of volcanic forces existing in mysterious depths far beneath the hills and mountains. The lofty ranges of Lebanon were once covered with the waters of the sea; for we have seen the fossil shells and fish of long-past ages, taken from near the highest summits; and there are plains near the sea-coast which, judging from recent shells discovered in their sands, were once probably several feet beneath the sea, but are now as many feet above. Other facts teach us that this subterranean energy has doubtless had a gradual but powerful influence upon the agricultural character of the whole land. But there are suggestions derived from the location of ancient gardens. There was a time when the hills of Palestine furnished the most perfect picture of rural beauty that-out of Eden-this world ever saw. The hills bear evidence of a very extensive former cultivation upon terraces; and these galleries of gardens, encircling the hills and mountains, must have presented a variety which could never be attained upon the level fields. Most of the hill-sides were once used as gardens, the larger growths of trees being permitted only in the valleys or plains, or possibly, as we find in some rare cases, on the very tops of the hills. The terrace-walls would not have resisted the wide-spreading roots of large trees nor have sustained the pressure. Hence the largest trees are found, at the present day, more frequently growing at the foot of hills than on their sides. What beauty must have reigned throughout that land of terraced hills soon after the accession of Solomon to the throne! Viewed from any elevated spot, it presented to the eye of the traveller innumerable heights. gracefully moulded, begirt with bands of floral beauty and

covered with a vegetation of exceeding verdure and fruitfulness, if we may rely upon the histories written of the land by residents about the times of our Saviour. Cultivated gardens of flowers and fruits and foliage upon the hills, rising like islets of beautiful light from the verdure of the forests and fields. below, caught the first beams of the sun in the morning, and reflected his clear rays from millions of points wet with the heavy dews of the Orient, which on evaporating diffused fragrance from a thousand garden-mantled hilltops. Such were the visions which the Holy Land afforded before the Captivity. All history, and the intimations of prophecy, and the ruins and remains, teach us to regard this as anciently a land of unusual beauty, which nothing now but imagination can truthfully represent. The terraces, which were made from the rocks of the country and required frequent repairs, commenced to fall into ruins soon after the Captivity; and after the ruin of the terraces the violent rains soon washed down into the valleys the rich soils which had so long been kept upon the hill-sides; and now those are the most barren spots which once were the richest. But the saddest thought of all is that the absence of the forests and of the wide-spread verdure of gardens and plains may prevent the return of the heavy dews of ancient times, and of the rains which existed when the vegetation of former days invited those seasonable showers which are now withheld from the whole country. These three causes-namely, geological changes, want of proper culture, and consequent alteration of climatehave greatly modified the fruits and flowers, the plants and trees, of the Holy Land; and whilst we gather the beautiful

remains of former times, we may know why we are unable to describe all the flowers that once grew in this pleasant land, the names of which and the descriptions we have, but whose forms have long since passed away. Once there were many flowers and fruits peculiar to the Holy Land; and we read of some transported and preserved with care because here they found their native soil;* but, like the ancient people of God, the former owners of the land, they have been scattered among the nations of earth. A few have remained in the land, growing side by side with others which, having sprung up in late years, were unknown when Solomon planted his "gardens and orchards," and even when our Lord compared with Solomon the flowers on the fields around him.

Notwithstanding all these changes, there are many flowers remaining, full of beauty and of eloquence. Some of these still linger in the land as the long-abiding representatives of those whose names are written in the Holy Word. Prophets and kings and historians of early ages called these by name and admired them. They looked upon them as we can now, and in their bright and innocent forms saw images of beauty, and made them tributary to their thoughts of reverence, of joy, and of majesty. We too would meditate upon them. Perchance they will speak to us the thoughts that in centuries past they uttered to hosts who have long since entered the paradise above. To these classic specimens we have given precedence, and in alphabetic order. There is another class, claiming attention from their beauty and from the tenacity with which they

* Maillet, Letters.

cling to the soil. These, though they have not the scriptural prestige of the former class, have an interest of their own, and their quiet language claims a passing thought; and we cherish them for what they bring us either of joy or sadness, if it adds to what we already know of the soil from which they sprung.