SFfre j&alccg afe. 209 



that they look like arches, beneath which troops of 

 cavalry may pass, as through the open and stately 

 portals of a town. 



The venerable tree which has given rise to this 

 digression, stands in the centre of a grassy area, where 

 cattle pasture, and though still bearing the name of 

 forest, the site on which it grows, exhibits little that 

 would recall to mind, that it was once covered with noble 

 trees. A few still remain, some apparently of great age, 

 others in different stages of growth or of decay ; but to 

 the eye and to the heart, the one which is called by pre- 

 eminence the Salcey Oak, must be alone. 



He who loves to watch the motions of animals, and 

 the flight of birds ; the passing of summer clouds, and the 

 gradual advancing and receding of the light ; the aspect 

 too of nature, when shone upon by the bright warm sun- 

 beams or at the fall of night, may find much to interest 

 him in, and around the time-worn tree. Seen dimly in 

 the dubious nights of the summer solstice, it presents 

 the aspect of a cavern overgrown with bushes, within 

 which a flock of sheep are often quietly reposing, or a 

 cow has laid down to rest, with her little one beside her. 

 The dew meanwhile is heavy on the grass, and not a 

 sound is heard. The inmates of the nearest farm-house 

 are not yet moving, neither is any animal abroad, nor 

 have the early birds left the boughs on which they rest. 

 That sound of waters which of all others is the loudest, 

 when all else is still, which seems to gather strength when 



