NOVEMBER 
BERG. x WHT all the forms of vegetable life none 
4 ay is so fit to be a type of manhood as 
| the tree. What nobler object in 
nature than a grand old elm: or 
oak ? What a sense of companionship it gives, 
—almost the air of dignified personality, that 
commands more than esthetic admiration, it 
challenges respect. What a combination of 
distinct and harmonious qualities in the giant 
and immovable trunk, the graceful, sweeping 
branches, and the tender, luxuriant, and re- 
freshing foliage. The stately elm, reigning 
alone upon the grassy plain, or standing by the 
dusty highway—how like a venerable patriarch 
it seems to spread its arms in an umbrageous 
benediction, inviting one to pause and rest in 
its cooling shadows, and luring thé timid birds 
to nest and sing in its branches—the best sym- 
bol of character that the poet could find in nat- 
ure when he said,—‘‘ He shall be like a tree 
planted by the rivers of water.’’ What an em- 


289 
