54 I Hh. LIME. 



that this famous parasite grows upon nearly a score of other kinds of 

 tree, including the maple, the ash, the poplar, the apple and pear, the 

 hawthorn, the white-beam, the service, the willow, the hazel-nut, the 

 Bobinia, the holly, and the walnut. In summer we seldom notice the 

 mistletoe. Concealed by the foliage of the tree it inhabits, not until 

 autumn has stripped all away, and winter has rendered the woods trans- 

 parent, and the splendours of the ivy and holly are disclosed, do we 

 discover its presence. Then how beautiful the contrast of its innumer- 

 able green quills and glistening pearls, with the dark-brown armour 

 around and below, all of those stalwart foresters that lies open to view. 

 Then, too, how beautifully is suggested to us the value and excellence 

 of deciduous things, for were all mantles to remain for ever, how much 

 should we remain unconscious of! Light and summer, that reveal so 

 much, hide even more. Darkness, that we think so dreadful, takes us 

 away from earth to the heavenly lamps, and that which till now was 

 silent, begins to speak. 



