*54 
THE FERN PARADISE. 
emerge again into the full daylight. * The sun 
sparkles on the rippling stream, giving the light 
as from ten thousand diamonds ; and here, at 
last, bending over the banks — their tall fronds 
spreading outwards and moving responsively to 
the breeze, which is briskly blowing, — are Os- 
mundas in rich profusion ! Hard by is a grand 
tuft of the Mountain Buckler Fern, and inter- 
mingled with it are equally grand tufts of the 
Hard Fern ! Both are on the extreme brink of 
the stream, and their roots and those of the 
Osmundas are within reach of the abundant 
moisture, which is the secret of their grand pro- 
portions. Split fragments of rock are scattered 
about on the river side and in mid stream, giving 
a wild picturesqueness to the whole scene, which 
is beyond description lovely. The gurgling, 
splashing, foaming water, sparkling with its ten 
thousand diamond flashes ; the wood-bounded, 
winding banks, with waving fern-fronds, now 
carried aloft and arching outwards with graceful 
and majestic symmetry, now softly drooping, 
whilst their pendant tips are caught one moment 
