i8 LOCH CRERAN. 



realise the fact that the whole road was alive with young 

 frogs, so very minute that they could only have divested 

 themselves of their tadpole tails that very day, and yet in 

 active multitudes. They had started apparently on their 

 first terrestrial excursion, and had taken advantage of the 

 aqueous condition of the road to break the transition 

 from the one element to the other, and not put too 

 heavy a strain all at once on their breathing apparatus. 

 We do not recollect seeing such a multitude so very 

 minute ; and well for them that the feathered tribes had 

 all been forced to take shelter, else, had they been caught 

 in such an unprotected position, few would have lived to 

 tell the story of their first experience " on the road." 

 What a joy they would have proved to our ducklings had 

 they been within range ! 



" Donald has been at his drains, and cleared out the 

 one that leads into the sea at the little bay," we say, as 

 we traverse the boggy land. On reaching it we prepared 

 to help our companion across, and, standing astride of 

 the cutting, are perforce obliged to look down at the 

 clear running runlet beneath us. What is that ascending 

 the drain., with the motion of a butter fish, and some- 

 thing of the appearance ? At first we supposed it to be 

 an eel, then that a gunnel fish had been making an 

 effort to acclimatise itself and had entered the fresh 

 water stream. But the prompt glance of our lady 

 companion settled the question, and she at once 

 declared it to be a leech. Now, we have seen scores of 

 leeches in a small, sluggish burn, but, strange to say, we 

 had never before seen a leech on the way up or down a 

 running water, so that it was with much interest we 

 possessed ourselves of a creature that has suffered sadly 

 from the progress of medical science, and is going into 



