130 Ofarit l^ore, T^egef^^/, cml "bt^nc/. 



miracles. Such a one was the branch of the Almond-tree forming 

 the rod of Aaron, which, when placed by Moses in the Tabernacle, 

 miraculously budded and blossomed in the night, as a sign that its 

 owner should be chosen for High Priest. Such, again, was the 

 staff of Joseph of Arimathea, which, when driven, one Christmas- 

 day, into the ground at Glastonbury, took root and produced a 

 Thorn-tree, which always blossomed on that day. Such, again, 

 was the staff of St. Martin, from which sprang up a goodly Yew, in 

 the cloister of Vreton, in Brittany ; and such was the staff of St. 

 Serf, which, thrown by him across the sea from Inchkeith to Culross, 

 straightway took root and became an Apple-tree. 



In the same category must be included the tree miraculously 

 secured by St. Thomas, the apostle of the Indians, and from which 

 he was enabled to construct a church, inasmuch as when the saw- 

 dust emitted by the tree when being sawn was sown, trees sprang up 

 therefrom. The tree (represented as being a species of Kalpadruma) 

 was hewn on the Peak of Adam, in Ceylon, by two servants of St. 

 Thomas, and dragged by him into the sea, where he appears to 

 have left it with the command, " Vade, expecta nos in portu civitatis 

 Mirapolis." .... When it reached its destination, this tree 

 had grown to such an enormous bulk, that although the king and 

 his army of ten thousand troops, with many elephants, did their 

 utmost to secure it and drag it on shore, they were unable to move 

 it. Mortified at his failure, the king descried the holy Apostle 

 Thomas approaching, riding upon an ass. The holy Apostle was 

 accompanied by his two servants, and by two great lions. 

 " Forbear," said he, addressing the king: "Touch not the wood, 

 for it is mine." *' How can you prove it is yours?" enquired the 

 king. Then Thomas, loosing his girdle, threw it to the two 

 servants, and bade them tie it around the tree; this they speedily 

 did, and, with the assistance of the lions, dragged the huge trunk 

 ashore. The king was astonished and convinced by the miracle, 

 and at once offered to Thomas as much land whereon to erect a 

 church to his God as he cared to ride round on his ass. So with 

 the aid of the miraculous tree the Apostle Thomas set to work to 

 build his church. When his workmen were hungry he took some 

 of the sawdust of the tree, and converted it into Rice; when they 

 demanded payment, he broke off a small piece of the wood, which 

 instantly became changed into money. 



Popular tradition has everywhere preserved the remembrance 

 of a certain Arbor sccco, which, according to Marco Polo, Frate 

 Odorico, and the Book of Sidrach, existed in the East. This Arbor 

 secco of the Christians is the veritable Tree of the Sun of the 

 ancient pagans. Marco Polo calls the tree the Withered Tree of 

 the Sun, and places it in the confines of Persia ; Odorico, near 

 Sauris. According to Maundevile, the tree had existed at Mamre 

 from the beginning of the world. It was an Oak, and had been 

 held in special veneration since the time of Abraham. The Saracens 



