THE ROMANCE OF A RIVER 



By J. LOMAS, F.G.S., A.R.C.S. 



ONE never feels lonely in the presence 

 of a stream. It seems to possess 

 a personality, and we regard it as 

 a companion. Like other companions, it 

 has its moods and is constant only in its 



sea. Near its source is a tiny waterfall 

 over which the water drapes itself 

 into a smooth curved robe in summer, 

 and splashes and foams when in flood. 

 Why should a waterfall e.xist at this 



NKAK ITS SOlKVt. Is A TINY WATEKFAIJ. 



changefulness. At one time it is placid 

 and gentle, inviting us to closest com- 

 munion ; at another it is angry, and fierce, 

 almost repellent in its attitude towards 

 us. Still, it is ever fascinating, always 

 drawing us on to closer acquaintance, 

 and it will readily tell us its most cherished 

 secrets if we know how to question and 

 how to read the answer. 



Let us take a stream and see how far 

 it can be induced to tell us its story- 

 We choose an ordinary brook such as 

 can be met with anywhere in the country, 

 flowing through meadows and woods to 

 join the mightier rivers and thence to the 



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spot ? A little hammering will soon 

 show that a bed of rock, rather harder 

 and more resistant than those above 

 and below, is to be found at this 

 point. The efforts of the stream to 

 erode its bed have been checked, and a 

 shelf actually overhangs the rocks under 

 the falls. Immediately below the water- 

 fall the bed of the stream is deej), and in 

 the dry season, when only a little water 

 trickles over the ledge, we see a nunilx^r 

 of deej") holes which look as if they had 

 been drilled vertically by a revolving 

 tool. And so they have. The falling 

 water has caused the stones which have 



