ELM. 183 



own hand many of those magnificent trees that form, the 

 pride of Houghton. Among the various actions of his 

 busy life, he speaks of this as having given him the greatest 

 satisfaction in its performance, and most unsullied pleasure 

 in the retrospect. 



Men, says Evelyn, seldom plant trees till they begin 

 to grow wise, that is, till they at least attain middle age, 

 and find by experience its probable advantages. Cicero 

 speaks of planting as the most delightful occupation of 

 advanced life ; and doubtless, of all pursuits connected with 

 the interests of mankind, one of the most disinterested and 

 truly wise, is that by which a barren waste becomes a scene 

 of waving beauty, sheltering the country, and delighting 

 both the botanist and painter. 



Superstitions linger around the elm, derived most pro- 

 bably from remote antiquity, founded, perchance, on truth, 

 but clouded and obscured as years passed on, till adding 

 to innumerable instances of mental obliquity. 



And yet the wildest legends fall short of the phenomenon 



