OR, PLAIN TEACHING. 



225 



mg branches, forming a dense 

 head. The bark is smooth, thin, 

 of a brown colour, and scales off. 



The leaves^ 2, 3, are scattered, 

 nearly sessile, dichotomous (that is, 

 in two lateral rows), linear, dark 

 green, smooth, and shining above. 

 The flowers, 4, are solitary, pro- 

 ceeding from a scaly bud ; those 

 of the male plant are pale brown, 

 and discharge a very abundant 



2 3 



t 



607. 



yellowish-white pollen. The 

 female flowers are green, and in 

 form not unlike a young acorn. 

 The ripe fruit, 5, consists of a 

 scarlet berry, very sweet to the 

 taste, and of a glairy or glutinous 

 consistence, open at the top, and 

 enclosing a small, oval, brown, 

 hard-shelled seed or nut, which, 

 though surrounded by, is not 

 immediately connected with the 

 fleshy cup. 



The yew springs up naturally 

 in wild woods, the seeds being 

 carried by birds. It is, however, 

 seldom seen in perfection. As 

 it does not rank among timber 

 trees, and is unprotected by 

 torest laws, it has often been 

 10* 



made booty of by those who 

 durst not lay violent hands on 

 the oak or the ash. But, from 

 its toughness, in days when 

 bows and arrows were the chief 

 weapons of war, it was highly 

 prized, and carefully cultivated. 

 The wood of the yew is not only 

 celebrated for its toughness, but 

 for its durable nature. Where 

 your paling is most exposed 

 to either winds or springs, 

 strengthen it with a post of 

 old yew. That hardy veteran 

 fears neither storms above nor 

 damps below. It is a common 

 saying amongst the inhabitants 

 of New Forest, that a post of 

 yew will outlast a post of iron. 



Yew trees attain a very great age, and assume 

 very hoary and romantic forms. The Anker- 

 wyke yew, near Staines, is supposed to be up- 

 wards of a thousand years old. Henry the 

 Eighth is said to have made it his place of 

 meeting with Anna Boleyn ; and Magna Cliarta 

 was signed within sight of it, on an island in the 

 Thames between Runnymede and Ankerwyke. 



What scenes have passed since first this ancient 



yew 



In all the strength of youth and beauty grew. 



* * * * 



'Twas here the tyrant, Henry, felt love's flame, 

 And, sighing, breathed his Anna Boleyn's 

 name. 



Beneath the shelter of this yew tree's shade 

 The royal lover wooed the luckless maid : 

 And yet that neck, round which he fondly 

 hung, 



To hear the thrilling accents of her tongue ; 

 That lovely breast, on which his head reclined, 

 Formed to have humanised his savage mind ; 

 Were doomed to bleed beneath the tyrant's 

 steel, 



Whose selfish heart could doat, but could not . 

 feel." 



The fresh leaves of the yew 

 possess a poisonous property 

 which makes them fatal to human 

 beings ; and loppings in a half- 

 dried state are detrimental to 

 cattle. But the berries are use- 

 ful to birds, and the dense ever- 

 green foliage affords them shelter 

 in storms or 1 y night. But no 



