ii6 ON SURREY HILLS. 



of the deep pools a very fine fish : it was quite as 

 much as he could do to play it, though he was no 

 novice at fishing. Just as he had tired him out, and 

 got him to the edge of the reeds, a monstrous pair 

 of jaws showed above the water. There was a 

 vicious snap, and a plunge poor chubby was gone. 

 So frightened was the lad that he left the spot, and 

 never would he be persuaded to stand by the edge 

 of that pool again. Nothing could divest his mind 

 of the idea that he had seen an escaped alligator. 

 That fish was never caught by line or net ; he was 

 shot as he lay sleeping near the flags, and he fully 

 justified the young angler's opinion of him, for he 

 was a most ferocious-looking monster. 



//. Over the Kissing Stile. 



One weird and lonely spot I often visited at night, 

 listening to the sounds made by the wild creatures, 

 and watching their movements. 



As the mist rose and fell again, according to the 

 temperature, strange forms floated over the surface 

 of the water and round about the trees. The cries 

 of birds and animals are different by night from 



