cart- horse is being trotted out before the little street 

 of booths to make him show his paces ; they flourish the 

 first thing at hand a pole with a red flag at the end and 

 the huge frightened animal plunges hither and thither 

 in clumsy terror. You must look out for yourself and 

 keep an eye over your shoulder, except among the 

 sheep-pens. 



There are thousands of sheep, all standing with their 

 heads uphill. At the corner of each pen the shepherd 

 plants his crook upright : some of them have long brown 

 handles, and these are of hazel with the bark on ; others 

 are ash, and one of willow. At the corners, too, just 

 outside, the dogs are chained, and, in addition, there is 

 a whole row of dogs fastened to the tent pegs. The 

 majority of the dogs thus collected together from many 

 miles of the Downs are either collies, or show a very 

 decided trace of the collie. 



One old shepherd, an ancient of the ancients, grey 

 and bent, has spent so many years among his sheep that 

 he has lost all notice and observation there is no 

 "speculation in his eye" for anything but his sheep. 

 In his blue smock frock, with his brown umbrella, which 

 he has had no time or thought to open, he stands listen- 



