t the dark glass inward, dotting a great and
increasing period outward. A bright birch-leaf, "the last of its
clan," has just fallen down, and been snapped at most probably by a
little spooney of a trout, thinking it a yellow butterfly; and on the
bottom, which, directly under our eyes is shallow, are several
water-insects crawling along like locomotive spots of shadow and
reflected through the tremulous medium into distorted shapes. However,
we have lingered here long enough--let us onward.

What on earth is that uproar which is now striking our ear. Such
hoarse notes, such rapid flutterings, whizzings, deep rumbling sounds,
and such a rustle of dead leaves surely betoken something. We turn an
elbow of the road, and a flashing of blue wings, and darting of blue
shapes in the air, now circling round, now shooting up, and now down,
with a large beech tree for the centre, meet our eyes. The tumult is
explained. A colony of wild pigeons is busy amongst the beech-nuts,
which the frost has showered upon the earth. The ground for some
distance around the tree is perfectly blue with the birds picking, and
fighting, and scrambling. It is ludicrous to see them. Here a score or
two are busy eating, looking like a collection of big-paunched,
blue-coated aldermen at a city feast; there, all are hurrying and
jostling, and tumbling over one another like the passengers of a
steamboat when the bell rings for dinner. By the side of yonder bush
there is a perfect duel transpiring between two pugnacious pigeons
dashing out their wings fiercely at each other with angry tones, their
beautiful purple necks all swollen, and their red eyes casting
devouring looks, whilst two others are very quietly, yet swiftly, as
if making the most of their time, causing all the nuts in sight, and
which probably induced the quarrel, disappear down their own throats.
See! here is a pigeon who has over-estimated his capacity of
swallowing, or has encountered a larger nut than usual, for he is
exhibiting the most alarming symptoms of choking. He stretches his
neck and opens his bill like a cock in the act of crowing, at the same
time dancing up and down on his pink legs as if his toes had caught
fire. However, he has mastered the nut at last with a vigorous shake
of his neck, and bobs industriously again at his feast.

Determining to have some of the brown luscious mast, we make a foray
amongst the gorging host, and succeeded in causing a cloud of them to
tak