12 THE CLERK OF THE WOODS 



so new-created, so incredibly bright and 

 handsome. 



I love to come upon a group or a pair of 

 such enthusiasts at work in the field, as I 

 not seldom do; all eyes fastened upon a 

 bush or a branch, one eager, low voice try- 

 ing to make the rest of the company see 

 some wonderful object of which the lucky 

 speaker has caught sight. " There, it has 

 moved to that lower limb ! Right through 

 there ! Don't you see it ? Oh, what a 

 beauty!" 



I was down by the river the other after- 

 noon. Many canoes were out, and pre- 

 sently I came to an empty one drawn up 

 against the bank. A few steps more and I 

 saw, kneeling behind a clump of shrubbery, 

 a young man and a young woman, each with 

 an opera-glass, and the lady with an open 

 notebook. " It 's a redstart, is n't it ? " I 

 heard one of them say. 



It was too bad to disturb them, but I hope 

 they forgave a sympathetic elderly stranger, 

 who, after starting toward them and then 

 sidling off, finally approached near enough 

 to suggest, with a word of apology, that per- 



