250 VOICES FROM THE WOODLANDS. 



could have taken place had the leaves been parallel ; and 

 hence the address of the poet : 



" Why tremble so, broad aspen-tree ? 

 At rest thou never seem'st to be ; 



For when the air is still and clear, 

 Or when the nipping gale, increasing, 



Shakes from thy bough soft twilight's tear, 

 Thou tremblest still, broad aspen-tree, 

 And never tranquil seem'st to be." 

 "*~\ 



Legends of no ordinary interest linger around this tree. 

 Ask the Italian peasant, who pastures his sheep beside a 

 grove of arbele, why the leaves of those trees are always 

 trembling in even the hottest weather, when not a breeze 

 is stirring, and he will tell you that the wood of the 

 trembling poplar formed the cross on which our Saviour 

 suffered. 



The tremulousness began, as legends tell, 



"When He, the Meek One, bowed his head to death, 



E'en on an aspen cross ; when some near dell 

 Was visited by men, whose every breath 



