AT BROCKENHtJRST. 47 



being overspread with their autumnal flush, and 

 do not, as yet, show conspicuously, but the 

 pinkish red of maple twigs and the red flush of 

 the maple foliage attracts attention to this beau- 

 tiful shrub half shrub, half tree whilst the 

 yellowing leaves of the Hazel, standing out from 

 the hedge-top, and the sombre leaves and purple 

 stems of the modest Blackthorn lend their own 

 peculiar features to the scene. 



Underneath the mass of outside greenery, where 

 shadows nestle at the base of the hedgebanks, we 

 note the shining tips of the ever-green Harts- 

 tongue, the broader fronds of the Male Fern, and 

 graceful forms of Polystichum angular e peeping 

 out modestly from their shady habitats the fronds 

 of these familiar Ferns emerging from the bed of 

 trailing Ivy which forms the innermost covering 

 of the hedgebank. 



As the lane begins to narrow again between its 

 verdant banks, two Oaks, on either side of the 

 way, interlace their leafy branches overhead. But 

 the sunlight again comes in, as we pass beyond 

 them, upon the hedgebank shrubbery now rising 

 higher as we continue our way Field Maples, on 



