THE YEW. 



115 



THE YEW. 



" The warlike yew, by which more than the lance, 

 The strong-arm'd English spirits conquer'd France." 



Drayton. 



The Yew was formerly much esteemed in Eng- 

 land, when the cross-bow was in use. Spenser 

 praises it as 



"The Eugh obedient to the bender's will ;" 



and that it had merited the reputation for many 

 centuries is evident from Virgil's mention of it for 

 the same purpose : 



" Ityraeos Taxi torquentur in arcus." 



But as the use of fire-arms has superseded that of 

 the bow, and as the improvements in modern taste 

 have equally exploded the formal hedges and fan- 

 tastical figures, for which the Yew was highly prized 

 by the gardeners in Queen Elizabeth's time, it is no 

 longer cultivated as it was in former ages ; when it 

 was enjoined to be planted in all church-yards and 



