THINGS WORTH DOING 281 



in autumn when the air is full of vapour, in the 

 farther part of the field the newly- turned earth 

 is bluish-purple, whereas it is a rich brown at 

 one's feet. 



On some of those cold, cloudless days of March, 

 when the sky is of a darker and more intensely blue 

 colour than one may see at any other time of the 

 year, and geese are grazing on the wide strips of green 

 common, so frequent in my neighbourhood, I have 

 often noticed how surprisingly blue is the north side 

 of a white goose. If at three o'clock in the after- 

 noon of such a day one stands facing north-west and 

 also facing the goose, its side next one's right hand 

 is bright blue and its other side is bright yellow, 

 deepening to orange as the sun " westers " and sinks, 

 and shows through a greater depth of moisture- laden 

 atmosphere. 



Many years ago I had a wooden painting-room, 

 for convenience of drawing and painting animals. 

 I had always great pleasure in painting white horses 

 (the pearly colouring about the head of a well-bred 

 grey and the blue of his muzzle are something 

 delicious), and as a kind neighbour had a stable full 

 of greys of a well-known breed, I was never at a loss 

 for a sitter. One day when old " Sampson," quite 

 white with age, was dozing at his post, and I 

 happened for some time not to be looking at my 

 model, on again looking up I was amazed by the 

 sight of a blue horse with a large orange spot on his 



