Poetical allusions Gray, Mackintosh, Ley den 169 



Gray makes a simple allusion to its shade : 1 



c Beneath those rugged elms, that yew-tree's shade, 

 Where heaves the turf in many a mouldering heap.' 



In a Letter to Francis Homer, Sir James Mack- 

 intosh notices the shade given by it, and the 

 resulting dryness of the ground underneath : 



' The Druid Grove, where many a reverend yew 

 Hides from the thirsty beam the moontide dew.' 



And speaking of yew-trees scattered over a hill-side, 

 he says : 



' Lonely and huge, the giant yew, 

 As champion to his country true, 

 Stands forth to guard the rearward post, 

 The bulwark of the scattered host.' 



Dr. Leyden, after mentioning the oak and the 

 apple, which he has formerly praised, says : 2 



' Now, more I love the melancholy yew ! 

 Whose still-green leaves in solemn silence wave 

 Above the peasants' red un-honoured grave? 

 Which oft thou moistened with the morning dew. 

 To thee the sad, to thee the weary fly ; 

 They rest in peace beneath thy sacred gloom, 



1 Elegy written in a Coimtry Churchyard. 



2 From the Natttralisfs Poetical Companion. 



3 The ' red un-honoured grave ' has reference to the reddish colour of the 

 fallen leaves. Wordsworth notices this as well as the absence of vegetation 

 under the yew-tree shade : 



' Upon whose grassless floor of red-brown hue 

 By sheddings from the pining umbrage tinged 

 Perennially.' 



