41 
“ In some writings now in existence, which are six 
hundred years old, in the possession of a gentleman who 
resides at Doncaster, this tree is particularly mentioned, 
and its site pointed out.” * “ Before leaving the lime- 
tree,” says a writer, who seems to know and feel all the 
pleasures of early reminiscences, “ we may notice the 
delightful associations we have with it, from the re¬ 
collection of the days of our youth, when, in many an 
hour of listless idleness, we have sheltered ourselves 
beneath its impenetrable shade, and, stretched out on 
the turf below, have listened to the mingled hum of the 
millions of bees which busily collected the honey from 
its fragrant flowers; whilst no other sound was heard in 
the summer air but the occasional sudden, though rare, 
twitter of the skimming swallow, or the distant cooing 
of the amorous ringdove; and when all was silent on 
the earth, save the gentle cropping of the nibbling 
sheep, or the distant lowing of the kine from the 
shallows of the river, whither the raging heat had driven 
them.”f 
* Rhode’s Peak Scenery. 
+ Sir Thomas Dick Lauder, Bart. 
