wild hyacinths, the cool
carpet of primroses. Look at the cowslips yellowing that meadow; do
you see the heron standing patiently in the marsh? Look overhead,
watch the hovering hawk; hark! there is the nightingale. Stop a moment
at the bridge; can you see the speckled beauties with their heads
upstream? Thank God for the blue, blue sky! thank God for the glory of
the sun, for the lights and shadows beneath the trees! Thank God for
the live air, the growth, the life of plant and tree, the fragrance
and the beauty! Thank God for rural England!

One can tell the most ancient, apart from the scientifically made
Roman roads, by the way they were worn down from the original level,
especially on hillsides, by the constant and heavy traffic. Every
passing wheel abraded a portion of the surface, and the next rain
carried the _debris_ down the hill, forming in time a deep depression,
between banks at the sides, often many feet deep, and giving the
impression of the track having been purposely dug out to lessen the
gradient. In places where the road became impassable from long use and
wet, deviations on either side were made, so that ten or a dozen
disused tracks can be seen side by side, often extending laterally
quite a long distance from the existing road in unenclosed
surroundings.

A great charm of the bicycle is its noiselessness which, with its
speed, affords peeps of wild creatures under natural conditions.
Cycling on the Cotswolds I came upon two hares at a boxing match; they
were so absorbed that I was able to get quite close, and it was
amusing to watch them standing upright on their hind legs, and
sparring with their little fists like professionals. I have often seen
the pursuit of a rabbit by a persistent stoat; the rabbit has little
chance of escape, as the stoat can follow it underground as well as
over; finally the rabbit appears to be paralyzed with fright, lies
down and makes no further effort. Weasels, which probably make up for
depredations of game by their destruction of rats, often cross the
road, and sometimes whole families may be seen playing by the
roadside. I was shooting in Surrey when I once had an excellent view
of an ermine--the stoat in its winter dress. I did not recognize it
until it was out of sight, but I should not have shot it in any case,
for the ermine is a very rare occurrence in the south of England. I
believe that further north it is not unusual, as is natural where the
light colour w