TREES AND LANES 



41 



character. For the Beech always seems to me to be 

 the true aristocrat among trees, and in all circum- 

 stances to bear himself with the graceful dignity that 

 befits his high estate. 



The Oak in question has not troubled himself about 

 appearances. His tangle of supporting root answers 

 his purpose and he cares no more about it, but he lays 

 himself open to criticism in that his method does not 

 give one's eye the same comforting conviction of sound 

 construction. I always think that if some weight 

 suddenly settled in the branches, such as a flight of 

 rooks, or a wood-nymph or two, that the supporting 

 mass of root would " sit down " a little like a spring 

 cushion when sat upon, and that it Avould rise again 

 when released from the weight ; whereas all the gods 

 of Olympus might alight in one of the neighbouring 

 Beeches without giving one the least feeling of appre- 

 hension for their safety. 



Lower down the same lane a little deeply-bending 

 Ash is making a brave fight for life and root-hold, but 

 a fight in which I fear it will be conquered. It makes 

 a kind of frantic clutch at the bank both above and 

 below ; indeed, the appearance of strenuous action is 

 so vehement that it looks as if it had been suddenly 

 arrested while in the act of making a despairing grasp 

 for safety. I much fear how this little tree may fare. 

 Every year, as its over-balancing trunk grows heavier, 

 it bends down lower. Just below the drooping swan- 

 necked base of the trunk, and now only a few inches 



