but that during the last three centuries the number of earlier trees has diminished by nearly or quite one half; while the younger growth has in great part, if not wholly, sprung up during that interval. Büsching enumerates by name no less than twenty-six travellers between A. D. 1550 and 1755, from P. Belon to Stephen Schulz, who had described and counted the trees; and since that time the number of like descriptions has probably been hardly less than twice as many. In the sixteenth century the number of old trees is variously given as from twenty-eight to twenty-three; in the seventeenth, from twentyfour to sixteen; in the eighteenth, from twenty to fifteen.' After the lapse of another century, the number of the oldest trees, as we have seen, is now reduced to about a dozen. All this marks a gradual process of decay; and it also marks the difficulty of exact enumeration. This is rightly ascribed by Fürer, and also by Dandini, to the fact, that many of the trees have two or more stems; and were thus reckoned differently by different travellers, sometimes as one tree, and sometimes as two or more. All the travellers of the sixteenth century speak only of the old trees; they nowhere mention any young ones. Rauwolf, himself a botanist, seems to say expressly, that he sought for younger trees, without being able to find any. If this be so, it would appear, that with the exception of the few remaining ancient trees, perhaps none of those, which now make up the grove, can be regarded as reaching back in age more than three hundred years. 5 In the minds of the common people an air of sanctity is thrown around the grove, the river, and the region. The ancient trees are sacred, as coming down from the times of Scripture and Solomon; and the river which has its source near 169. In 1843 Dr Wilson counted twelve of the ancient trees, not standing together; and of younger growth three hundred and twenty-five; Lands of the Bible II. p. 389. The latest account (1853) makes four hundred in all; of which twelve are spoken of as the largest; Ritter XVII. p. 649. 1 Busching Erdbeschr. XI. i. p. 314. 2 Thus Belon about 1550 has 28; Fürer in 1556 about 25; Rauwolf in 1575 has 24 and two others, the boughs of which were broken off by age; Dandini in 1596 has 23.-In 1632 Roger has 22; D'Arvieux in 1660 has 23; in 1688 De la Roque has 20; and in 1696 Maundrell has only 16. -Korte in 1738 counted 18, very old and large; Pococke about 1739 found fifteen, and one recently overturned by the wind; while Steph. Schulz saw twenty. Büsching 1. c. 3 Fürer P. 102 Lat. p. 294 Germ. DanVOL. III.-50 dini, Par. 1675, p. 83. Dandini says, that while he counted 23 trees, another person of the company made out but 21. Hence it was a matter of popular belief, that they could not be counted correctly; that is, that no two persons would ever make out the same number; ibid. Rauwolf p. 280: "So bin ich auch ferner auff dem Platz umbher gangen, mich nach andern jungen weiter umbzusehen; hab aber keine, die hernacher wachsen, finden mögen.” So far as it respects this particular grove, the following note of Mr Bartlett is probably correct: "So nearly has the cedar disappeared from Lebanon, that there are scattered about the environs of London, within twenty miles distance, far more of these beautiful trees, than exist upon their original and poetic soil." Walks about Jerus. p. 22. Comp. Ritter XVII. p. 647 sq. 2 3 by is sacred, and is called el-Kadisha. In former centuries, the patriarch of the Maronites imposed various ecclesiastical penalties, and even excommunication, on any Christian who should cut or injure the sacred trees; and the story is recorded, that when some Muslims, who were pasturing in the vicinity, were so hardened and impious as to cut some of the trees, they were punished on the spot by the loss of their flocks. In former times, too, the Maronites were accustomed to celebrate in the sacred grove the festival of the Transfiguration; when the patriarch himself officiated, and said mass before a rude altar of stones.1 This law and these ceremonies are to a certain extent continued at the present day; and the influence of them unquestionably has been great upon the popular mind. The rude altars of stones have in our day been superseded by a Maronite chapel; built within the last ten years. Several persons were residing here during summer in connection with the chapel ; but we did not learn what services were held in it. A part of the object of these persons seemed to be to wait on travellers, or to supply their wants; and thus gain a claim for bakhshish. A monk brought us wine for sale; and seemed disappointed, when we declined the traffic. The cedars are not less remarkable for their position, than for their age and size. The amphitheatre in which they are situated is of itself a great temple of nature, the most vast and magnificent of all the recesses of Lebanon. The lofty dorsal ridge of the mountain, as it approaches from the south, trends slightly towards the east for a time; and then, after resuming its former direction, throws off a spur of equal altitude towards the west, which sinks down gradually into the ridge terminating at Ehden. This ridge sweeps round so as to become nearly parallel with the main ridge; thus forming an immense recess or amphitheatre, approaching to the horse-shoe form; surrounded by the loftiest ridges of Lebanon, which rise still two or three thousand feet above it, and are partly covered with snows. In the midst of this amphitheatre stand the cedars, utterly alone, with not a tree besides, nor hardly a green thing in sight. The amphitheatre fronts towards the west; and, as seen from the cedars, the snows extend round from south to north. The extremities of the arc, in front, bear from the cedars southwest and northwest. High up in the recess the deep precipitous chasm of the Kadisha has its beginning; the wildest and grandest of all the gorges of Lebanon.1 The elevation of the cedars above the sea is given by Russegger and Schubert at 6000 Paris feet, equivalent to 6400 English feet. The peaks of Lebanon above rise nearly 3000 feet higher." 4 Besides the natural grace and beauty of the cedar of Lebanon, which still appear in the trees of middle age, though not in the more ancient patriarchs, there is associated with this grove a feeling of veneration, as the representative of those forests of Lebanon so celebrated in the Hebrew Scriptures. To the sacred writers the cedar was the noblest of trees, the monarch of the vegetable kingdom. Solomon "spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall." To the prophets it was the favourite emblem for greatness, splendour, and majesty; hence kings and nobles, the pillars of society, are everywhere cedars of Lebanon. Especially is this the case in the splendid description, by Ezekiel, of the Assyrian power and glory.-Hence too, in connection with its durability and fragrance, it was regarded as the most precious of all wood, and was employed in costly buildings, for ornament and luxury. In Solomon's temple the beams of the roof, as also the boards and the ornamental work, were of the cedar of Lebanon; and it was likewise used in the later temple of Zerubbabel. David's palace was built with cedar; and so lavishly was this costly wood employed in one of Solomon's palaces, that it is called " the house of the forest of Lebanon." 10 As a matter of luxury, also, the cedar was sometimes used for idols," and for the masts of ships.12 In like manner, the cedar was highly prized among heathen nations. It was employed in the con 2 Irby and Mangles compare the amphitheatre to "the vale of the Dive in Savoy, and its Pont de Chevres;" this I have not seen. They also compare it with "the Appenines at the back of Genoa ;" but this does not strike me as a good parallel. Travels pp. 209, 210. [65.] Comp. Schubert III. p. 360. D'Arvieux speaks of the amphitheatre as a crescent, croissant; Mém. II. p. 415. Dr Wilson, coming from Ba'albek, when on the summit of the ridge over the cedars, and looking down upon them, writes thus: "A great quadrangular opening in the range was before us to the west. We observed, running down the middle of this opening, the dark line of the deep and precipitous ravine of the Kadisha, the holy river of Lebanon, with beautiful villages, and the richest terraces lining its banks; Lands of the Bible II. p. 388. 1 2 struction of their temples, as at Tyre and Ephesus; and also in their palaces as at Persepolis. In the two latter instances, however, Ephesus and Persepolis, it does not follow that the cedar came from Lebanon; though that of Syria was among the most celebrated. It is also very possible, that the name cedar was sometimes loosely applied to trees of another species.5 The frequent mention in Scripture of the cedar of Lebanon, and the uses to which it was applied, make it apparent, that in ancient times large tracts of the mountain were covered with forests of this tree. Diodorus Siculus also relates, that Lebanon was full of cedars and firs and cypresses of wonderful size and beauty. But the destruction of them for architectural uses was far more rapid than their growth; so that when Justinian in the sixth century erected the church of the Virgin (now el-Aksa) at Jerusalem,' there was great difficulty in obtaining timber for the roof; though after much search a spot was found full of cedar trees of great height. The destruction still went on; and it would appear, that as late as the middle ages, private houses in Sidon, and probably also in Tyre and other Phenician cities, were ceiled and ornamented with the cedar of Lebanon." 8 All these circumstances sufficiently account for the fact, that in our day the "goodly mountain" appears almost denuded of those graceful forests, which of old were its chief glory. The impression, however, has far outstripped the reality; and the present grove has come to be regarded as the only representative of the ancient cedars. This impression has doubtless arisen from the circumstance, that this grove only is adjacent to any of the great roads, by which travellers have crossed over Lebanon. Other cedar groves there might be, in the northern and more inaccessible parts of the mountain; which have remained unvisited, and therefore unknown. Such indeed is truly the case, according to the testimony of Ehrenberg and others. That eminent naturalist spent a considerable time on Lebanon; and found, as he informed me, the cedar growing 1 Joseph. Antt. 8. 5. 3. c. Apion. 1. 17, 18. In this instance Ritter assumes, that the cedar had been thus used before the days of Hiram and Solomon. Such may very probably have been the case; but it does not appear from the language of Josephus. Erdk. XVII. p. 648. 2 In the great temple of Diana; Salınasius ad Solin. I. 571. 6, "tectum ejus e cedrinis trabibus." Q. Curt. Hist. Alex. M. 5. 7. 5, "multo cedro erat ædificata regia." Plin. H. N. 16. 76. 1, "At cedrus in Creta, Africa, Syria, laudatissima." So Plin. H. N. 13. 11; comp. Winer Realw. art. Ceder. • Diod. Sic. 19. 58, τό τε ὄρος τοῦτο . . . πλῆρες δ ̓ ἐστὶ ξύλων κεδρίνων καὶ πευκών καὶ κυπαρισσίνων, θαυμαστῶν τό τε κάλλος καὶ μέγεθος. See in Vol. I. p. 296. [i. 438.] 8 Procop. de Edif. Justin. 5. 6. p. 322 Dind. It by no means follows, that this spot was the present grove, but rather the contrary; for the present grove is situated on one of the great public roads of Leba non See Vol. II. p. 482. [iii. 423.] JUNE 16.] THE CEDARS. LOCAL NAME OF THE MOUNTAIN. 593 abundantly on those parts of the mountain, lying north of the road between Ba'albek and Tripoly. The trees are of all sizes, old and young; but none so ancient and venerable as those usually visited. Seetzen likewise, in 1805, speaks of having discovered two other groves of greater extent; but without specifying their location. It appears, however, that one of these was near el-Hadith, southwest of Ehden; and the other in the district ed-Dunnîyeh, south of 'Akkâr ; but neither of them was personally visited by Seetzen. He afterwards, however, was at Etnûb, north of Ehden, where the region is wooded; and there he found cedars to the number of several thousands. In respect to the grove near el-Hadith, which the natives and others speak of as Arz (cedar), I was informed by Dr Paulding of Damascus, that although the trees bear a general resemblance to the cedar, yet their leaves are altogether different, and mark them as a different kind of tree." This, however, does not conflict with the testimony of Ehrenberg; since el-Hadith is south of the chasm of the Kadîsha." The local name of that part of the high dorsal ridge of Lebanon, which overhangs the cedars, we had sought after while passing along the Bŭkâ'a," and also all the way on our journey from el-Husn hither. The object of our inquiry was to ascertain, whether the name Jebel Mukhmel (or Makhmel) given to this part of the ridge on recent maps, is known among the common people. It first appears on the map of Berghaus in 1835; and was there introduced from the manuscript map of Ehrenberg. But we were unable to find the slightest trace of it among the native population. From Beirût I afterwards wrote to my friend Mr Wilson, one of the American missionaries stationed at Tripoly, inquiring whether perhaps the name was in use among the people of that city. His reply was to the effect, that although that portion of the mountain is usually spoken of as the mountain of the cedars (Jebel el-Arz), yet the name given on the maps is certainly understood by the people as being applied to the highest peak of those mountains; the same peak, of course, which according to Dr De Forest is elsewhere called Dahar el-Kŭdhîb. The name Mŭkhmel, therefore, is at the 8 1 Zach's Monatl. Corr. 1806, XIII. p. 549. Berggren, Guide etc. p. 152. Ritter The Sherbin of the Arabs, which O. Celsius and Freytag hold to be the cedar, is according to Seetzen the cypress; many of which, he says, grow on the mountain east of Ehden. So too the Arabic and Syriac versions often put Sherbin for Sept. KVTáρioσos. See O. Celsii Hierobot. I. pp. VOL. III.-50* 74, 79. Freytag's Lex. II. p. 408. Seetzen's Reisen I. pp. 173, 213. Gesen. Thesaur. p. 246 sq. For other supposed localities of the cedar, see Ritter XVII. p. 638. 7 See above, p. 531. 8 See above, p. 547.-Mr Wilson says that there is a difference of pronunciation; which he writes as Mahmel or Mahmed. On this Dr Smith remarks: "The spelling is somewhat confused; but my inference from the whole is, that Mukhmel is right.” Q Q |