THE THORN. 387 
the source of that fragrance, is spread over it in too much 
profusion: it becomes a mere white sheet, a bright spot, which 
is seldom found in harmony with the objects around it. In 
autumn the hawthorn makes its best appearance. The glow- 
ing berries produce a rich tint, which often adds great beauty 
to the corner of a wood or the side of some crowded clump.” 
On this passage Sir Thomas Dick Lauder observes: “We 
think Mr. Gilpin is peculiarly hard on the hawthorn. Even 
in a picturesque point of view, which is the point of view in 
which he always looks at nature, the hawthorn is not only an 
interesting object by itself, but produces a most interesting 
combination or contrast, as things may be, when grouped with 
other trees. We have seen it hanging over rocks with deep 
shadows under its foliage, or shooting from their sides in the 
most fantastic forms, as if to gaze at its image in the deep 
pool below. We have seen it contrasting its tender green 
and its delicate leaves with the brighter and deeper masses of 
the holly and the alder. We have seen it growing under the 
shelter, though not under the shade, of some stately oak ; 
embodying the idea of beauty protected by strength. Our 
eyes have often caught the motion of the busy mill-wheel over 
which its blossoms were clustering. We have seen it growing 
grandly on the green of the village school, the great object of 
general attraction to the young urchins who played in idle 
groups about its roots, and perhaps the only thing remaining 
to be recognised when the schoolboy returns as the man. We 
have seen its aged boughs overshadowing one half of some 
peaceful woodland cottage, its foliage half concealing the 
window, whence the sounds of happy content and cheerful 
mirth came forth. We know that lively season— 
‘When the milkmaid singeth blythe, 
And the mower whets his scythe, 
And every shepherd tells his tale 
Under the hawthorn in the dale ;’ 
and with these, and a thousand such associations as these, we 
cannot but feel emotions of no ordinary nature when we 
behold this beautiful tree.”—Lauder’s Gilpin, vol. i. p. 195. 
Of the British trees of this species recorded by Loudon 
