204: THE TREE OP THIBET. 



occasionally, though rarely, seen in Warwickshire, near Doncaster, and in 

 the Isle of Wight." (Rev. W. T. Bree's MSS.) 



I am very glad that I can confirm its appearance in Warwickshire, 

 though not its capture; early as the date of my seeing it may seem. 



I should be glad of any information from parties, who have noticed or 

 captured it in June. 



The Elms } Birmingham, June \§th., 1857. 



THE TREE OF THIBET. 



BY GEORGE WIGHTWICK, ESQ. 



The reader is most likely acquainted with the travels of Hue and Gabet, 

 the French missionaries. They speak of the wondrous Tree of Thibet, and 

 the more worthily of our regard because they have seen it. We may not 

 apply to men so soberly minded and so strictly veracious as themselves, 

 the lines of Cowper, in reference to the assertions of a Long-Bow, who, 

 speaking of some marvel, says, "I saw it with these eyes!" 



"Sir, I believe it on that ground alone; 

 I would not, had I seen it with my own." 



No, Hue and Gabet may be men on whom the superstitious and designing 

 might impose, but they are evidently incapable themselves of anything 

 short of the most honest intentions. 



The famed Tree of Thibet then, bearing a name which signifies the 

 "Ten Thousand Images," is existant. Protected by a canopy of silver sup- 

 ported by metal standards, it seems to be some thirty feet high, with a 

 sturdy trunk, from which, beginning about eight feet above the ground, 

 extend horizontally its branches, thickly grown with green leaves, and in 

 season bearing rich and beautiful red flowers. The bark, which is also 

 of a red tint, gives off an odour resembling that of cinnamon, and the 

 description seems to imply that the odour from the tree generally, and 

 when in flower, fills the air with an exquisite perfume. 



But the wonder lies in one positive, and in another asserted fact; the 

 former relates to the "well-formed Thibetian characters" on the leaves and 

 bark of the tree. On the first they are of a green colour, "sometimes 

 darker and sometimes lighter than that of the leaf itself, and appearing to 

 be portions of the same, equally with its veins and nerves." But I will 

 refer for minute description to "Hazlitt's Translation of Travels in Tartary, 

 Thibet, and China," vol. ii., p.p. 52 to 54. Illustrated London Library, 

 227, Strand. 



The asserted wonder relates to the sole existence of this one tree, which 

 is said to defy propagation either by seed or cutting. Tradition assigns to 



