THE ASPEN, OR, THE LAUGHING

TREE.

Ha ha! how I laugh when I see such a tree
As the Elm to ambition aspire;

He !—a poor worthless thing,—
He to be dubbed a king!*

What's there about him to admire?

Just look at us both

Compare him with me ;—

As for beauty and growth,

A mere tyro can see

That I'm greener and stouter and higher;

And I know I'm more handsome and stately than he.

greatly

It is said that the Emperor Chien-lung, admired the elm tree, (an inferior kind of tree to the, or elm proper), and conferred on it the title of "king of the trees." It is a curious fact that, though the Chinese consider the tree comparatively worthless, and

Poor old Mulberry there, how he chafes, fumes and frets,

And trembles in every limb,

Till he reaches that stage,

When he bursts with sheer rage,*

That Elm is made king over him.

The mulberry tree

But a poor pattern sets;

He should imitate me

He who laughs soon forgets.

*

I laugh at Chien-lung's absurd whim; †
Ha! ha! that's the way to check useless regrets.

Willow weeps, Chestnut wails, sweet kuai‡ softly moans, And bitterly dark Cypress sighs;

Let the breezes but stir

The branches of Fir,

And the sturdy old tree howls and cries.
Bluff Oak breathes despair

make no hesitation in grubbing it up to be used as firewood, yet, at the same time, no house is considered lucky, if a portion, often no bigger than a pencil, is not fixed in the roof at the building of it, generally in the form of a peg. This is recognizing its rank as king.

*The mulberry tree is supposed to exhale a great deal of vapour, and to burst with rage (F), at seeing a worthless tree exalted over it, while the mulberry is considered so valuable, as affording subsistence to the silkworm.

† Alluding to his conferring the rank of king on the elm.

A sort of ash, very beautiful both in foliage and blossoms, and useful in a variety of ways.

In lugubrious tones;

Cherry, Apple and Pear

Commingle their groans;

Shy Peach blushes up to the eyes.

Plum and Apricot's tears would melt their own stones.

Each tree of the forest, fruit, flower-great or small,

Is convinced that none other than he

Should be King of the Trees:

Let them think what they please,

But it has no effect upon me;

I pursue my own way,

Let whatever befall;

I'm contented and gay,

So I laugh and grow tall,

For of envy I'm perfectly free;

Thus I'm really the king, and can laugh at them all.

Ha ha! how I laugh as I gaze down below,
And watch the strange freaks of the sun
Gilt-edging the shade

My green leaves have made,

As hither and thither they run.

Just a cursory glance,

Through my branches bestow;
How my leaves wave and dance,
And sway to and fro

They are clapping together in fun

At the fanciful sun-bordered shadows they throw.

I laugh at the clouds, at the blue summer sky
I laugh at the birds in their flight;
At the sun overhead,

Whose bright beams are shed

On my head from morning till night.
I laugh at those trees

Which howl, whine and cry,

For spring's gentlest breeze,

Which makes them all sigh

Makes my leaves vibrate with delight

That's my laughter! What tree then so joyous as I?*

*The Aspen is supposed by the Chinese to laugh heartily (APA) at the conceit of the elm, the anger of the mulberry, and the lamentations of the other trees, at the idea of the elm being considered their king. At the same time he evidently thinks himself infinitely superior, by his size and height, to the whole of them, and can afford to laugh at them all. In this song, the Chinese poet shows the aspen in a different light from what foreigners generally view it. One of our poets (Gay) in speaking of it says:

"Nor aspen leaves confess the gentlest breeze."

A favourite English ballad is named after its first line, which runs thus: :

"Come where the aspens quiver."

We have also the common expressions, "trembled like an aspen, ""shook like an aspen leaf," etc.

THE EMPEROR'S TREE.*

Not far from Peking is an old White-nut Tree;—
Surrounded by firs-that one tree stands alone;
'Tis exactly the age of the Ch'ing dynasty,

For 'twas planted when Shun-chih ascended the throne.

Though hoary with years, its green-foliaged head

It sturdily thrusts up far into the sky,

As if in defiance of age,-for, 'tis said,

While the dynasty lives the old tree cannot die.

*This tree is in the courtyard of a temple named Tan chê ssu situated in the Western Hills about a hundred li from Peking. The above legend is firmly believed by all northeners; many Chinese making pilgrimages to, or visiting the temple, going through the kou-tou in front of it, in recognition of the awful power it is supposed to possess. The tree is about six feet in diameter; at the root of it are several shoots (the song