THE BEECH IN WINTER. 2? 



And bade them call for nurture, and receive : 

 And lo ! they call ; the blackbird and the thrush, 

 The woodlark and the red-breast jointly call ; 

 He hears, and feeds their feathered families ; 

 He feeds his sweet musicians nor neglects 

 Th'invoking ravens in the greenwood wide ; 

 And tho' their throats coarse rattling hurt the ear, 

 They mean it all for music ; thanks and praise 

 They mean, and leave ingratitude to man.* 



But I must not forget to notice the appearance 

 of the Beech in winter. Its leaves have now been 

 shed, except those on some of the lower scrubby 

 branches, which generally remain till the succeed- 

 ing spring. Its trunk may then be seen, smooth 

 in many places and appearing highly polished. 

 Some I have seen standing to a height of forty 

 or fifty feet from the ground to the first branch, 

 looking like stately columns of marble.f This 

 has been the case where the trees have been 

 thickly planted together. In general, however, 

 the trunk of the beech is short, but of great thick- 

 ness; it is impossible to see it without being 

 struck with the eifect it produces in forest scenery. 

 The little, slight and pendulous branches which 

 almost sweep the ground, are full of grace and 

 lightness. When covered with a hoar frost they 



* SMART. 



t Some such trees may be seen not a great way from the 

 clump of cedars in Richmond Park, below the terrace on the hill, 

 and are well worth a little trouble in looking for them. They 

 are on the bank to the left of the cedars, below Lord ErrolFs house. 



