NATURE ON THE ROOF. 93 



with the individuality of the place and of the designer. 

 The finest old roofs were built of oak or chestnut ; the 

 beams are black with age, and, in that condition, oak 

 is scarcely distinguishable from chestnut. 



So the roof has its natural history, its science, and 

 art ; it has its seasons, its migrants and residents, of 

 whom a housetop calendar might be made. The fine 

 old roofs which have just been mentioned are often 

 associated with historic events and the rise of 

 families; and the roof-tree, like the hearth, has a 

 range of proverbs or sayings and ancient lore to itself. 

 More than one great monarch has been slain by a tile 

 thrown from the housetop, and numerous other inci- 

 dents have occurred in connection with it. The most 

 interesting is the story of the Grecian mother who, 

 with her infant, was on the roof, when, in a moment 

 of inattention, the child crept to the edge, and was 

 balanced on the very verge. To call to it, to touch 

 it, would have insured its destruction; but the 

 mother, without a second's thought, bared her breast, 

 and the child eagerly turning to it, was saved ! 



