Weeping Willow. 
02 
“ When with neglect, the lover’s bane, “ And underneath thy cooling shade, 
Poor maids rewarded be When weary of the light, 
For their love lost, their only gain The love-spent youth and love-sick maid 
Is but a wreath from thee. Come to weep out the night.” 
And the second song of our English Anacreon is thus quaintly 
worded : 
“A willow garland thou didst send, 
Perfumed, last day, to me; 
Which did but only this portend: 
I was forsook by thee. 
“Since so it is, I ’ll tell thee what: 
To-morrow thou shalt see 
Me wear the willow; after that 
To die upon the tree. 
“As beasts unto the altar go 
With garlands dressed, so I 
Will with my willow wreath also 
Come forth and sweetly die. ” 
Churchill alludes to the ominous character of 
“The willow, weeping o’er the fatal wave, 
Where many a lover finds a watery grave.” 
As already seen, the ancient Hebrews assigned the same 
melancholy signification to the weeping willow as do the mo¬ 
derns; to the Arabs it represents the same sorrowful meaning, 
and they have a singular legend to account for its origin. This 
legend is founded upon the story of Bathsheba, and corresponds 
to a certain extent with the biblical account of how she became 
David’s wife and Solomon’s mother. The tradition is thus 
detailed: One morning the king was seated as usual at his 
harp, composing psalms, when he perceived, to his astonish¬ 
ment, two strangers seated opposite to him on the divan. As 
strict orders were issued that no-person should be admitted 
during the first four hours of the day, David wondered greatly 
how the strangers had gained access to his chamber. They 
rose and begged pardon for having entered unannounced, be¬ 
cause they had an urgent complaint to lay before him. David 
quitted the harp, and placed himself on his judgment-seat. 
“ This man,” began one of them, “ has ninety-nine sheep, which 
plentifully supply all his wants; while I, poor wretch, had but 
one, that was my joy and comfort, and that one he has taken 
forcibly from me.” At the mention of the ninety-nine sheep, 
David could not help thinking of the flock of his harem. He 
recognized in the strangers two angels of the Lord, and was 
sensible of the heinousness of his offence. Forthwith he threw 
himself upon the floor and shed tears of bitter repentance. 
There he lay for forty days and forty nights upon his face, 
weeping and trembling before the judgment of the Lord. As 
