DENSE COVERTS. 135 



to make a woodland concert, which to some ears 

 no other music, either of the present or of Herr 

 Wagner's future, could ever hope to rival. 



Those mosquitoes w r ere the only bitter drop in 

 our mid-day draught of lazy pleasure. That they 

 were bona fide mosquitoes I do not pretend, though 

 we called them so, and hated them as much as if 

 they had been, because, though mere microscopic 

 midges, the lumps they raised upon us were 

 worthy of the efforts of a Goliath among mosqui- 

 toes. From every rotten tree-stump rose a perfect 

 steam of these evil little beasts, and being so 

 small they could and did get through everything, 

 and elude all vigilance. 



There was another insect pest which used to 

 cause us considerable annoyance : a kind of tick 

 which dropped upon us unawares as we brushed 

 against a bough, and creeping in under one's clothing 

 buried its head unfelt in the skin, and there took up 

 its abode. If not found and dislodged at night, 

 the body of the creature would grow to such an 

 extent that in the morning it had the appearance of 

 a large wart growing upon you, and if left longer 

 would swell to almost any size, taking root by its 

 head and requiring infinite care in removing ; for of 

 such a bull-dog nature is the insect that it will 

 allow its body to be torn from its head rather than 

 let go its hold. If this happens the result is a bad 

 wound, hard to heal and apt to fester. There are 



