























SORROW. 
YEW. 
Beneath that yew tree’s shade, 
Where heaves the turf in many a mouldering heap, 
Each in his narrow cell for ever laid, 
The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep. 
GRAY. 
Turre is in every plant something which 
either attracts or repels us. The yew tree is 
considered by all nations to be the emblem of 
sorrow.. Plants are said to die under its shade, 
and if the weary traveller should sleep under 
its umbrageous, branches. his head becomes 
affected, and he soon feels violently ill. It 
also exhausts the earth which yields it nourish- 
ment. Our ancestors, guided by a natural sen- 
timent, thought it a fit resident in the ceme- 
tery and so destined it to o’ershade the 
tomb. They used its wood for bows, lances, 
and cross-bows; and the Greeks also em-~ 
ployed it for the same purposes. For a long 
time it appeared in our gardens, where it was 
trained in the most fantastic forms; but now 
its culture is entirely abandoned. In Switzer- 
land the peasants have a great veneration for it; 
they call it “ William’s bow,” and its branches 
are preserved from spoliation. In the gardens 
of Holland, which owe everything to art, it is 



