Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1846-11-05
MIie9olla1aye
aTHG ROYAL OAK,
-.T.ss I'D familiar tree.
~ hose glory sai fenown,
Are sread DER land aud sea,
Aud LIZ II fh.u hnrh II hlt4n 4,

This monarch OF the fores,, which many Of
ctr readers viii remember as haying stood in
TIE itrn4e3iaie vicinity Of Union, Munroe
Cog-iY Virginia, and whose colossal form at
traced tie attention Of strangers from al
ciifnes, was, On Saturday, lhe 81 instant, fell.
ea 10 Tie earth, BIZ the most expert "woodman"
ii that county. who, disregarding the touching
ara IeauGfal injunction Of the song, "hacked
Il 85wn.n dough it took him from early sun
rise untl quarter past4 O'Clock ~ the eve
Mug - accomplish the work--urged forward,
too, by bet OF several dollars, that il could be
c0na ln a certain time.
Though standing in grove Of flourishng
sagar-treee, where every thing seemed propi-
toUs 70 long life, this magnificent tree, never
sieless, withpred, dropped and died. hence
the proprietor Of the land where II grew con-
cluGed to have il chopped down. for the pur-
rsse Of making il into rails. Eight feet was
i,3 diameter, and twenty -four feet, consequent
~. Its circumference. The lowest calculation
(, thal il will make, when sawed into proper
lengths. one thousand rails, besides a vast deal
OF hre wood.
Quite concourse Of people from the neigh
boring Yillage and surrounding country, was
IN attendance 10 witness the fall Of ''the Royal
Oak.n which had, iof long centuries, perhaps,
raised its cant arms on high. towering I'M
scathsd before the fierce storms Of winter, and
amid the still liereer bolts Of Heavens arllle-
nv. Bot what led those people 10 that spot
Was il their curiosity to see tree fail 10 the
earth 2 Yes, il was that in part; but cunosI-
" was not all that drew them together on that
occasion; they had sal beneath lis shade IN
yoath; had played under IFS wide-spreadng
boughs, when children; in juvenile simplicity
tEey had looked up from the green sward be
Al 81, ni,p 4i,.tt fAIp
almost the skies while whispering breeZes
spoke gentle music in their ears, until the
grandeur and beauty Of the scene kindled in
their youthful imagnatlons feeling OF awe
and reverence for the stately trunk that rose
rna;esticay before them. And that feeling Of
awe and reverence was strengthened by le-
pends handed down 10 them by their fathers.
who likewise had sported under the "royal'
monarch OF the woods, when they were
Young. Accounts had been given them,
reaching perhaps, far back IN the history Of
their country-eYen TO the time when il was
first explored by the "pale face" a bowling
wilderness. inhabited only by the Red Man
and the game that formed the object of his dai
" pursuit Before \ ork- Town was planted,
or Plymouth Rock made the firm rallying
point Of adventurous Europeans, seeking nee
DON in an unknown land, this 'Royal Oak
stood up BlnG lnQfed, dtflust Tue perfect
grandeur OF a wild wood, whose limits were
formed BY the ocean itself Yea, long, per-
haps, ere the bold and intrepid COLUMBUS sat
foot on Columbia's far beaten shore, this mon
arch of the Vegetable kingdom, reared its tow
ering head far above its fellows, crowned
with the verdant glories of each returning
veal Such, III all probability, were the re-
ileciions Of some of those at least, who assem-
bed to see the fall Of the mightiest Of the land.
Old time had registered his years, and centu-
ries of years. on this "Royal Oak" even at
the period when il was the germ OF q great
ness unknown to this region; and by the same
,nvisabie hand, was deposited in the stately
trunk, the fatal seeds ordeath, which having full
lywrought theirmission, the mightywa atonce
laid low. Sic transit gloria nimtdi. Men, ma
nations and Kingdoms rise, by the silent pow
or Of time, to the highest pinnacle Of fame and
earthly greatness, astonishing the world by the
grasp OF their genius, the immensely of their
wealth, and the granduer of their exploits both
in war and peace; yet, by the same unseen,
though all pot nj tgency, they are each, IN
urn. brought to mngle again with the vile
dus, from whence they sprung.-Le'cisbwrg
Chronicle.