JANUARY THIRTIETH. "Soothed by the genial warmth, the cawing rook Haunts her tall nest trees, and with sedulous care WINTER. -GILBERT WHITE. "The small wind whispers through the leafless hedge In dithering pride on the pale traveller's way, His cottage fire and corner's sheltering bounds; Make musical the wood-sap's frizzling sounds, -CLARE. Here is a pretty note on Rosemary by Parkinson : "This common Rosemary is so well known through all our Land, being in every woman's garden, that it were sufficient to name it as an ornament among other sweete herbes and flowers in our garden, seeing every one can describe it : but that I may say something of it. . . in the naturall places where it groweth, that it riseth up in time unto a very great height, with a great and woody stemme that it hath served to make lutes, or such like instruments, and here with no Carpenter's rules. . . . The whole plant, as well leaves as flowers, smelleth exceeding sweete." JANUARY THIRTY-FIRST.-Perilla didst then know that trees have souls? I knew it not until I came upon it in a very old book translated from the High Dutch. "There remains yet this more curious than useful Question to be resolv'd, Whether the Vegetable Soul, as a Creature that acts and suffers in this World, may not hope for a Recompense in another, and a Place among the Trees of the Celestial Paradise? To this I answer, Such as their Life is, such is their Death, such as their Death, such is their Resurrection; such as their Resurrection, such is their Heaven Life Eternal. "Here I shall leave these merry Speculations and pass to something better, from which the Lovers of Gardening may draw more satisfaction and Profit." Dr. Agricola hath a wondrous idea of "Merry Speculations forsooth! We have thought often ourselves of meeting the animals again, Perilla, animals who have given the whole love of their lives to us, but trees-! I have never dreamt me of meeting trees again. "Merry Speculations" indeed! William Turner (1568) writes in his Herbal: "For the knowledge of herbes, trees, and shrubbes is not onelye very delectable for a Princes minde but profitable for all the bodies of the Princes hole Realme both to preserve men from sickness, sorrowe, and payne that cometh thereby." There, my Princess, what thinkest thou of that? "And thus, to fit every one's fancy, I have shewed you the variety of Nature's store in some part for you to dispose of them to your best content." FEBRUARY FIRST.-Phillis, this is Candlemas Eve, so haste thee to pull down the evergreens. Remember the old verse by Herrick : : "Down with the Rosemary, and so No one least Branch there left behind: Would it trouble us to see goblins? I have always so longed to see them dancing round the fairy rings on my lawn, dodging the dew-drops, and pulling the blue-bells at dawn. But perchance these goblins are evil desires, and best left alone-goblins of jealousy and hate, and all such clouds which dim the blue. Phillis, all is sunshine with thee. Herrick again bids us down with evergreens, and goes on to say : "The Holly hitherto did sway; Let Box now domineere; Or Easter's Eve appeare. Then youthful Box which now doth grace, Your houses to renew ; Unto the crispèd Yew. When Yew is out, then Birch comes in, And many Flowers beside ; Both of a fresh and fragrant kinne To honour Whitsontide. Green Rushes then, and sweetest Bents, With cooler Oken boughs; Come in for comely ornaments. Thus times do shift; each thing his turn do's hold; |