OAK TREE. 293 



" The oak, when living, monarch of the wood, 

 The English oak which, dead, commands the flood." 



Montgomery speaks of the longevity of this sturdy 

 tree : 



" As some triumphal oak, whose boughs have spread 

 Their changing foliage through a thousand years, 

 Bows to the rushing wind its glorious head." 



These lines present us with a fine and stately picture 

 of the Oak. Mason puts it in a venerable point of 

 view : 



" Hie thee, poor pilgrim, to yon neighbouring bower, 

 O'er which an old oak spreads his aweful arms, 

 Mantled in brownest foliage ; and beneath, 

 The ivy, gadding from the untwisted stem, 

 Curtains each verdant side." 



ELFRIDA. 



Happy foresters, 



Ye wave your bold heads in the liberal air : 

 ******* 

 Ye with your tough and intertwisted roots, 

 Grasp the firm rocks ye sprung from, and erect 

 In knotty hardihood, still proudly spread 

 Your leafy banners 'gainst the tyrannous north." 



CARACTACUS. 



Metastasio celebrates it for its sturdy defiance of the 

 winds : 



" Sprezza il furor del vento 

 Robusta quercia avezza 

 Di cento verm e cento 



- 



L'injurie a tollerar. 



E se pur cade al suolo, 

 Spiega per 1'onde il volo, 

 E con quel vento istesso 

 Va contrastaudo in mar." 



