fted up; and he shall be brought low; and upon all the
cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of
Bashan.' The same prophet says, in the tenth chapter and nineteenth
verse, 'And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a
child may write them.' These words have been particularly applied to the
stately cedars of Lebanon, for 'the once magnificent grove is but a
speck on the mountain-side. Many persons have taken it in the distance
for a wood of fir trees, but on approaching nearer and taking a closer
view the cedars resume somewhat of their ancient majesty. The space they
cover is not more than half a mile, but, once amidst them, the beautiful
fan-like branches overhead, the exquisite green of the younger trees and
the colossal size of the older ones fill the mind with interest and
admiration. Within the grove all is hushed as in a land of the past.
Where once the Tyrian workman plied his axe and the sound of many
voices came upon the ear, there are now the silence and solitude of
desertion and decay.'--Malcolm," added his governess, "you may read us
what is written in the sixth verse of the fourteenth chapter of Hosea."

"'His branches,'" read Malcolm, "'shall spread, and his beauty shall be
as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.' What does that mean,
Miss Harson?"

"It means the fragrant resin which exudes from both the trunk and the
cones of the beautiful cedar. It is soft, and its fragrance is like that
of the balsam of Mecca. 'Everything about this tree has a strong
balsamic odor, and hence the whole grove is so pleasant and fragrant
that it is delightful to walk in it. The wood is peculiarly adapted for
building, because it is not subject to decay, nor is it eaten of worms.
It was much used for rafters and for boards with which to cover houses
and form the floors and ceilings of rooms. It was of a red color,
beautiful, solid and free from knots. The palace of Persepolis, the
temple of Jerusalem and Solomon's palace were all in this way built with
cedar, and the house of the forest of Lebanon was perhaps so called from
the quantity of this wood used in its construction.' We are told in
First Kings that Solomon 'built also the house of the forest of
Lebanon[24],' and that 'he made three hundred shields of beaten gold'
and 'put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon[25].' All the
drinking-vessels, too, of this wonderful palace, which is always spoken
of as 'the hou