BOSTON AND VICINITY. 23 



back as tradition can go, and it is reasonable to suppose 

 that it was growing there before the arrival of the 

 Colonists, where the night-bird held her wakeful vigils 

 in the branches above, the sonorous frogs their nightly 

 incantations in the pools below, and where the wild 

 flower was 



born to blush unseen, 



And waste its sweetness on the desert air." 



Until 1830 this old tree stood without special care, 

 where, under its umbrageous shade, millions of souls 

 have rested on their promenade, and hundreds of the 

 lowing herd have chewed in quiet the fragrant cud. 

 And could this old tenant of the forest have told his story 

 of the past, how many councils of the red man, plans of 

 patriotism, tales of love, plots of mischief, and acts of 

 sin would be revealed ? But, like all things terrestrial, 

 which must have an end, this venerable giant of the 

 forest came to its destruction. In the gale of February 

 15th, 1876, its monstrous trunk and towering branches 

 fell to rise no more. Thousands of relic hunters flocked 

 to get souvenirs of the tree and carried them home in 

 triumph, sawing, cutting, and carrying them away as 

 relics snatched from some holy shrine. Universal sorrow 

 was manifested by the public at the loss of this venerable 

 tree. Resolutions of regret were passed by the Massa- 

 chusetts Horticultural Society, and the writer was re- 

 quested to solicit from the Mayor a section for preserva- 

 tion in its cabinet, a request which was granted, both to 

 this Society, to the New England Historic Genealogical 

 Society and to himself, from which were made noble 

 chairs, commemorative of the Centennial of our Repub- 

 lic in 1876. 



Among the most potent agents in the promotion of 

 horticulture at the beginning of the present century 



