LAMBETH PALACE 



grounds by the presence in great numbers of magnificent speci- 

 mens of the ailanthus, commonly and picturesquely named the 

 " Tree of Heaven." It is singularly prolific, continually sending 

 up suckers, and there must be at least a hundred examples at 

 Lambeth, for I myself, one day counted eighty ! " The Tree of 

 Heaven," or " Tree of the Gods," has a strong family likeness 

 to the ash, and is own sister to the sumach. Can there be any 

 subtle connection between the Scandinavian idea of the great 

 World-tree " Yggdrasil " the ash-tree of existence, whose top- 

 most branches stretched up to Asgard, and whose roots reached 

 down to the regions of Hela, Queen of the Dead and the " Tree 

 of Heaven " in the garden of a Christian prelate ? Anyway, 

 these foreign-looking trees with their fern-like foliage, and signifi- 

 cant and picturesque name, give a distinct character to Lambeth, 

 where they are more in evidence than anywhere else ; and here, 

 therefore, of all places, one may feel that with 



" The kiss of the sun for pardon, 



The song of the birds for mirth, 

 One is nearer to God in a garden 

 Than anywhere else on earth." 



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