A WET AUTUMN. 



if air-bubbles are on them. I have studied trout 

 considerably, and have seen them do this repeat- 

 edly. There is a peculiar attraction for a fish in 

 a little air-bubble, and he is sure to go for it. 

 Flies are off the water now so far as the trout 

 is concerned. It is quite natural for the fish to 

 mistake the shimmering glitter of the heron's legs 

 for some water-stem on which air-bubbles are clus- 

 tered, and to go and nibble it. He goes there right 

 enough, but does not come back, for he goes down 

 the heron's gullet. At certain seasons one may 

 stand by the side of the water and watch the air- 

 bubbles detach themselves from the stems of aquatic 

 growth which are thickly beaded with them. As 

 they rise to the surface, the small fish follow the 

 glittering globes eagerly. The conduct of a man 

 walking slowly by the side of rivers, streams, and 

 ponds, peering in all directions for what he can 

 see above and below, may bear, as some have said, 

 a resemblance to the behaviour of one who intends 

 committing suicide ; but his frame of mind is far 

 removed from any such tendency. There is, thank 

 God, any amount of healthy honest enjoyment to 

 be found in this beautiful land of ours, whatever 



