412 THE WHITE PINE. 



flickering beams of light ; and we perceive immediately 

 that there is no other tree in whose shade it would be 

 more agreeable to recline on a hot summer's day, or under 

 whose protection we might obtain a greater amount of 

 comfort in winter. The uniform arrangement of its 

 branches in whorls, forming a series of stages one above 

 another, its tasselled foliage in long, siliy tufts at the ends 

 of the branches, and its symmetrical outline, constitute 

 in the most obvious sense a beautiful tree. These tufts, 

 though not pendulous, have none of the stiff bristling ap- 

 pearance of the other pines ; and their verdure is of a 

 sober, not a sombre tiat, though rather dull in lustre. 



The symmetry or formality which some writers condemn 

 in the style of this tree is not of a disagreeable kind, hke 

 that of the Norway spruce. It is combined both with 

 majesty and grace, and increases the grandeur of its 

 appearance, like the architectural proportions of a tem- 

 ple in which grandeur could not be produced without 

 symmetry. This tree has much of the amplitude so re- 

 markable in the cedar of Lebanon. Hence the look of 

 primness, which the firs always retain, is counteracted 

 by its nobleness and altitude. It is combined also with a 

 certain negligent habit of its leafy robes, that softens its 

 dignity into grace, and causes it to wear its honors like 

 one who feels no constraint under their burden. 



The White Pine has no legendary history. Being an 

 AmericS,n tree, it is celebrated neither in poetry nor ro- 

 mance. It is associated with no classical images, like the 

 oak, nor with sacred literature, like the cedar of Lebanon. 

 It has no poetic history and no reputation save what it 

 may have derived from the easy motion of its foliage, the 

 gentle sweep of its smaller branches, its terebinthine odors, 

 and its pleasant, romantic shade. It has no factitious 

 charms, but depends on its own intrinsic merits for the 

 pleasure it affords either the sight or the mind. In ISTew 



