38 DOVE DALE REVISITED 



And then Walton goes on : 



" And this Dove, being opposed by one of the 

 highest of them, has at last forced itself a way 

 through it, and after a mile's concealment appears 

 again with more glory and beauty than before 

 that opposition, running through the most 

 pleasant valleys and most fruitful meadows that 

 this nation can justly boast of." 



" This," says Mr. Thome, " is an entire mis- 

 take. The Dove is nowhere concealed and it is 

 not easy to tell how Walton could have so 

 erred." 



My impression is, that in using the word 

 concealment Walton did not mean hidden under- 

 ground like the Manifold, but that it is obscured 

 by those " mighty rocks " and woods between 

 which its sinuous course is hidden. 



Beresford Dale possesses beauties of its own, 

 which have been so often described by more 

 gifted pens than mine, that I need not make an 

 attempt which could only end in failure. The 

 only incident that interrupted our walk down 

 this dale was the shriek of a rabbit on the 

 other side of the river. A stoat had seized and 

 was clinging to his throat. One of us threw a 

 stone at him, and the stoat quitted his prey, and 



