•270 
Gilpin always speaks disparagingly of this tree; which, 
in a lover of the picturesque, is matter of wonder; for 
the sight ot it in lull bloom always suggests pastoral 
or rural images. It may be that the poets, who first 
imbibe and then strengthen any association or fancy 
peculiar to their nation, have generally invested it with 
this character. Thus Milton says, — 
And every shepherd tells his tale, 
Under the hawthorn in the dale." 
And Shakspeare, in Henry the Sixth : ” — 
44 Gives not a hawthorn bush a sweeter shade 
To shepherds looking on their silly sheep, 
Than doth a rich embroider’d canopy 
To kings that fear their subjects* treachery ? 
O ! yes, it doth ; a thousand fold it doth." 
In “ The Deserted Village,” Goldsmith rather varies 
the picture, and shows us 
44 The hawthorn bash, with seats beneath the shade, 
For talking age and whispering lovers made." 
The hawthorn is the usual accompaniment of that 
characteristic feature of English rural scenery, the 
