A Green Byeway. 213 
its sweet refreshing rain, with the sunshine gleaming 
through on the hedge and grass here, between the 
rolling echoes the dove may be heard in the bush 
coo-cooing still more softly and lovingly to her mate. 
Just in the very angle formed by the meeting 
hedges the ditch becomes almost a fosse, so broad 
and deep; the sandy banks have slipped, and the 
rabbits have excavated more, and over all the 
brambles have arched thickly with a background of 
brake-fern. The flower of the bramble is very beau- 
tiful—a delicate pink bloom, succeeded by green 
berries, to ripen red, and later black, under the sun. 
A larger kind are found here and there—the children 
call them dew-berries or jew-berries indifferently. 
Some of the bramble leaves linger on a dull green all 
through the winter. 
In the angle a narrow opening runs through 
‘between the two banks, which do not quite meet: it 
is so overgrown with bramble and fern, convolvulus 
and thorn, that unless the bushes were parted to look 
in no one would suspect the existence of this green 
tunnel, which on the other side opens on the ash 
copse, where a shallow furrow (dry) joins it. This 
tunnel is the favourite way and passage of the rab- 
bits from the copse out into the tempting pasturage 
of the meadow; through it too, now and then, a fox 
creeps quietly. Rabbit-holes drill the bank every- 
where, but one near this green byeway is noticeable 
because of its immense size. 
