BROCKEXHURST TO BUELEY AND EINGWOOD. 91 



to hop leisurely to either side, or leaps noisily 

 into some small, glistening pool of water visible 

 by the sparkle of light reflected from the stars. 

 Then amongst the minor incidents which make a 

 night walk impressible there is the sudden and 

 mysterious rustling in some clump of Gorse, 

 Heather, or Fern. Somewhat similar with 

 regard to many of its features is a night walk 

 through a country lane. But a forest walk 

 after nightfall is much more enjoyably impressive, 

 when no light from cottage window meets the eye 

 for many a long mile, and wide-extending heath 

 or moorland is only broken by the black masses 

 of woods which stand out with gloomy grandeur 

 into the night. 



But soon to the dim light from the stars is 

 added the radiance of the moon, which, as we 

 continue our way, begins to peep above the hori- 

 zon and to silver the distant landscape, turning 

 into things of beauty the lighter banks of cloud 

 which, before the rising of the orb of night, had 

 lain black against the sky, shutting out the 

 radiance of many stars. Then at length we hear 

 in the distance the shrill whistle which tells us 



