THE HAWTHOEN. 87 



death, in a good cause, with equal fortitude. His zeal, 

 however, was not put to this severe trial. The King w\is 

 more merciful than he expected, for though his Majesty did 

 not follow his advice, it never appeared that he took the 

 least ofi'ence at the freedom of his letter." 



Both Gilpin and his simple-minded informant were in 

 error in supposing the tree then standing to have been the 

 identical one with which the legend is connected. The 

 original " Holly-Thorn," which stood on Weary -all-hill (the 

 spot where Joseph and his companions are said to have sat 

 down all-weary with their journey), originally had two 

 distinct trunks, one of which was destroyed by a Puritan 

 in Queen Elizabeth's reign, and the other, together with 

 many yet more interesting relics of antiquity, shared the 

 same fixte during the Great Eebellion. If we may credit 

 James Howell, the author of "Dodona's Grove" (printed in 

 1644), the mistaken fanatic who completed the work of 

 destruction did not go unpunished : " and he was well 

 serv'd for his blind Zeale, who going to cut doune an 

 ancient white Hauthorne-tree, which, because she budded 

 before others, might be an occasion of Superstition, had 

 some of the prickles flew into his eye, and made him 

 Monocular." ^ 



^ In Ireland, to the present day, it is the popular belief that "no 

 one will thrive after rooting up an old Thorn." Some 3'ears since 

 a gentleman residing in Carrickfergus, eo. Antrim, employed as his 

 gardener an old artilleryman, named Peter S — •-—, who had been 

 invalided in conseriuence of wounds received in battle, and passed 

 among his comrades as a brave soldier. One day Peter received 

 directions to uproot a "reverend Hawthorn," which, together with 

 the hedge in which it stood, was to make way for some improvements 

 in the garden. He immediately set to work, and soon cleared the 

 hedge of all that gi-ew in it except the Thorn, the roots of which had 

 penetrated deeply into the ground, and which remained untouched. 

 Next day, the gentleman asked him why the tree had not been 

 removed as he desired. Peter answered, "that it was hardly 

 possible — that it would be dangerous to attempt it." His master 

 remonstrated with him, explaining why it was necessar}- that the 

 Thorn should be included in the order for removal, and left him 

 with a strict injunction to set about the task immediately, which 

 he, very reluctantly, then prepared to do. Next day, however, to 

 his surprise, the master found the devoted tree still maintaining its 

 ground, erect and uninjured. On sharply questioning the offender 



