THE REGATTA. 259 



them. The moth, I see, is a small, dingy brown thing, with 

 white spots on the wings." R. C. 



"Bell's son took a hornet's nest the other day. He was 

 stung by one of them, and was ill for some days, the inflam- 

 mation was so bad. Bell says that hornets are much rarer 

 now than they used to be, and a good thing too. 



"While going to take a wasp's nest to-day, we disturbed 

 a large hawk-like bird, which had been digging it up and 

 apparently eating the grubs. The wasps were flying all 

 about it and settling on it, but it did not seem to mind 

 them. Upon looking at our books we have decided that 

 the bird was the honey-buzzard, one of the short-winged 

 hawks." F. M. 



CHAPTER XL. 



A Regatta. The " Waterlog's" Victory. 



THE waters of the broad once more blazed beneath the 

 summer sun. The Swan lay at anchor in a reedy bay, and the 

 three boys were sitting on deck, busily engaged in discussing 

 some project which seemed to interest them very much. 



For some years past a large yacht had been a prominent 

 object on the Norfolk and Suffolk waters, not on account of 

 her speed or her beauty, but because of her great ugliness of 

 form, and her exceeding slowness of sailing. Cram on as much 

 sail as you could, and yet the clumsiest wherry could beat her 

 in sailing. Her owner entered her for many a race, and she 

 was invariably so badly beaten that she became a laughing- 

 stock. Her name was the Waterlily, but she was facetiously 

 christened and universally called the " Waterlog." Her end 

 was tragic. One time when the waters were very high after 

 great floods, her owner sailed her into a smal). broad, and, not 

 taking her off in time, the waters fell, and there was not depth 



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