OUR LITERARY CORNER.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 12969, 23 November 1907, Page 7

OUR LITERARY CORNER.

POPLARS.

(From the London 'Spectator. ) ntHer tiw* I*™ I,frs ' *™&** om ' a JS homely indi^nous.habit. On© fi£ them as part ot the scheme.of ?T With the o;ik. tho pine, the elm, have grown up and bemm© assimi- • iid: eomrt.hing trf life has necee- ■ «rilv enured into on rs. Our romrade!Jp with thorn is of so everyday a "'character that thoir inner aign.Hcance, '■Stterer itm-yj*. »lo«t in their WrfkiaJ one. They -brine i* the obSis aesociit.on, the inevitable renn-niflcence.-tho pleasure of dear and ■'annpamonable memories. But poplars " Itand apart. About poplars there is ' Lnething alien, yet fiHWihar—just aa :„ one's dre-jms; an air of remote Experiences, of remo-to existences dimly ■I He who should match them £w enough, and assiduously court ''their secrets, might become convinced of ia* ll ? reincarnations, past and yet to come. Poplars are all of dreams compact; their language—for every tree has its own tongue—is mysterious, delicate, unrelated to any sylvan meech we know. Their tones are tho - rery hieroglyphics of sound. And the brwth of them, in spring—the scent ' of-the young rosy-bronze leavce, bal- , [ ,»romatic, fulfilled with incon- ! ccivable sweetness—this also ia out of ' * dreams. a^vor trco c,a!l °^ er *■*" } Their tell slim shapes—mystically pen--1 mc against the after-glow—suggestive -spires across the sunset, pinnacles of | dusk before th© opaline twilight— I-shiTcr with solemn rapture in a, very I .ccstacy of deliberate dreams as they | exhalo this subtlest of aromaa. When ij'tlwre is no wind perceptible on our ['level the poplars are so tell that they \ can catch -an upper current. Tho j other'trees stand sultry, immobile; \ Hbpj are sunk in a langour of drowei- .'. »««,/ every leaf quiescent. But th© ? jwplOTS sway gently in aome drifting \ b'reatil beyond us. Tliey lean shoulder .': to'shoulder, whispering on t(ho stillest | August evenings. At night they nearly I '.ttyif-i tho lowest stare, and tlhe moon . Hi, caught in their branches. But al;j'! ways, looking closely up, you may perI.wire tlie shimmer .and play of broken ! lights—the flicker of infinitesimal > shadows—which tell that the poplar is ••*' awake. Even the Abelc or white poplar, our r one, partakes of tlhis eweet- • tee£ «td mystery. When its budded . it presents an ap- *:•;.',. of ivory blossom—a misty IJJrlialrtOHi of delight: The leaves, being - /Vwlj expanded, exhale on May nights ->f. an odour of tea-roses exquisite beyond • of words. Was it not with ,;' t of blending sweetnees ami ; |ffee|l|ffih that the Greeks crowned & H#««f)w' and those who did aaoritic© > r |toWffiwitfi a wreath of whit© poplar? fAndlWhaJsa.in poplar, or Tacwmahac. _ U of«, aromatic a deliciou'sness as to i periMka whole neighbourhood in th© nights of ,an early spring. ,^^.'|_^i ,^si_' tl_»''spe«ieß'haa its own iniM;psti«© charm :\but the Lombardy pop-sj-jpfi apart! very origin is a mystery, a conin, terms. W© call it Lom:;.'g!!J»ifdy; ; but at comes from the Taurus !bM jfche Himalayas, and subsequently .That occult (speech in !.ss•% the*'leaves hold converse may b© '■gjjjjjt world-old Sanscrit loveaoin© lullaby sung over tho , race. In England tho ;;.| poplar was unknown till if|o^»''vVai_i: .;yon picture to yourself an ; /Ms s s*P& without pop Jars ? They punc- : |H|%the landscavp©, they give point l |'M,ft«aning to scenes that might < '^'tlrl'"* 6 i' nß * , P | to,. aro th© key- ■'■: *' la * whole unsurpassable ' f'fteffi*^*™ o "Whaeh is vernal England. .5* been said that th© ey© gathers I*'jSW™ ''.ia a landscape as __ hand gathers $!f9!'? M i] > th© field. They ar© not to not to b© denied. They *«**ie*;._ like green torches, straight s*™ flam© shooting heavenward Wtongh stil oar. Sic itur ad aatra. are not of the earth earthy; they W* other-worldly both in thought end ■*__>■! So th© momories of Lonnbardy th ? of Italian gardens ,geW place to ancient legends of th© .Httoalayas, and to reveries of th© roses Yet th© poplar, European- »«, toe become a necessity of eaast|w». it has no raison d'etre of utility: ¥; Jta wood is too light for much praotitfm purpose. Th© second English in- ;. ; v .,<ngpnimw poplar, th© aspen, is much ..mere valuable for trade usage, and wmls itself specially to th© making of . rootgeao-.-clogs. pattens, sabots, all " XT of '"' oo<lo n shoon. In 14& i tho ; -'-_>_!___■ of P atte n-n*a.kors potitioned th© *:. v*?*J}*_ that statute of Henry -■•v ¥ v*nich confined tho use of ospon-''f-^ii? 0 flpt<; h©jns or arrow-makers. v [?__™>y said, it was also the best and *«nfrwt timber to bo found for their • '-cmi craft. But th© Lombardy poplar />■:..».comparitavelv a treo of little in-.,-:--"i-"i < M,c J 7*Me. Its import lies in quite * ;, It affects an austere «'Si y i° dc ™ to conceal that 10n of Passionate dreams «' „!* ,c9x shudders through it un awn res wjwa every wind is silent. The old ~ '"«cn painters—Hobbebia and the rest , ; r°" u 2ht the splendour of the poplar ■ : '.-"■"»• "s outward fringe. They saw its 3**!_i> ,ly its quaint archaic . ««eiiiHßS, its .restraint and reticence. . vUKae they rondo red faithfully; these •, iney endeavoured to bring into -•"•' nl i w i th tJ, «r alugwish watens and ' ._;« i T ,r S«>i3* But tli© dreams cs-.'.v.'-Wi; them utterly. Tho Italianised . wientalisni of the iwplar was not to '•?. in tlio nets of the Nether'i; ■'■ ■!!"?—•• «ts visible shape may be ?! in thoir paintin«s; but tho in- ; £ nt 'nagic is eternally elusive. '■1. ' i '■ * p ? t vr4,to ' 1 n,u ' study iH>plar» for any ; of time is almost equivalent to rar-gnzjiiy. It confers the same sene© of bafflement, of some- , ""ng wlvich must be abandoned as unpnwable. Any tr*H> is in itself a .. a,,t !"il object, if we «c*>pt the S'7 US m«nkev-pnzzle. >\*h«tl_lr Pi<rth«yl or noked, it is always a- dea nd a literal education. But '.-: : te you may soon get into touch with ■ ot»er trrw. illK | imderstaaid their y"""pR and contours, and distinguish -wis variations of their speech in vari:9iw wind*, niul rains, with poplars ~ .? were is always somethin-2 new-, sonic- . J_ n 'ng uuaitaiii il)!e. imagine you ■" o T V K> f K> l ,lf,r thtxrugh and through; ; r.onu all tl»* time it mocks «t you. ■;i ' le, ' e is a lii(ld<*n loveliiiet* b<'.vond — .r« Certain si^j:,<- t mider crrtnin lights. ,' r ' -■ » K n ve and ttn.lt.r nu'iuiing that you ~.. «n<l you havi* tiitirt-lv niiaAnl. Some : ' s -iir 0 * I*" r, ' y '"' ll, . v 'li.-<ovfre{l t4iat Imvvx -■■■'■: v' 01 e y x *, nnd hits photosraphctl .:V mown hand, as it waa minutely niir«

.ORIGINAL AND SELECTED MATTER. NOTES ON BOOKS AND AUTHORS.

rored, Todn plicated a thousand times, m these tiny marvellous retinae. With how many million eye., is the poplar gozing skyward, and when will it be translated thither in i pillar of green fire? The voluptuous asceticism of the mediaeval saint, the self-induced cntranoement of the myotic, the thrilling half-revelations of the clairvoyant, the impassioned visions ot the s.eepl«*« lover—all the«e are to be found among ixmlors.

Two cr three pr.plars in one pla;*e should he the maximum number allowed cnywhere. When they are very many and very clr.-ely planted, «s in the region l**twevn Chichester and Hovant. they nullify each other; on/* can " not realise them'-i.il at once. And. remember, they tre not friendly trees. You must not <exiwt them to spread cool shade and .sin.tor over you. Hl*' ook and elm—to proffer you plowing fruits, liko pear and apple. They are not thinking oi you in the len._t: they aro looking aw iv from i - ou. It is yours to sit ot their ieet ond learn., and listen. It liKiy be there is more to gain from their aloofness than frr>m the leafiest bough that ever swept the grasses. Time nlone will tell.