298 WITHIN AN HOUR OF LONDON TOWN. 



trout, if I am any judge of such matters, as I believe 

 myself to be. Here it is a broad, pure, swift stream ; 

 so clear is it that we can see all the pebbles and 

 weeds at the bottom, from the bridge, for a long 

 distance up and down stream. This, I think, must 

 be a branch of the Wey, rising in the eastern part 

 of Hampshire, bordering on Surrey. If it were not 

 so early in the spring we should expect to see some 

 good fish rising here. The Wey, we know, holds 

 good fish of a large size and of excellent quality 

 where it has not been polluted, and it is pure here 

 at any rate. A flock of green plovers or peewits are 

 flapping and drifting over one rough field. No 

 doubt they are going to nest there, or have nested, 

 if their preparations for that purpose merit the name 

 of nest. Appearances are very deceptive, as far as 

 these birds are concerned, they have so many wiles 

 of their own. One way of settling the matter is 

 very sure ; if you see a crow or rook struck down by 

 peewits in a field, they are certain to be nesting 

 there. Both crows and rooks rob peewits of their 

 eggs in the most determined manner. 



As we proceed the country gets wilder. If we 

 wish to look for old churches and houses we must 



