54 FAMILIAR TREES 



opposed to the black, leafless boughs visible between 



the snowy flowers of the Blackthorn, seem to have 



attracted most of those who write its praises, its 



fragrance being a great additional source of 



pleasure. Thus, in the " Forest Minstrel," William 



Howitt sings of 



" The beautiful Hawthorn, that has now put on 

 Its summer luxury of snowy wreaths, 



Bending its branches in exuberant bloom, 



"While to the light enamour'd gale it breathes, 



Rife as its loveliness, its rare perfume. 



Glory of England's landscape ! Favourite tree 

 Of bard or lover ! It flings far and free 



Its grateful incense." 



That is, indeed, a joyous season of the year, when 

 the air is fresh with the breath of flowers, and free 

 from the dust of later summer ; when the meadows are 

 gay with Cowslips, Buttercups, or Ladies' Smocks, and 

 the woods still rejoice in Primrose, Orchis, Hyacinth, 

 and Anemone ; when the trees have not lost the first 

 freshness of their greenery, and the hedgerows on the 

 distant hill-side look like billowy snowdrifts unmelted 

 by the summer sun. As Spenser says 



" Youngthes folke now flocke in everywhere 

 To gather May buskets and smelling Brere ; 

 And home they hasten the postes to dight, 

 And all the kirk pillours eare day-light, 

 With Hawthorne buds and sweet Eglantine." 



The thickly set boughs, whether in flower or in 

 leaf, make the Thorn afford a pleasant shade on the 

 open down or by the village green. There, at noon- 

 tide 



" Every shepherd tells his tale 

 Under the Hawthorn in the dale " ; 



