wonder what your aim in life was, and 

 if you accomplished it?" 



The branches above swayed in the 

 breeze, and th^se words floated to 

 Mabel's ears : 



''In many places our leaves are gath- 

 ered before they fall, and are made into 

 mattresses. They have a pleasant smell 

 and do not grow hard and musty like 

 straw." 



"I'd like such a mattress and a pillow 

 of fir-needles. How delightful ! I'd 

 merely have to close my eyes, and the 

 fragrant aroma and the delightful 

 woodsy smell would waft me off to 

 pleasant dreams. Tell me some legends 

 connected with your family, will you, 

 Beech Tree?" 



"Well, here is a curious one. About 

 a century ago there was found a very 

 strange and wonderful Beech tree, which 

 put on a dress of deep purple instead of 

 the usual one. Cuttings were taken 

 from it and planted ; these followed their 

 parent's strange mode of dress, ani 

 from it have sprung most of the Purple 

 or Copper Beeches now cultivated. In 

 a large wood near Zurich three more 

 trees were found, and the popular leg- 

 end in connection with them was that 

 they marked the spot where five broth- 

 ers had murdered one another. I sup- 

 pose that you have read of the Maid of 

 Orleans?" 



"Joan of Arc? Oh, yes; and wept 

 many tears over the terrible death of 

 that beautiful 3^oung girl." , 



"One member of our family was 

 closely connected with that wonderful 

 child." The Tree grew silent, as if 

 thinking of that time so long past; the 

 warm sun rested lovingly on its glisten- 

 ing branches, the birds flew past and 

 Mabel waited patiently. At last as 

 though rousing from a reverie, these 

 words came in deep and solemn tones : 

 "The child Joan was deeply religious, 

 and possessed of almost supernatural 

 beauty. She was the daughter of a 

 poor peasant and looked after the sheep ; 

 her home was in the village of Dom- 

 remy, in France. The children of this 

 village used to play beneath the widt- 

 spreading branches of a Beech tree, 

 which they would decorate with wreaths 

 of flowers. Their childish minds peo- 



pled this beloved tree with fairies, an:i 

 delightful were the hours spent in, danc- 

 ing and singing around it ; like most 

 children they were very credulous and 

 believed firmly in its mystical powers. 

 Joan loved this tree, and she, like the 

 others, believed that when one of them 

 came to die, no matter in what strange 

 land nor under what circumstances, their 

 last dark moments would be softened 

 and cheered by a vision of their beloved 

 .tree. What an unselfish life this girl 

 of sixteen lived ! When two years later 

 victory was theirs and the Dauphin was 

 made king, how unselfish was the re- 

 ward which she asked ! Simply that 

 her native village, reduced to great 

 straits, should b€ released from its bur- 

 den of taxes ! Poor little girl, what a 

 noble life ! what a terrible death !" The 

 voice had sunk to a whisper, and the 

 last words seemed but an echo. Mabel 

 sat looking at the granite and marble 

 shafts of the Citv of the Dead which 

 could be seen through an opening in the 

 trees. The breeze played with the dead 

 leaves, and a sound soft and low fell 

 upon her ears. 



"Poets, too, have sung of us. Gray 

 in his immortal elegy said : 



'There at the foot of yonder nodding beech. 

 That wreaths its old fantastic roots so high. 

 His listkss length at noontide he would stretch. 

 And pore upon the brook that babbled by.' 



"Pliny, that ancient historian, states 

 that not far from the city of Rome there 

 was a hill clad and beautified by a grove 

 of Beech trees, which were as even and 

 ribund in the head as if they had been 

 trimmed with gigantic shears. This 

 grove was consecrated to the goddess 

 Diana, and there was one tree of such 

 surpassing beauty that Crispus, a cele- 

 brated orator, became very fond of it; 

 he delighted to repose beneath its shade 

 and would often embrace it and pour 

 wine on its roots. 



"Our wood is useful ; bowls made of 

 it never leak. The North American In- 

 dian knew this, and fashioned excellent 

 bowls and ladles from us." 



"You stand here among the maples, 

 Beech Tree ; did you know that there 

 was a Beech w^ood just around the bend 

 in the creek? Its shade is so refresh- 



