THE FAMILY OF WADERS. 245 



marshland districts one of the compensations, of 

 which every form of life is full. It turns all the 

 reed-stems into fairy golden pillars, or purple ones 

 crowned with beautiful plumes. And the foul ooze 

 is transformed before one's eyes, becoming a vast 

 purple carpet, having the daintiest touches of rose 

 colour, whilst the rills that drain it show like threads 

 of gold. Under this light the noisome marsh, the 

 breeding- place of fever and ague, has the same 

 deadly beauty with which some poisonous snakes 

 are endowed. Here, under the grip of the fell 

 disease, I have lain 'twixt life and death, praying 

 in the daytime for night to come, and when night 

 was there, longing for the morning. 



But what is poison to some creatures is life to 

 others. These spots suit that long fish -spearing 

 heron to perfection. Eels, crabs, flounders, and a 

 host of other small deer take refuge in the rills 

 when the tide goes down. Whilst you are looking, 

 one or two grey shadows move over the slub, then 

 suddenly stop ; and you wonder what throws those 

 shadows, as no living creatures can you see. The 

 mystery is soon solved, however, for from one of 

 the rills a streak of light shoots up with startling 



