usly upon it, for this little liquid pearl, thus
concealed in the shade, which the hot rays of the sun would dry up like
an Arabian well, if they could reach it, may prove to him a mine of
varied reflections--a page of nature's great book, and in it he may
possibly find, if he have an observing eye and an understanding heart, a
type of this lower world, with all its hateful passions, its follies and
virtues, its wars, rivalries, injustice and oppression.

One day, when out shooting, and following by tortuous paths, to me
unknown, the bleeding traces of a roebuck which I had wounded, I had the
good fortune to meet with one of these _Mares_. The piece of water of
which I thus became what I may term the proprietor, was from fifty to
sixty feet in circumference, though at the first glance I fancied it
was only half the size, so completely was it covered near the side by
thorns and briars, and in the centre by lilies, flags, and other aquatic
plants. By certain other signs, also, the gigantic creepers, and the
barkless and headless trees, bending and falling with age; by the deep
thickets that surrounded it, and by the solitary aspect of the pool, I
felt convinced that mine was the first footstep that had trodden its
precincts,--that I was the Christopher Columbus of the place.

Enchanted with my discovery, I determined to mark the spot, for I
thought it a _Mare_ of peculiar beauty. It was almost surrounded by wild
fruit trees, which grow in great numbers in our forests: here were the
sorb, or service tree, and the medlar, bending to the ground under the
weight of their luxuriant fruit; intermingled with these waved the lofty
and slender branches of the wild cherry, the berries of which, now ripe,
and sweet as drops of honey, and black as polished jet, offered a
delicious repast to clouds of little birds, that hopped chirruping from
twig to twig: and lastly, I may mention a fine arbutus, which in its
turn presented a tempting collation to the notice of many a hungry
bullfinch. The soft turf around was strewed with the shining black and
bright red berries, which the last breeze had shaken from the verdant
branches.

To describe the crystal notes, the liquid cadences, the merry songs of
the feathered inhabitants of this hive, that pursued one another
rejoicing amongst the leaves, is impossible. Besides, my unexpected
appearance threw them into perfect consternation; and this greatly
increased when, drawing from my side my hu