110 FAMILIAR TREES 



growing beneath it. The well-drained soil in which 

 it delights is by it drained yet more thoroughly ; 

 so that it has a marked power of holding the 

 ground against other species, as noticed by both 

 Evelyn and Gilpin. This has earned for it the 

 evil reputation of symbolising ' selfish ambition, the 

 ambition of a forest prince in his rivalry of the 

 monarch Oak. Though its leaves enrich the soil, 

 this characteristic renders it perhaps better suited 

 to the grove, the wilderness, or a corner of the 

 park than to the garden lawn. Hollies and other 

 evergreens, bracken and brambles will grow beneath 

 its shade, and it must not be forgotten that it is 

 a tree which, for the development of its highest 

 beauty, should occupy an isolated position. 



The modern scientific forester looks upon the 

 Beech as " the mother of the forest," attaching the 

 very highest value to it as undergrowth protecting 

 the soil from drought and denudation, and enrich- 

 ing it with its fallen leaves. 



In spring and summer beneath the Beech-tree's 

 shade wander those abusers of "our young 1 trees," 

 who, from the time of Paris and CEnone to that 

 of Orlando and Rosalind and onwards, have been 

 tempted by its smooth bark to make it the medium 

 of perpetuating their love. Well might Campbell 

 put into the mouth of a Beech-tree the complaint 

 that 



" Youthful lovers in my shade 

 Their vows of truth and rapture made, 

 And on my trunk's surviving frame 

 Carved many a long- forgotten name." 



