86 THE AMERICAN ELM. 



mansion and many a humble cottage, and equally harmo- 

 nizing with all. They meet his sight in the public grounds 

 of the city with their ample shade and flowing spray; 

 and he beholds them in the clearing, where they were left 

 by the woodman to stand as solitary landmarks of the 

 devastated space. ' Every year of his life he has seen the 

 beautiful hangbird weave his pensile nest upon the long 

 and flexible branches, secure from the reach of every foe. 

 From its vast dome of branches and foliage he has lis- 

 tened to the songs of the late and early birds, and un- 

 der its canopy he has witnessed many a scene of rustic 

 amusement. 



To a native of New England, therefore, the Elm has a 

 character more nearly approaching that of sacredness than 

 any other tree. Setting aside the pleasure derived from 

 it as an object of material beauty, it reminds him of 

 the familiar scenes of home and the events of his early 

 life. How many a happy assemblage of children and 

 young persons has been gathered under its shade in the 

 sultry noons of summer ! How many a young May queen 

 has been crowned under its tasselled roof, when the green- 

 sward was just daisied with the early flowers of spring ! 

 And how often has the weary traveller rested from his 

 journey under its wide-spreading boughs, and from a 

 state of weariness and vexation, when o'erspent by heat 

 and length of way, subsided into quiet thankfulness and 

 content ! 



In my own mind the Elm is intimately allied with 

 those old dwelling-houses which were built in the early 

 part of the last century, and form one of the principal 

 remaining features of New England home architecture 

 during that period. They are known by their broad and 

 ample but low-studded rooms, their two stories in front, 

 their numerous windows with small panes, their single 

 chimney in the centre of the roof, that sloped down to 



