8o WHEN WATERS 



smile a welcome to the summer sun. 

 Down by the stream the vegetation was 

 luxuriant, and the rippling water danced 

 in the sunshine, save where it made its 

 sinuous way through smothering masses 

 of forget-me-not, marsh ragwort, and 

 rank grasses, or under the golden pen- 

 nons of the water iris which fluttered idly 

 over the bristling array of sword -like 

 leaves. The heavy scent of meadow- 

 sweet intermingled with that of gorse, 

 and the hum of bees told where the wild 

 thyme's lilac clusters grew. 



Crossing by a stone bridge, I looked 

 over the parapet into a deep pool which 

 was bounded on the one side by a mill 

 and its old mossy wheel, and on the other 

 by shelving rocks clothed with magni- 

 ficent ferns. The gorge was so deep that 

 the sunlight only struck one corner of 

 the pool, but it was sufficient to enable 

 me to see a monster trout lazily basking 

 in the warm rays. He was evidently the 



