142 ILEX. 



scenery may be, it never fails to receive an additional life and charm 

 wherever the Holly is present to intermingle its glossy foliage vrith 

 the various tints around it. Oft have we stood and lingered in our 

 walks to watch and admire the bright and fleeting lights produced 

 by our favourite evergreen, as moved by the gentle zephyr : its po- 

 lished leaves have reflected, in diamond -like coruscations, the rays of 

 light as they penetrated the recesses in which it grew, at the same 

 time that its rich dark green foliage, by force of contrast, gave an ad- 

 ditional value to the paler tints of the mountain ash, the hazel, and 

 various other shrubs which grew around it." Selby, Forest Trees, 

 pp. 39-40. — "A large Holly, inclosed with a wall, marks the spot" 

 where James II. was killed during the siege of Roxburgh Castle. 

 Pennant's Tour, 1772, p. 272. The wall has been removed, and a 

 rail properly substituted ; and the Holly-bush ornaments " the lawn 

 in front of the Duke of Roxburghe's mansion of Fleurs." Morton's 

 Teviotdale, p. 94 *. — There is a fine row of Holly-trees lining part 

 of the avenue to Ayton Castle, — very beautiful in early winter when 

 loaded with their coral berries. The practice of planting Hollies in 

 this manner must have been early adopted, previous, I think, to the 

 introduction of topiary work ; for some such hedges are very old. 

 Upwards of three centuries since Wallace is said to have lain hid in 

 a hedge 



" Off great HoUyns that greu baith heych and greyn." 



In the north of Northumberland the Holly is divided into two 

 kinds, — the ?fec and ^\)t ^oUitH. The former is distinguished by 

 having prickly leaves, while in the latter they are unarmed or nearly 

 so. When gathered in the proper manner, and at the fit hour, the 

 ^^t^^olly engenders dreams concerning that all-absorbing object, a 

 future husband or wife. To ensure this the leaves must be pulled 

 upon a Friday, and at midnight, by parties who, from their setting 

 out until next day at dawn, must preserve unbroken silence. They 

 are to be collected in a three-cornered handkerchief; and after being 

 brought home, nine of the leaves must be selected and tied, with nine 

 knots, inside the handkerchief, and then put under the pillow. A 

 dream worthy of credit is the result. See the Border Table Book, 

 viii. p. 254. 



* Of the Castle of Roxburgh Pennant gives a description as it was in his 

 time. Tour, 1772, ii. p. 271 ; and it has been noticed by every subsequent 

 tourist. Sir Walter Scott alleges, that " a vicinity more delightfully appro- 

 priate to the abode of the sylvan deities (viz. the Fairies) can hardly be 

 found. Two rivers of considerable size, made yet more remarkable by the 

 fame which has rendered them in some sort classical, unite their streams 

 beneath the vestiges of an extensive castle, renowned in the wars with 

 England, and for the valiant, noble, and even royal blood, which has been 

 shed around and before it ; — a landscape, ornamented with the distant vil- 

 lage and huge abbey tower of Kelso, arising out of groves of aged trees ; 

 — the modern mansion of Fleurs, with its terrace, its woods, and its exten- 

 sive lawn, form altogether a kingdom for Oberon and Titania to reign in, 

 or any spirit who, before their time, might love scenerj', of which the 

 majesty, and even the beauty, impress the mind with a sense of awe mingled 

 with pleasure." — Letters on Demonology, p. 119. 



