n in bed, but the good man
and the bad man quarrelled so all the night in my heart that I had no
peace, so I felt obliged to bring you back your money.'
THE LIME OR LINDEN.
The Lime, or Linden, is very notable amongst our trees on account of its
beauty and usefulness, and also because it will grow anywhere. It is
especially a London tree, for we see it in parks, squares, many private
gardens, and along some roads in the metropolis. But the smoke of London
seldom allows the tree to attain its full size. Often the stroller in
July, passing along a road or lane, becomes suddenly aware of a
delicious scent floating upon the summer breeze. He looks up, to find
this perfume comes from a lime, putting forth its clusters of flowers
upon their leafy branches--flowers to which, by day or night, crowds of
bees, flies, and other insects resort. About the suburbs of London the
lively sparrows often have their assemblies in lime or plane-trees; and
in most years, the London limes, towards autumn, put forth a few fresh
leaves.
The lime is a hardy tree, and flourishes even in the cold regions of
Sweden and Russia. It is supposed to have been introduced to Britain by
the Romans, who brought trees and plants into these islands from various
countries where the Roman banners had been carried. Amongst the Swiss,
this tree has been regarded as an emblem of liberty, and planted for a
memorial. From the lime, called in Sweden 'lind,' the greatest of our
early botanists took his name; it was chosen by him because a large
lime-tree overhung his father's house, and so he has always been known
as Linnaeus.
'Linden' comes from the Swedish name, but 'lime' is an ignorant mistake,
which cannot be altered now. Properly, the tree belongs to the citron
family, akin to the orange and lemon, and the other name of the linden
seems at first to have been 'line,' because the bark was used for making
cord and other lines.
From 'bast,' as the inner bark is called, a great number of mats are
made in Russia, and sent all over Europe; a small quantity is also woven
in Lincolnshire and Monmouthshire. Hats and shoes have been made from
lime-bark, and the solid wood is serviceable in many ways. It has
supplied bowls, plates, sounding-boards for pianos; and some beautiful
carving--that of Gibbons, for example--has been executed in lime-wood.
It is white, but very tough when properly dried.
A handsome tree when solitary, the lime is particularly be
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