THE CHESNUT. 87 



splendid spiral flower ; the whole at this period of 

 the year forming the grandest vegetable object that 

 our kingdom presents, and vying in rich beauty with 

 any that Eastern woods can boast. And if we 

 could reach one of those flowers to pluck it, we 

 should find that the most delicate fair ones of the 

 garden or the green -house do not surpass it in elabo- 

 rate penciling and richly-varied tints. It can be 

 likened to nothing but its own portrait painted on 

 velvet." Mirror of the Months, p. 69. 



In the extraordinary specimen of this tree, which 

 is to be seen in the Court- yard of Burleigh House, 

 the ancient and highly interesting seat of the Mar- 

 quess of Exeter, all its beauties will be found exhi- 

 bited in their utmost perfection, without the draw- 

 back of a single disadvantage. From being enclosed 

 in a space comparatively confined, the formality of 

 its summit is exchanged for increased length of 

 stem ; the tree having shot up unusually high, most 

 likely in the endeavour to lift its head above the 

 surrounding walls, which at once shelter it from 

 injury, and impede that free play of the elements in 

 which the "native burghers of the forest" naturally 

 delight. Its branches, feathering down to the velvet 

 turf on which it stands, exhibit a delightful alter- 

 nation of milk-white flowers and russet fruits j whilst 

 the stately trunk displays an elegance and majesty, 

 which, combined with the venerable turrets that rise 

 around, filling the mind with recollections of the 



