ON LATE SPRING. THOU lingerest, Spring! still wintry is the scene, The elder yet its circling tufts put forth; Oft darting forth. The blasts from the bleak North When most ye promise, ever most must doubt. THE GOLDFINCH. GOLDFINCH, pride of woodland glade, Gentle bird, that lov'st to feed In the sunbeam spread thy wing! Endless changes ever loving; SOUTHEY. Now in orchards gaily sporting, Always happy, always gay. Time's Telescope, 1829. "The brilliant colours, and elegant form of this beautiful bird, (Fringilla carduelis,) make it universally noticed and prized by every lover of animated Nature. The Goldfinch is serviceable to man, in choosing as food the seeds of some of the worst weeds: and, as if relying on this piece of service, fearlessly trusts to his protection by nestling in some fruit or other tree, near his dwellings."-Main. I love to see the Goldfinch twit and twit, Hurdis. The Goldfinch, sometimes called the sheriff's-man, or seven coloured linnet, builds a very elegant nest, which is formed of bents and moss, interwoven with wool, and is generally lined with thistle-down, or willow cotton. Grahame has well sketched it in his Birds of Scotland: The Goldfinch weaves with willow down inlaid, And cannach tufts, his wonderful abode ; Of plane-tree spray, among the broad-leav'd shoots, Warp through the thorn, surmounted by the flowers Of climbing vetch and honey-suckle wild. The Cannach tufts mentioned in these lines are the spikes of the Cotton grass, Eriophorum, a native of boggy pastures. THE BRITISH OAK. LET India boast its spicy trees, Let Portugal and haughty Spain, Let Norway vaunt its hardy pine, And Gilead for its balm. Old England has a tree as strong, 'Tis not the yew-tree, though it lends Nor birch, although its slender trees Be beautifully fair, As graceful in its loveliness, As maiden's flowing hair. 'Tis not the poplar, though its height May from afar be seen; Nor beech, although its boughs bedight With leaves of glossy green. All these are fair, but they may fling My favourite, and the Forest's King, Its stem, though rough, is stout and sound, Their arms, in shady blessing, round Its leaf, though late in Spring it shares As late and long in Autumn wears Type of an honest English Heart, Until it sinks in death. Not early won by gleam of sun, Its acorns, graceful to the sight, And when we reach life's closing stage, But prouder yet its glories shine, It floats upon the heaving brine, Or when, to aid the work of love, Oh! then triumphant in its might, It seems, in Heaven's approving sight, On Earth, the Forest's honour'd King! Who will, another tree may sing, Old England's Oak for me! C. F. EDGAR. The first mention of the Oak is that of ancient times, the "Oak of Mamre," under which Abraham sat in the heat of the day; and we find it was under the shade of this tree, that Joshua renewed the covenant with the Israelites. It has ever been esteemed by Britons, and was highly venerated by the ancient Druids. In different parts of this country, Oaks have long been celebrated as memorials of historical events. In an Oak at Boscobel, Charles II. concealed himself after the defeat at Worcester; and under a spreading oak at Torwood, in Stirlingshire, the Scottish patriot, Wallace, assembled his followers, that they might free their country from the thraldom of Edward. Besides these, we might mention others, renowned for their venerable and gigantic appearance, as well as local interest: as the Chaucer Oak, at Newbury,-the Gospel Oak, at Stoneleigh, the Cawthorpe Oak, near Wetherby,-the Skyrack Oak, near Leeds, the Bull Oak, at Wedgenock Park,-and the Yardley Oak, celebrated by our Poet, Cowper, &c. Time made thee what thou wert,-king of the woods! On account of its strength and durability, "the unwedgeable and gnarled Oak," (as Shakspeare expressively terms it, Meas. for Meas. ii. 2.) is preferred to all other 'timber, as the material of the wooden walls of our native isle. Hence the Oak has been styled, "the shipwright's darling treasure." It would be difficult to enumerate all the uses of this well-known tree ;-the saw-dust is used in dying; its bark in tanning; its gall-nuts in making ink; and it is said, that its leaves support a greater number of insects than those of any other tree. |