A WELSH GLEN IN WINTER 
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blackberries still hang ripe, though so absolutely sodden and 
tasteless they are not worth the eating : you may even find a 
spray of blossom here and there : a branch of scarlet hips 
shines crimson in the sunshine : the birds, sated with yew- 
berries, have spared it so far, and it rivals the holly on the 
bush close by, while trails of bryony, twined round the haw- 
thorn, repeat the colour with varieties of lemon and orange. 
If we hunt about we may find a few wild flowers even in 
December, a belated foxglove, a clump of ragwort, a blue 
hare-bell, a stray specimen of campion, herb-robert, buttercup, 
yarrow, thistle, or actually a strawberry blossom ; the tall horse- 
tail is unwithered yet on the boggy bank, and sprigs of ever- 
faithful gorse smell sweet as peach-blossom. Ferns are growing 
everywhere, and will keep green even through a frost or fall 
of snow ; great clumps of common polypody cling to the tree- 
trunks and liourish on boughs high above our heads, and under 
the rocks are delicate fronds of English maidenhair or the rarer 
beech fern. 
Now we are at the waterfall, and it is a joy to watch the 
great white cascade leap over the ledge of rock and dash with 
such thundering force into the pool below that all the air around 
is filled with floating mist. If we climb the crag above and 
look downwards, the sun forms a dancing rainbow on the spray, 
then, suddenly dipping behind the hill, casts the first red gleam 
of sunset over the foaming flood. The rough bridge, made of 
pine trees flung across the stream, is practically impassable, 
and numerous little roaring rills, which a few days ago were 
mere trickles, are now hurrying from the crest of the l)ank to 
swell the main torrent. It is beautiful beyond description, and 
you must not remember that it is sodden and damp underfoot. 
How else could the gorgeous carpet of moss and fern flourish 
so luxuriantly ? A frosty morning or a slight fall of snow 
will turn it into fairyland, and you will find green fronds 
encased in a thin, transparent coating of ice, and apparently 
none the worse for it, or seeded grasses covered with frozen 
diamonds. Snow is not very frequent here, however, and 
rarely rests long : as a rule the winter is mild and moist, with 
an occasional brilliant day of soft wind and warm sunshine 
that anticipates May and reminds you of the Riviera. By 
the middle of January the marshes where our stream meets 
the river Conway will be covered with wild snowdrops grow- 
ing in such profusion that the meadows are white with them, 
and the catkins, which already hang tightly folded on many 
of the hazels, will begin to burst into lambs’-tails. In the 
gardens roses linger till Christmas : the yellow jessamine seems 
never out of blossom from November till Easter; while scraps 
of wallflower, polyanthus, rosemary, periwinkle, pansy, or pink 
daisy struggle forth at intervals. The buds on the flowering 
currant aie swelling fast, even though there are still a few 
blooms on the passion flower which twines with it against the 
