84 CHAPTER XI. 



smooth pole, surmounted by a tuft of intensely dark 

 green foliage. The tapering spires afford a striking 

 contrast to the rolling grey-green masses of the Olive. 

 These trees are sometimes seen growing singly on the 

 hill-side, but they are usually planted to shelter a well, 

 or to form a shady retreat at the corner of some terrace. 

 The ancient mansions on the Riviera are frequently 

 approached by an avenue of Cypress. All through 

 Italy these lofty trees constitute a feature in the 

 landscape. Travellers will remember the remarkable 

 specimens in Verona. 



From earliest times the wood has been valued 

 for its durability. Experiments lately tried in India 

 prove that Cypress and Teak are superior to all other 

 timber in resistance to decay and to the attacks of 

 the termite. In Egypt and in Greece the bodies of 

 the dead were encased in Cypress wood. Of the 

 same material were the doors of the great temple of 

 Diana at Ephesus, and the portals of St. Peter's in 

 Kome, now replaced by brass. As a " box " to 

 contain small articles is derived etymologically from 

 " Buxus," the wood of which it is made, so I believe 

 that both " coffer " and the classical "cophinus " are 

 connected with " Cypress " ; in fact Horace in one 

 passage uses the word " Cupressus " as synonymous 

 with " box." The root consonants K.P.R. occur in 

 both these words ; and, what is very remarkable, they 

 are found again in the Hebrew " Gopher," the wood 

 of which the Ark was built ; for G.F.R. is equivalent 

 to K.P.R. or C.P.R., as every philologist is aware. 

 " Copper " also contains the same three radical con- 

 sonants. The reason is obvious : the metal takes its 

 name from the Island of Cyprus, where it was found, 



