In Philip Miller’s dictionary, Catesby’s history of the plant is referred to, and also in 1808, in the _Botanical Magazine_, when the plant was figured. There it says the plant “has been long an inhabitant of our gardens, being introduced by the same Botanist [Catesby] about the year 1728.” “It bears the smoke of large towns better than most trees; the largest specimen we have ever seen grows in the garden belonging to the Society of Gray’s Inn.” There is no hint that the tree in question could have been here before Catesby’s discovery, and it is not till Loudon’s Encyclopædia in 1822 that the planting is attributed to Bacon. Such a remarkable tree could hardly have escaped all gardeners for more than a century, during a time when gardening was greatly in fashion, and every new plant greedily sought after. We know that nearly a hundred years ago this specimen was the finest in England, and therefore it may have been planted not more than a hundred years or so after Bacon’s death. Raleigh very likely walked with Bacon on the spot where it now stands, but, alas! the possibility that he brought Bacon a tree from Virginia, which was only discovered near the Mississippi a century later, is hardly credible. The entrance to the Gardens on the Holborn side is through massive wrought-iron gates, on which the date 1723 is legible. The letters “W. I. G.” are the initials of the Treasurer during whose tenure of office they were erected, the “T” above standing for Treasurer. In the Inns of Chancery a “P” for Principal, associated with the various initials, is often to be noticed. These fine gates are a charming approach to the sequestered walks and ancient trees. Gray’s Inn Gardens have another delightful speciality, in that the rooks delight to honour them by building there. They have a warm welcome, and good food in cold weather, and seem likely to remain. Looking through the lofty iron gates, the rooks’ nests are seen, and the pleasant cawing sound adds greatly to the attraction of the place. [Illustration: THE GARDEN GATES, GRAY’S INN] CHAPTER XII HISTORICAL GARDENS _History is philosophy teaching by examples._ --BOLINGBROKE.