Page:Omniana.djvu/297

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OMNIANA.
279

very place where he was begotten, then the tree became of the colour of blood, and from that day forth it never put forth fruit or flower, neither could any young tree be raised from it, but it continued just as it was, neither bettering nor worsening. Nevertheless, the trees which sprang from it, retained each its own nature, according to the nature of the stock at the time they were set off. And they continued thus till the time of the flood, and the waters of the flood, which destroyed all other things, did nothing harm these trees, and thus they continued till the age of Solomon.

Here the legend is connected with the story of the Sangraal and Sir Galaad. I do not know where the author of the romance found it; there is another fable respecting the Tree of Life which has been a received tradition among the more credulous catholicks, and of which traces were found in Abyssinia. The Sybil is referred to as the original authority...a book which I have at present no