A MANOR HOUSE IN DEER LAND. 175 



it to the stone it lies under, then rubbing 

 it gently beneath, which causes the fish to 

 gradually move backwards into the hand till 

 the fingers suddenly close in the gills, where 

 alone a firm hold can be obtained. 



The rivers of Somerset have stony bot- 

 toms, so that the eels can be seen moving 

 about like black snakes. They glide over the 

 stones at the bottom, exactly as a snake glides 

 over the surface of the ground, and when still 

 remain in a sinuous form. Trout swim over 

 and past them. All their motions can be 

 watched, while in the brooks and streams of 

 other counties, where the bottom is of mud 

 or dark sandy loam, they are rarely seen. 

 There they seem to move through the mud, 

 or its dark colour conceals them. Getting 

 into the water, men move the stones till they 

 find an eel, and then thrust a fork through 

 it, the only way to hold it. 



Some distance up the streamlet in a 

 coombe, wooded each side to a great height, 

 are three trout ponds. Ferns grow green 



