OUR COUNTRY LIFE 



"But is n't it tiresome to poke about in a small boat 

 all day?" 



"Yes, indeed; it would be deadly if one's every sense 

 were not on the alert to catch something of the 

 mysterious life hidden within those moving grasses, be- 

 yond those boggy hillocks, beside that bank of willows. 

 To sit motionless with poised glasses as the boat creeps 

 silently through tiny channels, pushing aside the rank 

 water weeds, seeking for who-knows-what rare secrets 

 — could any adventure be more absorbing?" 



Whatever you "go out for to see" is generally what 

 you will not find; it is the unexpected which gives us 

 the keenest gratification. The bobolinks are curtsying 



on the cat-tail's sheaths; their liquid song is gay as their 



i 



bright coats. The marsh wrens trill and dive into the 



i 



shade, where their round balls of nests hang tied so 



cleverly. 



"Look!" my companion indicates with eager eyes 

 rather than by speech. 



And I look but see nothing new. 



230 



