TRAVELS OF AN ENGLISH CHRISTMAS TREE 



BY CLARA L. WEST 



IT was the day before Christmas in England — in the 

 south of England, where the belated roses lingered 

 here and there in the gardens, and the snow melted 

 as soon as it fell. 



The family at the Hall, an old country seat, decided 

 that it was time to bring in the tree. Now the trees 

 on an English estate are considered very valuable. 

 The "lop and the crop" of the trees are used for kind- 

 ling, that is; the cuttings made by the woodmen, and 

 the small branches which fall of themselves. But to cut 

 down a tree — that is a matter requiring the greatest 

 consideration. So, it was quite an event to go into the 

 woodlands, with the Lord of the Manor, who had the 

 right to cut down, or dig up, any tree he pleased. 



The Squire, the guests, the children of the whole 

 place, even some of the house servants, went witl 

 the gardener and the woodmen in search of the Christ- 

 mas tree. 



It was a fit tree they wanted— not too large, nor too 

 small. When they came to a fine strong tree, they 

 stopped, and all made a circle around it. 



"Shall you chop it down now?" asked the American, 

 one of the guests. 



"Chop it down !" exclaimed the Lord of the Manor. 



"Chop it down !" echoed the gardener, in great sur- 

 prise. 



"Chop it down !" cried the children. 



They were all thinking of it as a live greenwood tree 

 — but the American only thought of it as a framework 

 to be dressed as a Christmas tree. 



"No — we shall dig it up," said the squire ; 



"Yes — dig it up" — agreed the gardener; 



"Dig it up" — repeated the children. 



While the American wondered what difference that 

 would make. But, that was all the difference in the 

 world, as you shall see, for it saved the life of the tree. 



The gardener measured the earth from the trunk of 

 the tree to the circumference of a circle around it, 

 staking it off with bits of wood, working just as if he 

 were going to transplant it. Then the woodmen dug 

 it up, roots and earth, and planted it in a great tub, 

 like a washtub, which really looked like a giant's flower- 

 pot. After that the tree was hoisted into the cart 

 driven out of the forest, across the park, to the house. 

 There they placed the noble fir tree in the middle of 

 the great entrance hall. And this was the tree's first 

 journey into a world outside of the green-wood. 



The Yule log was already in the great fireplace, ready 

 to be lighted. Holly and mistletoe boughs garlanded 

 the chimney-piece and the old portraits in the Hall. 

 And on the wainscoting of the walls there were 

 curiously carved panels, representing scenes from 

 English history, and old customs. One of them was 

 about the "Makinge of Pinnes." It represented a man 



kneeling before Queen Elizabeth, with many quaint 

 round-headed pins stuck in a cushion. The Queen look- 

 ed in surprise at these wonderful things. Underneath 

 was carved in old English letters : 



"How ye makynge of pinnes was firste done in a 

 righteous and discreet manner in Gloster Citee. For 

 ungodlie men, seekynge only their present gain, fixed 

 ye head without steadfastnesse, and fools, of their folie, 

 made ye point with dust of Qud (?) that left it malign 

 unto them that were wounded withal ! 



"Whereupon Elizabeth, our Queen, gave right of 

 patent unto John Tilsby, our citizen, who avouched and 

 shewed proofs that he made espingles (pins) with truth 

 and knowingnesse." 



And so, it was this John Tilsby who was kneeling 

 before the Queen showing her his good Gloucestershire 

 pins. But no one paid much attention to the treasures 

 in this old house — the carvings, portraits, and the won- 

 derful porcelain collections, because the tree was wait- 

 ing to be dressed. It was a real live tree, remember, 

 with its good roots still feeding it. 



Before dark the family came with hammers and 

 tacks, and green branches, and they covered the tub, 

 with evergreens and holly, until not an inch of the wood 

 could be seen. After that, the red apples and oranges 

 were tied on, to properly weight the branches — then 

 the gilded and silvered walnuts, and many colored 

 shining balls, paper butterflies, gold and silver birds and 

 fishes, bon-bons, and Christmas boxes of candies (which 

 they call "sweets" in England), and mysterious small 

 packages for special people, tied up in gay papers. 

 Then much glittering tinsel thread, called "Angels Hair," 

 and paper posies. Then they put on some little glass 

 bells, which made a cheerful tinkling sound whenever 

 the tree was shaken. But no popcorn, because there 

 is none in England, and no strings of red cranberries, 

 for the same reason. The wax tapers were then put 

 in place, red, blue, green, yellow, white and pink. And 

 to crown it all, at the very top, they placed a big, daz- 

 zling, gold star, with many' candles around it so that 

 its shining could be plainly seen. All the large pres- 

 ents for the household were placed under the tree on the 

 earth, covered with green. It was done ! How fine 

 it looked ! 



There the tree stood all night long, until the dawn. 

 Very early the chimes of the village church began to ring 

 in the Christmas morn. On and on they rang, for there 

 were eight bells in the parish church tower, and it took 

 nearly two hours to ring in all the changes. 



The tree heard all this ! 



Presently a footman brought in a red bench — and 

 placed it on one side of the hall. Then another, and 

 another and another. They were red-cushioned benches 

 and looked very gay. Then the man looked at the 



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