THE HOLLY. 



59 



" So serious should ray youth appear among 

 The thoughtless throng ; 

 So would I seem amid the young and gay 



More grave than they ; 

 That in my age as cheerful I might be 

 As the green winter of the Holly-tree." 



The leaves of the Holly remain attached to the 

 tree for several years, and, when they have fallen, 



for a long time defy the action of air and moisture. 

 The following lines must have been written by a 

 close observer of nature : — 



" Where leafless Oaks towered high above 

 I sate within an under grove 

 Of tallest Hollies, tall and green ; 

 A fairer bower ne'er was seen. 

 From year to year, the spacious floor 

 With withered leaves is covered o'er, 

 You could not lay a hair between : 

 And all the year the bower is green. 

 But see, where'er the hailstones drop. 

 The withered leaves all skip and hop, 



