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with fruit, was borne in procession at his triumph; and, 
according to Sir William Temple, within the space of 
a hundred years, it travelled westward with the Roman 
conquests, till at last it gained a footing in Britain. 
Some writers, however, affirm that it did not make its 
appearance amongst us till the reign of Henry the 
Eighth, giving the honour of its introduction to Richard 
Haines, fruiterer to that monarch; but the remains of 
aged cherry-trees, still visible in some of the old abbey 
gardens, make its earlier cultivation probable. If Pliny 
is to be trusted, we shall find his account verifies the 
first-mentioned date; for he says positively, “ In less than 
one hundred and twenty years after the conquest of 
Pontus, other lands had cherries, even as far as Britain, 
beyond the ocean.” Towards the middle of the six¬ 
teenth century, cherries were so common as to be hawked 
about in the metropolis: it was customary to indicate 
the commencement of the season by carrying a bough 
laden with this tempting fruit through the streets and 
alleys. The author, whose essay on gardening we have 
just quoted, mentions cherries and apples, as, “of all 
other fruits, the most innocent food:” some may be 
tempted to question this high authority, and to doubt 
whether he really has made the best possible selec¬ 
tion. 
M 3 
