T. baccata 



sombre tree, whilst a few have been more gener- 

 ous and alluded to its imposing aspect. 

 Dyer says : 



" Behold the trees unnumber'd rise, 

 Beautiful in various dyes ; 

 The gloomy Pine, the Poplar blue, 

 The yellow Beech, the sombre Yew. 

 The slender Fir that taper grows, 

 The sturdy Oak with broad-spread boughs." 



Prior refers to the distinguished appearance 

 and evergreen character of the leaves as 

 follows : 



" Why the changing Oak should shed, 

 The yearly honour of his stately head ; 

 Whilst the distinguished Yew is ever seen, 

 Unchanged his branch and permanent his green." 



In Theodric, Campbell says : 



" There no Yew nor Cypress spread their glooms, 

 But Roses blossom'd by each rustic tomb." 



Soliloquising on the loneliness of an isolated 

 Yew, Wordsworth wrote as follows; the lines 

 being recorded as being left upon a seat beneath 



the tree : 



" This lonely Yew-tree stands 

 Far from all human dwelling." 



Shakespeare alludes to the dismal nature of 

 the Yew in the following words : 



" But straight they told me they would bind me here 

 Unto the body of a dismal Yew." 



Titus Andronicus, Act ii. Sc. 3. 

 167 



