APPLE-TREE. 145 



children, with baskets and spread aprons, ran blithely to pick 

 up such as fell, laughing ever and anon, when a shower of 

 apples was shaken with merry intent upon them, by some 

 urchin who concealed himself among the branches. To this 

 succeeded the carrying of large baskets, filled with apples, 

 to the mill, where, after being laid awhile in heaps to 

 mellow, they were crushed and pressed till all their juice was 

 extracted, which, being fermented, became cider. 



Britain was early celebrated for her orchards, and mention 

 is made of apples in the ancient Saxon rite of coronation, 

 as recorded in the time of Edgar. 



" May the Almighty Lord give thee, O king, from the 

 dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, abundance of 

 corn, and wine, and oil. Be thou the lord of thy brothers, 

 and let the sons of thy mother bow down before thee. 

 Let the people serve thee and the tribes adore thee. May 

 the Almighty bless thee with the blessings of heaven above, 

 and the mountains and the valleys, with the blessings of the 

 deep below, with the blessings of grapes and apples. 



L 



