Dodona grove: The grove of oaks at Dodona was the seat of a
famous Greek oracle, whose responses were whispered through the
murmuring foliage of the trees.
_BEAVER BROOK_
Beaver Brook at Waverley was a favorite resort of Lowell's and it is
often mentioned in his writings. In summer and winter it was the
frequent goal of his walks. The poem was at first called _The Mill_.
It was first published in the _Anti-Slavery Standard_, and to the
editor, Sidney H. Gay, Lowell wrote:--"Don't you like the poem I sent
you last week? I was inclined to think pretty well of it, but I have
not seen it in print yet. The little mill stands in a valley between
one of the spurs of Wellington Hill and the main summit, just on the
edge of Waltham. It is surely one of the loveliest spots in the world.
It is one of my lions, and if you will make me a visit this spring, I
will take you up to hear it roar, and I will show you 'the oaks'--the
largest, I fancy, left in the country."