TREES AND TREES. 101 



The bards of Israel sing of the cedars of Lebanon and 

 use them as symbols of strength, grandeur, beauty and 

 grace. David was particularly partial to the cedar, and 

 history relates that his dwelling was built entirely of 

 this exquisite wood, which was presented to him by 

 Hiram, King of Tyre. Moses, in laying down the law 

 to the children of Israel before crossing the Jordan, 

 said : " When thou shall besiege a city a long time in 

 making war against it, thou shall not destroy the trees 

 thereof by forcing an axe against them ; and thou shalt 

 not cut them down to employ them in the siege." 

 Shakespeare greatly admired the pine that towered 

 above other trees as his genius did above that of other 

 men ; the wind playing through its needle leaves was 

 not to him, as to most people, a mournful monody, but 

 an anthem of inspiration. Coleridge was partial to the 

 graceful birch, and called it " The Lady of the Woods." 

 Bryant loved best the apple tree, with its blossoms as 

 beautiful and fragrant as those of the rose, which be- 

 longs to the same natural order, while Whittier and 

 Longfellow never weary of singing the praises of our 

 own incomparable sugar maple. Thoreau, whose heart 

 lay very close to the great heart of nature, was a devoted 

 worshiper at their shrines, and when he would reinvig- 

 orate his flagging physical and mental powers he walked 

 for a day in the beautiful groves of Concord or sought 

 a month's seclusion in the primitive forests of Maine. 

 He sympathized with their sylvan spirits, and communed 

 with them as the devout do with celestial deities. He 

 looked upon the wanton destruction of a tree or a forest 



