WILD EXMOOR. 35 



gradually deepen as the groove descends the 

 hill, till at the bottom they open upon a wide 

 valley at right angles, in which flows the 

 Badgeworthy Water. Each of these rivulets 

 goes to increase its stream, in which full 

 many a noble stag has come to bay. 



Over the valley rises a hill of red rock 

 thinly grown with oak — Badgeworthy Wood 

 — the green foliage of the oaks was faintly 

 yellow (spring yellow), and the red rock 

 showed between them. Dark heather, dark 

 and yet with some under-shade of purple, 

 covered the great slopes to the left of the 

 Wood. None of these colours, the yellow- 

 green of the oaks, the redness of the rocks, 

 the dark purple of the heather, were bright ; 

 they were toned and quiet, yet perfectly dis- 

 tinct in the brilliant sunshine. At the first 

 glance the colour was scarcely noticed ; in 

 a moment the eye became conscious of it, 

 and soon learned that to describe the scene 

 these tints must be alluded to. Gradually the 

 hues deepened as they were gazed at, till the 



D 2 



