TREES IN NATURE 95 



amber of their precious tears I could hear of 

 no such matter, whiles passing down that 

 river towards Ferrara I diverted myself with 

 this story of the ingenious poet." We have 

 seen that the story was not invented, but only 

 made use of by the poet ; and to-day, we may 

 be reminded of it by the sight of many a 

 Lombardy poplar by English river-sides. 



Hamerton says that the poplar is to other 

 trees what a tower, in architecture, is to houses. 

 The comparison, of course, is obvious. We 

 can agree with him also when he says that the 

 poplars, again like towers, are seen to best ad- 

 vantage when there are but one or two of 

 them among trees of lower elevation and fuller 

 form, thus *' carrying the beauty of the sylvan 

 world high into the air". This is the effect 

 they most commonly have in this country, and 

 it is one that gives so much pleasure as to lay 

 us under a debt of gratitude to Lord Rochford, 

 who introduced them here. They vary much 

 in beauty. Some are gaunt and spare, others 

 are fuller, and throw out waving plumes like 

 pinnacles around a central spire crowning a 

 broad-based tower. 



The aspen is an indigenous variety of poplar ; 



