merly called to sustain in the festivities of Christ¬ 
mas : — 
“ Then the grim hour's hm<l frown’d on high, 
Crested with hays and rosemary.” 
Alas! “ liow fallen from its high estate ! ” 
Evelyn says that while young this tree grows best 
under its “ mother’s shade, where nothing else will 
thrive; ” thus forming a comment on a passage in 
Virgil, translated by Martyn, “ The little Parnassian 
bay shelters itself under the shade of its mother.” It 
also possesses, in a remarkable degree, the power of re¬ 
suscitation : long after it has appeared dead, if left un¬ 
disturbed, it will put forth leaves again, and assume its 
pristine vigour. On this account a sprig of bay was 
formerly thrown on the coffin at the time of interment; 
being considered a striking symbol of the resurrection 
of the dead. 
Many more interesting anecdotes and associations 
connected with the bay might be added to the above, 
but we must leave them to other hands, and notice its 
noble rival, the palm. 
