THE TREE. WRITTEN FOR ARBOR DAY.

Thou! noblest of all nature's growth! Where'er thy foliage falls, Thy beauty, wed to matchless worth The willing heart enthralls. Erst-while the Jewish exiles hung Their harps thy boughs along And poured their wearied spirits forth In strains of plaintive song. So yet, 'neath shimmer of thy leaves Roll back the waves of time, And exiled souls, in dreams return To far, serener clime. Before the German peasant's eyes Thuringian forests bloom; Whilst ilex of the sunny South Lights up Italia's gloom. The English hail their country's oak, Through which great victories came; Since naval power, in danger's hour Sustained old England's fame. The ebon cross of Erin's Isle Bedecks her loyal daughters, In every land, on every strand Laved by the glittering waters. Ah! sweetly 'mong the rowan-trees Ayond the seething brine, The Scotsman hears loved melodies, From voices o' langsyne. A landmark thou in vale of years! White stone in history! Loud publisher of private wrongs, Or nation's victory. 'Neath agèd oak of Elderslie Five centuries tell the tale How, at the name of Scotland's Chief Her enemies turned pale. An English yew-tree speaks her fate Who, by a despot's breath In brilliant beauty graced a throne, Then sank in shameful death. Trees note the spot where Bonaparte Surrendered at Sedan Ambition's sceptre, framed of guilt In blood of brother man. Whilst ever, through the cycling years, Judea's olive tree Proclaims the sin-fought conflict gained On dark Gethsemane. By soul, that in the greening leaf, The Great Designer sees, Sweet whispers from the Living Life Are heard among the trees. And every changing summer hue Which decks the forest band Low bends in homage grateful hearts To Him whose faultless hand Doth sap the seed, and sun the stem, And rear the structure high; Till emerald censers incense waft Through fair, cerulean sky. Whose artist-touch illumes the doole Of woodland's waning green, With flashing streaks of red and gold, Sunlit of glorious sheen. So Faith may gaze, with restful eye, Across this desert wold; To find the darksome shades of earth Relieved by Heaven's bright gold. So Hope may realize that day, Beside the crystal river, Where, sheltered by the Tree of Life, Pure joys flow on forever.