2i 8 MEMORIES OF A RIVER 



safety from the most enterprising urchin. This 

 cheery little bird is our constant and welcome 

 companion, bowing and curtseying on some 

 mid-stream stone. Should we be able to watch 

 him from a higher level, as he dips below the 

 surface, we shall see him, as it were, flying 

 through the water, stemming the strong current 

 with his powerful little wings. Anon rising in 

 a calmer corner, he floats high and buoyant on 

 the water like a tiny duck, then diving again, 

 continues his pursuit of the aquatic insects that 

 form his food. It is pleasant to think that few 

 are now so ignorant as to persecute this harm- 

 less little creature. 



This river is noted as being one of the most 

 prolific of trout-streams, excelling not only in 

 the number but also in the size and beauty of 

 its trout. It is a sight to be remembered when 

 on some fine day in spring one happens to be 

 witness of a great rise of March-browns, Blue 

 duns or little Iron-blues. The surface of the 

 water is broken by a constant succession of rings 

 as the big and hungry trout suck down the 

 delicate morsels as they emerge for a brief 

 moment on the surface ; for many of them their 

 life-span may well, indeed, be termed ephemeral. 

 The inexperienced youth who thinks that now 

 at last he has lit upon that day of days of which 



