THE ELM. 75 



long will the stately elm be a household word. The 

 great height which the elm attains, the peculiar and 

 gradually expanding form of the head, the grand 

 super-columniation of the pillared branches, and 

 the massiveness and circularity of the main stem, 

 are qualities which adapt it more than any other for 

 an ornament of the park and of the grounds that 

 immediately adjoin, and more particularly still, for 

 planting in those duplicate lines which by-and-by de- 

 velope into the avenue say, rather, into the living 

 cathedral nave ; of which, let it be noted, there are 

 no finer examples possible than in the avenues in 

 Kensington Gardens, and that majestic one which 

 sweeps down the slope in front of Redland Court, 

 near Bristol, then rises again, graceful as some light 

 boat upon the waters, every tree a tower of verdure, 

 illustrious at every season, and when in the pride of 

 its green summer, and slaking its mighty thirst in 

 the drowsy sunshine, lifting up our hearts with 

 delight and admiration. For grand old trees, such 

 as these elms, like the stars, seem to look down into 

 our souls, and, resting there, make them partakers 

 of their own greatness. 



Listen, too, to the inhabitants ! Not always a city, 

 but how often are these beautiful trees, the elms, 

 the seat of a thousand birds of the dark wing ! The 

 two things seem so naturally to go together, that 

 rooks' feathers upon the ground so black, so clean, 

 so smooth, so glossy, with their beautiful white and 



