FOLIAGE OF THE BEECH IN AUTUMN.

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secure retreat, or takes refuge in its drey, from which it peeps with a mixture of curiosity and alarm. Mr. Bowles prettily describes it,

with ears erect,

The squirrel seems to hark! and then to dance,
With conscious tail aloft, and twinkling feet,
Nimbler, from bough to bough.

But it is time to attempt a description of the appearance and foliage of the Beech in autumn. I have observed that its rich and golden hues at this period of the year, depend very much on the soil in which it grows. In chalky soils in which the beech delights, nothing can be more beautiful than its autumnal foliage. This is best seen when the tree flourishes on some precipitous bank, its roots watered by a meandering rill, while some of them fix themselves in the fissures of the chalky rock; when they appear above the ground, with all their various contortions, they are covered with moss, affording a delightful seat for the traveller. Here mixed with the duller foliage of the Oak, whose

thick branches stretch

A broader, browner shade,

the beech may be seen in all its beauty, especially when a setting sun flings its bright departing rays on its topmost branches. Nothing can then exceed the lustre of its golden canopy. It is a sight which Gilbert White delighted in, and which he could best describe. The song of birds is

с

now hushed, and if anything disturbs the silence, it is the occasional fall of the beech-nut, as the thoughtful squirrel attempts to secure it for his winter hoard.

Dear, lovely Nature! Often have I courted your delightful shades far from the haunts of men, my heart expanding, I trust, with love and gratitude to Him, who has afforded me so many objects for contemplation and enjoyment. Often have I thought while reclining where

the moss-grown beech

O'er canopies the glade,

what a happy world this would be, if a sincere love of the Great Creator kept pace with those kindly feelings, which we are instructed to shew to each other. Our angry and sordid passions would be lulled, and peace, harmony and good-will to each other might then abound in this world, instead of so much sin and misery.

Many lessons might we learn from the objects which surround us, and few more important than that of shewing mercy and kindness to the animal creation, ―remembering that every thing was not only made by, but is under the peculiar care of our common Father. One of our poets imbued with this feeling has thus delightfully written

The tribes of woodland warblers recite

The praise of Him, who ere he form'd their lord,
Their voices tun'd to transport, wing'd their flight,

And bade them call for nurture, and receive :
And lo! they call; the blackbird and the thrush,
The woodlark and the red-breast jointly call;
He hears, and feeds their feathered families;
He feeds his sweet musicians-nor neglects
Th'invoking ravens in the greenwood wide;

And tho' their throats coarse rattling hurt the ear,
They mean it all for music; thanks and praise
They mean, and leave ingratitude to man.*

But I must not forget to notice the appearance of the Beech in winter. Its leaves have now been shed, except those on some of the lower scrubby branches, which generally remain till the succeeding spring. Its trunk may then be seen, smooth in many places and appearing highly polished. Some I have seen standing to a height of forty or fifty feet from the ground to the first branch, looking like stately columns of marble. This has been the case where the trees have been thickly planted together. In general, however, the trunk of the beech is short, but of great thickness; it is impossible to see it without being struck with the effect it produces in forest scenery. The little, slight and pendulous branches which almost sweep the ground, are full of grace and lightness. When covered with a hoar frost they

* SMART.

Some such trees may be seen not a great way from the clump of cedars in Richmond Park, below the terrace on the hill, and are well worth a little trouble in looking for them. They are on the bank to the left of the cedars, below Lord Erroll's house.

appear to great advantage. The beech has been called the Hercules and Adonis of our woods. Except perhaps those at Knowle and Burnham, there are few places where so many fine beeches are to be met with as in the Park and enclosures of Windsor. They will amply repay the search necessary to find them out in many secluded haunts;

In Windsor's groves your easy hours employ.

The lovers of woodland scenery, and especially the admirers of this my favourite tree, will not find my descriptions exaggerated. Mr. White, of Selborne, calls them "the most lovely of forest trees," and other writers have dwelt on their grace and beauty. Many of the trunks are studded with projecting knobs and other excrescences, and sometimes appear fluted or grooved. There is something also in the bark, which is favourable to the growth of various mosses and lichens, which contrast well with the colour of the bark. The roots of the trees, too, are thrown out with great boldness, and when they appear above the ground, are generally covered with mosses of a beautiful soft green, differing in shade from those on the stem. When in this state they

* In Sir John Filmer's estate, near Sittingbourne, in Kent; near Cuffnells, in the New Forest; and at Rose-Hill Park, near Winchester, are some Beech trees of magnificent size and great beauty.

are fine studies for a painter, especially when their brown or glowing orange foliage is contrasted with the more lasting green of the oak. Few artists have delineated forest scenery at this period of the year with happier effect than Mr. Starke, the Hobbima of England. He follows nature with so much truth, and pourtrays her on his canvas with so much effect and talent, that on looking at one of his pictures, I have almost fancied myself strolling in the wood, enjoying the tranquillity of its scenery, and exclaiming with the poet;

O lead me, guard me from the sultry hours,
Hide me, ye forests, in your closest bowers,
Where the tall oak his spreading arms entwines,
And with the beech* a mutual shade combines.†

* A friend of mine remarks, that Cæsar, in his commentaries, mentions, that he did not see the 'Fagus' in England: and yet Cæsar marched through the eastern part of Kent, where the Beech is indigenous. Did he mean the chesnut or a particular kind of oak, by the generic term of Fagus? The Italian poet, Fracastorius, who knew the niceties of the Latin language, seems to use the word 'fagus' for an oak,

Glandiferâ sub fago, aut castaneâ hirsutâ.

and perhaps by the word 'Fagus,' Cæsar meant the pnyos, or Quercus æsculus-the Italian oak,-which of course he did not meet with in Britain.

+ GAY.