24 SEPTEMBER 1927, Page 13

A LATE YEAR.

Here is a severely accurate description of an autumnal half-hour on the banks of the Lea :—

By my little bit of river,

Where the mirrored branches shiver, Herb of willow, willow, sallow, Hide the nests where moorhens hallo, Cluck and chatter to their chicks.

Fishes move from weedy holes. Hark ! I hear the busy voles

(Pretty beasts, whose silken hair Prisons drops of silver air), Munching sedge and playing tricks.

Such a little bit of river, Countless pleasures can deliver. Happy may I sit beside it, Where the elm trunk fell astride it, Till I cross the River Styx.

W. BEACH Tuomns.