The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1890-12-31
MOUNT LEBANON.
The Place Where the Cedars for
.Solomon's Temple Were Gut.
pat Few Of the Mighty Monarchs OF the
Forest Vow Left Granddaughter. DIR.
Tslmage Continues the Story
of His Travels In the
Holy Land


as his text Psalm CIV. 10: 1.-THE cedars
of Lebanon which He hath planted"
In our journey we change stirrup for
wheel. 1t is four o'clock in the morn
ing, at Damascus. Syria, and we are
among the lanterns Of the hostelry
waiting for the stage to start. A Mo-
hammedan in high life is putting his
three wives on board within an apart
ment by themselves, and our party oc-
cupy the main apartment Of one OF the
most uncomfortable vehicles in which
mortals were ever jammed and half
strangulated. But we must not let the
dscomforts annul or disparage the OPP
portunities. We are rolling on and out
and up the mountains of Lebanon, their
forehead under crown of snow, which
coronet the fingers of the hottest sum-
mer can not cast down. We are ascend
ing heights arounds which is garlanded
much of the finest poesy of the Scrip
lures, and are rising toward the might
lest dominion that botany ever recog-
nized, reigned over by the most imperial
tree that ever swayed leafy scepter.
The Lebanon cedar, tree eulogized
in my text as having grown from nut
put into the ground by God himself, and
no human hand had any thing to do with
its planting: THE trees Of Lebanon
which He hath planted"
The average height Of this mountain
is 1000 feet, but in one place it lifts its
head to an altitude of 10000. Nohigher
than 6. 900 feet can vegetation exist, but
below that line at the right season are
vineyards and orchards, and olive
groves, and flowers that dash the mount
ain side with very carnage of color,
and fill tho air with aromatics that
Hosea, tho Prophet and Solomon, the
King, celebrated as ''the smell Of Lob
anon" At height of 5000 is grove of
cedars, the only descendants Of those
vast forests from which Solomon cut his
timber for the Temple at Jerusalem,
and where at one time there were 100. 900
axemen he wing out the beams from which
great cities were constructed. But this
nation Of trees has by human incon-
oclasm been massacred until only q
small group is left.
This race Of giants is nearly extinct,
but have no doubt that some Of these
were here when Hiram, King Of Tyre,
ordered the assassination of those cedars
of Lebanon which the Lord planted.
From the multitude of uses to which it
may be put and the employment of it in
the Scriptures, the cedar is the divine
favorite When the plains to be seen
from the window of this stage in which
we ride to-day are parched under sum-
mer heats, and not grass-blade sur
wives the fervidity, this tree stands in
luxuriance, defying the summer sun.
And when the storms Of winter terrify
Ethe earth, and hurl the rocks in ava
. llanche down this mountain side, khis
/ tree grapples the hurricane Of snox In
triumph, and leaves the spent fury at
] Its feet From sixty to eighty feet
high are they, the horizontal branches
1 of great sweep with their burden of
leaves needle-shaped, the top Of the tree
pyramidal, throne of foliage on which
might, and splendor. and glory sit. But
SO continuously has the determination
of trees gone on that, for the most part
that the mountains of Lebanon are bare
of foliage, while am sorry to say, the
earth in all lands is being likewise de-
nuded
The axe is Staying the forest all round
the earth. To stop the slaughter God
opened the coal-mines of England and
Scotland and America and the world,
practically saying by that: Here is
fuel; as far as possible let My trees
alone" And by opening for the human
race the great quarries of granite, and
showing the human family how to make
brick, God is practically saying: Here
is building material; let My trees
alone" We had better stop the axes
among the Adirondacks We had bet
ter stop the axes in all our forests, as it
would have been better for Syria if the
axes had long ago been stopped among
the mountains of Lebanon. To punish
us for our reckless assault on the for
ests we have the disordered seasons;
now the droughts, because the uplifted
arms of the trees do not pray for rain
their presence. according to all scien-
lists, disposing the descent of the show
ers; and then we have the cylones and
the hurricanes multiplied in number and
velocity, because there is nothing to
prevent their awful sweep.
Plant the trees in your parks that the
weary may rest under them. Plant them
along your streets that up through the
branches passers-by may see the God
who first made the trees, and then made
man to look at them. Plant them along
the brooks. that under them children
may play. Plant them in your gardens,
that as in Eden the Lord may walk
there in the cool of the day. Plant them
in cemeteries, their shade like mourn
er's veil, and their leaves sound.
ing like the rustic of the
wings of the departed. Let arbor day
or the day for the planting of trees, rec
ognized by the Legislatures of many of
the States, be observed by all of our
people, ana the next 100 years do as much
in planting these leaty glories of God as
the last 100 years have accomplished in
their destruction. When, not long be.
fore his death, l saw on the banks Of the
Hudson, in his glazed cap, riding or
horseback, George p. Morris, the great
song writer Of America found hin
grandly emotional, and could
understand how he wrote "Wood
man, spare that treev' the
verses Of which many of us hav,
fell like quoting in belligerent spirit