FLORA'S LEXICON. 231 



E\V. Taxus. Class 21, Mon<ecia. Order: 

 Polyandkia. There is in every plant some- 

 thing which either attracts or repels us. 

 The yew tree is considered by all nations 

 to be the emblem of sorrow. Plants are 

 said to die under its shade, and if the weary 

 traveller should sleep under its umbrageous 

 branches his head becomes affected, and he soon feels violently 

 ill. It also exhausts the earth which yields it nourishment. 

 Our ancestors, guided by a natural sentiment, considered it a 

 fit resident in the cemetery, and so destined it to overshade the 

 tomb. They used its wood for bows, lances, and cross-bows ; and 

 the Greeks also employed it for the same purposes. 



SORROW. 



Beneath that yew tree's shade, 



Where heaves the turf in many a mouldering heap, 

 Each in his narrow cell for ever laid, 



The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep. 



Gray. 



Both you two have 

 Relation to the grave ; 

 And where 

 The fun'rale trump sounds, you are there. 



I shall be made 

 Ere long a fleeting shade ; 

 Pray come 

 And doe some honour to my tomb. 



Do not deny 

 My last request, for I 

 Will be 

 Thankful to you, or friends for me. 



Herrick. 



